DEV Community

Cover image for 🧱 Part 1 — Production-Ready MicroK8s Installation on Debian 12 (with snapd)
kamlesh merugu
kamlesh merugu

Posted on • Edited on

🧱 Part 1 — Production-Ready MicroK8s Installation on Debian 12 (with snapd)

#kubernetes #container #programming #ai

This guide sets up a secure, production-grade MicroK8s Kubernetes cluster on Debian 12, ready for deploying:

  • n8n workflows
  • Postgres & Redis
  • Observabilit y stack (Prometheus, Grafana, Loki)
  • Centralized secrets (Doppler, in Part 2)

⚠️ Follow every step carefully—skipping steps can break the cluster.

✅ Supported Systems

  • Debian 12 (Bookworm) LTS
  • VPS, VM, or bare-metal
  • Minimum: 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM

🔧 Step 1 — Update & Prepare the Server 

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo reboot
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Reconnect after reboot. Install essential tools:

sudo apt install -y \
  curl wget git vim htop neofetch \
  apt-transport-https ca-certificates gnupg lsb-release
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

✅ System updated and ready for Kubernetes.

👤 Step 2 — Create a Deployment User (Optional but Recommended)

Kubernetes should never run as root.

sudo adduser deploy
sudo usermod -aG sudo deploy
echo "deploy ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/deploy
sudo chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/deploy
su - deploy
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🔁 Step 3 — Disable Swap 

sudo swapoff -a
sudo sed -i '/\sswap\s/s/^/#/' /etc/fstab
free -h
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Swap should show 0B.

🌐 Step 4 — Kernel Modules & Networking 

sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/k8s.conf <<EOF
br_netfilter
EOF

sudo modprobe br_netfilter

sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-k8s.conf <<EOF
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 1
net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-ip6tables = 1
net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1
EOF

sudo sysctl --system
sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

📦 Step 5 — Install snapd

MicroK8s is distributed as a Snap package.

sudo apt install -y snapd
sudo systemctl enable --now snapd
sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Verify snap:

snap version
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🚀 Step 6 — Install Latest MicroK8s 

sudo snap install microk8s --classic
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Adjust the channel to the desired stable version.

🧠 Step 7 — Add Deploy User to MicroK8s Group 

sudo usermod -aG microk8s $USER
sudo chown -f -R $USER ~/.kube
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Important: Log out and back in, or use:

newgrp microk8s
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🔹 Step 8 — Enable Core Addons

MicroK8s includes essential production addons:

microk8s status --wait-ready
microk8s enable dns storage ingress metrics-server
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • dns — service discovery
  • storage — dynamic persistent volumes
  • ingress — NGINX ingress controller
  • metrics-server — node & pod metrics

🧰 Step 9 — Setup kubectl for Deploy User

MicroK8s ships its own kubectl. To avoid typing microk8s.kubectl:

sudo snap alias microk8s.kubectl kubectl
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Optional: export kubeconfig for scripts/CI:

mkdir -p $HOME/.kube
microk8s config > $HOME/.kube/config
chmod 600 $HOME/.kube/config
export KUBECONFIG=$HOME/.kube/config
echo 'export KUBECONFIG=$HOME/.kube/config' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🌍 Step 10 — Optional: Remote kubectl Access 

microk8s config > kubeconfig.yaml
scp kubeconfig.yaml user@localmachine:~/.kube/config
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Adjust server: IP if needed for external access.

➕ Step 11 — Add Worker Nodes (Optional) 

microk8s add-node
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Follow instructions on worker nodes. Verify:

kubectl get nodes
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

🔎 Step 12 — Verify Cluster Health 

microk8s status --wait-ready
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods -A
kubectl cluster-info
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

All kube-system pods should be Running.

✅ What You’ve Achieved

  • MicroK8s installed via Snap on Debian 12
  • Deploy user configured with group membership
  • Kernel & networking configured for Kubernetes
  • Swap disabled, core addons enabled
  • kubectl working for non-root deploy user
  • Ready for n8n, Postgres, Redis, observability, and secrets

🚀 Next Steps (Part 2)

  • Setup centralized secrets with Doppler
  • Install External Secrets Operator
  • Prepare namespaces & secret sync for workloads

Top comments (0)