📌 Part 3 Efficient Kubernetes Management: Secure Your Cluster with the Dashboard

1️⃣ Overview

The Kubernetes Dashboard is a web-based user interface that empowers you to efficiently manage and monitor your Kubernetes clusters. With this tool, you can:

• Monitor cluster resources such as pods, deployments, and services

• Manage workloads by scaling applications and restarting pods

• Inspect logs and troubleshoot issues

• Access real-time cluster metrics

By the end of this guide, you'll have a fully configured Kubernetes Dashboard with secure access and role-based authentication (RBAC).

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2️⃣ Deploying the Kubernetes Dashboard

🔹 Why is this important?

• The Dashboard provides a graphical interface to manage Kubernetes.

• It helps track resource usage and diagnose issues quickly.

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🔹 Step 1: Deploy the Dashboard

Kubernetes provides an official YAML file to deploy the Dashboard:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/dashboard/v2.7.0/aio/deploy/recommended.yaml

✅ Sample Output:

namespace/kubernetes-dashboard created
serviceaccount/kubernetes-dashboard created
service/kubernetes-dashboard created
deployment.apps/kubernetes-dashboard created

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🔹 Step 2: Verify the Deployment

Check if the Dashboard pods are running:

kubectl get pods -n kubernetes-dashboard

✅ Expected Output:

NAME                                         READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
kubernetes-dashboard-6b7d8f5c89-xyz12        1/1     Running   0          1m

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🔹 Step 3: Expose the Dashboard Service

By default, the Dashboard is exposed as a ClusterIP service (internal only). To access it externally, you need to use kubectl proxy:

kubectl proxy

Now, open the Dashboard in a browser:

http://localhost:8001/api/v1/namespaces/kubernetes-dashboard/services/https:kubernetes-dashboard:/proxy/

📌 Problem: By default, access is restricted. Let’s set up authentication.

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3️⃣ Configuring Secure Access (RBAC Authentication)

🔹 Why is RBAC Needed?

• Kubernetes restricts Dashboard access by default.

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) grants fine-grained permissions.

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🔹 Step 1: Create an Admin Service Account

Create a YAML file for the admin user:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ServiceAccount
metadata:
  name: admin-user
  namespace: kubernetes-dashboard
---
apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: ClusterRoleBinding
metadata:
  name: admin-user
roleRef:
  apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
  kind: ClusterRole
  name: cluster-admin
subjects:
- kind: ServiceAccount
  name: admin-user
  namespace: kubernetes-dashboard

Apply it:

kubectl apply -f admin-user.yaml

✅ Sample Output:

serviceaccount/admin-user created
clusterrolebinding.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/admin-user created

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🔹 Step 2: Get the Authentication Token

Run the following command to get the bearer token:

kubectl get secret $(kubectl get sa admin-user -n kubernetes-dashboard -o jsonpath="{.secrets[0].name}") -n kubernetes-dashboard -o jsonpath="{.data.token}" | base64 --decode

Copy the token and save it. You will need it to log in.

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🔹 Step 3: Access the Dashboard

1️⃣ Start the Dashboard Proxy:

kubectl proxy

2️⃣ Open the Dashboard in your browser:

http://localhost:8001/api/v1/namespaces/kubernetes-dashboard/services/https:kubernetes-dashboard:/proxy/

3️⃣ Select "Token Authentication" and paste the copied token.

✅ Dashboard Sample Output:

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4️⃣ Managing Workloads via Dashboard

Now that the Dashboard is set up, you can:

✅ View running applications: Pods, Deployments, Services
✅ Scale applications: Increase or decrease replicas
✅ Check logs: Debug issues with pod logs
✅ Delete & restart pods: Manage application lifecycle

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5️⃣ Troubleshooting & Common Issues

🔹 Issue: "Forbidden" when accessing the Dashboard

Solution: Ensure the correct RBAC roles are assigned:

kubectl describe clusterrolebinding admin-user

🔹 Issue: Dashboard pods stuck in "Pending"

Solution: Check cluster resources:

kubectl get events -n kubernetes-dashboard
kubectl describe pod -n kubernetes-dashboard <pod-name>

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🎯 Conclusion

🚀 Kubernetes Dashboard is fully deployed and secured!
✅ Web-based Kubernetes management is now available
✅ RBAC authentication is configured
✅ Cluster monitoring & troubleshooting is easier

📌 Next Step: Advanced Kubernetes Monitoring with Prometheus, Grafana, Node Exporter & cAdvisor