--- title: "2. Install Kubernetes with RKE" --- Use RKE to install Kubernetes with a high availability etcd configuration. >**Note:** For systems without direct internet access see [Air Gap: Kubernetes install](./air-gap-helm2.md) for install details. ### Create the `rancher-cluster.yml` File Using the sample below create the `rancher-cluster.yml` file. Replace the IP Addresses in the `nodes` list with the IP address or DNS names of the 3 nodes you created. > **Note:** If your node has public and internal addresses, it is recommended to set the `internal_address:` so Kubernetes will use it for intra-cluster communication. Some services like AWS EC2 require setting the `internal_address:` if you want to use self-referencing security groups or firewalls. ```yaml nodes: - address: 165.227.114.63 internal_address: 172.16.22.12 user: ubuntu role: [controlplane,worker,etcd] - address: 165.227.116.167 internal_address: 172.16.32.37 user: ubuntu role: [controlplane,worker,etcd] - address: 165.227.127.226 internal_address: 172.16.42.73 user: ubuntu role: [controlplane,worker,etcd] services: etcd: snapshot: true creation: 6h retention: 24h ``` #### Common RKE Nodes Options | Option | Required | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | `address` | yes | The public DNS or IP address | | `user` | yes | A user that can run docker commands | | `role` | yes | List of Kubernetes roles assigned to the node | | `internal_address` | no | The private DNS or IP address for internal cluster traffic | | `ssh_key_path` | no | Path to SSH private key used to authenticate to the node (defaults to `~/.ssh/id_rsa`) | #### Advanced Configurations RKE has many configuration options for customizing the install to suit your specific environment. Please see the [RKE Documentation](https://rancher.com/docs/rke/latest/en/config-options/) for the full list of options and capabilities. For tuning your etcd cluster for larger Rancher installations see the [etcd settings guide](../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/advanced-options/advanced-use-cases/tune-etcd-for-large-installs.md). ### Run RKE ``` rke up --config ./rancher-cluster.yml ``` When finished, it should end with the line: `Finished building Kubernetes cluster successfully`. ### Testing Your Cluster RKE should have created a file `kube_config_rancher-cluster.yml`. This file has the credentials for `kubectl` and `helm`. > **Note:** If you have used a different file name from `rancher-cluster.yml`, then the kube config file will be named `kube_config_.yml`. You can copy this file to `$HOME/.kube/config` or if you are working with multiple Kubernetes clusters, set the `KUBECONFIG` environmental variable to the path of `kube_config_rancher-cluster.yml`. ``` export KUBECONFIG=$(pwd)/kube_config_rancher-cluster.yml ``` Test your connectivity with `kubectl` and see if all your nodes are in `Ready` state. ``` kubectl get nodes NAME STATUS ROLES AGE VERSION 165.227.114.63 Ready controlplane,etcd,worker 11m v1.13.5 165.227.116.167 Ready controlplane,etcd,worker 11m v1.13.5 165.227.127.226 Ready controlplane,etcd,worker 11m v1.13.5 ``` ### Check the Health of Your Cluster Pods Check that all the required pods and containers are healthy are ready to continue. * Pods are in `Running` or `Completed` state. * `READY` column shows all the containers are running (i.e. `3/3`) for pods with `STATUS` `Running` * Pods with `STATUS` `Completed` are run-once Jobs. For these pods `READY` should be `0/1`. ``` kubectl get pods --all-namespaces NAMESPACE NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE ingress-nginx nginx-ingress-controller-tnsn4 1/1 Running 0 30s ingress-nginx nginx-ingress-controller-tw2ht 1/1 Running 0 30s ingress-nginx nginx-ingress-controller-v874b 1/1 Running 0 30s kube-system canal-jp4hz 3/3 Running 0 30s kube-system canal-z2hg8 3/3 Running 0 30s kube-system canal-z6kpw 3/3 Running 0 30s kube-system kube-dns-7588d5b5f5-sf4vh 3/3 Running 0 30s kube-system kube-dns-autoscaler-5db9bbb766-jz2k6 1/1 Running 0 30s kube-system metrics-server-97bc649d5-4rl2q 1/1 Running 0 30s kube-system rke-ingress-controller-deploy-job-bhzgm 0/1 Completed 0 30s kube-system rke-kubedns-addon-deploy-job-gl7t4 0/1 Completed 0 30s kube-system rke-metrics-addon-deploy-job-7ljkc 0/1 Completed 0 30s kube-system rke-network-plugin-deploy-job-6pbgj 0/1 Completed 0 30s ``` ### Save Your Files > **Important** > The files mentioned below are needed to maintain, troubleshoot and upgrade your cluster. Save a copy of the following files in a secure location: - `rancher-cluster.yml`: The RKE cluster configuration file. - `kube_config_rancher-cluster.yml`: The [Kubeconfig file](https://rancher.com/docs/rke/latest/en/kubeconfig/) for the cluster, this file contains credentials for full access to the cluster. - `rancher-cluster.rkestate`: The [Kubernetes Cluster State file](https://rancher.com/docs/rke/latest/en/installation/#kubernetes-cluster-state), this file contains credentials for full access to the cluster.

_The Kubernetes Cluster State file is only created when using RKE v0.2.0 or higher._ > **Note:** The "rancher-cluster" parts of the two latter file names are dependent on how you name the RKE cluster configuration file. ### Issues or errors? See the [Troubleshooting](../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/advanced-options/advanced-use-cases/helm2/kubernetes-rke/troubleshooting.md) page. ### [Next: Initialize Helm (Install tiller)](./helm2-helm-init.md)