Install and Configure Kubernetes on Ubuntu 24.04

Learn how to install and configure Kubernetes on Ubuntu 24.04. Our Kubernetes Support team is here to answer queries and concerns.

Install and Configure Kubernetes on Ubuntu 24.04

Kubernetes has become the go-to container orchestration platform for managing scalable and resilient applications. If you’re planning to deploy Kubernetes on Ubuntu 24.04, our Experts are here to help.

Whether you’re setting up a multi-node cluster or encountering errors like Kubernetes 429 Too Many Requests, expert assistance can make all the difference.

This blog will walk you through all the steps, from preparing your nodes to launching your first application.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure the setup meets the following requirements:

• Ubuntu 24.04 installed on all nodes (both master and workers)
• SSH access is enabled on all instances
• A regular user account with `sudo` privileges
• At least 2GB RAM, 2 CPUs, and 20GB of free disk space per node
• Reliable internet connection

If you’re working with a single-node setup, you might also want to explore our guide on installing Kubernetes on Ubuntu 22.04 single node.

Step 1. Configure Hostnames and `/etc/hosts` File

1. To enable smooth communication within the cluster, update the `/etc/hosts` file on all nodes:

   sudo nano /etc/hosts
2. Then, add entries for all nodes:
   

   master-ip    k8s-master-node
   
   worker1-ip   k8s-worker-node-1
   
   worker2-ip   k8s-worker-node-2
   
   
3. Now, set the hostname on each node:

   
   
   # On master node
   
   sudo hostnamectl set-hostname "k8s-master-node"
   
   # On worker 1
   
   sudo hostnamectl set-hostname "k8s-worker-node-1"
   
   # On worker 2
   
   sudo hostnamectl set-hostname "k8s-worker-node-2"
   
   # Apply changes
   
   exec bash
   
   
4. Next, confirm hostname:

   hostname
5. Then, verify inter-node connectivity:
   

   ping -c 3 k8s-worker-node-1
   
   ping -c 3 k8s-worker-node-2
   
   

Step 2. Disable Swap

Kubernetes requires swap to be disabled for performance consistency.

sudo swapoff -a

To make this change permanent:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

# Comment out the swap line by adding a # at the beginning

To confirm the swap is off:

swapon --show

# No output means swap is disabled

Step 3. Load Required Kernel Modules

Enable kernel modules for containerd:

sudo modprobe overlay

sudo modprobe br_netfilter

Then, persist the settings:

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

overlay

br_netfilter

EOF

Step 4. Configure Kubernetes Networking

Now, enable the required sysctl parameters:

sudo nano /etc/sysctl.d/k8s.conf

Then, add:

net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-iptables = 1

net.bridge.bridge-nf-call-ip6tables = 1

net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1

Now, apply the settings:

sudo sysctl –system

Step 5. Install Docker

1. Install Docker from Ubuntu repositories:

   
   
   sudo apt update
   
   sudo apt install docker.io -y
   
   
2. Next, enable Docker to start on boot:

   
   
   sudo systemctl enable docker
   
   sudo systemctl start docker
   
   
3. Then, configure containerd:

   
   
   sudo mkdir /etc/containerd
   
   sudo sh -c "containerd config default > /etc/containerd/config.toml"
   
   sudo sed -i 's/SystemdCgroup = false/SystemdCgroup = true/' /etc/containerd/config.toml
   
   sudo systemctl restart containerd
   
   

Step 6. Install Kubernetes Components

1. To install dependencies:

   sudo apt-get install curl ca-certificates apt-transport-https -y
2. Then, add the Kubernetes GPG key and repository:

   curl -fsSL https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.31/deb/Release.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg
   
   echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/kubernetes-apt-keyring.gpg] https://pkgs.k8s.io/core:/stable:/v1.31/deb/ /" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kubernetes.list
   
   sudo apt update
   
   
3. To install Kubernetes tools:

   sudo apt install kubelet kubeadm kubectl -y

Step 7. Initialize the Kubernetes Cluster (Master Node Only)

To initialize the Kubernetes cluster, run this command:

sudo kubeadm init –pod-network-cidr=10.10.0.0/16

After initialization, configure `kubectl`:

mkdir -p $HOME/.kube

sudo cp /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf $HOME/.kube/config

sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) $HOME/.kube/config

If the cluster fails to initialize, errors such as Kubernetes Backoff Limit Exceeded may occur and will require further troubleshooting.

Step 8. Install Calico Network Plugin

1. To install Calico Operator:

   kubectl create -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/projectcalico/calico/v3.28.0/manifests/tigera-operator.yaml
   
   
2. Then, download and modify the custom resources:

   curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/projectcalico/calico/v3.28.0/manifests/custom-resources.yaml
   
   sed -i 's/cidr: 192.168.0.0/16/cidr: 10.10.0.0/16/g' custom-resources.yaml
   
   kubectl create -f custom-resources.yaml
   
   
3. Then, verify:

   kubectl get nodes

Step 9. Join Worker Nodes to the Cluster

We can use the `kubeadm join` command from the output of the `kubeadm init` step on each worker node:

kubeadm join :6443 --token

--discovery-token-ca-cert-hash sha256:

To verify the cluster:

kubectl get nodes

If any node fails to join and stays in a pending state, refer to our troubleshooting guide for Kubernetes Timed Out Waiting for the Condition.

Step 10. Test Your Kubernetes Cluster

1. First, create a namespace:

   kubectl create namespace demo-namespace
2. Then, deploy Nginx:

   kubectl create deployment my-app --image=nginx --replicas=2 –namespace=demo-namespace
3. Next, expose using NodePort:

   kubectl expose deployment my-app -n demo-namespace --type NodePort --port 80
4. To get service details:

   kubectl get svc -n demo-namespace
5. Then, test using `curl`:

   curl http://worker-node-ip:node-port

We will receive a standard Nginx HTML page.

Bonus Tip: Install Kubectl Using Snap

If we prefer installing `kubectl` via Snap:

sudo apt install snapd -y

sudo snap install kubectl --classic

kubectl version --client

To uninstall:

sudo snap remove kubectl

[Need assistance with a different issue? Our team is available 24/7.]

Conclusion

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to install and configure Kubernetes on Ubuntu 24.04.