Networking Setup

For networking, we will be using Calico for our CNI and MetalLB for our LoadBalancer service manager.

Calico Setup

First, we’ll set up our CNI. If you’ve opted to use Flannel, you can skip this section. Otherwise, go ahead and install the Tigera Operator using Helm.

First, create your values.yml file for Tigera Operator:

installation:
  cni:
    type: Calico
  calicoNetwork:
    bgp: Disabled
    ipPools:
      - cidr: 10.244.0.0/16
        encapsulation: VXLAN

Next, install the operator:

kubectl apply -f- << EOF
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: tigera-operator
  labels:
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/audit: privileged
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: privileged
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/warn: privileged
EOF
helm repo add projectcalico https://docs.tigera.io/calico/charts
helm install \
  --create-namespace \
  --namespace tigera-operator \
  --version v3.31.3 \
  -f values.yml \
  calico \
  projectcalico/tigera-operator

This will configure Calico to use 10.244.0.0/16 as range to use for IPAM (IP address management), and use VXLAN, which is a type of overlay network that allows the pod network to safely cross your existing network when communicating between nodes.

MetalLB Setup

Finally, we’ll set up MetalLB. This will provide the LoadBalancer service implementation.

You’ll need:

• The names of the interfaces to use for advertising address changes
• A range of IP addresses that MetalLB can take exclusive control of

First, create the metallb-system namespace with extra privileges:

# kubectl apply -f <file>
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: metallb-system
  labels:
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/audit: privileged
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/enforce: privileged
    pod-security.kubernetes.io/warn: privileged

Then install MetalLB with Helm:

helm repo add metallb https://metallb.github.io/metallb
helm install --namespace metallb-system metallb metallb/metallb

And finally, add your configuration. Make sure to add your network interfaces and IP pools:

---
apiVersion: metallb.io/v1beta1
kind: L2Advertisement
metadata:
  name: simple-services-advertisement
  namespace: metallb-system
spec:
  ipAddressPools:
  - simple-services
  interfaces:
  - eno1
---
apiVersion: metallb.io/v1beta1
kind: IPAddressPool
metadata:
  name: simple-services
  namespace: metallb-system
spec:
  addresses:
  - x.x.x.x-x.x.x.x