# Installing the Kubernetes Dashboard and managing the Cluster using kubectl > How to install the Kubernetes Dashboard and manage the cluster after installation. - Source: https://www.itwonderlab.com/installating-kubernetes-dashboard/ - Published: 2020-07-10 - Updated: 2026-10-05 - Author: Javier Ruiz Jiménez (https://www.javierruizjimenez.com/) - Site: IT Wonder Lab (https://www.itwonderlab.com/) --- ## Recommended steps after a Kubernetes Cluster deployment After installing a Kubernetes Cluster it is recommended to: - Check the health of the cluster - Check networking status - Install *kubectl* to administer the cluster using a command line - Install the Kubernetes Dashboard This tutorial is a continuation of [Kubernetes Cluster using Vagrant and Ansible](https://www.itwonderlab.com/ansible-kubernetes-vagrant-tutorial/). > [!NOTE] > This tutorial was written for Kubernetes 1.2x. The apt repository `apt.kubernetes.io` has been retired in favor of `pkgs.k8s.io`, and the commands below use the new one. The Kubernetes Dashboard project is no longer actively developed, check its status and alternatives such as [Headlamp](https://headlamp.dev/) before using it in a new environment. Prerequisites: - Have a running Kubernetes cluster created with [Kubernetes Cluster using Vagrant and Ansible](https://www.itwonderlab.com/ansible-kubernetes-vagrant-tutorial/) We will use the `vagrant ssh` command to access the Kubernetes servers. ```bash jruiz@XPS13:~/git/github/ansible-vbox-vagrant-kubernetes$ vagrant ssh k8s-m-1 Welcome to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (GNU/Linux 5.4.0-31-generic x86_64) * Documentation: https://help.ubuntu.com * Management: https://landscape.canonical.com * Support: https://ubuntu.com/advantage System information as of Fri 31 Jul 2020 05:50:30 PM UTC System load: 0.4 Users logged in: 0 Usage of /: 6.1% of 61.31GB IPv4 address for docker0: 172.17.0.1 Memory usage: 44% IPv4 address for eth0: 10.0.2.15 Swap usage: 0% IPv4 address for eth1: 192.168.50.11 Processes: 163 IPv4 address for tunl0: 192.168.116.0 95 updates can be installed immediately. 36 of these updates are security updates. To see these additional updates run: apt list --upgradable This system is built by the Bento project by Chef Software More information can be found at https://github.com/chef/bento Last login: Fri Jul 31 17:46:30 2020 from 10.0.2.2 vagrant@k8s-m-1:~$ ``` ## Check Syslog Open a Vagrant SSH to k8s-m-1 and check syslog file for errors ```bash jruiz@XPS13:~/git/github/ansible-vbox-vagrant-kubernetes$ vagrant ssh k8s-m-1 Welcome to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (GNU/Linux 5.4.0-31-generic x86_64) ... vagrant@k8s-m-1:~$ tail -f /var/log/syslog Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Listening on GnuPG cryptographic agent and passphrase cache (restricted). Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Reached target Paths. Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Reached target Timers. Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Listening on GnuPG cryptographic agent and passphrase cache. Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Listening on GnuPG cryptographic agent (ssh-agent emulation). Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Reached target Sockets. Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Reached target Basic System. Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Reached target Default. Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[1]: Started User Manager for UID 1000. Apr 20 14:32:05 k8s-m-1 systemd[7025]: Startup finished in 29ms. ^C ``` ## Check that Calico Networking is Running Open a Vagrant SSH to k8s-m-1 and execute `kubectl get pods --all-namespaces` ```bash jruiz@XPS13:~/git/github/ansible-vbox-vagrant-kubernetes$ vagrant ssh k8s-m-1 Welcome to Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (GNU/Linux 5.4.0-31-generic x86_64) ... vagrant@k8s-m-1:~$ kubectl get pods --all-namespaces NAMESPACE NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE default nginx-deployment-6dd86d77d-l9dd9 1/1 Running 1 19h default nginx-deployment-6dd86d77d-qr6dl 1/1 Running 1 19h kube-system calico-kube-controllers-5cbcccc885-pwgmg 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system calico-node-2cj4q 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system calico-node-q25j7 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system calico-node-vkbj5 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system coredns-fb8b8dccf-nfs4w 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system coredns-fb8b8dccf-tmrcg 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system etcd-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system kube-apiserver-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system kube-controller-manager-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system kube-proxy-jxfjf 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system kube-proxy-ljr26 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system kube-proxy-mdgmb 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system kube-scheduler-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 2 21h kube-system kubernetes-dashboard-5f7b999d65-l8bsx 1/1 Running 1 19h ``` ## Administer the Kubernetes Cluster from your host Install `kubectl` to administer the Kubernetes Cluster from your development host ```bash sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y apt-transport-https sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings curl -fsSL https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.XX/deb/Release.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg # Replace v1.XX with the Kubernetes minor version of your cluster (see kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/install-kubectl-linux) echo 'deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg] https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.XX/deb/ /' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubernetes.list sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install -y kubectl ``` Copy the Kubernetes config to your local home .kube dir ```shell #Create the configuration directory $ mkdir -p ~/.kube #Find the SSH port of the k8s-m-1 server $ vagrant port k8s-m-1 The forwarded ports for the machine are listed below. Please note that these values may differ from values configured in the Vagrantfile if the provider supports automatic port collision detection and resolution. 22 (guest) => 2222 (host) #Copy the file using scp (ssh password is vagrant) $ scp -P 2222 vagrant@127.0.0.1:/home/vagrant/.kube/config ~/.kube/config vagrant@127.0.0.1's password: vagrant config 100% 5449 118.7KB/s 00:00 ``` List the Kubernetes cluster nodes using kubectl from your development host: ```shell $ kubectl cluster-info Kubernetes master is running at https://192.168.50.11:6443 KubeDNS is running at https://192.168.50.11:6443/api/v1/namespaces/kube-system/services/kube-dns:dns/proxy To further debug and diagnose cluster problems, use 'kubectl cluster-info dump'. $ kubectl get nodes --all-namespaces NAME STATUS ROLES AGE VERSION k8s-m-1 Ready master 12m v1.18.6 k8s-n-1 Ready 10m v1.18.6 k8s-n-2 Ready 7m43s v1.18.6 $ kubectl get pods --all-namespaces NAMESPACE NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE kube-system calico-kube-controllers-578894d4cd-nf4pm 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system calico-node-8pv65 1/1 Running 0 8m2s kube-system calico-node-nmqmr 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system calico-node-zcdd4 1/1 Running 0 10m kube-system coredns-66bff467f8-6jnkg 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system coredns-66bff467f8-qs54m 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system etcd-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system kube-apiserver-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system kube-controller-manager-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system kube-proxy-j8gwm 1/1 Running 0 10m kube-system kube-proxy-jxww4 1/1 Running 0 12m kube-system kube-proxy-lvkd2 1/1 Running 0 8m2s kube-system kube-scheduler-k8s-m-1 1/1 Running 0 12m kubernetes-dashboard dashboard-metrics-scraper-6b4884c9d5-ttqtt 1/1 Running 0 4m24s kubernetes-dashboard kubernetes-dashboard-7b544877d5-5hjr6 1/1 Running 0 4m24s ``` ## Install the Kubernetes Dashboard The [Kubernetes Dashboard](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/access-application-cluster/web-ui-dashboard/) provides a web-based user interface to deploy applications, troubleshoot and manage resources. The same functionality is provided through the command line tools but under a very nice web application with charts and beautiful screens. To deploy the Web UI (Dashboard) or Kubernetes Dashboard run the following command: ```bash kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/dashboard/v2.0.0/aio/deploy/recommended.yaml ``` The deployment file will publish the Kubernetes Dashboard using a ClusterIP service as shown below using TargetPort 8443: ```shell $ kubectl -n kubernetes-dashboard describe service kubernetes-dashboard Name: kubernetes-dashboard Namespace: kubernetes-dashboard Labels: k8s-app=kubernetes-dashboard Annotations: kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration: {"apiVersion":"v1","kind":"Service","metadata":{"annotations":{},"labels":{"k8s-app":"kubernetes-dashboard"},"name":"kubernetes-dashboard"... Selector: k8s-app=kubernetes-dashboard Type: ClusterIP IP: 10.98.98.132 Port: 443/TCP TargetPort: 8443/TCP Endpoints: 192.168.122.134:8443 Session Affinity: None Events: ``` To access the Kubernetes Dashboard from our workstation, a NodePort will be created to publish the kubernetes-dashboard following the [Publish an Application Outside Kubernetes Cluster instructions](https://www.itwonderlab.com/nodeport-kubernetes-cluster/). The file kubernetes-dashboard-service-np.yaml (included in the [Kubernetes Cluster using Vagrant and Ansible](https://www.itwonderlab.com/ansible-kubernetes-vagrant-tutorial/) tutorial source code): - Creates an admin-user - Assigns the cluster-admin role - Creates a new NodePort service that publishes TargetPort 8443 as NodePort 30002 **kubernetes-dashboard-service-np.yaml** ``` --- 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 --- kind: Service apiVersion: v1 metadata: namespace: kubernetes-dashboard name: kubernetes-dashboard-service-np labels: k8s-app: kubernetes-dashboard spec: type: NodePort ports: - port: 8443 nodePort: 30002 targetPort: 8443 protocol: TCP selector: k8s-app: kubernetes-dashboard ``` **Apply the changes** ```shell $ kubectl apply -f kubernetes-dashboard-service-np.yaml serviceaccount/admin-user created clusterrolebinding.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/admin-user created service/kubernetes-dashboard-service-np created ``` **Obtain an authentication token to use on the Kubernetes Dashboard authentication realm** ```shell $ kubectl -n kubernetes-dashboard describe secret $(kubectl -n kubernetes-dashboard get secret | grep admin-user | awk '{print $1}') Name: admin-user-token-f9zj6 Namespace: kubernetes-dashboard Labels: Annotations: kubernetes.io/service-account.name: admin-user kubernetes.io/service-account.uid: 29edd185-e261-44e0-ac15-f73d4fccd4fa Type: kubernetes.io/service-account-token Data ==== ca.crt: 1025 bytes namespace: 20 bytes token: eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsImtpZCI6Ikg0c21nUjZ5Rm00cktvRmdMR0FsRXZicVdyYWZvNkQ0MDQ2ck1IV3ZWeHcifQ.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.dIUpYhx0G8GvC26GQsHGr7wvWu0THntLHWGf1P-Ep7nWSeIBkM-QLtUxmOv3q1zz45xIyhTAuquZegQ1OH6kgD6UvPdf2GdfO6LbFU_yAWuMtYWTSgDwIbrP7L1yOBPwdrQFN1xjjHR6luc92g50vVdAetGEwXU5MN-dkEv-3Vu6bLJi9FbUWCdKw-I9kVqCka01acy6dJQdyvrI8Wr0y8tTA0gI3LxjAsS_WpUmgskJIsF2aKDmCvBA_Sh8bZfHmLEuFSRnOFbjFyH9w_tx8Ia7gqnMzrr3c43SvtNX99BfwRiVGpZ1UpKmPRwBAmnj53j2TrKT1vNQyD58btXlfw ``` Access the Kubernetes Dashboard using the URL [https://192.168.50.11:30002/#/login](https://192.168.50.11:30002/#/login) using the token printed before: ![Kubernetes Dashboard authentication dialog](https://www.itwonderlab.com/media/2019/04/Kubernetes_Dashboard_Vagrant_login.png "Kubernetes Dashboard Authentication with Token") ![Kubernetes Dashboard Vagrant Login](https://www.itwonderlab.com/media/2019/04/Kubernetes_Dashboard_Vagrant-1.png "Kubernetes Dashboard") Please read other ways to publish the Kubernetes Dashboard on the [Kubernetes Dashboard documentation](https://github.com/kubernetes/dashboard/blob/master/README.md). ## Useful Vagrant commands ```bash #Create the cluster or start the cluster after a host reboot vagrant up #Execute again the Ansible playlist in all the vagrant boxes, useful during development of Ansible playbooks vagrant provision #Execute again the Ansible playlist in the Kubernetes node 1 vagrant provision k8s-n-1 #Poweroff the Kubernetes Cluster vagrant halt #Open an ssh connection to the Kubernetes master vagrant ssh k8s-m-1 #Open an ssh connection to the Kubernetes node 1 vagrant ssh k8s-n-1 #Open an ssh connection to the Kubernetes node 2 vagrant ssh k8s-n-2 #Stop all Vagrant machines (use vagrant up to start) vagrant halt ``` ## Next steps After installing Kubernetes using Vagrant: - Learn how to [Publish an Application Outside Kubernetes Cluster using a NodePort](https://www.itwonderlab.com/nodeport-kubernetes-cluster/). - Create your own Docker image, publish it to a Docker registry, and deploy it in Kubernetes. See an example in section [Building the Color Application](https://www.itwonderlab.com/istio-patterns-traffic-splitting-in-kubernetes/#building-the-color-application) from the [Istio Patterns: Traffic Splitting in Kubernetes (Canary Release)](https://www.itwonderlab.com/istio-patterns-traffic-splitting-in-kubernetes/) tutorial. - Add a service mesh to connect all the micro-services, see Installing [Istio in Kubernetes under VirtualBox](https://www.itwonderlab.com/istio-in-local-kubernetes/).