Cloud Controller Manager on Support Tools

Setting Up the Linode (Akamai) Cloud Provider for RKE2

Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Introduction

RKE2 runs fine on plain Linode instances, but without a cloud provider the cluster knows nothing about the platform underneath it. Service type=LoadBalancer stays <pending> forever, nodes have no provider ID or region labels, and there is no way to get a Block Storage Volume attached to a pod.

Two upstream projects fill that gap:

Linode Cloud Controller Manager (CCM): sets node addresses and region/zone labels, and turns LoadBalancer services into NodeBalancers.
Linode Block Storage CSI driver: provisions, attaches and resizes Block Storage Volumes for PersistentVolumeClaims.

This guide covers:

Setting Up Alibaba Cloud Provider for RKE2

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Alibaba Cloud provides a Kubernetes-compatible cloud provider that integrates with RKE2 to manage cloud resources such as load balancers, networking, and persistent storage. This guide walks you through setting up the Alibaba Cloud Provider for RKE2, installing the Cloud Controller Manager (CCM), and configuring the Alibaba Cloud CSI driver.

Prerequisites

Before setting up the Alibaba Cloud Provider for RKE2, ensure you have the following:

An Alibaba Cloud account with permissions to create and manage resources.
A RAM user with the necessary IAM policies to interact with ECS and other services.
An RKE2 cluster deployed on Alibaba Cloud ECS instances.
The aliyun CLI installed and configured with your Alibaba Cloud credentials.
A Kubernetes kubeconfig file for cluster access.

Step 1: Configure Alibaba Cloud IAM Permissions

Alibaba Cloud’s cloud provider requires specific permissions to interact with the API. You need to create a RAM role with the following policy:

Setting Up the Amazon Cloud Provider for RKE2

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Running Kubernetes clusters on AWS requires integrating cloud services like Elastic Load Balancers (ELB) and Elastic Block Storage (EBS) with Kubernetes workloads. To enable this, Amazon provides a cloud provider integration that allows RKE2 clusters to automatically manage cloud resources.

However, starting with Kubernetes 1.27, in-tree AWS cloud providers have been completely removed, requiring all clusters to migrate to an out-of-tree AWS Cloud Controller Manager (CCM).

In this guide, we will cover:

Setting Up the Azure Cloud Provider for RKE2

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Kubernetes clusters running on Azure require integration with cloud services such as Azure Load Balancers, Managed Disks, and Azure Files to function efficiently. Azure provides a cloud provider integration that enables RKE2 clusters to automatically provision and manage cloud resources.

However, starting with Kubernetes 1.30, in-tree Azure cloud providers have been removed, making it mandatory to migrate to an out-of-tree Azure Cloud Controller Manager (CCM).

In this guide, we will cover:

Setting Up the DigitalOcean Cloud Provider for RKE2

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

When running RKE2 on DigitalOcean, Kubernetes requires cloud provider integration to:

Automatically provision Load Balancers
Manage persistent storage with Block Storage
Assign floating IPs to nodes and services

The DigitalOcean Cloud Controller Manager (CCM) enables Kubernetes to manage these cloud resources efficiently.

This guide covers: ✅ Why the DigitalOcean cloud provider is needed
✅ Configuring a DigitalOcean API token
✅ Setting up networking for RKE2
✅ Deploying the DigitalOcean Cloud Controller Manager

Setting Up the Google Compute Engine Cloud Provider for RKE2

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

When running RKE2 on Google Compute Engine (GCE), Kubernetes requires cloud provider integration to:

Automatically provision Load Balancers
Manage persistent storage
Configure network routes between nodes

The GCE Cloud Provider enables this integration, allowing Kubernetes to manage GCE resources efficiently. This guide covers: ✅ Why the GCE cloud provider is needed
✅ Configuring a Google Cloud service account
✅ Setting up networking for RKE2
✅ Deploying the GCE Cloud Controller Manager