In this post, I want to document my learning from knowing nothing to deploying a multi-node Kubernetes cluster that is currently running a Librespeed test server with a mysql back end.

A recent product release from Nokia, Event Driven Automation (EDA), which is based around many concepts of Kubernetes for network automation, piqued my interest in exploring Kubernetes itself. As the tool does not require any Kubernetes knowledge (although the software does run on a K8s cluster), I wondered if it was beneficial. In short, my purpose in learning about Kubernetes was to understand the design physiology and how to support the deployment of EDA.

Disclaimer: I am a network engineer, not a dev ops master so I only slightly know what I’m doing in this space and I know I have a lot to learn to be more efficient, but maybe others just entering into the space can find some ideas in my journey.

I would not be where I am today without The Kubernetes Book: 2024 Edition by Nigel Poulton. I thought it was a very great introduction and explanation of the concepts. The only thing it didn’t cover that I wanted was setting up a Kubernetes cluster from scratch, but the Kubernetes official documentation helped where it lacked.

The following parts are listed below, where I try to go from 0 to a deployed Kubernetes cluster, all self-hosted in my homelab!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4