Integrating Kubernetes with Gitlab CI

In the final post of this series, we hook Kubernetes  (k8s) to up Gitlab, and deploy our Go service to our k8s system. We will be using minikube as our Kubernetes provider.

All the code for this article can be found here

Hint: In Visual Studio Code add Microsoft Kubernetes extension or Cloud Code to see k8s details from the editor

Install kubernetes CLI

https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/

Check

kubectl version

Client Version: version.Info{Major:"1", Minor:"14", GitVersion:"v1.14.3", GitCommit:"5e53fd6bc17c0dec8434817e69b04a25d8ae0ff0", GitTreeState:"clean", BuildDate:"2019-06-06T01:44:30Z", GoVersion:"go1.12.5", Compiler:"gc", Platform:"darwin/amd64"}
Server Version: version.Info{Major:"1", Minor:"14", GitVersion:"v1.14.0", GitCommit:"641856db18352033a0d96dbc99153fa3b27298e5", GitTreeState:"clean", BuildDate:"2019-03-25T15:45:25Z", GoVersion:"go1.12.1", Compiler:"gc", Platform:"linux/amd64"}

Install Minikube

https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-minikube/

Start

minikube start

Enable docker login from within minikube

Add the key created in the first post to minikube:

Unfortunately we need to run this every time you start minikube.

cat ~/.docker/certs.d/gitlab.lightphos.com\:5555/ca.crt | minikube ssh "sudo mkdir -p /etc/docker/certs.d/gitlab.lightphos.com:5555 && sudo tee /etc/docker/certs.d/gitlab.lightphos.com:5555/ca.crt"

minikube ssh "sudo systemctl restart docker"

Check login:

minikube ssh
docker login gitlab.lightphos.com:5555

If successful good to go. Exit the shell.

Deploy Hi.go Service to MiniKube K8s manually

Set up docker access secret calling it gitlab.lightphos (using Gitlab username and password for DOCKER_USER and DOCKER_PASSWORD). Note: This will be within the default namespace.

kubectl create secret docker-registry gitlab.lightphos --docker-server=https://gitlab.lightphos.com:5555 --docker-username=DOCKER_USER --docker-password=DOCKER_PASSWORD

Create a file manifest/deployment.yml, with the following:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: hi-deployment
  labels:
    app: hi
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: hi
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: hi
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: hi
        image: gitlab.lightphos.com:5555/sr/hi:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 8090
      imagePullSecrets:
        - name: gitlab.lightphos

kubectl apply -f manifest/deployment.yml

If  the  deployment doesn't go as planned for whatever reason, start again by first deleting it

kubectl delete deployment hi-deployment

Check it:

kubectl get deployments

NAME            READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   AGE
hi-deployment   1/1     1            1           10s

Expose a service so we can see it from the host:

kubectl expose deployment hi-deployment --type=NodePort --port=8090

kubectl get services

NAME              TYPE        CLUSTER-IP       EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)          AGE
hi-deployment     NodePort    10.110.54.136    <none>        8090:32326/TCP   9s

minikube service hi-deployment

Should fire up in the browser.

http://192.168.99.101:32326/there

Dashboard should show the service/deployments/pods operational:

This will stay running even when the pod is deleted.

Try

kubectl get pods
kubectl delete pod <pod>
kubectl get pods

A new one should be stood up instantly.

Navigate back to the url.
Should still be running. This, the power of k8s.

delete deployment and service.

kubectl delete deployment hi-deployment

Gitlab Kubernetes Integration

Back to the local gitlib at http://gitlib.lightphos.com:30080

White list minikube ip, $(minikube ip):

Login as root

Admin area -> Settings -> Network -> Outbound Requests (check all boxes)
add the following (whatever the minikube ip is):

192.168.99.101

Login as yourself navigate to your project (hi):

Gitlab -> hi -> Operations -> Kubernetes -> Add existing cluster

For API url add 192.168.99.101:8443 (minikube)

Get Default CA Certificate:

kubectl get secret $(kubectl get secrets | grep default | cut -f 1 -d ' ') -o jsonpath="{['data']['ca\.crt']}" | base64 --decode

Use the resulting details  for the CA certificate

for Service Token create a file manifest/gitlab-service-account.yml. Note: This gives wide ranging permissions, a more restrictive rbac.yml is shown below.

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: gitlab-admin
  namespace: kube-system
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: gitlab-admin
roleRef:
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: cluster-admin
subjects:
- kind: ServiceAccount
  name: gitlab-admin
  namespace: kube-system

Apply it to k8s

kubectl apply -f manifest/gitlab-service-account.yml

Retrieve the token:

kubectl -n kube-system describe secret $(kubectl -n kube-system get secret | grep gitlab-admin | awk '{print $1}')

Add it to the Service Token field.

Check the Gitlab-managed cluster option.

After adding the CA and Token, minikube k8s will be integrated with Gitlab. You can test the connection by installing Helm Tiller.

NOTE: The namespace in K8s defaults to <project_name>-<project_id>-<environment>. See below for how to set it to a fixed name.

Deploying Hi Go service  to K8s via Gitlab CI Automation

Update the previous .gitlab-ci.yml file to this:

variables:
  REPO_NAME: ${CI_REGISTRY}/${CI_PROJECT_PATH}
  CONTAINER_IMAGE: ${CI_REGISTRY}/${CI_PROJECT_PATH}:${CI_BUILD_REF_NAME}_${CI_BUILD_REF}
  CONTAINER_IMAGE_LATEST: ${CI_REGISTRY}/${CI_PROJECT_PATH}:latest
  DOCKER_DRIVER: overlay2

before_script:
  - mkdir -p $GOPATH/src/$(dirname $REPO_NAME)
  - ln -svf $CI_PROJECT_DIR $GOPATH/src/$REPO_NAME
  - cd $GOPATH/src/$REPO_NAME  


stages:
  - test
  - build
  - release
  - deploy

format:
  image: golang:latest
  stage: test
  script:
    - go fmt $(go list ./... | grep -v /vendor/)
    - go vet $(go list ./... | grep -v /vendor/)
    - go test -race $(go list ./... | grep -v /vendor/)

compile:
  image: golang:latest
  stage: build
  script:
    - go build -race -ldflags "-extldflags '-static'" -o $CI_PROJECT_DIR/hi
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - hi


release:
  image: docker:19.03.1
  stage: release
  before_script:
    - echo ${CONTAINER_IMAGE}
    - echo  $CI_BUILD_TOKEN | docker login -u gitlab-ci-token --password-stdin ${CI_REGISTRY}
  script:
    - docker build -t ${CONTAINER_IMAGE} -t ${CONTAINER_IMAGE_LATEST} .
    - docker push ${CONTAINER_IMAGE}
    - docker push ${CONTAINER_IMAGE_LATEST}

deploy:
  image: dtzar/helm-kubectl
  stage: deploy
  environment:
    name: production  # you need to specify an environment to access KUBE vars
    url: http://hi.info/earth
  script:
   - echo CI_PROJECT_ID=$CI_PROJECT_ID
   - echo KUBE_URL=$KUBE_URL
   - echo KUBE_CA_PEM_FILE=$KUBE_CA_PEM_FILE
   - echo KUBE_TOKEN=$KUBE_TOKEN
   - echo KUBE_NAMESPACE=$KUBE_NAMESPACE
   - kubectl config set-cluster "$CI_PROJECT_ID" --server="$KUBE_URL" --certificate-authority="$KUBE_CA_PEM_FILE"
   - kubectl config set-credentials "$CI_PROJECT_ID" --token="$KUBE_TOKEN"
   - kubectl config set-context "$CI_PROJECT_ID" --cluster="$CI_PROJECT_ID" --user="$CI_PROJECT_ID" --namespace="$KUBE_NAMESPACE"
   - kubectl config use-context "$CI_PROJECT_ID"
   - kubectl delete secret gitlab.lightphos --namespace="$KUBE_NAMESPACE" --ignore-not-found
   - kubectl create secret docker-registry gitlab.lightphos --docker-server=${CI_REGISTRY} --docker-username="$CI_REGISTRY_USER" --docker-password="$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD" --namespace="$KUBE_NAMESPACE"
   - kubectl delete deployment hi-deployment --ignore-not-found
   - sed -i "s~__CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE__~${CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE}~" manifest/deployment.yml
   - sed -i "s/__CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG__/${CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG}/" manifest/deployment.yml manifest/service.yml manifest/ingress.yml 
   - sed -i "s/__VERSION__/${CI_BUILD_REF_NAME}_${CI_BUILD_REF}/" manifest/deployment.yml 
   - kubectl apply -f manifest/deployment.yml
   - kubectl apply -f manifest/service.yml
   - kubectl apply -f manifest/ingress.yml
   - kubectl rollout status -f manifest/deployment.yml
   - kubectl get all,ing -l ref=${CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG}

manifest/deployment.yml

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: hi-deployment
  labels:
    app: hi
    ref: __CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG__
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: hi
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: hi
        ref: __CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG__
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: hi
        image: __CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE__:__VERSION__
        ports:
        - containerPort: 8090
      imagePullSecrets:
        - name: gitlab.lightphos

manifest/service.yml

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: hi-service
  labels:
    app: hi
    ref: __CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG__
spec:
  type: NodePort
  externalIPs:
    - 192.168.99.101
  selector:
    app: hi
  ports:
    - port: 3000
      nodePort: 30002
      protocol: TCP
      targetPort: 8090

Push and see the pipeline deployed on to k8s. NOTE: Select hi-3-production namespace. (3 is the project id in our local gitlabs)

Image:

Service

Check it out

minikube service hi-service --namespace=hi-3-production

or

Click on the service link button

Or

From Gitlab environments -> Production -> Open Live Environment Button

Should take you to
http://192.168.99.101:3000/earth

Ingress

Add an Nginx Ingress LB. Note with Ingress added service.yml does not need NodePort or external IP. We will access the site via a host name, hi.info.

minikube addons enable ingress

Check it's up

kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep nginx-ingress-controller

Logs:

kubectl logs -f -n kube-system  $(kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep nginx-ingress-controller | cut -f 1 -d ' ')

Config:

kubectl exec -it -n kube-system <nginx ingress controller> cat /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

manifest/ingress.yml

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1beta1 # for versions before 1.14 use extensions/v1beta1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: hi-ingress
  labels:
    app: hi
    ref: __CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG__
  # annotations:
  #   nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target: /$1 <- stops request parameters being passed
spec:
  rules:
  - host: hi.info
    http:
        paths:
        - path: /
          backend:
            serviceName: hi-service
            servicePort: 3000

Apply it (add to .gitlabci.yml, the following)

kubectl apply -f manifest/ingress.yml

Add minikube ip and hostname hi.info to /etc/hosts

echo "$(minikube ip) hi.info" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

Browse

http://hi.info/earth

Voila ...

Using a Fixed Namespace

Based on this excellent post: https://edenmal.moe/post/2019/GitLab-Kubernetes-Using-GitLab-CIs-Kubernetes-Cluster-feature/#gitlab-ci-kubernetes-cluster-feature

1. Create the namespace on k8s
   kubectl create ns lightphos
2. Apply the rbac.yml file (below)
   kubectl apply -f manifest/rbac.yml
3. Get the encoded CA and Token
   kubectl get -n lightphos secret $(kubectl get -n lightphos secret | grep gitlab-ci | cut -f 1 -d ' ') -o yaml
4. Decode from base64
   echo <CA> | base64 --decode, echo <Token> | base64 --decode
5. Add it to gitlab -> operations -> kubernetes.
6. Set the Project namespace to lightphos, untick Gitlab-managed cluster
7. Deploy the project. Gitlab ci file .gitlab-ci.yml should not need to change.
8. The code will now be deployed to lightphos namespace.
   The site should be available as usual at http://hi.info
   

manifest/rbac.yml

---
apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: gitlab-ci
  namespace: lightphos
---
kind: Role
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  namespace: lightphos
  name: gitlab-ci
rules:
- apiGroups: [""]
  resources: ["*"]
  verbs: ["*"]
- apiGroups: ["apps"]
  resources: ["*"]
  verbs: ["*"]
- apiGroups: ["batch"]
  resources: ["*"]
  verbs: ["*"]
- apiGroups: ["extensions"]
  resources: ["*"]
  verbs: ["*"]
- apiGroups: ["autoscaling"]
  resources: ["*"]
  verbs: ["*"]
- apiGroups: ["networking.k8s.io"]
  resources: ["*"]
  verbs: ["*"]
---
kind: RoleBinding
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: gitlab-ci
  namespace: lightphos
subjects:
- kind: ServiceAccount
  name: gitlab-ci
  namespace: lightphos
roleRef:
  kind: Role
  name: gitlab-ci
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io

Console output of deploy stage of gitlab ci pipeline: