--- title: Kubernetes Installation Using Helm 2 --- > After Helm 3 was released, the Rancher installation instructions were updated to use Helm 3. > > If you are using Helm 2, we recommend [migrating to Helm 3](https://helm.sh/blog/migrate-from-helm-v2-to-helm-v3/) because it is simpler to use and more secure than Helm 2. > > This section provides a copy of the older high-availability Kubernetes Rancher installation instructions that used Helm 2, and it is intended to be used if upgrading to Helm 3 is not feasible. 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. > **Important:** The Rancher management server can only be run on an RKE-managed Kubernetes cluster. Use of Rancher on hosted Kubernetes or other providers is not supported. > **Important:** For the best performance, 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](kubernetes-clusters-in-rancher-setup.md) for running your workloads. ## Recommended Architecture - DNS for Rancher should resolve to a Layer 4 load balancer (TCP) - The Load Balancer should forward port TCP/80 and TCP/443 to all 3 nodes in the Kubernetes cluster. - The Ingress controller will redirect HTTP to HTTPS and terminate SSL/TLS on port TCP/443. - The Ingress controller will forward traffic to port TCP/80 on the pod in the Rancher deployment.
Kubernetes Rancher install with layer 4 load balancer, depicting SSL termination at ingress controllers
![High-availability Kubernetes Install](/img/ha/rancher2ha.svg) Kubernetes Rancher install with Layer 4 load balancer (TCP), depicting SSL termination at ingress controllers ## Required Tools The following CLI tools are required for this install. Please make sure these tools are installed and available in your `$PATH` - [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/#install-kubectl) - Kubernetes command-line tool. - [rke](https://rancher.com/docs/rke/latest/en/installation/) - Rancher Kubernetes Engine, cli for building Kubernetes clusters. - [helm](https://docs.helm.sh/using_helm/#installing-helm) - Package management for Kubernetes. Refer to the [Helm version requirements](../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/resources/helm-version-requirements.md) to choose a version of Helm to install Rancher. ## Installation Outline - [Create Nodes and Load Balancer](./helm2-create-nodes-lb.md) - [Install Kubernetes with RKE](./helm2-kubernetes-rke.md) - [Initialize Helm (tiller)](./helm2-helm-init.md) - [Install Rancher](./helm-rancher.md) ## Additional Install Options - [Migrating from a Kubernetes Install with an RKE Add-on](../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/install-upgrade-on-a-kubernetes-cluster/upgrades/migrating-from-rke-add-on.md) ## Previous Methods [RKE add-on install](./helm2-rke-add-on.md) > **Important: RKE add-on install is only supported up to Rancher v2.0.8** > > Please use the Rancher helm chart to install Rancher on a Kubernetes cluster. For details, see the [Kubernetes Install ](../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/resources/helm-version-requirements.md). > > If you are currently using the RKE add-on install method, see [Migrating from a Kubernetes Install with an RKE Add-on](../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/install-upgrade-on-a-kubernetes-cluster/upgrades/migrating-from-rke-add-on.md) for details on how to move to using the Helm chart.