Kind is a tool for running a local kubernetes cluster where docker containers act as nodes. This is a great way to get started learning and using kubernetes before relying on a cloud provider. It nicely integrates with various tools, is thoroughly documented, and supports mutlti-node clusters. We will be using Terraform to provision a kind cluster locally and using Helm to deploy ArgoCD via Terraform as well. Let’s get started!

Kind stands for kubernetes in docker and is a tool for running a local kubernetes cluster where docker containers act as nodes. This is a great way to get started learning and using kubernetes before relying on a cloud provider. It nicely integrates with tooling, is thoroughly documented, supports mutlti-node clusters and is CNCF certified conformant kubernetes installer. We will be using Kind to deploy an application and then connecting it with a service that was deployed via docker compose. Let’s get started!

Terraform is an Infrastructure as Code tool (IaC) which manages resources with configuration files rather than through GUIs or custom scripts. It allows you to build, change, and manage your resources in a safe, consistent, and repeatable way by defining the infrastructure in a declarative way. We will be using Terraform along with Terraform cloud to deploy all of the necessary resources needed to create a DigitalOcean kubernetes cluster.

We’ll be continuing our ingress-nginx journey by installing and setting up cert-manager via helm to be able to create TLS certificates to associate with backend service hosts which will create a secure TLS connection. We will use cert-manager to set up a DNS-01 challenge using the DigitalOcean Provider.

Today we’ll be installing and configuring the kubernetes-supported ingress-nginx controller via helm into a digitalocean kubernetes cluster (DOKS). Which will use nginx as a reverse proxy and load balancer.

Determining how to store secrets for kubernetes has always been a contentious issue. With many different ideas about best practices and how people should go about storing them. Adding to the confusion is the fact that one of the biggest and most important apps associated with the modern kubernetes workflow, argoCD, has taken an unopinionated stance on the subject. Saying that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and that each use case is different.