MetalLB load-balancer for Kubernetes

Available since MKE 3.7.0

MetalLB is a load-balancer implementation for bare metal Kubernetes clusters, using standard routing protocols.

Prerequisites

• An MKE cluster that is running Kubernetes 1.13.0 or later, which does not already have network load-balancing functionality.

• A cluster network configuration that is compatible with MetalLB.

• Available IPv4 addresses that MetalLB can allocate.

• BGP operating mode requires one or more routers capable of communicating with BGP.

• When using the L2 operating mode, traffic on port 7946 must be allowed between nodes, as required by memberlist. You can configure TCP, UDP, and other ports.

• Verification that kube-proxy is running in iptables mode.

• Verification of the absence of any cloud provider configuration

Install MetalLB

You use the MKE configuration file to install MetalLB:

1. Obtain the current MKE configuration file for the cluster.

2. Set the enabled parameter setting for the cluster_config.metallb_config.enabled to true.

3. Add IP address pools.

4. Verify the successful deployment of MetalLB in the cluster.

   1. Verify the creation of the metallb-system namespace:

      kubectl get ns metallb-system
      

      Example output:

      NAME             STATUS   AGE
      metallb-system   Active   93s
      

   2. Verify that all MetalLB components are running in the system:

      • Verify the Pods:

        kubectl get pods -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        NAME                          READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
        controller-669d7d89b5-58s2g   1/1     Running   0          119s
        speaker-cchsw                 1/1     Running   0          119s
        speaker-ph96f                 1/1     Running   0          119s
        

      • Verify the Daemonsets:

        kubectl get daemonsets -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        NAME      DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   NODE SELECTOR            AGE
        speaker   2         2         2       2            2
        kubernetes.io/os=linux   28m
        

      • Verify the Deployments:

        kubectl get deployment -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        NAME         READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   AGE
        controller   1/1     1            1           29m
        

      • Verify the Services:

        kubectl get services -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        NAME              TYPE        CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)   AGE
        webhook-service   ClusterIP   10.96.18.104   <none>        443/TCP   29m
        

   3. Verify the creation of the Custom Resource Defintions:

      kubectl get crd -n metallb-system
      

      Example output:

      NAME                           CREATED AT
      addresspools.metallb.io        2023-03-16T17:11:02Z
      bfdprofiles.metallb.io         2023-03-16T17:11:03Z
      bgpadvertisements.metallb.io   2023-03-16T17:11:03Z
      bgppeers.metallb.io            2023-03-16T17:11:03Z
      communities.metallb.io         2023-03-16T17:11:03Z
      ipaddresspools.metallb.io      2023-03-16T17:11:03Z
      l2advertisements.metallb.io    2023-03-16T17:11:03Z
      

   4. Verify the creation of the specified IP pools:

      kubectl get IPAddressPools -n metallb-system
      

      Example output:

      NAME       AUTO ASSIGN   AVOID BUGGY IPS   ADDRESSES
      example1   true          false             ["192.168.10.0/24","192.168.1.0/24"]
      example2   true          false             ["52.205.10.1/24"]
      

Uninstall Metallb

To uninstall MetalLB you need only update the MKE configuration file.

1. Obtain the current MKE configuration file for the cluster.

2. Set cluster_config.metallb_config.enabled to false.

3. Upload the modified MKE configuration file and allow at least 5 minutes for MKE to propagate the configuration changes throughout the cluster.

4. Verify the successful uninstall of MetalLB in the cluster.

   1. Verify that no MetalLB components are running in the system.

      • Verify the Pods:

        kubectl get pods -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        No resources found in metallb-system namespace.
        

      • Verify the Daemonsets:

        kubectl get daemonsets -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        No resources found in metallb-system namespace.
        

      • Verify the Deployments:

        kubectl get deployment -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        No resources found in metallb-system namespace.
        

      • Verify the Services:

        kubectl get services -n metallb-system
        

        Example output:

        No resources found in metallb-system namespace.
        

   2. Verify the deletion of all IP address pools.

      kubectl get IPAddressPools -n metallb-system
      

      Example output:

      No resources found in metallb-system namespace.