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Setup Kubernetes with Kops

📋 Prerequisites

  • 🐧 Linux-based OS
  • kubectl installed
  • Registered domain (e.g., from Namecheap)
  • A subdomain configured via AWS Route 53 with 4 NS (Name Server) records

☁️ Launch EC2 Instance

  • Name: kops
  • AMI (Amazon Machine Image): Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS (but its recomended to use 22.04 as its stable)
  • Instance type: t2.micro
  • Key pair: Name: 'kopskey', Key pair type: 'RSA', Private key file format: '.pem'
  • Security group: Name: 'kops-sg', Inbound rules: SSH from My IP}

👤 Create IAM User

  • Name: kopsadmin
  • Permissions: Attach policies directly -> AdministratorAccess

🔐 Create Access key

  • Choose Command Line Interface (CLI)
  • Copy the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key

🔑 Connect to EC2 Instance

chmod 600 kopskey.pem
ssh -i kopskey.pem ubuntu@@<your_ec2_public_ip>

Update and install AWS CLI:

sudo apt update
sudo snap install aws-cli --classic

Configure AWS CLI:

aws configure

AWS Access Key ID [None]: *********************
AWS Secret Key [None]: **************************
Default region name [None]: us-east-1
Default output format [None]: json

🔐 Generate SSH keys

ssh-keygen
ls ~/.ssh
# output authorized_keys id_ed25519 id_ed25519.pub

🛠️ Install Kops

curl -Lo kops https://github.com/kubernetes/kops/releases/download/$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/kubernetes/kops/releases/latest | grep tag_name | cut -d '"' -f 4)/kops-linux-amd64

chmod +x kops

sudo mv kops /usr/local/bin/kops

🧰 Install kubectl

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

# check if installed
kubectl version --client

🪣 Create a bucket with Amazon S3

In the AWS Console or CLI:

  • Bucket type: General purpose
  • Bucket name: kopsstate1877 <= This needs to be uniqe

🌐 Create the DNS Zone with Amazon Route 53

Using example domain: alexanderlindholm.net

  1. Go to Route 53 > Hosted Zones

  2. Create a Public Hosted Zone:

domain name: kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net

Type: Public hosted zone

🧾 Copy NS Records

  1. Click into your new hosted zone

  2. Under Records, copy the 4 NS records (e.g., ns-xxx.awsdns-xx.com)

🔗 Update DNS Records in Namecheap

In your domain provider’s dashboard, add:

Type Host Value TTL
NS Record kubevpro ns-xxx.awsdns-xx.com Automatic
NS Record kubevpro ns-xxxx.awsdns-xx.org Automatic
NS Record kubevpro ns-xxx.awsdns-xx.net Automatic
NS Record kubevpro ns-xxxx.awsdns-xx.uk Automatic

replace Value column with the 4 NS Type Records from AWS Route 53

🚀 Create Your Kubernetes Cluster

kops create cluster \
  --name=kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net \
  --state=s3://kopsstate1877 \
  --zones=us-east-1a,us-east-1b \
  --node-count=2 \
  --node-size=t3.small \
  --control-plane-size=t3.medium \
  --dns-zone=kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net \
  --node-volume-size=12 \
  --control-plane-volume-size=12 \
  --ssh-public-key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Apply the configuration:

kops update cluster --name=kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net --state=s3://kopsstate1877 --yes --admin

✅ Validate the Cluster

kops validate cluster --name=kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net --state=s3://kopsstate1877

🔍 Useful CommandsKube

Get kubeconfig:

cat .kube/config
# config is created by master node

List nodes:

kubectl get nodes

🗑️ Delete the Cluster

kops delete cluster --name=kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net --state=s3://kopsstate1877 --yes

Then power off or delete the EC2 instance (Kops)

⚠️ Troubleshoot

List instance groups:

kops get ig --name=kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net --state=s3://kopsstate1877

# Output Example:
# NAME              ROLE        MACHINETYPE MIN MAX ZONES
# control-plane-us-east-1a  ControlPlane    t3.medium   1   1   us-east-1a
# nodes-us-east-1a      Node        t3.small    1   1   us-east-1a
# nodes-us-east-1b      Node        t3.small    1   1   us-east-1b

Edit an instance group (e.g., if an AMI is invalid):

kops edit ig nodes-us-east-1a --name=kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net --state=s3://kopsstate1877

🌐 Verify DNS

dig +short api.kubevpro.alexanderlindholm.net
# output example: 
# 5.34.68.27

You should see this IP listed in Route 53 > Hosted Zones under A or CNAME record for your subdomain.