diff --git a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/_index.md b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/_index.md index 5ccf587c49d..c68003879a0 100644 --- a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/_index.md +++ b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/_index.md @@ -4,11 +4,31 @@ description: Learn how to install Rancher in development and production environm weight: 50 --- -This section provides an overview of the architecture options of installing Rancher, describing advantages of each option: +This section provides an overview of the architecture options of installing Rancher, describing advantages of each option. + +### Terminology + +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. + +### 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. + +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]({{}}/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,]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/requirements) you can use RKE to deploy Kubernetes onto them, then use Helm to deploy Rancher onto Kubernetes. + +For a longer discussion of Rancher architecture, refer to the [architecture overview,]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture) [recommendations for production-grade architecture,]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture-recommendations) or our [best practices guide.]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/best-practices/deployment-types) + +Rancher can be installed on these main architectures: - **High-availability Kubernetes Install:** We recommend using [Helm,]({{}}/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. - **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 is simpler to set up, 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. +- **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. @@ -25,7 +45,7 @@ Before installing Rancher, make sure that your nodes fulfill all of the [install ### Architecture Tip -For the best performance and greater security, we recommend a dedicated Kubernetes cluster for the Rancher management server. Running user workloads on this cluster is not advised. After deploying Rancher, you can [create or import clusters]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/#cluster-creation-in-rancher) for running your workloads. +For the best performance and greater security, we recommend a separate, dedicated Kubernetes cluster for the Rancher management server. Running user workloads on this cluster is not advised. After deploying Rancher, you can [create or import clusters]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/#cluster-creation-in-rancher) for running your workloads. For more architecture recommendations, refer to [this page.]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture-recommendations) diff --git a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install/_index.md b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install/_index.md index 197da48ff91..36d6949e90d 100644 --- a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install/_index.md +++ b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/k8s-install/_index.md @@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ aliases: For production environments, we recommend installing Rancher in a high-availability configuration so that your user base can always access Rancher Server. When installed in a Kubernetes cluster, Rancher will integrate with the cluster's etcd database and take advantage of Kubernetes scheduling for high-availability. -This procedure walks you through setting up a 3-node cluster with Rancher Kubernetes Engine (RKE) and installing the Rancher chart with the Helm package manager. +This section describes 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 VMs in the infrastructure provider of your choice. You will also need to configure a load balancer to direct front-end traffic to the three VMs. When the VMs are running and fulfill the [node requirements,]({{}}/rancher/v2.x/en/installation/requirements) you can use RKE to deploy Kubernetes onto them, then use the Helm package manager to deploy Rancher onto Kubernetes. ### Optional: Installing Rancher on a Single-node Kubernetes Cluster diff --git a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture-recommendations/_index.md b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture-recommendations/_index.md index a844bec0c7f..016f7a8ce62 100644 --- a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture-recommendations/_index.md +++ b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/overview/architecture-recommendations/_index.md @@ -1,3 +1,8 @@ +--- +title: Architecture Recommendations +weight: 3 +--- + Kubernetes cluster. If you are installing Rancher on a single node, the main architecture recommendation that applies to your installation is that the node running Rancher should be [separate from downstream clusters.](#separation-of-rancher-and-user-clusters) This section covers the following topics: