Automated Kubernetes AWS Setup

This repository leverages GitHub Actions to automate the creation of a Kubernetes cluster (v1.31.0) on provisioned EC2 instances on AWS. All you need is an AWS account and a GitHub account. Additionally, a workflow is provided to delete the Kubernetes cluster as long as the Terraform state file is available.

Prerequisites

1. AWS user credentials (Access key ID/Secret pair) with the necessary EC2 action rights. The minimum required permissions are detailed in the aws_iam_policy.json.
2. An SSH key (note the name) generated in AWS, with the private key saved in .pem format.
3. The ability to copy this repository and create your own repository (it is highly recommended to use a private repository as all artifacts are accessible by the public in a public repository).

Steps to Create a Kubernetes Cluster

1. Save the following secrets for GitHub Actions in your repository. Visit this link for instructions:
   • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: Access key of the AWS user
   • AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: Secret key of the AWS user
   • SSH_KEY_EC2: The entire content of the SSH key .pem file
2. Go to the GitHub Actions tab, and on the left, choose the workflow Create a k8s cluster.
3. On the right side, click Run workflow, and enter the customization information:
   • Default AWS region to create all resources. Default is us-east-1.
   • Number of worker nodes to be provisioned. Default is 1.
   • Machine type of the master node. Default is t2.medium.
   • Machine type of the worker node. Default is t2.medium.
   • Name of the SSH key on AWS to be used to access the EC2 instances.
4. Click Run workflow.
5. Once the workflow completes successfully, download the artifact kubeconfig to access the Kubernetes cluster.

Steps to Destroy a Kubernetes Cluster

We use the workflow Delete a k8s cluster to destroy a Kubernetes cluster. There are two options to use this workflow:

Option 1: Use the Run ID of a Creation Workflow

Note: Artifacts are saved in GitHub for up to 90 days. If it has been more than 90 days since the workflow was run, this method will not work.

1. Enter the Run ID of the workflow Create a k8s cluster that contains the state file. Run ID can be found in the URL of the workflow run - https://github.com/owner/repo/actions/runs/<RUN_ID>.
2. Run Delete a k8s cluster workflow.

Option 2: Use the Downloaded Terraform State File

1. Download the artifact terraform_state_files2 after a successful run of the workflow Create a k8s cluster. Check this link for instructions.
2. Add the file to the repository, under the directory automated-k8s-aws-setup/Terraform3. Then push the change.
3. Leave Run ID as empty. Run the workflow Delete a k8s cluster.