Building a production-ready Kubernetes cluster from scratch

From hardware assembly to network configuration, this guide will guide you through the process of building a production-ready Kubernetes cluster from scratch using Raspberry Pi devices.

Welcome to my new guide on building a production-ready Kubernetes cluster from scratch using Raspberry Pi devices. In this series, you can follow along my journey building my own dedicated Kubernetes cluster at home, from hardware assembly to cluster setup and management.

A small scale cluster allows you to find learnings in a cost-efficient setup, which can then be applied to real-world scenarios and scale up to larger clusters as needed. While large-scale cluster will introduce additional complexity and scenarios not covered in this guide (for now), we are trying to be “production-ready” by meticulously going through all aspects of security, availability and reliability.

This is by no means intended to be complete as I am not intending to write a manual here (you can always dig deeper into the relevant documentations). Instead this guide reflects all the step taken by me during the setup of my cluster, written in a way so you can follow along, including my thoughts and findings outside the official documentations.

I truly hope this guide is helpful for you and can provide valuable insights for those planning a similar project.

In particular, this guide will cover the following topics:

• Set up a high-availability Kubernetes cluster using Raspberry Pi devices, from hardware assembly to network configuration
• Install, configure, and manage Kubernetes control plane nodes for redundancy and fault tolerance
• Deploy persistent storage and learn to manage container images and data effectively across multiple nodes
• Implement security best practices, monitoring, and logging to maintain a resilient and secure Kubernetes cluster

This series is perfect for you, if you are any of the following:

• Tech enthusiasts, developers, and IT professionals who want to prototype cluster using Raspberry Pi devices.
• Beginner to intermediate learners with basic Linux and networking knowledge who want to deepen their understanding of Kubernetes.
• DIY hobbyists and makers interested in hands-on projects and building home labs or edge computing solutions with affordable hardware.
• DevOps engineers and system administrators looking to explore Kubernetes clustering, high availability, and storage management in resource-constrained environments.
• Educators and students in computer science or IT fields seeking practical experience with Kubernetes and cloud-native technologies.

To follow along you will need to meet these requirements:

• Basic understanding of Linux command line and shell scripting (e.g., navigating directories, editing files, running commands).
• Basic understanding of containerization and Docker concepts (e.g., containers, images, volumes).
• Know-how on Kubernetes concepts (pods, services, deployments) is helpful but not required.
• Familiarity with networking concepts, including IP addresses, subnets, DNS, and SSH.
• A computer running a unix-like system, such as Linux/macOS or Windows Subsystem with Linux (WSL), with access to a network connection.
• SSH client (e.g., OpenSSH, PuTTY) for remote access to Raspberry Pi devices.
• At least 3 Raspberry Pi devices (e.g. Raspberry Pi 5 with 8GB RAM) with MicroSD card (32GB or higher, high endurance recommended), USB-C power supplies for each
• NVMe HATs for each Raspberry Pi with an SSD (512GB or higher)
• A gigabit Ethernet router (e.g. TP-Link ER605) and Ethernet cables (CAT5e or higher)

Getting Started

To get started with the series, head over to the first section to learn more about the guide objectives and the skills you will acquire by the end. .

History

As guides evolve over time to incorporate new technologies, best practices, and community feedback, you can track the various revisions and updates that have been made to this guide here.