Creating a Azure DevOps/Kubernetes On-Premise Platform

IT Support
  • Assumptions
    • You already have a vCenter virtual environment with permission to create virtual machines.
      • This environment is fully licensed.
    • You have prior knowledge of how to create a virtual machine (Can make a Windows Server 2022 machine).
  • Prerequisites
    • On Personal Machine
      • Download and install the Tanzu Grid CLI tools from the VMWare website
      • Download, install, and open Docker Desktop on your machine
    • On vCenter
      • You need to download the Tanzu base image (OVA file) from the VMware website, upload it to your server and convert it to a template. (When you do the initial setup on the Tanzu you will know what version you need)
  • Create an SSH Public key on your vCenter environment
    • Generate a public key using Puttygen or other key-generation softwares
    • SSH to the vCenter server using Putty or another SSH service
    • Enter the following commands and change the following lines
      • vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config
        • CHANGE: PermitRootLogin no” to “PermitRootLogin yes”
      • vi /etc/ssh/keys-root/authorized_keys
        • Add the key you created
      • /etc/init.d/SSH restart
  • Do the Tanzu Installation
    • Enter the following commands into the command line
      • tanzu init
      • tanzu mc create -u
    • You will be presented with a web GUI for the Tanzu installation
      • Select “Deploy” under the VMware vSphere option
    • Under the IaaS Provider Option
      • IP or FQDN
        • Enter the IP address/DNS name of your virtual environment
      • Username
        • Enter the username of an administrator account for vCenter
      • Password
        • The password to the account name you provided
      • Disable verification
        • Unchecked
      • SSL Thumbprint Verification
        • Check “Disable Verification”
      • Click Connect
      • Select the datacenter you have set up in vCenter
      • SSH Public Key
        • Enter the same public key you put in your vCenter config files
    • Under Management Cluster Settings Tab
      • Deployment 
        • Select the desired instance type; I used small
      • Management Cluster Name 
        • Give your new cluster a name
      • Control Plane Endpoint Provider
        • Kube-vip (for simplicity’s sake)
      • Worker Node Instance Type
        • I used small
      • Control Plane Endpoint
        • Give your cluster an unused IP address
    • VMware NSX Advanced Load Balancer
      • LEAVE THIS BLANK
    • Metadata
      • LEAVE THIS BLANK
    • Resources
      • VM Folder
        • Select the folder that you want your VMs to be a part of.
      • Datastore
        • Select the datastore you want your machines to be stored
    • Kubernetes Network
      • Network Name
        • Select the port group/vCenter network you want to use.
      • Cluster Service CIDR
        • Leave Default 
          • CLUSTER SERVICE CIDR
            • 100.64.0.0/13
          • CLUSTER POD CIDR
            • 100.96.0.0/11
    • Identity Management
      • DISABLE THE CHECKBOX TO BLANK THIS OUT
    • OS Image
      • Select the template you made earlier in the installation process
    • Select “Review Configuration” and finish the installation
  • Deploy an Azure DevOps machine
    • Create a Windows Server VM (I used 2022)
      • Download the Azure DevOps Server Tools
      • This is a very typical setup wizard (basically just clicking next 5 times). It will install Java and SQL for you if you do not have them already.
    • After an uneasy amount of time, the installation will be complete (you may need to restart). You can then open the Azure DevOps Server Administration Console.
      • You can then connect to the web GUI through a web browser
    • The username and password are the same as the Admin user account on the Windows Server 2022 server
      • You can add other users in the administration console under the “Application Tire” tab under “Administration Console Users”
  • Connecting Everything Together – The Finale
    • In the Azure-DevOps web GUI, go to “Collection Settings” located at the bottom left.
    • Go to the “Agent Pools” tab toward the bottom left
    • Select the Default Agent pool
      • Select “New Agent” at the top right
      • Follow the instructions prompted to you on the screen (downloading a zip file, making a few directories, and such).
      • I HAVE USED THE SAME 2022 SERVER FOR BOTH HOSTING THE DEVOPS WEBSITE AND THE AGENT TOOLS.
        • Run “config.cmd”
          • Enter Server URL
          • Press enter for the integrated authentication type
          • Run this as a service so it starts when the machine starts
    • Go to the “Agents” tab in the Default Agent Pool section
    • There should now be an Agent that is currently online
    • Connect the Kubernetes cluster to a pipeline
      • In the Azure DevOps console, create a new Project on the main screen
        • Go to the “pipelines” selection on the left
        • Select “Environments”
        • Create Environment
          • Give it a name
          • Select Kubernetes as the Resource
            • Provider 
              • Leave Default
            • Cluster Name
              • This will be what you named your cluster when you created the Tanzu Cluster
            • Namespace
              • You can use the “default” namespace for simplicity’s sake
            • Server URL
            • Secret
              • In a command line interface, connect to your Tanzu Cluster
                • tanzu init
                • tanzu login
                  • Select your cluster and hit enter
                • Create a new service account
                  • Download the file located HERE 
                  • Change your directory to your downloads folder in the command line
                  • Execute a command to run the YAML file
                  • kubectl apply -f azure-devops-service-account.yaml
              • Get the token for the service account
                • kubectl get serviceAccounts <service-account-name> -n <namespace> -o=jsonpath={.secrets[*].name}
              • Use the token to get the secret
                • kubectl get secret <service-account-secret-name> -n <namespace> -o json
                  • Replace the <Service Account Secret Name> with the token you got from the previous command
              • Enter the output you got from that in the Azure DevOps “Secret” textbox.
            • Check the “Accept untrusted certificates” checkbox
            • Finish by clicking “Validate and Create”

 

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