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Cover image for Part 2: Installing MicroK8s on Ubuntu 24.04+
kamlesh merugu
kamlesh merugu

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Part 2: Installing MicroK8s on Ubuntu 24.04+

#beginners #kubernetes #tutorial #ubuntu

MicroK8s is a powerful yet lightweight Kubernetes distribution perfect for:

  • 🚀 Developers testing Kubernetes locally
  • 🧪 CI/CD environments
  • 🏠 Homelabs
  • 🛠️ Edge and IoT systems
  • 🧩 Single-node or small clusters

This configuration is ideal for running MicroK8s with multiple workloads, monitoring tools, and CI/CD pipelines.

📋 What You'll Learn

In this guide, you will:

  • ✨ Install MicroK8s
  • 🔒 Configure user permissions
  • 🧰 Enable essential add-ons
  • 🧪 Verify the cluster is running
  • 🎉 Deploy a test application
  • 🔄 Ensure services autostart on boot

❓ Why MicroK8s?

MicroK8s is:

  • Lightweight 🪶 — Minimal resource footprint
  • Easy to install ⚡ — One command setup
  • Zero external dependencies 🎯 — Everything bundled
  • Production-ready 🔥 — Enterprise-grade
  • Beginner-friendly and pro-friendly 👨‍💻 — Great for learning and production

It includes core Kubernetes components and plug-and-play add-ons like DNS, Ingress, Helm, and the Dashboard.

📦 Install MicroK8s

Update your system 

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
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Install MicroK8s via Snap 

sudo snap install microk8s --classic
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This will take a few minutes. MicroK8s installs the latest stable Kubernetes release.

Verify installation 

sudo microk8s status --wait-ready
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Expected output:

microk8s is running
high-availability: no
  datastore master nodes: 127.0.0.1:19001
  datastore standby nodes: none
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🎉 Kubernetes is up and running!

👥 Add Your User to the MicroK8s Group

MicroK8s creates its own Unix group to manage access. Add your user to avoid using sudo every time:

sudo usermod -a -G microk8s $USER
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Apply group changes immediately without logging out:

newgrp microk8s
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Now you can run microk8s commands without sudo!

💡 Pro Tip: Create a Kubectl Alias

Typing microk8s kubectl every time is tedious. Let's create an alias so you can just type kubectl.

Add the alias to your bash configuration:

echo 'alias kubectl="microk8s kubectl"' >> ~/.bashrc
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Apply the changes to your current session:

source ~/.bashrc
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Test it:

kubectl version --client
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From this point forward, all commands in this guide will use kubectl for brevity, but remember it is running the MicroK8s version.

🔧 Enable Essential Kubernetes Add-ons

Recommended add-ons

Enable DNS for internal service discovery:

microk8s enable dns
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Enable storage for persistent volumes (databases, file storage):

microk8s enable storage
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Enable Ingress for external access (domain routing, SSL):

microk8s enable ingress
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Optional but useful add-ons

Enable Helm 3 package manager:

microk8s enable helm3
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Enable Kubernetes Dashboard (UI):

microk8s enable dashboard
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Enable Metrics Server (for monitoring CPU/RAM usage):

microk8s enable metrics-server
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Check status 

microk8s status
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You should see all enabled add-ons listed as active.

🧪 Test Your Kubernetes Cluster

Check node status 

kubectl get nodes
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Expected output:

NAME       STATUS   ROLES   AGE   VERSION
hostname   Ready    <none>  5m    v1.31.3
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STATUS should be Ready ✅

Check system pods 

kubectl get pods --all-namespaces
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All components should show Running or Completed status:

NAMESPACE     NAME                                     READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
kube-system   calico-node-xxxxx                        1/1     Running   0          5m
kube-system   coredns-xxxxx                            1/1     Running   0          4m
ingress       nginx-ingress-microk8s-controller-xxxxx  1/1     Running   0          3m
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If everything shows Running, your cluster is healthy! 🎉

🐳 Deploy a Test NGINX App

Let's deploy a simple NGINX workload to verify everything works end-to-end:

Create deployment 

kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx
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Expose the deployment 

kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --type=NodePort
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Get service details 

kubectl get svc nginx
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You'll see output like:

NAME    TYPE       CLUSTER-IP      EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)        AGE
nginx   NodePort   10.152.183.45   <none>        80:31234/TCP   10s
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Note the NodePort (e.g., 31234).

Access the application

Open your browser and visit:

http://your-server-ip:31234
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If you see the NGINX welcome page → 🎉 Your Kubernetes cluster is working perfectly!

🔄 Ensuring MicroK8s Auto-Starts on Boot

Since MicroK8s is installed via Snap, systemctl cannot be used directly. Snap manages startup behavior automatically, but let's verify and ensure it's active.

✔️ Step 1: Check Service Status 

sudo snap services microk8s
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You should see:

Service                              Startup
microk8s.daemon-apiserver            enabled
microk8s.daemon-containerd           enabled
...
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If all services show Startup: enabled, MicroK8s is set to autostart ✅

✔️ Step 2: Enable Autostart (If Needed)

If services show disabled, simply run:

sudo snap start --enable microk8s
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This enables the entire application service and its internal daemons.

✔️ Step 3: Reboot & Validate

Reboot the server to test autostart:

sudo reboot
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After logging back in, run:

microk8s status --wait-ready
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If you see microk8s is running, then autostart is confirmed! 🎉

Verify your NGINX app survived the reboot 

kubectl get pods
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Your nginx pod should be running.

💾 Resource Usage Check

Check how much of your 8GB RAM MicroK8s is using:

free -h
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Check disk usage (out of 120GB):

df -h
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MicroK8s typically uses:

  • ~500MB-1GB RAM at idle
  • ~2-3GB storage for base installation

This leaves plenty of resources for your workloads! 🚀

🛠️ Troubleshooting Tools

Check cluster health (Generates a report) 

sudo microk8s inspect
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Restart MicroK8s 

sudo microk8s stop
sudo microk8s start
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Check specific logs 

# Check kubelet logs
journalctl -u snap.microk8s.daemon-kubelet -f

# Check API server logs
journalctl -u snap.microk8s.daemon-apiserver -f
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📋 Summary Checklist

Step Purpose Status
✅ Install MicroK8s Kubernetes runtime Done
✅ Add user to group Non-root access Done
✅ Set up kubectl alias Simplify commands Done
✅ Enable add-ons DNS, storage, ingress Done
✅ Test with kubectl Validate cluster Done
✅ Deploy NGINX Confirm workload scheduling Done
✅ Enable autostart Ensure services start on boot Done

🧹 Clean Up Test Deployment (Optional)

Once you've verified everything works, you can remove the test NGINX deployment:

kubectl delete deployment nginx
kubectl delete service nginx
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🎯 Final Thoughts

Congratulations! 🎉 Your 4-core, 8GB RAM, 120GB Ubuntu server is now running a fully functional MicroK8s cluster!

You have a robust foundation ready for production workloads.

🔙 Previous Guide

👈 Back to Part 1: Prerequisites & Basic Ubuntu Setup

🔜 What's Next?

Ready to deploy production applications? 🚀

👉 Continue to Part 3: Production Namespace, App Deployment & Configuration

In Part 3, you'll learn how to:

  • 🏗️ Create production namespaces for workload isolation
  • 🚀 Deploy PostgreSQL and n8n with proper configurations
  • 📦 Set up Persistent Volume Claims for databases
  • 🔐 Secure sensitive data using Kubernetes Secrets

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