328 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
328 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
---
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title: "Managing Kubernetes with Rancher: The Home Lab Way"
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description: How to set up, configure, and get the most out of Rancher for managing your home Kubernetes clusters
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pubDate: 2025-04-19
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updatedDate: 2025-04-18
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category: Services
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tags:
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- rancher
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- kubernetes
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- k3s
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- devops
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- containers
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heroImage: /blog/images/posts/prometheusk8.png
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---
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I've been running Kubernetes at home for years now, and I've tried just about every management tool out there. From kubectl and a bunch of YAML files to various dashboards and UIs, I've experimented with it all. But the one tool that's been a constant in my home lab journey is [Rancher](https://rancher.com/) - a complete container management platform that makes Kubernetes management almost... dare I say it... enjoyable?
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Today, I want to walk you through setting up Rancher in your home lab and show you some of the features that have made it indispensable for me.
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## What is Rancher and Why Should You Care?
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Rancher is an open-source platform for managing Kubernetes clusters. Think of it as mission control for all your container workloads. It gives you:
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- A unified interface for managing multiple clusters (perfect if you're running different K8s distros)
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- Simplified deployment of applications via apps & marketplace
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- Built-in monitoring, logging, and alerting
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- User management and role-based access control
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- A clean, intuitive UI that's actually useful (rare in the Kubernetes world!)
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If you're running even a single Kubernetes cluster at home, Rancher can save you countless hours of typing `kubectl` commands and editing YAML files by hand.
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## Setting Up Rancher in Your Home Lab
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There are several ways to deploy Rancher, but I'll focus on two approaches that work well for home labs.
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### Option 1: Docker Deployment (Quickstart)
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The fastest way to get up and running is with Docker:
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```bash
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docker run -d --restart=unless-stopped \
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-p 80:80 -p 443:443 \
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--privileged \
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rancher/rancher:latest
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```
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That's it! Navigate to `https://your-server-ip` and you'll be prompted to set a password and server URL.
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But while this method is quick, I prefer the next approach for a more production-like setup.
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### Option 2: Installing Rancher on K3s
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My preferred method is to run Rancher on a lightweight Kubernetes distribution like K3s. This gives you better reliability and easier upgrades.
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First, install K3s:
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```bash
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curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -
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```
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Next, install cert-manager (required for Rancher to manage certificates):
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```bash
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kubectl apply -f https://github.com/jetstack/cert-manager/releases/download/v1.12.2/cert-manager.yaml
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```
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Then, install Rancher using Helm:
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```bash
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helm repo add rancher-stable https://releases.rancher.com/server-charts/stable
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helm repo update
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kubectl create namespace cattle-system
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helm install rancher rancher-stable/rancher \
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--namespace cattle-system \
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--set hostname=rancher.yourdomain.com \
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--set bootstrapPassword=admin
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```
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Depending on your home lab setup, you might want to use a load balancer or ingress controller. I use Traefik, which comes pre-installed with K3s:
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```yaml
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apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
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kind: Ingress
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metadata:
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name: rancher
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namespace: cattle-system
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spec:
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rules:
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- host: rancher.yourdomain.com
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http:
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paths:
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- path: /
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pathType: Prefix
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backend:
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service:
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name: rancher
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port:
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number: 80
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tls:
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- hosts:
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- rancher.yourdomain.com
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secretName: rancher-tls
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```
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## Importing Your Existing Clusters
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Once Rancher is running, you can import your existing Kubernetes clusters. This is my favorite part because it doesn't require you to rebuild anything.
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1. In the Rancher UI, go to "Cluster Management"
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2. Click "Import Existing"
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3. Choose a name for your cluster
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4. Copy the provided kubectl command and run it on your existing cluster
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Rancher will install its agent on your cluster and begin managing it. Magic!
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## Setting Up Monitoring
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Rancher makes it dead simple to deploy Prometheus and Grafana for monitoring:
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1. From your cluster's dashboard, go to "Apps"
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2. Select "Monitoring" from the Charts
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3. Install with default settings (or customize as needed)
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In minutes, you'll have a full monitoring stack with pre-configured dashboards for nodes, pods, workloads, and more.
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Here's what my Grafana dashboard looks like for my home K8s cluster:
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## Creating Deployments Through the UI
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While I'm a big fan of GitOps and declarative deployments, sometimes you just want to quickly spin up a container without writing YAML. Rancher makes this painless:
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1. Go to your cluster
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2. Select "Workload > Deployments"
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3. Click "Create"
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4. Fill in the form with your container details
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You get a nice UI for setting environment variables, volumes, health checks, and more. Once you're happy with it, Rancher generates and applies the YAML behind the scenes.
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## Rancher Fleet for GitOps
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One of the newer features I love is Fleet, Rancher's GitOps engine. It allows you to manage deployments across clusters using Git repositories:
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```yaml
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# Example fleet.yaml
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defaultNamespace: monitoring
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helm:
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releaseName: prometheus
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repo: https://prometheus-community.github.io/helm-charts
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chart: kube-prometheus-stack
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version: 39.4.0
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values:
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grafana:
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adminPassword: ${GRAFANA_PASSWORD}
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targets:
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- name: prod
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clusterSelector:
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matchLabels:
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environment: production
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- name: dev
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clusterSelector:
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matchLabels:
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environment: development
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helm:
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values:
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resources:
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limits:
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memory: 1Gi
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requests:
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memory: 512Mi
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```
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With Fleet, I maintain a Git repository with all my deployments, and Rancher automatically applies them to the appropriate clusters. When I push changes, they're automatically deployed - proper GitOps!
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## Rancher for Projects and Teams
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If you're working with a team or want to compartmentalize your applications, Rancher's projects feature is fantastic:
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1. Create different projects within a cluster (e.g., "Media," "Home Automation," "Development")
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2. Assign namespaces to projects
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3. Set resource quotas for each project
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4. Create users and assign them to projects with specific permissions
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This way, you can give friends or family members access to specific applications without worrying about them breaking your critical services.
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## Advanced: Custom Cluster Templates
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As my home lab grew, I started using Rancher's cluster templates to ensure consistency across my Kubernetes installations:
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```yaml
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apiVersion: management.cattle.io/v3
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kind: ClusterTemplate
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metadata:
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name: homelab-standard
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spec:
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displayName: HomeStack Standard
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revisionName: homelab-standard-v1
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members:
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- accessType: owner
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userPrincipalName: user-abc123
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template:
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spec:
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rancherKubernetesEngineConfig:
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services:
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etcd:
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backupConfig:
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enabled: true
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intervalHours: 12
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retention: 6
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kubeApi:
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auditLog:
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enabled: true
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network:
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plugin: canal
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monitoring:
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provider: metrics-server
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addons: |-
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apiVersion: v1
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kind: Namespace
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metadata:
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name: cert-manager
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---
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apiVersion: v1
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kind: Namespace
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metadata:
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name: ingress-nginx
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```
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## My Top Rancher Tips
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After years of using Rancher, here are my top tips:
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1. **Use the Rancher CLI**: For repetitive tasks, the CLI is faster than the UI:
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```bash
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rancher login https://rancher.yourdomain.com --token token-abc123
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rancher kubectl get nodes
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```
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2. **Set Up External Authentication**: Connect Rancher to your identity provider (I use GitHub):
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```yaml
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# Sample GitHub auth config
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apiVersion: management.cattle.io/v3
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kind: AuthConfig
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metadata:
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name: github
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type: githubConfig
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properties:
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enabled: true
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clientId: your-github-client-id
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clientSecret: your-github-client-secret
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allowedPrincipals:
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- github_user://your-github-username
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- github_org://your-github-org
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```
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3. **Create Node Templates**: If you're using RKE, save node templates for quick cluster expansion.
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4. **Use App Templates**: Save your common applications as templates for quick deployment.
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5. **Set Up Alerts**: Configure alerts for node health, pod failures, and resource constraints.
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## Dealing with Common Rancher Issues
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Even the best tools have their quirks. Here are some issues I've encountered and how I solved them:
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### Issue: Rancher UI Becomes Slow
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If your Rancher UI starts lagging, check your browser's local storage. The Rancher UI caches a lot of data, which can build up over time:
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```javascript
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// Run this in your browser console while on the Rancher page
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localStorage.clear()
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```
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### Issue: Certificate Errors After DNS Changes
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If you change your domain or DNS settings, Rancher certificates might need to be regenerated:
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```bash
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kubectl -n cattle-system delete secret tls-rancher-ingress
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kubectl -n cattle-system delete secret tls-ca
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```
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Then restart the Rancher pods:
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```bash
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kubectl -n cattle-system rollout restart deploy/rancher
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```
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### Issue: Stuck Cluster Imports
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If a cluster gets stuck during import, clean up the agent resources and try again:
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```bash
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kubectl delete clusterrole cattle-admin cluster-owner
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kubectl delete clusterrolebinding cattle-admin-binding cluster-owner
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kubectl delete namespace cattle-system
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```
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## The Future of Rancher
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With SUSE's acquisition of Rancher Labs, the future looks bright. The latest Rancher updates have added:
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- Better integration with cloud providers
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- Improved security features
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- Enhanced multi-cluster management
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- Lower resource requirements (great for home labs)
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My wish list for future versions includes:
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- Native GitOps for everything (not just workloads)
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- Better templating for one-click deployments
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- More pre-configured monitoring dashboards
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## Wrapping Up
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Rancher has transformed how I manage my home Kubernetes clusters. What used to be a complex, time-consuming task is now almost... fun? If you're running Kubernetes at home and haven't tried Rancher yet, you're missing out on one of the best tools in the Kubernetes ecosystem.
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Sure, you could manage everything with kubectl and YAML files (and I still do that sometimes), but having a well-designed UI for management, monitoring, and troubleshooting saves countless hours and reduces the learning curve for those just getting started with Kubernetes.
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Are you using Rancher or another tool to manage your Kubernetes clusters? What's been your experience? Let me know in the comments!
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---
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_This post was last updated on March 5, 2024 with information about Rancher v2.7 features and Fleet GitOps capabilities._ |