How to Deploy Redis on Kubernetes

This article provides a detailed guide on how to install Redis on Kubernetes, covering everything from configuring the Kubernetes environment to installing and administering Redis. The demand for effective, scalable, and trustworthy data storage solutions has increased as the world transitions to microservices and containerized applications. Redis, a high-performance in-memory data structure store popularly used for caching, session management, and real-time analytics, is one such solution. Redis’ scalability and dependability can be greatly improved by deploying it on Kubernetes, an open-source platform for managing containerized workloads.

Before we dive into the installation of K3s, it’s crucial to prepare your Ubuntu 22.04 server. Your server should meet the following minimum requirements:

• 2 GB RAM
• 2 CPUs
• 40 GB of Disk Space
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS installed. You can buy a powerful Ubuntu VPS from Virtono (29 locations).

Step 1: Preparing the Server

We must first configure the server where the Kubernetes cluster will run before we can deploy Redis on it. The steps are the same for other operating systems, but for the purposes of this guide, we’ll assume you’re using a server that is based on Linux.

First, update and upgrade your server’s package index:

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y

These commands will install the most recent versions of all packages already present on your system and update the package lists to reflect upgrades and new package installations. Updating your system is beneficial because it makes sure you have the newest features and security patches.

Step 2: Installing K3s

Use the installation script offered by Rancher to install K3s. The script adds a systemd service that keeps K3s running and downloads the K3s binary. Additionally, it generates a kubeconfig file so that the user can communicate with the K3s cluster.

curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -

To verify the installation, use:

sudo k3s kubectl get node

If K3s is installed correctly, you should see the name of your server in the output.

Copy the K3s kubeconfig file to your home directory:

sudo cp /etc/rancher/k3s/k3s.yaml ~/.kube/config
sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) ~/.kube/config

Check Cluster Connectivity:

Use kubectl to check if your cluster is reachable and working correctly:

kubectl cluster-info

Step 3: Deploying Redis on Kubernetes

After K3s has been configured, Redis should be deployed. In order to deploy Redis on Kubernetes cluster, we will use a Helm chart. Helm is a Kubernetes package manager that makes it easier to deploy applications.

# curl https://baltocdn.com/helm/signing.asc | sudo apt-key add -
# sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https --yes
# echo "deb https://baltocdn.com/helm/stable/debian/ all main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/helm-stable-debian.list
# sudo apt-get update
# sudo apt-get install helm

Next, add the Bitnami repository, which contains the Redis chart:

# helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
# helm repo update

Create Redis namespace

sudo kubectl create namespace redis

Now, deploy Redis on Kubernetes using the Helm chart:

helm install my-release bitnami/redis --namespace redis

This command deploys Redis on Kubernetes with a set of configurations that are suitable for production environments. 

Step 4: Verifying the Deployment

Use the following kubectl command to see if Redis on Kubernetes is active:

kubectl get pods -n redis
NAME                          READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
my-release-redis-master-0     1/1     Running   0          9m20s
my-release-redis-replicas-0   1/1     Running   0          9m20s
my-release-redis-replicas-1   1/1     Running   0          8m43s
my-release-redis-replicas-2   1/1     Running   0          8m19s

If Redis on Kubernetes is running correctly, you should see a pod with a Running status.

Step 5: Connecting to Redis

To connect to Redis, you can use the redis-cli tool. First, you need to install it:

sudo apt install redis-tools

Then, you can connect to Redis:

kubectl exec -it my-release-redis-master-0 -n redis -- redis-cli

Final Thoughts

The specific steps needed to deploy Redis on K3s on an Ubuntu 22.04 server were covered in detail in this article. Redis-like applications are simple to deploy and Kubernetes management is made simple with the aid of K3s. This set up can be used in a variety of circumstances, including environments for development, testing, and even production. Always keep in mind that the configurations used in this guide are basic and may require adjusting for a production setup.