Kubernetes Provider with Minikube and VS Code Browser

Purpose

The purpose of this quickstart is to provide a small scale representation of on-premise Kubernetes and guide a new user through the configuration of a Kubernetes provider.

Install Virtualbox

Recommended machine requirements

Based on Virtualbox and Ubuntu Desktop documentation the following are the minimum machine requirement:

Item	Minimum requirement
CPU	dual core CPU
RAM	8GB
Storage	30GB
Network Connectivity	access to public internet

Virtualbox Installer

Download and install Virtualbox on your machine.

Create Ubuntu 22.04 Virtual machine

Download Ubuntu Desktop 22.04 ISO

Download the official ISO for Ubuntu 22.04.

New Ubuntu 22.04 Virtual machine

With Virtualbox running, open the a new Virtual machine dialog. 'machine' > 'new ...'

New Virtual Machine dialog

Step 1 - Virtual Machine Name and Operating System

Input	Suggested Value
Name	ubuntu-desktop-22.04 (name used through this example)
Folder	default value is suitable in most cases
ISO Image	browse to the path of the downloaded ubuntu 22.04 ISO
Skip unnattended installation	true / ticked (this setup sudo group during installation)

Select 'Next'

Step 2 - Hardware

Input	Suggested Value
Name	ubuntu-desktop-22.04 (name used through this example)
Base Memory	8192 MB (minimum recommended)
Processors	2 CPU (minimum recommended)

Select 'Next'

Step 3 - Virtual Hard Disk

Input	Suggested Value
Name	ubuntu-desktop-22.04 (name used through this example)
Create a new hard disk now	30 GB (minimum recommended)

Select 'Next'

Step 4 - Summary

Review the configuration summary and click 'Finish' to commence creating the VM.

Start installation

To start the Ubuntu installation, select the vm 'ubuntu-desktop-22.04' and 'Start'.

Virtualbox Start

This will power up the VM and trigger Ubuntu's installation process.

Step 1 - Ubuntu CLI Selection

Select 'Try/Install Ubuntu'

Step 2 - Install

Select Language and Install Ubuntu

Install Ubuntu

Step 3 - Keyboard Layout

Select your desired Keyboard layout, select 'Continue'.

Step 3 - Update and Other Software

Input	Suggested Value
Name	ubuntu-desktop-22.04 (name used through this example)
Normal or Minimal Installation	Minimal Installation
Download updates will installing Ubuntu	yes
Install third party software for graphics and WI-FI hardware and additional media formats	yes (adds closed source drivers and software that can't be included in Ubuntu). You need to understand the consequences of this option for your personal needs.

Step 4 - Installation Type

Select 'Erase disk and install Ubuntu', click 'Install Now'

Write the changes to disks?. Select 'Continue'

Step 5 - Where are you?

Select your location, click 'Continue'

Step 6 - Who are you?

Input	Suggested value
Your name	dev
Your computer's name	devpods
Pick a username	dev
Choose password	your password
Confirm your password	your password

Select 'Continue'

Install Minikube on Ubuntu 22.04

Install dependencies for installing minikube and vscode

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git vim gpg wget -y

Install VSCODE

Follow instructions from VSCODE Docs > Linux Setup

Install Minikube

Clone Sander van Vugt's Ubuntu CKAD repository for his CKAD course Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD), 2nd Edition, 4.3 Installing Minikube on Ubuntu. O'Reilly Course

git clone https://github.com/sandervanvugt/ckad.git
cd ./ckad
./minikube-docker-setup.sh

Create startup script

cd ~
touch minikube-start.sh
sudo chmod u+x minikube-start.sh

Add the following contents to minikube-start.sh:

#!/bin/bash

minikube start --vm-driver=docker --cni=calico

Now to start minikube from home:

~./minikube-start.sh

Note: you need to start minikube between vm shutdown/reboots

Test your install

Test your install with the following command

kubectl get all

Example Result:

kubectl get all
NAME                 TYPE        CLUSTER-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)   AGE
service/kubernetes   ClusterIP   xxx.yyy.zzz.qqq    <none>        443/TCP   4d14h

Install Devpods

Using the Devpods install for Linux deb docs

Download the deb install

cd ~/
wget https://github.com/loft-sh/devpod/releases/latest/download/DevPod_linux_amd64.deb?_gl=1*76i3lz*_ga*MTczNjE4NzI1My4xNjkxNDQ1ODU1*_ga_4RQQZ3WGE9*MTY5MjY4MTU4NS45LjAuMTY5MjY4MTU4Ny41OC4wLjA. -O DevPod_linux_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i DevPod_linux_amd64.deb

Test the Devpods install

Start Devpods:

dev-pod

Configure Minikube for the provider

Before configuring the kubernetes provider we need to create a persistent volume for the devcontainer and ensure we have a kubeconfig for the provider.

Create Kubernetes Persistent Volume for devcontainers

Kubernetes persistent volume docs

mkdir ~/devpods
cd ~/devpods
touch devpod-pv.yml
vim devpod-pv.yml # or your preferred text editor

Edit devpod-pv.yml and save

kind: PersistentVolume
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
  name: devpod-pv
  labels:
    type: devpod
spec:
  capacity:
    storage: 1Gi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  hostPath:
    path: "/home/dev/devpods/share"

Create a directory for the persistent volume

mkdir /home/dev/devpods/share

Create the persisent volume for the Kubernetes Provider.

kubectl create -f ~/devpods/devpod-pv.yml

Confirm the persisent volume has been created.

kubectl get pv
NAME                                       CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   RECLAIM POLICY   STATUS      CLAIM   STORAGECLASS   REASON   AGE
devpod-pv                                  1Gi        RWO            Retain           Available                                   12d

Locate your kubeconfig

List the director ~/.kube

ls ~/.kube
cache  completion.bash.inc  config

Within .minikube the config file is the kubeconfig that can be used by Devpods kubernetes provider.

Within the kubernetes provider the kubeconfig path will be

/home/dev/.kube/config

Note This is a simplification for a production setup where a kubeconfig should be provided for a kubernetes context, namespace and users. You will also need kubectl installed where your Devpods client is running from. The kubernetes provider uses the underlying kubectl providing the locally stored kubeconfig to access a remote cluster. This setup requires kubernetes administration support.

Identify your namespaces

The kubernetes provider requires a namespace and this example will use the 'default' namespace

kubectl get ns
NAME              STATUS   AGE
default           Active   12d
kube-node-lease   Active   12d
kube-public       Active   12d
kube-system       Active   12d

Add Provider

Add a provider via 'Providers' > '+ Add'. Select the kubernetes provider.

Select Provider

Configure the Kubernetes Provider

Setting	Value
Kubernetes Namespace	default
Disk Size	1Gi
Kubernetes Config	/home/dev/.kube/config

Kubernetes Provider Configuration

Select Add Provider

Add a Workspace

Start a Workspace with VS Code Browser

Navigate to 'Workspaces' > '+ Create'. Enter your project url or choose one of the quickstart examples. Make sure to select 'VS Code Browser' under 'Default IDE'

Create Workspace

Then press 'Create Workspace'.

Create Workspace

A new window appears showing DevPod starting the workspace. After the workspace was created, VS Code should open automatically connected to the DevContainer.

VS Code opens automatically in the browser