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66 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
66 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Cluster Access
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---
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<head>
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<link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/pages-for-subheaders/access-clusters"/>
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</head>
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This section is about what tools can be used to access clusters managed by Rancher.
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For information on how to give users permission to access a cluster, see the section on [adding users to clusters.](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/manage-clusters/access-clusters/add-users-to-clusters.md)
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For more information on roles-based access control, see [this section.](manage-role-based-access-control-rbac.md)
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For information on how to set up an authentication system, see [this section.](authentication-config.md)
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## Clusters in Rancher UI
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There are several paths to view and manage clusters through the Rancher UI.
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### Clusters Page
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You can access the **Clusters** page from the **☰** menu:
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1. Click **☰**.
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1. Select **Cluster Management**.
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You can also access the **Clusters** page by clicking the **Manage** button above the clusters table on the Rancher UI **Home** page.
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On the **Clusters** page, select **⁝** at the end of each row to view a submenu with the following options:
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* [Kubectl Shell](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/manage-clusters/access-clusters/use-kubectl-and-kubeconfig.md)
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* Download KubeConfig
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* Copy KubeConfig to Clipboard
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* Edit Config
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* View YAML
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* Download YAML
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### Cluster Dashboard
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On the **Clusters** page, select the **Explore** button at the end of each row to view that cluster's **Cluster Dashboard**. You can also view the dashboard by clicking the name of a cluster in the table, then clicking the **Explore** buttton on the **Cluster** page.
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The **Cluster Dashboard** is also accessible from the Rancher UI **Home** page, by clicking on the name of a cluster.
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You can also access the **Cluster Dashboard** from the **☰** in the top navigation bar:
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1. Click **☰**.
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1. Select the name of a cluster from the **Explore Cluster** menu option.
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The **Cluster Dashboard** lists information about a specific cluster, such as number of nodes, memory usage, events, and resources.
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## kubectl
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You can use the Kubernetes command-line tool, [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/overview/), to manage your clusters. You have two options for using kubectl:
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- **Rancher kubectl shell:** Interact with your clusters by launching a kubectl shell available in the Rancher UI. This option requires no configuration actions on your part. For more information, see [Accessing Clusters with kubectl Shell](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/manage-clusters/access-clusters/use-kubectl-and-kubeconfig.md).
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- **Terminal remote connection:** You can also interact with your clusters by installing [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/) on your local desktop and then copying the cluster's kubeconfig file to your local `~/.kube/config` directory. For more information, see [Accessing Clusters with kubectl and a kubeconfig File](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/manage-clusters/access-clusters/use-kubectl-and-kubeconfig.md).
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## Rancher CLI
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You can control your clusters by downloading Rancher's own command-line interface, [Rancher CLI](cli-with-rancher.md). This CLI tool can interact directly with different clusters and projects or pass them `kubectl` commands.
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## Rancher API
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Finally, you can interact with your clusters over the Rancher API. Before you use the API, you must obtain an [API key](../reference-guides/user-settings/api-keys.md). To view the different resource fields and actions for an API object, open the API UI, which can be accessed by clicking on **View in API** for any Rancher UI object.
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