02 min reading inDevOpsDatabase

Setting Up a Secure Bitnami PostgreSQL Instance on Microk8s

This guide provides a step-by-step approach to installing a PostgreSQL database using Bitnami's Helm chart on a Microk8s cluster, including TLS configuration for enhanced security.

Deploying Postgres on Kubernetes need not be complex. With automation in place, you can deploy a secure and isolated instance of PostgreSQL within your Microk8s cluster using Bitnami's Helm chart. The updated script covers everything from provisioning TLS certificates to configuring the database for secure connections.

Preparing the Environment

The process starts with some initial setup tasks. We create a Kubernetes namespace for the PostgreSQL instance and establish the baseline for our commands:

#!/bin/bash KUBECMD_PREFIX="${KUBECMD_PREFIX:=microk8s}" CERT_MANAGER_NAMESPACE="cert-manager" $KUBECMD_PREFIX kubectl create namespace $K8_NAMESPACE || true

Configuring SSL/TLS Encryption

With cert-manager installed in our cluster, we can automatically provision and manage TLS certificates. This is a crucial step in ensuring that our database communication is encrypted:

cat <<EOF | $KUBECMD_PREFIX kubectl apply -f - apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: $RELEASE_NAME-postgresql-tls namespace: $K8_NAMESPACE spec: secretName: $RELEASE_NAME-postgresql-tls issuerRef: kind: ClusterIssuer name: letsencrypt-prod dnsNames: - $DB_HOSTNAME EOF

It's imperative to wait for the certificate to become ready. This script assures that by incorporating a timeout for the process:

$KUBECMD_PREFIX kubectl -n $K8_NAMESPACE wait --for=condition=ready certificate $RELEASE_NAME-postgresql-tls --timeout=300s

Installing PostgreSQL with Helm

Having confirmed that the TLS certificate is in place, we proceed with the Helm chart installation:

$KUBECMD_PREFIX helm install $RELEASE_NAME oci://registry-1.docker.io/bitnamicharts/postgresql \ -n $K8_NAMESPACE \ --set global.postgresql.auth.username="$DB_USERNAME" \ --set global.postgresql.auth.password="$DB_PASSWORD" \ ... --set tls.certificatesSecret="$RELEASE_NAME-postgresql-tls" \ --set tls.certFilename="tls.crt" \ --set tls.certKeyFilename="tls.key"

The script passes the appropriate values to Helm, signaling it to deploy Postgres with TLS enabled.

Networking Configuration

The ConfigMap and Service definitions are applied to route external traffic to the Postgres instance:

read -r -d '' INGRESS_CONFIG << EOM apiVersion: v1 kind: ConfigMap metadata: namespace: ingress name: nginx-ingress-tcp-microk8s-conf data: 5432: "$K8_NAMESPACE/$RELEASE_NAME-postgresql:5432" --- apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: name: $RELEASE_NAME-nodeport namespace: $K8_NAMESPACE spec: type: NodePort ... nodePort: $TARGET_PORT ... EOM $KUBECMD_PREFIX kubectl apply -f - <<< "$INGRESS_CONFIG"

Testing the Database Connection

Once deployed, verify the secure connection using Python and the psycopg2 library. The script aims to establish a connection, execute a command, and then gracefully terminate the connection:

import psycopg2 conn = None try: conn = psycopg2.connect( dbname='...', user='...', password='...', host='...', port='...', sslmode='require' ) print("Success: Connected to the database!") cur = conn.cursor() cur.execute("SELECT version();") record = cur.fetchone() print("You are connected to - ", record, "\n") cur.close() except (Exception, psycopg2.DatabaseError) as error: print("Error: ", error) finally: if conn is not None: conn.close() print("Database connection closed.")

By requiring sslmode='require', the script confirms that the connection is not only secure but also compliant with best practices.

Wrapping Up

The combination of Microk8s's simplicity and Helm's power simplifies the deployment of a robust PostgreSQL database. TLS encryption, managed by cert-manager, makes sure the data remains secure in transit. For developers and administrators looking to setup PostgreSQL on Kubernetes, the process is now streamlined, automated, and immeasurably more secure than before.

Do check out the full deployment script and accompanying resources on the GitHub repository and ensure your databases are secure from setup to daily operations.


Keep Reading