Observed Signal · May 15, 2026 · Technical Tutorial · Source: DEV Community · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Positive
k3s 3-Node Kubernetes Cluster with Cloudflare SSL
This technical tutorial (published 2026-05-15) walks through building a lightweight 3-node Kubernetes cluster using k3s (Rancher) and exposing a sample Node.js web application to the internet via Traefik Ingress and Cloudflare DNS. It prescribes three Linux servers (Ubuntu 24.04), SSH access, kubectl, and a public IP on the master. The guide shows installing k3s on the master and joining two workers with the node token, creating a Docker container for a simple app, Kubernetes manifests (Deployment, Service, Ingress), and creating a Kubernetes TLS secret using Cloudflare’s free 15-year origin certificate. It covers firewall ports (6443 for API, 80/443 for Ingress), DNS proxying (Cloudflare orange cloud), verification steps, scaling the deployment, and notes production additions (storage, monitoring, logging, CI/CD, HA).
Practical how-to for engineers on lightweight Kubernetes and Cloudflare origin certificates; useful operational guidance but not industry-shifting for AdTech/MarTech.
Track Cloudflare Signals & Market Shifts in Real-Time
Polaris7 autonomous intelligence agents track regulatory filings, primary sources, executive changes, and deal flow 24/7. Create your free Explorer workspace to monitor these entities.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Tutorial demonstrates a 3-node Kubernetes cluster using k3s (Rancher's lightweight Kubernetes).
- Ingress is provided by Traefik and the tutorial uses Cloudflare for DNS and a 15-year origin SSL certificate.
- Requires three Linux servers (Ubuntu 24.04), SSH access, kubectl, and the master node having a public IP with ports 80 and 443 open; Kubernetes API uses port 6443.
- Includes deploying a sample Node.js app packaged as a container, Kubernetes manifests (Deployment, Service, Ingress), and creating a TLS secret from Cloudflare origin cert.
- Notes production requirements not covered: persistent storage, monitoring (Prometheus/Grafana), centralized logging, GitOps/CD, security policies, backups, and multi-master HA.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mappedOntology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Run k3s Kubernetes on Hetzner for ~€10
This developer guide shows how to build a very low-cost, single-node k3s Kubernetes cluster on Hetzner using hetzner-k3s, with automated init/delete/restore workflows driven by an included init_cluster.sh script. The tutorial installs Traefik (Gateway API mode), kube-prometheus-stack (Prometheus + Grafana), an nginx reverse proxy, and Velero backups configured to an Azure Blob Storage container for disaster recovery. The flow supports powering the environment off (delete) and restoring it from Velero backups, minimizing running costs (example: a Hetzner cpx22 master ≈ €7.99/month plus small volume charges). The post includes concrete configuration files (.env, cluster.yml, Helm values), CLI install commands (hcloud, kubectl, Helm, Velero), version pins, and a costs report script to enumerate hourly/monthly charges for servers and volumes.
Kubernetes Networking: MetalLB, Nginx Ingress, NetworkPolicy
This technical how-to (Part 2) describes converting a bare-metal kubeadm cluster from NodePort to a production-style network: installing MetalLB to provide real LoadBalancer IPs, deploying the community Nginx Ingress Controller as a single HTTP/HTTPS entrypoint, updating services to ClusterIP, creating Ingress resources with hostname-based routing (app.oty-k8s.local, api.oty-k8s.local), configuring local DNS, and applying Kubernetes NetworkPolicy manifests to enforce pod-to-pod allowlists. The post includes concrete kubectl commands, example MetalLB IP pool (192.168.1.200-192.168.1.220), guidance on networking modes (Layer 2 ARP advertisement), critical YAML pitfalls (Ingress API version, NetworkPolicy AND/OR indentation), and a seven-step test suite that verifies allowed and blocked connections. All manifests are published in a linked GitHub repository. Published 2026-05-13.
End-to-End Containerized Deployment on AWS
A hands-on tutorial describing an end-to-end containerisation and deployment workflow: the author built a simple HTML web app, created a Dockerfile using the nginx base image, built a Docker image, tested it on an EC2 instance, pushed the image to Docker Hub, and deployed it to a Kubernetes Pod exposed via a NodePort service. The post documents command examples (docker build/run, docker push, kubectl apply) and the deployment flow from local files to a running container reachable through an EC2 public IP and nodePort (example: 30080). The author lists next learning steps including Deployments, ReplicaSets, Ingress, Secrets, autoscaling, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, and migrating to AWS EKS.
Track Real-Time Market Signals & Shifts
Set up custom watchlists to receive automated, evidence-grounded executive digests whenever material signals or shifts occur across your tracked landscape.