Skip to content

Prerequisites

Before deploying Greenfield Cluster, ensure you have the following tools and resources.

Required Tools

kubectl

Kubernetes command-line tool for interacting with your cluster.

curl -LO "https://dl.k8s.io/release/$(curl -L -s https://dl.k8s.io/release/stable.txt)/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl"
sudo install -o root -g root -m 0755 kubectl /usr/local/bin/kubectl

brew install kubectl

choco install kubernetes-cli

Verify installation: 

kubectl version --client

Kustomize

Kubernetes configuration management tool.

curl -s "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/master/hack/install_kustomize.sh" | bash
sudo mv kustomize /usr/local/bin/

brew install kustomize

# kubectl has built-in kustomize support
kubectl apply -k <directory>

Helm (Optional)

Package manager for Kubernetes.

curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/helm/helm/main/scripts/get-helm-3 | bash

brew install helm

choco install kubernetes-helm

Verify: 

helm version

Kubernetes Cluster

You need a running Kubernetes cluster. Options include:

Local Development

Minikube

For local testing:

# Install Minikube
curl -LO https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/releases/latest/minikube-linux-amd64
sudo install minikube-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/minikube

# Start cluster with sufficient resources
minikube start --cpus=4 --memory=8192 --disk-size=20g

# Enable storage provisioner
minikube addons enable storage-provisioner

Kind

Kubernetes in Docker:

# Install Kind
curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/v0.20.0/kind-linux-amd64
chmod +x ./kind
sudo mv ./kind /usr/local/bin/kind

# Create cluster
kind create cluster --name greenfield

Cloud Providers

# Install eksctl
curl --silent --location "https://github.com/weaveworks/eksctl/releases/latest/download/eksctl_$(uname -s)_amd64.tar.gz" | tar xz -C /tmp
sudo mv /tmp/eksctl /usr/local/bin

# Create cluster
eksctl create cluster --name greenfield --region us-west-2

# Install gcloud
curl https://sdk.cloud.google.com | bash

# Create cluster
gcloud container clusters create greenfield --zone us-central1-a

# Install Azure CLI
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash

# Create cluster
az aks create --resource-group greenfield-rg --name greenfield

Cluster Requirements

Minimum Resources

  • CPU: 8 cores
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
  • Storage: 50 GB available
  • Nodes: 3 worker nodes (recommended)

Kubernetes Version

  • Minimum: v1.24
  • Recommended: v1.28+

Check your cluster version: 

kubectl version

Storage Class

Ensure a default storage class is configured:

kubectl get storageclass

If no default exists, create one:

apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: StorageClass
metadata:
  name: standard
  annotations:
    storageclass.kubernetes.io/is-default-class: "true"
provisioner: kubernetes.io/gce-pd  # Adjust for your provider
parameters:
  type: pd-standard

Additional Components

Istio

Service mesh for traffic management and security.

# Download Istio
curl -L https://istio.io/downloadIstio | sh -
cd istio-*
export PATH=$PWD/bin:$PATH

# Install Istio
istioctl install --set profile=default -y

# Verify installation
kubectl get pods -n istio-system

Sealed Secrets Controller

For encrypting Kubernetes secrets.

# Install controller
kubectl apply -f https://github.com/bitnami-labs/sealed-secrets/releases/download/v0.24.5/controller.yaml

# Install kubeseal CLI
wget https://github.com/bitnami-labs/sealed-secrets/releases/download/v0.24.5/kubeseal-0.24.5-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -xvzf kubeseal-0.24.5-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo install -m 755 kubeseal /usr/local/bin/kubeseal

Docker (for building images)

Required if building the FastAPI example image.

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh

brew install --cask docker

Use Docker Desktop from docker.com

Container Registry Access

If pushing images to a registry:

  • Docker Hub account
  • Cloud provider container registry (ECR, GCR, ACR)
  • Private registry access

Configure authentication: 

docker login your-registry.com

Git

For version control:

# Check if installed
git --version

# Install if needed (Linux)
sudo apt-get install git

For using the provided Makefile:

# Linux
sudo apt-get install make

# macOS (included with Xcode Command Line Tools)
xcode-select --install

Verification Checklist

Run this script to verify all prerequisites:

#!/bin/bash
echo "Checking prerequisites..."

check_command() {
    if command -v $1 &> /dev/null; then
        echo "✓ $1 is installed"
        $1 version 2>&1 | head -1
    else
        echo "✗ $1 is NOT installed"
    fi
}

check_command kubectl
check_command kustomize
check_command helm
check_command docker
check_command git
check_command make

echo ""
echo "Checking Kubernetes cluster..."
if kubectl cluster-info &> /dev/null; then
    echo "✓ Kubernetes cluster is accessible"
    kubectl version --short
else
    echo "✗ Cannot connect to Kubernetes cluster"
fi

echo ""
echo "Checking storage class..."
if kubectl get storageclass &> /dev/null; then
    echo "✓ Storage classes available:"
    kubectl get storageclass
else
    echo "✗ No storage classes found"
fi

Save as check-prereqs.sh, make executable, and run: 

chmod +x check-prereqs.sh
./check-prereqs.sh

Next Steps

Once prerequisites are installed:

  1. Quick Start Guide - Deploy the cluster
  2. Template Usage - Create your own project
  3. Deployment Methods - Learn deployment options

Troubleshooting

Cannot connect to cluster

# Check kubectl config
kubectl config view

# Test connection
kubectl get nodes

Storage class issues

# List storage classes
kubectl get sc

# Describe a storage class
kubectl describe sc <storage-class-name>

Insufficient resources

For local development, ensure your cluster has enough resources:

# Minikube: Increase resources
minikube delete
minikube start --cpus=8 --memory=16384

# Kind: Increase worker nodes
kind create cluster --config=- <<EOF
kind: Cluster
apiVersion: kind.x-k8s.io/v1alpha4
nodes:
- role: control-plane
- role: worker
- role: worker
- role: worker
EOF