valmach / sbx_acik8s

DevNet Sandbox for ACI and Kubernetes

DevNet Sandbox: ACI and Kubernetes

This repository is intended to be used with the DevNet Sandbox: ACI and Kubernetes. Each instance of this Sandbox includes everything needed to deploy a Kubernetes Cluster using the Cisco ACI CNI Plug-In allowing network, application, and security teams to deploy policies to for micro service applications and containers consistent with other systems.

Table of Contents

• Sandbox Topology Details
• Notes on the ACI tenant and base object creation
• Reference Links
• Quick Start Guide
• Learning Labs Coming Soon

Sandbox Topology Details

A sandbox starts with a base topology and configuration that includes the following:

• 1 Development Workstation or "devbox"
  • Network connection to the sandbox pods management network
• 3 Kuberenetes Hosts (1 master and 2 nodes)
  • Network connection to the sandbox pods management network
  • 2nd unconfigured network adapter to be used by Kubernetes
• ACI tenant and base objects for integration (details on this below)

After deploying Kubernetes, the ACI CNI Plug-in, and Sample Applications you will have a topology that looks like this.

Note: These topologies are logical block drawings created to illustrate the concepts and structures underlying both Kubernetes and ACI.

By following along with the resources available for this Sandbox you will gain an understanding of how to build and work with the ACI/K8s integration.

Notes on the ACI tenant and base object creation

The first step in integrating ACI and Kubernetes involves using the acc-provision Python tool provided by Cisco to create the foundation objects in ACI. These include the tenant, bridge domains, epgs, etc that are shown in the initial topology above. The execution of this tool requires Administrative rights to the APIC, something not available to your reservation account.

During the setup of the sandbox, this tool is run for your assigned pod on your behalf. This tool takes as input a YAML file that contains the configuration details for the integration, and it generates a Kubernetes manifest file that is used to deploy the ACI CNI components to Kubernetes once it is installed and ready.

You can view the exact input configuration file used for the deployment in the folder for your assigned pod at kube_setup/aci_setup/. It is called aci-containers-config.yaml. Also within the folder is aci-containers.yaml. This is the Kubernetes manifest for the ACI CNI plugin that you will use during setup. More on this in the setup steps below.

Reference Links

The instructions in this quick start, as well as the learning labs accompanying this Sandbox, will get you setup and work to explain the details of the what and why each step is done. The authors of this content used the following resources in setting up the Sandbox and instructions. If you are looking for more details or explanations, these are great resources to start with.

• Cisco ACI and Kubernetes Integration
• Kubernetes/Open Shift Troubleshooting cheat sheet
• Installing kubeadm
• Using kubeadm to Create a Cluster

Quick Start Guide

Looking to get started as quickly as possible? Well checkout the Quick Start Guide.