Greetings! Let's dive into Rancher's Harvester product and explore some of the synergies that emerge when we combine the infrastructure and orchestration layers using a unified API. That unified API is the Kubernetes API. So, instead of using the usual cloud-agnostic tools in our toolbox (Terraform, Ansible, etc), we are going to try to use ONLY Kubernetes to deploy a guest RKE2 cluster onto Harvester and then install Rancher Multi-cluster Manager on that cluster. Ideally we do this with minimal steps and avoid usage of complex bash scripts.

The United States Army’s outdated command and control (C2) infrastructure limits its operational efficiency, particularly in critical combat scenarios. The agency’s “C2 Fix” initiative aims to address these issues by simplifying network infrastructure across Army formations. With over 85% of the Army’s units still relying on less agile legacy systems, the current C2 framework lacks the flexibility to support rapid, secure, and scalable communications between intelligence, sustainment, and tactical operations.      

Open-source software (OSS) offers flexibility and innovation, but federal agencies face challenges when integrating these tools into mission-critical operations. Rancher Government Solutions (RGS) understands these challenges and an RGS Subscription ensures that agencies using OSS like Kubernetes receive the stability, security, and support required to meet and exceed government standards.

Containerization and microservices architecture have become foundational in modern software development and operations. Gartner predicts that by 2026, over 90% of global organizations will be running containerized applications in production, up from less than 40% in 2021. This shift brings both opportunities and complexity for enterprise IT. 

The balance between modernizing IT infrastructure and preserving existing investments presents a major concern for the U.S. Government. By allowing customers to leverage new technologies without the constraints of vendor lock-in or hardware limitations, RGS is transforming the approach to IT modernization, ensuring a future-proof IT environment with unparalleled flexibility and choice.

Overview and Introduction

In today's highly connected world, we sometimes forget that there are many instances, especially in the government, where environments need to be intentionally isolated from external connectivity, creating what is known as an air-gapped or disconnected environment. In some cases, these environments may have external connectivity, but that connectivity is extremely unreliable or is limited in it's communication, creating what is known as a denied, disrupted, intermittent, and limited impact environment.

In this deployment guide, we will be effortlessly installing the core Rancher Stack, including Rancher Kubernetes, Rancher Multi-Cluster Manger, Longhorn, and NeuVector. In about 15 minutes, we will have a three-node Kubernetes Cluster (RKE2), with lifecycle management (Rancher Manager), persistent storage (Longhorn), and cluster security (NeuVector).

In this repo, we're going to cover the creation of a RKE2 cluster into Harvester using an airgapped process (aka Bootstrap!). We'll follow that up by installing Rancher on top of RKE2. We're going to do all of this using Terraform. Terraform allows us to declaratively define our environment in code and then create that environment in a straight-forward (and sustainable) way.

Over the last few years, Kubernetes has revolutionized the world of infrastructure and application distribution. From bare-metal servers to virtual machines to containers, Kubernetes has compelled teams to re-evaluate their entire technology stack – in the very best way possible. However, for many teams, Kubernetes is seen as a tall mountain to climb. But it doesn’t have to be.

You can perform no-code deployments of Rancher Kubernetes on the AWS GovCloud!

Throughout my career there has always been a disconnect between the documentation and the practical implementation. The Kubernetes (k8s) ecosystem is no stranger to this problem. This guide is a simple approach to installing Kubernetes and some REALLY useful tools. We will walk through installing all the following.