--- layout: docs page_title: Deploy Consul with Kubernetes description: Deploy Consul on Kubernetes with the official Helm chart. --- # Deploy Consul with Kubernetes In this guide you will deploy a Consul datacenter with the official Helm chart. You do not need to update any values in the Helm chart for a basic installation. However, you can create a values file with parameters to allow access to the Consul UI. ~> **Security Warning** This guide is not for production use. By default, the chart will install an insecure configuration of Consul. Please refer to the [Kubernetes documentation](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s) to determine how you can secure Consul on Kubernetes in production. Additionally, it is highly recommended to use a properly secured Kubernetes cluster or make sure that you understand and enable the recommended security features. To complete this guide successfully, you should have an existing Kubernetes cluster, and locally configured [Helm](https://helm.sh/docs/using_helm/) and [kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl/). If you do not have an existing Kubernetes cluster you can use the [Minikube with Consul guide](https://www.consul.io/docs/guides/minikube.html) to get started with Consul on Kubernetes. ## Deploy Consul You can deploy a complete Consul datacenter using the official Helm chart. By default, the chart will install three Consul servers and client on all Kubernetes nodes. You can review the [Helm chart values](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s/helm.html#configuration-values-) to learn more about the default settings. ### Download the Helm Chart First, you will need to clone the official Helm chart from HashiCorp's Github repo. ```shell $ git clone https://github.com/hashicorp/consul-helm.git ``` You do not need to update the Helm chart before deploying Consul, it comes with reasonable defaults. Review the [Helm chart documentation](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s/helm.html) to learn more about the chart. ### Helm Install Consul To deploy Consul you will need to be in the same directory as the chart. ```shell $ cd consul-helm ``` Now, you can deploy Consul using `helm install`. This will deploy three servers and agents on all Kubernetes nodes. The process should be quick, less than 5 minutes. ```shell $ helm install ./consul-helm NAME: mollified-robin LAST DEPLOYED: Mon Feb 25 15:57:18 2019 NAMESPACE: default STATUS: DEPLOYED NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE mollified-robin-consul-25r6z 0/1 ContainerCreating 0 0s mollified-robin-consul-4p6hr 0/1 ContainerCreating 0 0s mollified-robin-consul-n82j6 0/1 ContainerCreating 0 0s mollified-robin-consul-server-0 0/1 Pending 0 0s mollified-robin-consul-server-1 0/1 Pending 0 0s mollified-robin-consul-server-2 0/1 Pending 0 0s ``` The output above has been reduced for readability. However, you can see that there are three Consul servers and three Consul clients on this three node Kubernetes cluster. ## Access Consul UI To access the UI you will need to update the `ui` values in the Helm chart. Alternatively, if you do not wish to upgrade your cluster, you can set up [port forwarding](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s/run.html#viewing-the-consul-ui) with `kubectl`. ### Create Values File First, create a values file that can be passed on the command line when upgrading. ```yaml # values.yaml global: datacenter: hashidc1 syncCatalog: enabled: true ui: service: type: 'LoadBalancer' server: affinity: | podAntiAffinity: requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: - labelSelector: matchLabels: app: {{ template "consul.name" . }} release: "{{ .Release.Name }}" component: server topologyKey: kubernetes.io/hostname ``` This file renames your datacenter, enables catalog sync, sets up a load balancer service for the UI, and enables [affinity](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s/helm.html#v-server-affinity) to allow only one Consul pod per Kubernetes node. The catalog sync parameters will allow you to see the Kubernetes services in the Consul UI. ### Initiate Rolling Upgrade Finally, initiate the [upgrade](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s/run.html#upgrading-consul-on-kubernetes) with `helm upgrade` and the `-f` flag that passes in your new values file. This processes should also be quick, less than a minute. ```shell $ helm upgrade consul -f values.yaml ``` You can now use `kubectl get services` to discover the external IP of your Consul UI. ```shell $ kubectl get services NAME TYPE CLUSTER-IP EXTERNAL-IP PORT(S) AGE consul ExternalName consul.service.consul 11d kubernetes ClusterIP 122.16.14.1 443/TCP 137d mollified-robin-consul-dns ClusterIP 122.16.14.25 53/TCP,53/UDP 13d mollified-robin-consul-server ClusterIP None 8500/TCP 13d mollified-robin-consul-ui LoadBalancer 122.16.31.395 36.276.67.195 80:32718/TCP 13d ``` Additionally, you can use `kubectl get pods` to view the new catalog sync process. The [catalog sync](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s/helm.html#v-synccatalog) process will sync Consul and Kubernetes services bidirectionally by default. ``` $ kubectl get pods NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE mollified-robin-consul-d8mnp 1/1 Running 0 15d mollified-robin-consul-p4m89 1/1 Running 0 15d mollified-robin-consul-qclqc 1/1 Running 0 15d mollified-robin-consul-server-0 1/1 Running 0 15d mollified-robin-consul-server-1 1/1 Running 0 15d mollified-robin-consul-server-2 1/1 Running 0 15d mollified-robin-consul-sync-catalog-f75cd5846-wjfdk 1/1 Running 0 13d ``` The service should have `consul-ui` appended to the deployment name. Note, you do not need to specify a port when accessing the dashboard. ## Access Consul In addition to accessing Consul with the UI, you can manage Consul with the HTTP API or by directly connecting to the pod with `kubectl`. ### Kubectl To access the pod and data directory you can exec into the pod with `kubectl` to start a shell session. ```shell $ kubectl exec -it mollified-robin-consul-server-0 /bin/sh ``` This will allow you to navigate the file system and run Consul CLI commands on the pod. For example you can view the Consul members. ```shell $ consul members Node Address Status Type Build Protocol DC Segment mollified-robin-consul-server-0 172.20.2.18:8301 alive server 1.4.2 2 hashidc1 mollified-robin-consul-server-1 172.20.0.21:8301 alive server 1.4.2 2 hashidc1 mollified-robin-consul-server-2 172.20.1.18:8301 alive server 1.4.2 2 hashidc1 gke-tier-2-cluster-default-pool-leri5 172.20.1.17:8301 alive client 1.4.2 2 hashidc1 gke-tier-2-cluster-default-pool-gnv4 172.20.2.17:8301 alive client 1.4.2 2 hashidc1 gke-tier-2-cluster-default-pool-zrr0 172.20.0.20:8301 alive client 1.4.2 2 hashidc1 ``` ### Consul HTTP API You can use the Consul HTTP API by communicating to the local agent running on the Kubernetes node. You can read the [documentation](https://www.consul.io/docs/platform/k8s/run.html#accessing-the-consul-http-api) if you are interested in learning more about using the Consul HTTP API with Kubernetes. ## Summary In this guide, you deployed a Consul datacenter in Kubernetes using the official Helm chart. You also configured access to the Consul UI. To learn more about deploying applications that can use Consul's service discovery and Connect, read the example in the [Minikube with Consul guide](https://www.consul.io/docs/guides/minikube.html#step-2-deploy-custom-applications).