What is Crossplane in Kubernetes?

Kubernetes is a popular container orchestration system that helps manage and deploy containerized applications at scale. Crossplane is an open-source Kubernetes add-on that extends Kubernetes' capabilities to manage infrastructure as code. In this article, we'll dive into what Crossplane is and how it can help you manage your infrastructure in a more streamlined and efficient way.

What is Crossplane?

Crossplane is an open-source Kubernetes add-on that allows you to manage infrastructure as code. It enables you to define infrastructure resources using Kubernetes-style API and declarative language. Crossplane can manage infrastructure resources in various cloud providers such as AWS, GCP, Azure, and more.

Why Use Crossplane?

Crossplane simplifies infrastructure management by providing a unified API for managing cloud infrastructure resources. It helps organizations to manage infrastructure as code, providing better control and consistency across cloud providers. With Crossplane, you can deploy, manage, and update infrastructure resources in a more streamlined and efficient way, reducing the need for manual intervention.

Installing Crossplane:

Installing Crossplane is a straightforward process that involves the following steps:

Step 1: Add the Crossplane Helm chart repository

helm repo add crossplane-stable https://charts.crossplane.io/stable
helm repo update

Step 2: Install Crossplane using Helm

helm install crossplane --namespace crossplane-system crossplane-stable/crossplane

Step 3: Verify that Crossplane is running

kubectl get pods -n crossplane-system

Using Crossplane:

Once you have Crossplane installed, you can start using it to manage your infrastructure resources. Here are some examples of what you can do with Crossplane:

Provisioning an AWS RDS instance using Crossplane

apiVersion: database.crossplane.io/v1beta1
kind: PostgreSQLInstance
metadata:
  name: example-postgresql-instance
spec:
  forProvider:
    engineVersion: "12.4"
    dbInstanceClass: "db.t3.micro"
    publiclyAccessible: true
    storageEncrypted: true
    storageGb: 10
    username: "admin"
    passwordSecretRef:
      namespace: crossplane-system
      name: example-postgresql-instance-password
  writeConnectionSecretToRef:
    namespace: default
    name: example-postgresql-instance-creds

Provisioning a GCP Cloud SQL instance using Crossplane

apiVersion: sql.database.crossplane.io/v1beta1
kind: CloudSQLInstance
metadata:
  name: example-cloud-sql-instance
spec:
  forProvider:
    databaseVersion: "POSTGRES_13"
    tier: "db-f1-micro"
    authorizedNetworks:
      - 0.0.0.0/0
    storageAutoResize: true
    storageSizeGb: 10
    userLabels:
      key: value
  writeConnectionSecretToRef:
    namespace: default
    name: example-cloud-sql-instance-creds

Crossplane is an excellent tool for organizations that want to manage their infrastructure as code. It simplifies infrastructure management by providing a unified API for managing cloud infrastructure resources, reducing the need for manual intervention. With Crossplane, you can deploy, manage, and update infrastructure resources in a more streamlined and efficient way, providing better control and consistency across cloud providers.

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That's it for this post. Keep practicing and have fun. Leave your comments if any.

What is Crossplane in Kubernetes?