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martyav
84 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
84 lines
5.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Launching Kubernetes with Rancher
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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/launch-kubernetes-with-rancher"/>
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</head>
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You can have Rancher launch a Kubernetes cluster using any nodes you want. When Rancher deploys Kubernetes onto these nodes, you can choose between [Rancher Kubernetes Engine](https://rancher.com/docs/rke/latest/en/) (RKE) or [RKE2](https://docs.rke2.io) distributions. Rancher can launch Kubernetes on any computers, including:
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- Bare-metal servers
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- On-premise virtual machines
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- Virtual machines hosted by an infrastructure provider
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Rancher can install Kubernetes on existing nodes, or it can dynamically provision nodes in an infrastructure provider and install Kubernetes on them.
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Rancher can also create pools of nodes. One benefit of installing Kubernetes on node pools hosted by an infrastructure provider is that if a node loses connectivity with the cluster, Rancher can automatically create another node to join the cluster to ensure that the count of the node pool is as expected.
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## RKE
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### Requirements
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If you use RKE to set up a cluster, your nodes must meet the [requirements](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/kubernetes-clusters-in-rancher-setup/node-requirements-for-rancher-managed-clusters.md) for nodes in downstream user clusters.
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### Launching Kubernetes on New Nodes in an Infrastructure Provider
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Using Rancher, you can create pools of nodes based on a [node template](use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider.md#node-templates). This node template defines the parameters you want to use to launch nodes in your cloud providers.
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One benefit of installing Kubernetes on node pools hosted by an infrastructure provider is that if a node loses connectivity with the cluster, Rancher can automatically create another node to join the cluster to ensure that the count of the node pool is as expected.
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For more information, refer to the section on [launching Kubernetes on new nodes.](use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider.md)
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### Launching Kubernetes on Existing Custom Nodes
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In this scenario, you want to install Kubernetes on bare-metal servers, on-prem virtual machines, or virtual machines that already exist in a cloud provider. With this option, you will run a Rancher agent Docker container on the machine.
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If you want to reuse a node from a previous custom cluster, [clean the node](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/manage-clusters/clean-cluster-nodes.md) before using it in a cluster again. If you reuse a node that hasn't been cleaned, cluster provisioning may fail.
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For more information, refer to the section on [custom nodes.](use-existing-nodes.md)
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### Programmatically Creating RKE Clusters
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The most common way to programmatically deploy RKE clusters through Rancher is by using the Rancher2 Terraform provider. The documentation for creating clusters with Terraform is [here.](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/rancher/rancher2/latest/docs/resources/cluster)
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## RKE2
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Rancher v2.6 introduced provisioning for [RKE2](https://docs.rke2.io/) clusters directly from the Rancher UI. RKE2, also known as RKE Government, is a fully conformant Kubernetes distribution that focuses on security and compliance within the U.S. Federal Government sector. In Rancher v.2.6.4 and earlier, RKE2 provisioning was in tech preview.
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Note that in Rancher v2.6.5, RKE2 provisioning became GA.
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### Requirements
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If you use RKE2 to set up a cluster, your nodes must meet the [requirements](https://docs.rke2.io/install/requirements) for nodes in downstream user clusters.
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### Launching Kubernetes on New Nodes in an Infrastructure Provider
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RKE2 provisioning is built on top of a new provisioning framework that leverages the upstream [Cluster API](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cluster-api) project. With this new provisioning framework, you can:
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- Provision RKE2 clusters onto any provider for which Rancher has a node driver
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- Fully configure RKE2 clusters within Rancher
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- Choose CNI options Calico, Cilium, and Multus in addition to Canal
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RKE2 provisioning also includes installing RKE2 on clusters with Windows nodes.
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Windows features for RKE2 include:
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- Windows supports the vSphere node driver
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- Calico CNI for Windows RKE2 custom clusters
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- Project Network Isolation (PNI) for Calico
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- Windows Containers with RKE2 powered by containerd
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- Provisioning of Windows RKE2 clusters through Terraform
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- Provisioning of Windows RKE2 custom clusters directly from the Rancher UI
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Windows Support for RKE2 Custom Clusters requires choosing Calico as the CNI.
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### Launching Kubernetes on Existing Custom Nodes
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RKE2 provisioning also allows you to install custom clusters on pre-provisioned VMs or bare-metal nodes.
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If you want to reuse a node from a previous custom cluster, clean the node before using it in a cluster again. If you reuse a node that hasn't been cleaned, cluster provisioning may fail.
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### Programmatically Creating RKE2 Clusters
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The most common way to programmatically deploy RKE2 clusters through Rancher is by using the Rancher2 Terraform provider. The documentation for creating clusters with Terraform is [here.](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/rancher/rancher2/latest/docs/resources/cluster_v2) |