RKE2 Deep Dive 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 Equinix Metal Cloud Provider for RKE2

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

Introduction

Equinix Metal (formerly Packet) provides bare-metal cloud infrastructure for running Kubernetes. RKE2 supports Equinix Metal as an out-of-tree cloud provider, enabling integration with MetalLB for LoadBalancer services and CSI drivers for persistent storage.

This guide walks you through setting up the Equinix Metal Cloud Provider in RKE2.

Prerequisites

An active Equinix Metal account
A running RKE2 cluster deployed on Equinix Metal
Equinix Metal API Key for authentication
kubectl configured to interact with your cluster
Helm installed for deploying the cloud provider

Step 1: Generate Equinix Metal API Key

Log in to the Equinix Metal Console.
Navigate to API Keys.
Generate a read-write API key for Kubernetes integration.
Store this key securely, as it will be required for configuring the cloud provider.

Step 2: Configure the Cloud Provider

The Equinix Metal Cloud Provider requires a configuration file (cloud-provider-config) to be stored as a Kubernetes Secret.

Setting Up Hetzner Cloud Provider for RKE2

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

Introduction

The Hetzner Cloud Provider for RKE2 allows seamless integration with Hetzner’s cloud infrastructure, enabling automatic provisioning of LoadBalancer services and persistent storage using Hetzner’s CSI driver.

This guide covers the necessary steps to set up the Hetzner Cloud Provider in an RKE2 cluster, ensuring full compatibility with Kubernetes networking and storage requirements.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

A Hetzner Cloud account with an active project.
An RKE2 cluster running on Hetzner Cloud instances.
API Token for Hetzner Cloud.
Kubernetes CLI (kubectl) installed.
Helm installed on your local machine.

Step 1: Create an API Token

Log in to your Hetzner Cloud account.
Navigate to Access > API Tokens.
Click Generate API Token.
Assign necessary permissions (Read & Write for networking and storage).
Copy and securely store the generated API token.

Step 2: Deploy the Hetzner Cloud Controller Manager (CCM)

Add the Hetzner Helm repository:

sh
helm repo add hetzner https://helm.hetzner.cloud
helm repo update

Create a values.yaml file for the Helm deployment:

yaml
apiToken: "YOUR_HETZNER_API_TOKEN"
network: "your-network-id"
location: "nbg1"

Install the CCM using Helm:

sh
helm install hcloud-cloud-controller hetzner/hcloud-cloud-controller-manager -n kube-system -f values.yaml

Step 3: Configure the Hetzner CSI Driver

Install the CSI driver via Helm:

sh
helm install hcloud-csi hetzner/hcloud-csi-driver -n kube-system

Verify that the driver is running:

sh
kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep hcloud

Step 4: Deploy a LoadBalancer Service

Create a sample LoadBalancer service:

Setting Up IBM Cloud Provider for RKE2

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

Introduction

The IBM Cloud Provider for RKE2 enables seamless integration between Kubernetes clusters and IBM Cloud infrastructure. This setup allows automatic provisioning of LoadBalancer services and persistent storage using IBM Cloud’s CSI driver.

This guide provides step-by-step instructions to set up the IBM Cloud Provider in an RKE2 cluster.

Prerequisites

Ensure the following requirements are met before proceeding:

An IBM Cloud account with an active project.
An RKE2 cluster deployed on IBM Cloud Virtual Servers.
IBM Cloud API key.
Kubernetes CLI (kubectl) installed.
Helm installed on your local machine.

Step 1: Create an IBM Cloud API Key

Log in to the IBM Cloud Console.
Navigate to Manage > Access (IAM).
Click API Keys and then Create API Key.
Assign the necessary permissions.
Download and securely store the API key.

Step 2: Deploy the IBM Cloud Controller Manager (CCM)

Add the IBM Helm repository:

sh
helm repo add ibm https://icr.io/helm/charts
helm repo update

Create a values.yaml file for the Helm deployment:

yaml
ibmCloud:
 apiKey: "YOUR_IBM_CLOUD_API_KEY"
 clusterID: "YOUR_CLUSTER_ID"
 region: "us-south"

Install the CCM using Helm:

sh
helm install ibm-cloud-controller ibm/ibm-cloud-controller-manager -n kube-system -f values.yaml

Step 3: Install the IBM Cloud CSI Driver

Install the CSI driver via Helm:

sh
helm install ibm-csi ibm/ibm-cloud-block-storage-plugin -n kube-system

Verify that the driver is running:

sh
kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep ibm

Step 4: Deploy a LoadBalancer Service

Create a sample LoadBalancer service:

Setting Up Oracle Cloud Provider for RKE2

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

Introduction

The Oracle Cloud Provider for RKE2 enables seamless integration with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), allowing Kubernetes to manage cloud resources such as LoadBalancers and Persistent Volumes. This guide will walk you through setting up the Oracle Cloud Provider for an RKE2 cluster.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

An Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) account.
An RKE2 cluster running on OCI.
An API key configured for authentication.
The Oracle Cloud CLI (oci) installed.
kubectl and Helm installed.

Step 1: Generate API Credentials

Log in to your Oracle Cloud account.
Navigate to Identity & Security > Users.
Click your user and create a new API key.
Download the private key and note your User OCID, Tenancy OCID, and Region.

Step 2: Create a Secret for OCI Configuration

Create a Kubernetes secret to store the OCI configuration:

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

Setting Up the In-Tree VMware vSphere Cloud Provider in RKE2

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

Introduction

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

Automatically provision PersistentVolumes (VMFS, NFS, or vSAN)
Manage VM-based networking and load balancing
Ensure Kubernetes can interact with the vSphere API

VMware vSphere provides two types of cloud provider integrations:

In-Tree vSphere Cloud Provider (deprecated but still available)
Out-of-Tree vSphere Cloud Controller Manager (recommended for Kubernetes 1.27+)

This guide focuses on configuring the in-tree VMware vSphere Cloud Provider in RKE2.

Setting Up the Out-of-Tree VMware vSphere Cloud Provider in RKE2

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

Introduction

As Kubernetes moves away from in-tree cloud providers, VMware vSphere now provides an out-of-tree Cloud Provider Interface (CPI) and Cloud Storage Interface (CSI) for integrating vSphere resources with Kubernetes.

The out-of-tree vSphere Cloud Provider enables: ✅ Dynamic Persistent Volume provisioning using vSphere storage.
✅ Automated Load Balancer creation for Kubernetes services.
✅ Better maintainability with independent plugin updates.

This guide walks through the installation and configuration of the vSphere CPI and CSI in RKE2.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

markdown
---
title: "Setting Up the Harvester Cloud Provider in RKE2"
date: 2025-01-29T00:00:00-00:00
draft: false
tags: ["kubernetes", "rke2", "harvester", "cloud provider", "cpi", "csi"]
categories: ["RKE2 Training"]
author: "Matthew Mattox"
description: "A guide to setting up the Harvester Cloud Provider in RKE2, including the Cloud Provider Interface (CPI) and Cloud Storage Interface (CSI)."
url: "/training/rke2/setup-harvester-cloud-provider-rke2/"
more_link: "/categories/rke2-training/"
---

## Introduction

[Harvester](https://harvesterhci.io/) is a **Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) solution** built on Kubernetes that allows users to manage VMs, Kubernetes, and cloud-native workloads seamlessly.

Harvester provides an **out-of-tree Cloud Provider Interface (CPI) and Cloud Storage Interface (CSI)**, enabling **Kubernetes clusters running on Harvester** to integrate seamlessly with Harvester storage and networking.

This guide covers the **installation and configuration** of the **Harvester CPI and CSI** for **RKE2**.

---

## Harvester Cloud Provider Overview

RKE1 and RKE2 clusters can be provisioned in Rancher using the built-in **Harvester Node Driver**. Harvester provides:

✅ **Load Balancer Support** – Assigns a dedicated Harvester LoadBalancer to Kubernetes services. 
✅ **Harvester Cluster Storage Passthrough** – Supports Longhorn-backed storage for persistent volumes. 

### **What You Will Learn**
📌 How to deploy the **Harvester Cloud Provider** in both **RKE1** and **RKE2** clusters. 
📌 How to use the **Harvester Load Balancer**. 

---

## Backward Compatibility Notice

⚠ **Important Compatibility Issue** 
If you're using **Harvester Cloud Provider v0.2.2 or higher**, ensure that:

- If your **Harvester version is below v1.2.0**, upgrade **Harvester** before upgrading:
 - **RKE2 to v1.26.6+rke2r1 or higher**
 - **Harvester Cloud Provider to v0.2.2 or higher**

Failure to upgrade **Harvester first** may lead to **incompatibility issues**. 
Refer to the [Harvester CCM & CSI Driver with RKE2 Releases](https://harvesterhci.io/docs/) for more details.

---

## Deploying the Harvester Cloud Provider

### **Prerequisites**
✅ **The Kubernetes cluster is built on top of Harvester virtual machines**. 
✅ **Guest Kubernetes nodes run in the same Harvester namespace**. 
✅ **Each Harvester VM must have the `macvlan` kernel module** for **LoadBalancer DHCP IPAM mode**.

To check if the module is installed, run:

```bash
lsmod | grep macvlan
sudo modprobe macvlan

If missing, you may need to build custom cloud images that include the module.