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Add K3s to overview of Rancher installation options

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Catherine Luse
2020-02-11 16:14:49 -07:00
committed by Catherine Luse
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content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/_index.md
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@@ -10,28 +10,39 @@ This section provides an overview of the architecture options of installing Ranc
In this section,
**The Rancher server** manages and provisions Kubernetes clusters. You can interact with downstream Kubernetes clusters through the Rancher server's user interface.
**RKE (Rancher Kubernetes Engine)** is a certified Kubernetes distribution and CLI/library which creates and manages a Kubernetes cluster. When you create a cluster in the Rancher UI, it calls RKE as a library to provision Rancher-launched Kubernetes clusters.
- **The Rancher server** manages and provisions Kubernetes clusters. You can interact with downstream Kubernetes clusters through the Rancher server's user interface.
- **RKE (Rancher Kubernetes Engine)** is a certified Kubernetes distribution and CLI/library which creates and manages a Kubernetes cluster. When you create a cluster in the Rancher UI, it calls RKE as a library to provision Rancher-launched Kubernetes clusters.
- **K3s (5 less than K8s)** is also a fully compliant Kubernetes distribution. It is newer than RKE, easier to use, and more lightweight, with a binary size of less than 40 MB. As of Rancher v2.4, Rancher can be installed on a K3s cluster.
### Overview of Installation Options
If you use Rancher to deploy Kubernetes clusters, it is important to ensure that the Rancher server doesn't fail, because if it goes down, you could lose access to the Kubernetes clusters that are managed by Rancher. For that reason, we recommend that for a production-grade architecture, you should set up a Kubernetes cluster with RKE, then install Rancher on it. After Rancher is installed, you can use Rancher to deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters.
If you use Rancher to deploy Kubernetes clusters, it is important to ensure that the Rancher server doesn't fail, because if it goes down, you could lose access to the Kubernetes clusters that are managed by Rancher. For that reason, we recommend that for a production-grade architecture, you should set up a high-availability Kubernetes cluster with RKE, then install Rancher on it. After Rancher is installed, you can use Rancher to deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters.
For testing or demonstration purposes, you can install Rancher in single Docker container. In this installation, you can use Rancher to set up Kubernetes clusters out-of-the-box.
Our [instructions for installing Rancher on Kubernetes]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install) describe how to first use RKE to create and manage a cluster, then install Rancher onto that cluster. For this type of architecture, you will need to deploy three nodes - typically virtual machines - in the infrastructure provider of your choice. You will also need to configure a load balancer to direct front-end traffic to the three nodes. When the nodes are running and fulfill the [node requirements,]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/requirements) you can use RKE to deploy Kubernetes onto them, then use Helm to deploy Rancher onto Kubernetes.
Our [instructions for installing Rancher on Kubernetes]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install) describe how to first use K3s or RKE to create and manage a Kubernetes cluster, then install Rancher onto that cluster.
For a high-availability K3s cluster, we recommend setting up the following infrastructure:
- **Two Linux nodes,** typically virtual machines, in the infrastructure provider of your choice
- **A load balancer** to direct traffic to the two nodes.
- **An external database** to store the cluster data. PostgreSQL, MySQL, and etcd are supported.
For a high-availability RKE cluster, we recommend setting up the following infrastructure:
- **Three Linux nodes,** typically virtual machines, in the infrastructure provider of your choice.
- **A load balancer** to direct front-end traffic to the three nodes.
When the nodes in your Kubernetes cluster are running and fulfill the [node requirements,]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/requirements) you will use RKE or K3s to deploy Kubernetes onto them. Then you will use Helm to deploy Rancher onto Kubernetes.
For a longer discussion of Rancher architecture, refer to the [architecture overview,]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture) [recommendations for production-grade architecture,]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture-recommendations) or our [best practices guide.]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/best-practices/deployment-types)
Rancher can be installed on these main architectures:
To summarize, Rancher can be installed on these main architectures:
- **High-availability Kubernetes Install:** We recommend using [Helm,]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/concepts/#about-helm) a Kubernetes package manager, to install Rancher on a dedicated Kubernetes cluster. We recommend using three nodes in the cluster because increased availability is achieved by running Rancher on multiple nodes.
- **High-availability Kubernetes Install:** We recommend using [Helm,]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/concepts/#about-helm) a Kubernetes package manager, to install Rancher on multiple nodes on a dedicated Kubernetes cluster. For RKE clusters, three nodes are required to achieve a high-availability cluster. For K3s clusters, only two nodes are required.
- **Single-node Kubernetes Install:** Another option is to install Rancher with Helm on a Kubernetes cluster, but to only use a single node in the cluster. In this case, the Rancher server doesn't have high availability, which is important for running Rancher in production. However, this option is useful if you want to save resources by using a single node in the short term, while preserving a high-availability migration path. In the future, you can add nodes to the cluster to get a high-availability Rancher server.
- **Docker Install:** For test and demonstration purposes, Rancher can be installed with Docker on a single node. This installation works out-of-the-box, but there is no migration path from a Docker installation to a high-availability installation on a Kubernetes cluster. Therefore, you may want to use a Kubernetes installation from the start.
The single-node Kubernetes install is achieved by describing only one node in the `cluster.yml` when provisioning the Kubernetes cluster with RKE. The single node should have all three roles: `etcd`, `controlplane`, and `worker`. Then Rancher can be installed with Helm on the cluster in the same way that it would be installed on any other cluster.
There are also separate instructions for installing Rancher in an air gap environment or behind an HTTP proxy:
| Level of Internet Access | Kubernetes Installation - Strongly Recommended | Docker Installation |
@@ -57,11 +68,14 @@ Refer to the [Helm chart options]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/opt
- With [TLS termination on a load balancer]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/options/chart-options/#external-tls-termination)
- With a [custom Ingress]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/options/chart-options/#customizing-your-ingress)
In the Rancher installation instructions, we recommend using RKE (Rancher Kubernetes Engine) to set up a Kubernetes cluster before installing Rancher on the cluster. RKE has many configuration options for customizing the Kubernetes cluster to suit your specific environment. Please see the [RKE Documentation]({{<baseurl>}}/rke/latest/en/config-options/) for the full list of options and capabilities.
In the Rancher installation instructions, we recommend using K3s or RKE to set up a Kubernetes cluster before installing Rancher on the cluster. Both K3s and RKE have many configuration options for customizing the Kubernetes cluster to suit your specific environment. For the full list of their capabilities, refer to their documentation:
- [RKE configuration options]({{<baseurl>}}/rke/latest/en/config-options/)
- [K3s configuration options]({{<baseurl>}}/k3s/latest/en/installation/install-options/)
### More Options for Installations with Docker
Refer to the [Docker installation docs]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/other-installation-methods/single-node-docker) for details other configurations including:
Refer to the [Docker installation docs]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/other-installation-methods/single-node-docker) for details about other configurations including:
- With [API auditing to record all transactions]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/other-installation-methods/single-node-docker/#api-audit-log)
- With an [external load balancer]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/other-installation-methods/single-node-docker/single-node-install-external-lb/)
content/rancher/v2.x/en/system-tools/_index.md
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---
System Tools is a tool to perform operational tasks on [Rancher Launched Kubernetes]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/rke-clusters/) clusters or [RKE cluster as used for installing Rancher on Kubernetes]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install/kubernetes-rke/). The tasks include:
System Tools is a tool to perform operational tasks on [Rancher Launched Kubernetes]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/rke-clusters/) clusters or [installations of Rancher on an RKE cluster.]({{<baseurl>}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install/kubernetes-rke/) The tasks include:
* Collect logging and system metrics from nodes.
* Remove Kubernetes resources created by Rancher.