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Set up a MediaWiki server on a Kubernetes cluster with Canonical Juju

Set up a MediaWiki server on a Kubernetes cluster with Canonical Juju
11 May 2023

Set up a MediaWiki server on a Kubernetes cluster with Canonical Juju

Canonical Juju is a powerful open-source tool for deploying and managing complex software applications in cloud and data center environments. It makes application creation, deployment, and management easier for developers and system administrators across a range of environments, including public and private clouds, bare metal servers, and virtual machines.

Juju is based on the concept of "charms," - pre-configured packages that define how an application should be deployed and managed. Charms contain all the necessary configuration files, scripts, and dependencies needed to run applications. A Charmed Operator in Juju is a broader interpretation of the operator concept in Kubernetes.

This blog will explain in detail how to Canonical Juju to setup a MediaWiki server on Kubernetes.

Steps for lab setup of MediaWiki using JUJU:

Step 1: Create the VPC to host the Kubernetes Cluster:

```sh
$ aws ec2 create-vpc --cidr-block 10.250.0.0/16
{
   "Vpc": {
       "CidrBlock": "10.250.0.0/16",
       "DhcpOptionsId": "dopt-0c324b41063602b80",
       "State": "pending",
       "VpcId": "vpc-068f4988d0c46cedf",
       "OwnerId": "808641108845",
       "InstanceTenancy": "default",
       "Ipv6CidrBlockAssociationSet": [],
       "CidrBlockAssociationSet": [
           {
               "AssociationId": "vpc-cidr-assoc-0cf9e2898dc0f6d4f",
               "CidrBlock": "10.250.0.0/16",
               "CidrBlockState": {
                   "State": "associated"
              }
           }
       ],
       "IsDefault": false
   }
}
```

Step 2: Create a .sh file to store the important environment variables:

```sh
VPC_ID=vpc-068f4988d0c46cedf
echo "VPC_ID=$VPC_ID" >> aws_vars.sh
source aws_vars.sh
```

Step 3: Create the required subnets for High Availability and save the subnet IDs in aws_vars.sh file we created before:

```sh

$ echo "SUBNET1_ID=$SUBNET1_ID" >> aws_vars.sh

$ echo "SUBNET2_ID=$SUBNET2_ID" >> aws_vars.sh

$ echo "SUBNET3_ID=$SUBNET3_ID" >> aws_vars.sh

$ echo "SUBNET4_ID=$SUBNET4_ID" >> aws_vars.sh

```

This should be the output if you cat aws_vars.sh file:

```sh

$ cat aws_vars.sh

VPC_ID=vpc-068f4988d0c46cedf

SUBNET1_ID=subnet-0f62a10fbeab970b3

SUBNET2_ID=subnet-025b969f518ca0512

SUBNET3_ID=subnet-022861daf8d1e8e29

SUBNET4_ID=subnet-0455b31248ef4f635
```

Recommendation: To source the correct environment variables, run `source aws_vars.sh`before performing operations using kubectl.

Step 4: Create an internet gateway and attach to VPC to make it publicly available:

```sh
$ aws ec2 create-internet-gateway
{
    "InternetGateway": {
        "Attachments": [],
        "InternetGatewayId": "igw-08f44854f67b15e39",
        "OwnerId": "808641108845",
        "Tags": []
    }
}
```
```sh
$ aws ec2 describe-internet-gateways
{
    "InternetGateways": [
        {
            "Attachments": [
                {
                    "State": "available",
                    "VpcId": "vpc-068f4988d0c46cedf"
                }
            ],
            "InternetGatewayId": "igw-08f44854f67b15e39",
            "OwnerId": "808641108845",
            "Tags": []
        }
    ]
}
```

Attach the internet gateway to VPC:

$ aws ec2 attach-internet-gateway --vpc-id $VPC_ID --internet-gateway-id $IGW

Step 5: Get the route table details:

```sh
$ aws ec2 describe-route-tables --filter "Name=vpc-id,Values=$VPC_ID"
{
   "RouteTables": [
       {
           "Associations": [
               {
                   "Main": false,
                   "RouteTableAssociationId": "rtbassoc-0cf74a32459898793",
                   "RouteTableId": "rtb-0157f08f342bdcbff",
                   "SubnetId": "subnet-025b969f518ca0512",
                   "AssociationState": {
                       "State": "associated"
                   }
               },
               {
                   "Main": true,
                   "RouteTableAssociationId": "rtbassoc-0dcd22423a9a453e5",
                   "RouteTableId": "rtb-0157f08f342bdcbff",
                   "AssociationState": {
                       "State": "associated"
                   }
               },
               {
                   "Main": false,
                   "RouteTableAssociationId": "rtbassoc-0ec777e00bbf16ad7",
                   "RouteTableId": "rtb-0157f08f342bdcbff",
                   "SubnetId": "subnet-0f62a10fbeab970b3",
                   "AssociationState": {
                       "State": "associated"
                   }
               },
               {
                   "Main": false,
                   "RouteTableAssociationId": "rtbassoc-0dce727ef7abba3c2",
                   "RouteTableId": "rtb-0157f08f342bdcbff",
                   "SubnetId": "subnet-0455b31248ef4f635",
                   "AssociationState": {
                       "State": "associated"
                  }
               },
               {
                   "Main": false,
                   "RouteTableAssociationId": "rtbassoc-002d0befb8788b137",
                   "RouteTableId": "rtb-0157f08f342bdcbff",
                   "SubnetId": "subnet-022861daf8d1e8e29",
                   "AssociationState": {
                       "State": "associated"
                   }
               }
           ],

}
```

Step 6: Create the default route to IGW:

```sh
$ aws ec2 create-route --route-table-id $RT --destination-cidr-block 0.0.0.0/0 --gateway-id $IGW
{
   "Return": true
}
```

And to make them public, associate the route tables with all the subnets:

```sh
$ aws ec2 create-route --route-table-id $RT --destination-cidr-block 0.0.0.0/0 --gateway-id $IGW
{
   "Return": true
}

$ aws ec2 associate-route-table --subnet-id $SUBNET1_ID --route-table-id $RT
{
   "AssociationId": "rtbassoc-0ec777e00bbf16ad7",
   "AssociationState": {
      "State": "associated"
   }
}

$ aws ec2 associate-route-table --subnet-id $SUBNET2_ID --route-table-id $RT
{
   "AssociationId": "rtbassoc-0cf74a32459898793",
   "AssociationState": {
       "State": "associated"
   }
}

$ aws ec2 associate-route-table --subnet-id $SUBNET3_ID --route-table-id $RT
{
   "AssociationId": "rtbassoc-002d0befb8788b137",
   "AssociationState": {
       "State": "associated"
   }
}

$ aws ec2 associate-route-table --subnet-id $SUBNET4_ID --route-table-id $RT
{
   "AssociationId": "rtbassoc-0dce727ef7abba3c2",
   "AssociationState": {
       "State": "associated"
   }
}
```

Step 7: Setup VPC subnet attributes to map public IP on launch:

```sh
$ aws ec2 modify-subnet-attribute --subnet-id $SUBNET1_ID --map-public-ip-on-launch
$ aws ec2 modify-subnet-attribute --subnet-id $SUBNET2_ID --map-public-ip-on-launch
$ aws ec2 modify-subnet-attribute --subnet-id $SUBNET3_ID --map-public-ip-on-launch
$ aws ec2 modify-subnet-attribute --subnet-id $SUBNET4_ID --map-public-ip-on-launch
```

Step 8: Install Juju automation tool for better administration of Kubernetes Cluster in AWS.

```sh
$ snap install --classic juju
```

Step 9: Bootstrap the Kubernetes controller to be used with Juju.

I have deployed it in subnet 1.

```sh
$ juju bootstrap aws kube-controller \
> --config vpc-id=$VPC_ID --config vpc-id-force=true --to "subnet=$SUBNET1_ID"

WARNING! Although the specified VPC ID fails to meet the minimum Juju requirements, it will still be utilized because vpc-id-force=true has been specified.

Using VPC "vpc-068f4988d0c46cedf" in region "us-east-1"
Creating Juju controller "my-controller" on aws/us-east-1
Looking for packaged Juju agent version 2.8.1 for amd64
Launching controller instance(s) on aws/us-east-1...
 - i-08f16c893db947c92 (arch=amd64 mem=4G cores=2) us-east-1a"
Installing Juju agent on bootstrap instance
Fetching Juju Dashboard 0.2.0
Waiting for address
Attempting to connect to 10.250.0.76:22
Attempting to connect to 54.234.251.130:22
Connected to 54.234.251.130
Running machine configuration script...
Bootstrap agent now started
Contacting Juju controller at 54.234.251.130 to verify accessibility...

Bootstrap complete, controller "my-controller" is now available
Controller machines are in the "controller" model
Initial model "default" added
```

Juju can operate with various models that represent distinct deployments within Kubernetes. In this case, I am creating a new model named "Kubernetes" for ThoughtWorks deployment. Additionally, the public space is being added to enable access from the management machine.

```sh
$ juju add-model kubernetes aws --config vpc-id=$VPC_ID
Added 'k8s' model on aws/us-east-1 with credential 'default' for user 'admin'

$ juju add-space public 10.250.0.0/24 10.250.1.0/24 10.250.2.0/24 10.250.3.0/24 -m k8s

added space "public" with subnets 10.250.0.0/24, 10.250.1.0/24, 10.250.2.0/24, 10.250.3.0/24

```

If you do juju models, you will see the model deployed for this lab:

```sh

$ juju models
Controller: kube-controller

Model       Cloud/Region   Type Status     Machines Cores Units Access Last connection
controller   aws/us-east-1 ec2   available         1     2 -     admin   just now
default     aws/us-east-1 ec2   available       0     - -     admin   24 minutes ago
kubernetes* aws/us-east-1 ec2   available         8     16 13     admin   6 minutes ago

```

Step 10: Now deploy highly available MediaWiki with Kubernetes cluster using Juju

```sh
$ juju deploy cs:tambakherohit/MediaWiki

$ juju deploy cs:tambakherohit/Kubernetes-master

$ juju deploy cs:tambakherohit/Kubernetes-worker
```

You will see the following output if everything works well, considering our network deployment and control plane deployment.

```sh
$ watch -c juju status --color
 

Every 2.0s: juju status --color             
ubuntu-s-4vcpu-8gb-fra1-01: Sun Sep 6 15:49:29 2020
 

Model       Controller       Cloud/Region   Version SLA         Timestamp
kubernetes kube-controller aws/us-east-1 2.8.1   unsupported 15:49:30Z
 
App               Version Status   Scale Charm             Store       Rev OS     Notes
containerd         1.3.3   active       2 containerd         jujucharms   88 ubuntu
easyrsa           3.0.1   active       1 easyrsa           jujucharms 325 ubuntu
etcd               3.3.19   active       1 etcd               jujucharms 531 ubuntu
flannel           0.11.0   active       2 flannel           jujucharms 501 ubuntu
haproxy                     unknown     1 haproxy           jujucharms   13 ubuntu
kubernetes-master 1.18.8   active       1 kubernetes-master jujucharms 865 ubuntu exposed
kubernetes-worker 1.18.8   active       1 kubernetes-worker jujucharms 692 ubuntu exposed
MediaWiki                   unknown     1 MediaWiki         jujucharms   3 ubuntu
memcached                   unknown     1 memcached         jujucharms   11 ubuntu
mysql                       unknown     1 mysql             jujucharms   29 ubuntu
mysql-slave                 unknown     1 mysql             jujucharms   29 ubuntu

 
Unit                 Workload Agent Machine Public address Ports           Message
easyrsa/0*           active   idle   5/lxd/0 252.1.198.43                   Certificate Authority connected.
etcd/0*               active   idle   5       3.88.176.225   2379/tcp       Healthy with 1 known peer
haproxy/0*           unknown   idle   0       54.210.131.226 80/tcp
kubernetes-master/0* active   idle   5       3.88.176.225   6443/tcp       Kubernetes master running.
 containerd/1       active   idle           3.88.176.225                   Container runtime available
 flannel/1           active   idle           3.88.176.225                   Flannel subnet 10.1.63.1/24
kubernetes-worker/0* active   idle   6       3.88.18.208     80/tcp,443/tcp Kubernetes worker running.
 containerd/0*      active   idle           3.88.18.208                     Container runtime available
 flannel/0*         active   idle           3.88.18.208                     Flannel subnet 10.1.98.1/24
MediaWiki/0*         unknown   idle   1       34.230.4.252
memcached/0*         unknown   idle   2       54.92.181.16   11211/tcp
mysql-slave/0*       unknown   idle   4       54.174.164.178
mysql/0*             unknown   idle   3       3.237.100.138
Machine State    DNS             Inst id              Series  AZ          Message
0        started  54.210.131.226  i-04c74f613269a953d  trusty  us-east-1a  running
1        started  34.230.4.252    i-00b5008f9f2e168cb  trusty  us-east-1b  running
2        started  54.92.181.16    i-0a13769db89bd78a9  trusty  us-east-1c  running
3        started  3.237.100.138   i-09606999840b52348  trusty  us-east-1d  running
4        started  54.174.164.178  i-08b7a0175e15444a2  trusty  us-east-1a  running
5        started  3.88.176.225    i-0efa7d239c8748f38  bionic  us-east-1b  running
5/lxd/0  started  252.1.198.43    juju-3c1c0e-5-lxd-0  bionic  us-east-1b  Container started
6        started  3.88.18.208     i-043ff5274e436e538  bionic  us-east-1c  running

```

For scaling out:

You can horizontally scale by adding or removing MediaWiki instances according to your preference:

```sh
$ juju add-unit wiki
```

Performing operations on this cluster can be done using both Kubectl and juju. With Juju, adding relationships between different pods and scaling the cluster dynamically becomes much simpler.

JUJU commands reference:

https://juju.is/docs/commands

Various Kubernetes operations can be performed by running Kubectl commands from the control machine.

```sh
$ kubectl get svc
NAME         TYPE        CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)   AGE
kubernetes   ClusterIP   10.152.183.1   <none>        443/TCP   21h

$ kubectl get deployments --all-namespaces
NAMESPACE                         NAME                                     READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   AGE
ingress-nginx-kubernetes-worker   default-http-backend-kubernetes-worker   1/1     1            1           22h
kube-system                       coredns                                  1/1     1            1           22h
kube-system                       kube-state-metrics                       1/1     1            1           22h
kube-system                       metrics-server-v0.3.6                    1/1     1            1           22h
kubernetes-dashboard              dashboard-metrics-scraper                1/1     1            1           22h
kubernetes-dashboard              kubernetes-dashboard                     1/1     1            1           22h
```

Here are the images that I’ve used in this implementation

 ```sh
$ kubectl get pods --all-namespaces -o jsonpath="{..image}" |\
> tr -s '[[:space:]]' '\n' |\
> sort |\
> uniq -c
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/addon-resizer-amd64:1.8.5
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/coredns/coredns-amd64:1.6.7
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/coreos/kube-state-metrics:v1.9.5
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/defaultbackend-amd64:1.5
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/kubernetes-ingress-controller/nginx-ingress-controller-amd64:0.30.0
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/kubernetesui/dashboard-amd64:v2.0.0-rc5
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/kubernetesui/metrics-scraper:v1.0.3
     2 rocks.canonical.com:443/cdk/metrics-server-amd64:v0.3.6
```

Conclusion

Setting up a MediaWiki server on a Kubernetes cluster using Canonical Juju is a powerful solution that can bring numerous benefits to your organization. It offers high scalability, fault tolerance, and ease of management, allowing you to focus on your content and users rather than the underlying infrastructure. With its flexibility and extensibility, MediaWiki on Kubernetes can be tailored to meet your specific needs and requirements. By following the steps outlined in this blog, you can get started with MediaWiki on Kubernetes and unlock its full potential.

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