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

Why Use the DigitalOcean Cloud Provider in RKE2?

When you enable the DigitalOcean cloud provider in RKE2, Kubernetes gains:

1. Load Balancer Integration – Automatically provisions DigitalOcean Load Balancers for Service type=LoadBalancer.
2. Persistent Storage Management – Supports DigitalOcean Block Storage (DO Volumes) for persistent storage.
3. Floating IP Assignment – Assigns floating IPs to nodes and services.

Without this integration, Kubernetes cannot manage DigitalOcean resources automatically.

Step 1: Create a DigitalOcean API Token

1.1 Generate an API Token

To integrate RKE2 with DigitalOcean, you need an API Token.

1. Log in to your DigitalOcean account.
2. Navigate to API & Security > Personal Access Tokens.
3. Click Generate New Token.
4. Provide:
   • Name: rke2-cloud-provider
   • Scopes: Read and Write
   • Expiration: Choose a suitable expiration period.
5. Click Generate Token and copy the token (it won’t be shown again).

Step 2: Configure the RKE2 Cluster for DigitalOcean

2.1 Modify the Cluster Configuration

To enable the DigitalOcean cloud provider, modify the RKE2 cluster configuration.

Control Plane Configuration:

Edit your cluster YAML:

spec:
  rkeConfig:
    machineSelectorConfig:
      - config:
          disable-cloud-controller: true
          kube-apiserver-arg:
            - cloud-provider=external
          kube-controller-manager-arg:
            - cloud-provider=external
          kubelet-arg:
            - cloud-provider=external
        machineLabelSelector:
          matchExpressions:
            - key: rke.cattle.io/control-plane-role
              operator: In
              values:
                - 'true'

Worker Configuration:

spec:
  rkeConfig:
    machineSelectorConfig:
      - config:
          kubelet-arg:
            - cloud-provider=external
        machineLabelSelector:
          matchExpressions:
            - key: rke.cattle.io/worker-role
              operator: In
              values:
                - 'true'

Step 3: Deploy the DigitalOcean Cloud Controller Manager (CCM)

Since Kubernetes 1.27 removed in-tree DigitalOcean providers, you must use the out-of-tree DigitalOcean Cloud Controller Manager.

3.1 Create a Kubernetes Secret for the API Token

Create a Kubernetes Secret to store the DigitalOcean API Token:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: digitalocean-cloud-config
  namespace: kube-system
type: Opaque
stringData:
  access-token: "<your-digitalocean-api-token>"

Apply the secret:

kubectl apply -f digitalocean-cloud-config.yaml

3.2 Install the DigitalOcean CCM Using Helm

Add the Helm repository:

helm repo add digitalocean https://digitalocean.github.io/do-cloud-controller-manager
helm repo update

Create a values.yaml file:

cloudConfigSecretName: digitalocean-cloud-config
cloudControllerManager:
  nodeSelector:
    node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane: 'true'
  tolerations:
    - effect: NoSchedule
      key: node-role.kubernetes.io/control-plane
      value: 'true'

Deploy the Helm chart:

helm upgrade --install digitalocean-cloud-controller \
  digitalocean/do-cloud-controller-manager \
  --values values.yaml -n kube-system

3.3 Verify the Installation

Check the Helm deployment:

helm status digitalocean-cloud-controller -n kube-system

Confirm that the Cloud Controller Manager is running:

kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep cloud-controller-manager

Verify that nodes have been assigned a ProviderID:

kubectl describe nodes | grep "ProviderID"

Step 4: Install the DigitalOcean CSI Driver (Optional)

DigitalOcean now requires CSI drivers for persistent volumes. Install the DigitalOcean CSI driver:

helm repo add digitalocean https://digitalocean.github.io/csi-digitalocean
helm repo update digitalocean

helm install digitalocean-csi-driver digitalocean/csi-digitalocean \
  --namespace kube-system

Verify installation:

kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep csi

Create a StorageClass:

kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
  name: do-block-storage
provisioner: dobs.csi.digitalocean.com
parameters:
  fsType: ext4

Apply it:

kubectl apply -f storageclass.yaml

Conclusion

Configuring the DigitalOcean cloud provider in RKE2 enables Kubernetes to fully integrate with DigitalOcean, allowing: ✅ Automated Load Balancer provisioning
✅ Persistent storage with DigitalOcean Block Storage
✅ Floating IP assignment for nodes

With Kubernetes 1.27+, migration to the out-of-tree DigitalOcean Cloud Controller Manager is required to maintain full cloud functionality.

For further details, check out the DigitalOcean Cloud Controller Docs.

Want more Kubernetes insights? Browse the RKE2 Training series for expert insights!