geek-cookbook/docs/kubernetes/loadbalancer/metallb/index.md

title, description

title	description
MetalLB - Kubernetes Bare-Metal Loadbalancing	MetalLB - Load-balancing for bare-metal Kubernetes clusters, deployed with Helm via flux

MetalLB on Kubernetes, via Helm

MetalLB offers a network load balancer implementation which workes on "bare metal" (as opposed to a cloud provider).

MetalLB does two jobs:

1. Provides address allocation to services out of a pool of addresses which you define
2. Announces these addresses to devices outside the cluster, either using ARP/NDP (L2) or BGP (L3)

!!! summary "Ingredients"

* [x] A [Kubernetes cluster](/kubernetes/cluster/)
* [x] [Flux deployment process](/kubernetes/deployment/flux/) bootstrapped
* [x] If k3s is used, then it was deployed with `--disable servicelb`

Optional:

* [ ] Network firewall/router supporting BGP (*ideal but not required*)

MetalLB Requirements

Allocations

You'll need to make some decisions re IP allocations.

• What is the range of addresses you want to use for your LoadBalancer service pool? If you're using BGP, this can be a dedicated subnet (i.e. a /24), and if you're not, this should be a range of IPs in your existing network space for your cluster nodes (i.e., 192.168.1.100-200)
• If you're using BGP, pick two private AS numbers between 64512 and 65534 inclusively.

Namespace

We need a namespace to deploy our HelmRelease and associated ConfigMaps into. Per the flux design, I create this example yaml in my flux repo:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: metallb-system

HelmRepository

Next, we need to define a HelmRepository (a repository of helm charts), to which we'll refer when we create the HelmRelease. We only need to do this once per-repository. In this case, we're using the (prolific) bitnami chart repository, so per the flux design, I create this example yaml in my flux repo:

apiVersion: source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1beta1
kind: HelmRepository
metadata:
  name: bitnami
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  interval: 15m
  url: https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami

Kustomization

Now that the "global" elements of this deployment (Namespace and HelmRepository) have been defined, we do some "flux-ception", and go one layer deeper, adding another Kustomization, telling flux to deploy any YAMLs found in the repo at /metallb-system. I create this example Kustomization in my flux repo:

apiVersion: kustomize.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1beta1
kind: Kustomization
metadata:
  name: metallb--metallb-system
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  interval: 15m
  path: ./metallb-system
  prune: true # remove any elements later removed from the above path
  timeout: 2m # if not set, this defaults to interval duration, which is 1h
  sourceRef:
    kind: GitRepository
    name: flux-system
  validation: server
  healthChecks:
    - apiVersion: apps/v1
      kind: Deployment
      name: metallb-controller
      namespace: metallb-system

!!! question "What's with that screwy name?" > Why'd you call the kustomization metallb--metallb-system?

I keep my file and object names as consistent as possible. In most cases, the helm chart is named the same as the namespace, but in some cases, by upstream chart or historical convention, the namespace is different to the chart name. MetalLB is one of these - the helmrelease/chart name is `metallb`, but the typical namespace it's deployed in is `metallb-system`. (*Appending `-system` seems to be a convention used in some cases for applications which support the entire cluster*). To avoid confusion when I list all kustomizations with `kubectl get kustomization -A`, I give these oddballs a name which identifies both the helmrelease and the namespace.

ConfigMap (for HelmRelease)

Now we're into the metallb-specific YAMLs. First, we create a ConfigMap, containing the entire contents of the helm chart's values.yaml. Paste the values into a values.yaml key as illustrated below, indented 4 spaces (since they're "encapsulated" within the ConfigMap YAML). I create this example yaml in my flux repo at ``:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: metallb-helm-chart-value-overrides
  namespace: metallb-system
data:
  values.yaml: |-  # (1)!
    # <upstream values go here>

1. Paste in the contents of the upstream values.yaml here, intended 4 spaces, and then change the values you need as illustrated below.

--8<-- "kubernetes-why-full-values-in-configmap.md"

Then work your way through the values you pasted, and change any which are specific to your configuration. I'd recommend changing the following:

• existingConfigMap: metallb-config: I prefer to set my MetalLB config independently of the chart config, so I set this to metallb-config, which I then define below.
• commonAnnotations: Anticipating the future use of Reloader to bounce applications when their config changes, I add the configmap.reloader.stakater.com/reload: "metallb-config" annotation to all deployed objects, which will instruct Reloader to bounce the daemonset if the ConfigMap changes.

ConfigMap (for MetalLB)

Finally, it's time to actually configure MetalLB! As discussed above, I prefer to configure the helm chart to apply config from an existing ConfigMap, so that I isolate my application configuration from my chart configuration (and make tracking changes easier). In my setup, I'm using BGP against a pair of pfsense¹ firewalls, so per the official docs, I use the following configuration, saved in my flux repo:

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  namespace: metallb-system
  name: metallb-config
data:
  config: |
    peers:
    - peer-address: 192.168.33.2
      peer-asn: 64501
      my-asn: 64500
    - peer-address: 192.168.33.4
      peer-asn: 64501
      my-asn: 64500

    address-pools:
    - name: default
      protocol: bgp
      avoid-buggy-ips: true
      addresses:
      - 192.168.32.0/24

!!! question "What does that mean?" In the config referenced above, I define one pool of addresses (192.168.32.0/24) which MetalLB is responsible for allocating to my services. MetalLB will then "advertise" these addresses to my firewalls (192.168.33.2 and 192.168.33.4), in an eBGP relationship where the firewalls' ASN is 64501 and MetalLB's ASN is 64500. Provided I'm using my firewalls as my default gateway (a VIP), when I try to access one of the 192.168.32.x IPs from any subnet connected to my firewalls, the traffic will be routed from the firewall to one of the cluster nodes running the pods selected by that service.

!!! note "Dude, that's too complicated!" There's an easier way, with some limitations. If you configure MetalLB in L2 mode, all you need to do is to define a range of IPs within your existing node subnet, like this:

```yaml title="metallb-system/configmap-metallb-config.yaml"
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  namespace: metallb-system
  name: metallb-config
data:
  config: |
    address-pools:
    - name: default
      protocol: layer2
      addresses:
      - 192.168.1.240-192.168.1.250
```

HelmRelease

Lastly, having set the scene above, we define the HelmRelease which will actually deploy MetalLB into the cluster, with the config and extra ConfigMap we defined above. I save this in my flux repo:

apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2beta1
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: metallb
  namespace: metallb-system
spec:
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: metallb
      version: 2.x # (1)!
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: bitnami
        namespace: flux-system
  interval: 15m
  timeout: 5m
  releaseName: metallb
  valuesFrom:
  - kind: ConfigMap
    name: metallb-helm-chart-value-overrides
    valuesKey: values.yaml # This is the default, but best to be explicit for clarity

1. This recipe was written when the chart was at version 2, it's now at v4.x, which introduces some breaking changes. Stay tuned for an upcoming refresh!

--8<-- "kubernetes-why-not-config-in-helmrelease.md"

Deploy MetalLB

Having committed the above to your flux repository, you should shortly see a metallb kustomization, and in the metallb-system namespace, a controller and a speaker pod for every node:

root@cn1:~# kubectl get pods -n metallb-system -o wide
NAME                                  READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE   IP              NODE   NOMINATED NODE   READINESS GATES
metallb-controller-779d8686f6-mgb4s   1/1     Running   0          21d   10.0.6.19       wn3    <none>           <none>
metallb-speaker-2qh2d                 1/1     Running   0          21d   192.168.33.24   wn4    <none>           <none>
metallb-speaker-7rz24                 1/1     Running   0          21d   192.168.33.22   wn2    <none>           <none>
metallb-speaker-gbm5r                 1/1     Running   0          21d   192.168.33.23   wn3    <none>           <none>
metallb-speaker-gzgd2                 1/1     Running   0          21d   192.168.33.21   wn1    <none>           <none>
metallb-speaker-nz6kd                 1/1     Running   0          21d   192.168.33.25   wn5    <none>           <none>
root@cn1:~#

!!! question "Why are there no speakers on my masters?"

In some cluster setups, master nodes are "tainted" to prevent workloads running on them and consuming capacity required for "mastering". If this is the case for you, but you actually **do** want to run some externally-exposed workloads on your masters, you'll need to update the `speaker.tolerations` value for the HelmRelease config to include:

```yaml
- key: "node-role.kubernetes.io/master"
  effect: "NoSchedule"
```

How do I know it's working?

If you used my template repository to start off your flux deployment strategy, then the podinfo helm chart has already been deployed. By default, the podinfo service is in ClusterIP mode, so it's only reachable within the cluster.

Edit your podinfo helmrelease configmap (/podinfo/configmap-podinfo-helm-chart-value-overrides.yaml), and change this:

    <snip>
    # Kubernetes Service settings
    service:
      enabled: true
      annotations: {}
      type: ClusterIP
    <snip>

To:

    <snip>
    # Kubernetes Service settings
    service:
      enabled: true
      annotations: {}
      type: LoadBalancer
    <snip>

Commit your changes, wait for a reconciliation, and run kubectl get services -n podinfo. All going well, you should see that the service now has an IP assigned from the pool you chose for MetalLB!

--8<-- "recipe-footer.md"

---

1. I've documented an example re how to configure BGP between MetalLB and pfsense. ↩︎