Recently I wrote about a new bit of technology called Multipass. This new tool makes it incredibly easy to deploy virtual machines (VMs) from either Linux, Windows, or macOS. From those VMs you can do just about anything you want.

Such as deploying Microk8s.

I want to walk you through the process of deploying MicroK8s from within a Multipass VM. It’s a simple route to get you developing on Kubernetes clusters.

SEE: Hybrid cloud: A guide for IT pros (TechRepublic download)

What you’ll need

The only thing you’ll need to make this work is a running instance of Multipass. To find out how to install Multipass, see How to use Multipass, a new tool for launching virtual machines.

How to launch the virtual machine

The first thing we must do is launch the VM and then gain access to it. We’ll launch a VM named microk8s-vm with 3GB of RAM. To do that, issue the command:

multipass launch --name microk8s-vm --mem 3G

Next, we’re going to install microk8s inside of the VM with the command:

multipass exec microk8s-vm -- sudo snap install microk8s --classic

Now we have a VM, named microk8s-vm launched that has microk8s installed.

We’re going to make sure the firewall will accept connections with the command:

multipass exec microk8s-vm -- sudo iptables -P FORWARD ACCEPT

You can see the listing (complete with the IP address of the new VM) with the command:

multipass list

You should see the output that lists the name, state, IP address, and image used (Figure A).

Figure A

How to access the virtual machine

Now that we have everything running, you’ll want to gain access to the VM so you can start working with MicroK8s. This can be done with the command:

multipass shell microk8s-vm

You should now be at the prompt for your VM (Figure B).

Figure B

To avoid having to always use sudo with microk8s, you’ll next want to add the user to the microk8s group with the command:

sudo usermod -aG microk8s ubuntu

You’ll then need to exit the shell (with the exit command) and then reconnect so the changes take effect.

How to deploy a pod

Let’s say you want to create a deployment with two NGINX Pods listening on port 80, using the NGINX image from the alpine repository. Do that with the command:

microk8s.kubectl run nginx --image=nginx:alpine --replicas=2 --port=80

To see your newly deployed pods, issue the command:

microk8s.kubectl get pod

You should see the two pods listed, both running and ready (Figure C).

Figure C

Once you’re done, exit the VM with the exit command. You can then stop and delete the VM with the commands:

multipass stop microk8s-vm
multipass delete microk8s-vm

And that’s how easy it is to get Microk8s up and running on a Multipass-deployed virtual machine. This is one of the easiest ways to start developing with containers. And given Multipass is available for Linux, Windows, and macOS, it’s a technology you can use on any and all of your platforms.

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