Step-by-Step Guide: Nginx Ingress Setup on AKS

Recently I was tasked with setting up kubernetes cluster with an Nginx Ingress. As a newcomer to Kubernetes, I tackled this setup and learned a thing or two along the way. Let me walk you through my experience and share some helpful tips.

The Goal: Set up a Kubernetes Cluster with Nginx Ingress

Here's where things got interesting. After setting up my cluster, I hit a snag: I couldn't get a public IP assigned to my Nginx ingress. All I got was a private IP, which wasn't very useful for my needs.

After some extensive searching (and maybe a few sighs of frustration), I finally found the solution in the Nginx documentation (https://kubernetes.github.io/ingress-nginx/deploy/). What a relief!

Before We Start...

Let's make sure we're on the same page. This guide assumes you've already configured your K8s cluster on kubectl. If you haven't, no problem! Just use az login to access your Azure account and use the connect command from your Azure AKS cluster. It's pretty straightforward.

The Key Command

Here's the command that'll set up your Nginx ingress controller:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/controller-v1.11.1/deploy/static/provider/cloud/deploy.yaml

Found this gem after going throught the documentation (maybe we should read it sometime) https://kubernetes.github.io/ingress-nginx/deploy/#azure.

Create a certificate Secret

Now, let's tackle the next exciting step in our K8s journey: creating a certificate Secret! 🔐.

You'll need to whip up a certificate for your domain. You've got two options here:

Snag a free certificate from Let's Encrypt
Purchase one from a certificate authority (fancy, I know!)

Once you've got your hands on that shiny certificate and key, Run this command:

kubectl create secret tls tls-conf --cert /path/to/fullchain.pem --key /path/to/privkey.pem --namespace your-namespace

Don't forget to swap out the path and namespace with your actual values. This command creates a secret object of type kubernetes.io/tls.

Time to create a Ingress

Next up, we're creating an Ingress for your service. Think of it as the bouncer that decides who gets into your Kubernetes club.

Create a file called ingress.yaml and fill it with this yaml goodness:

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: ingress-name
  namespace: your-namespace
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "true"
spec:
  tls:
    - hosts:
        - your-domain.something
      secretName: tls-conf
  rules:
    - host: your-domain.something
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: your-service
                port:
                  number: your-service-port
  ingressClassName: nginx

Now, before you apply this yaml, make sure to replace your-namespace, your-domain.something, your-service, and your-service-port with your actual values.

Once you've customized your yaml, apply it using kubectl. Voila! You've just set up an Ingress for your service using the following command.

kubectl apply -f /path/to/ingress.yaml

Replace the /path/to/ingress.yaml with wherever you saved your ingress.yaml.

And that's it you should have your nginx ingress up and running with a public IP assigned to it.

Bonus Round: Customizing Your Nginx Config 🛠️

What if you want to tweak some Nginx settings? Maybe you're looking to adjust the client_max_body_size or other fancy parameters? Well, you're in luck!

Head over to the config objects in your Kubernetes dashboard.
Filter by the ingress-nginx namespace.
find and edit th ingress-nginx-controller
Once you're happy with your edits, apply them. A complete list of available configuration options can be found at: https://kubernetes.github.io/ingress-nginx/user-guide/nginx-configuration/configmap/.