Kubernetes is an open-source platform designed to automate deploying, scaling, and operating application containers. This guide will help you get started with Kubernetes by providing step-by-step instructions on setting up a local development environment and deploying your first application.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed on your machine:

• Docker
• kubectl (Kubernetes command-line tool)
• Minikube (local Kubernetes cluster)

Step 1: Install Docker

Docker is required to create and manage containers. You can download and install Docker from the official Docker website. Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

Step 2: Install kubectl

kubectl is the command-line tool for interacting with the Kubernetes API. To install kubectl, follow the instructions for your operating system from the official Kubernetes documentation.

Step 3: Install Minikube

Minikube allows you to run a single-node Kubernetes cluster on your local machine. You can download and install Minikube from the official Minikube website. Follow the installation instructions for your operating system.

Step 4: Start Minikube

Once Minikube is installed, you can start your local Kubernetes cluster by running the following command:

minikube start

This command will download the necessary Kubernetes components and start a local cluster.

Step 5: Deploy Your First Application

Now that your Kubernetes cluster is up and running, you can deploy your first application. In this example, we will deploy a simple Nginx web server.

Create a deployment using the following command:

kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx

This command will create a deployment named “nginx” using the official Nginx Docker image.

Step 6: Expose Your Deployment

Next, expose the Nginx deployment to create a service that makes the Nginx server accessible from outside the cluster:

kubectl expose deployment nginx --type=NodePort --port=80

This command creates a service of type NodePort that maps port 80 of the Nginx container to a port on your local machine.

Step 7: Access Your Application

To access your Nginx server, run the following command to get the URL:

minikube service nginx --url

Open the URL in your web browser to see the Nginx welcome page.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully deployed your first application on Kubernetes. From here, you can explore more advanced features of Kubernetes such as scaling, rolling updates, and persistent storage.