Installing Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise

Introduction

Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise provides most Kong Enterprise plugins and runs without a database, but does not include other Kong Enterprise features (Kong Manager, Dev Portal, Vitals, etc).

Note: See Kong for Kubernetes deployment options for a feature breakdown and image comparison.

You can install Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise using YAML with kubectl, or with OpenShift oc. Other deployment options, such as using Helm Chart and Kustomize, will be available at a later time.

Prerequisites

Before starting installation, be sure you have the following:

Prerequisites

Before starting installation, be sure you have the following:

• Kubernetes cluster: Kong is compatible with all distributions of Kubernetes. You can use a Minikube, GKE, or OpenShift cluster.
• kubectl or oc access: You should have kubectl or oc (if working with OpenShift) installed and configured to communicate to your Kubernetes cluster.
• A valid Bintray account with access to the Kong repository. You receive access when you begin a paid Kong Konnect subscription.
  • You will need your username, account password, account API Key, and Kong Konnect license file. For example:
    • Bintray username: john-company@kong
    • Bintray password: 12345678
    • Bintray API key: 12234e314356291a2b11058591bba195830
  • To find the API Key, go to https://bintray.com/profile/edit and select API Key.
  • To find the license JSON file, log into your Bintray account and go to https://bintray.com/kong/<YOUR_REPO_NAME>/license#files. For more details, see Accessing Your License.

Step 1. Provision a Namespace

To create the secrets for license and Docker registry access, first provision the kong namespace:

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$ kubectl create namespace kong

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$ oc new-project kong

Step 2. Set Up Kong Enterprise License

Running Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise requires a valid license. See prerequisites for more information.

Save the license file temporarily to disk with filename license (no file extension) and execute the following:

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$ kubectl create secret generic kong-enterprise-license --from-file=./license -n kong

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$ oc create secret generic kong-enterprise-license --from-file=./license -n kong

Step 3. Configure Kong Enterprise Docker registry access

Set up Docker credentials to allow Kubernetes nodes to pull down the Kong Enterprise Docker image, which is hosted in a private repository. You receive credentials for the Kong Enterprise Docker image when you sign up for Kong Enterprise.

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$ kubectl create secret -n kong docker-registry kong-enterprise-k8s-docker \
    --docker-server=kong-docker-kong-enterprise-k8s.bintray.io \
    --docker-username=<your-bintray-username> \
    --docker-password=<your-bintray-api-key>

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$ oc create secret -n kong docker-registry kong-enterprise-k8s-docker \
    --docker-server=kong-docker-kong-enterprise-k8s.bintray.io \
    --docker-username=<your-bintray-username> \
    --docker-password=<your-bintray-api-key>

Step 4. Deploy Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise

The steps in this section show you how to install Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise using YAML.

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$ kubectl apply -f https://bit.ly/k4k8s-enterprise

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$ kubectl get pods -n kong
NAME                            READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
ingress-kong-6ffcf8c447-5qv6z   2/2     Running   1          44m

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$ kubectl get service kong-proxy -n kong
NAME         TYPE           CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP     PORT(S)                      AGE
kong-proxy   LoadBalancer   10.63.254.78   35.233.198.16   80:32697/TCP,443:32365/TCP   22h

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$ oc create -f https://bit.ly/k4k8s-enterprise

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$ oc get pods -n kong
NAME                            READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
ingress-kong-6ffcf8c447-5qv6z   2/2     Running   1          44m

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$ oc get service kong-proxy -n kong
NAME         TYPE           CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP     PORT(S)                      AGE
kong-proxy   LoadBalancer   10.63.254.78   35.233.198.16   80:32697/TCP,443:32365/TCP   22h

Note: Depending on the Kubernetes distribution you are using, you may or may not see an external IP address assigned to the service. See your provider’s guide on obtaining an IP address for a Kubernetes Service of type LoadBalancer.

Set up an environment variable to hold the IP address:

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$ export PROXY_IP=$(kubectl get -o jsonpath="{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}" service -n kong kong-proxy)

It might take a while for your cloud provider to associate the IP address to the kong-proxy service. After you have installed Kong, see the getting started tutorial.

Next steps…

See Using Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise for information about concepts, how-to guides, reference guides, and using plugins.