diff --git a/blog/2026/04-kamaji/index.md b/blog/2026/04-kamaji/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6914eb8 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026/04-kamaji/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +--- +title: Kamaji support for the mini-lab +shortDescription: +watermark: 'Blog' +date: 2026-03-16T10:00:00+02:00 +description: A showcase of kamaji on top of metal-stack using the mini-lab +authors: [mac641, ma-hartma] +type: 'blog' +tags: + - architecture + - kamaji + - mini-lab +--- + +We are happy to announce that `mini-lab`/`capi-lab` supports _Kamaji_ now. 🥳 + +After getting to know the _Kamaji_ devs at [FOSDEM](https://metal-stack.io/blog/2026/02-fosdem-recap), the idea has been +grown to explore _Kamaji_ on top of metal-stack. Of course, a first approach had to be made within our mini-lab. In this +blog post we are going to give you some insights about the _Kamaji_ in the `mini-lab`/`capi-lab`. + +## What is _Kamaji_? + + + +_Kamaji_ is a Control Plane Manager for Kubernetes, designed to simplify how you run and manage Kubernetes clusters. +Instead of deploying control planes on dedicated machines, _Kamaji_ runs them as pods within a single management +cluster, cutting down on operational overhead and costs. It supports multi-tenancy, high availability, and integrates +seamlessly with Cluster API, making it ideal for private clouds, public clouds, bare metal, and edge computing. + + + +For further info, feel free to check out their [website](https://kamaji.clastix.io) and +[GitHub](https://github.com/clastix/kamaji). + +## Architecture + +Since _Kamaji_ supports Cluster-API, we noticed that our +[`cluster-api-provider-metal-stack`](https://github.com/metal-stack/cluster-api-provider-metal-stack) and especially the +`capi-lab`, was the best starting point. Below you can find a simple architectural diagram to give you an overview how +_Kamaji_ is used in the `mini-lab`/`capi-lab`: + +![](./overview-kamaji.drawio.svg) + +Compared to the mini-lab, the _Kamaji_ flavor in the `capi-lab` leaves every component as is but outsources the control +plane capabilities of metal-stack to the _Kamaji_ Management Cluster. Here you are able to spawn tenants at will with +just one `make` command. + +Of course, you can also manually create and join machines in the `mini-lab` and deploy _Kamaji_. We did not take that +route since it did not allow us to automate the setup all that well. + +## Getting started + +Head over to the [`cluster-api-provider-metal-stack`](https://github.com/metal-stack/cluster-api-provider-metal-stack) +and follow the setup instructions in `DEVELOPMENT.md` to try it out yourself. diff --git a/blog/2026/04-kamaji/overview-kamaji.drawio.svg b/blog/2026/04-kamaji/overview-kamaji.drawio.svg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1e402ec --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026/04-kamaji/overview-kamaji.drawio.svg @@ -0,0 +1,67 @@ +
linux-desktop
 + linux-desktop +
containerlab
 + containerlab +
kind-cluster
 + kind-cluster +
metal-stack
 + metal-stack +
partition
 + partition +
machine02/
firewall
 + machine02/... +
tenantnetwork
 + tenantnetwork +
leaf02
 + leaf02 +
metal-core
 + metal-core +
masterdata-api
 + masterdata-api + + auditing +
metal-db
 + metal-db +
ipam-db
 + ipam-db +
ipam
 + ipam +
nsqd
 + nsqd +
metal-api
 + metal-api +
masterdata-db
 + masterdata-... +
capi-lab
 + capi-lab +
docker network 172.17.0.1/16
 + docker network 172.17.0.1/16 +
Ingress-Controller (NGINX)
 + Ingress-Controller (... +
machine01
 + machine01 +
exit
 + exit +
leaf01
 + leaf01 +
metal-core
 + metal-core +
veth link
 + veth link +
Kamaji Management Cluster
 + Kamaji Management Cluster +
tenant control plane A
 + tenant control plane A + + Multi-Tenant + + Datastore +
tenant control plane B
 + tenant control plane B +
CAPMS (ClusterAPI Provider)
 + CAPMS (ClusterAPI Provider) + + + Text is not SVG - cannot display + + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/blog/authors.yml b/blog/authors.yml index 0a79936..5de3f55 100644 --- a/blog/authors.yml +++ b/blog/authors.yml @@ -68,4 +68,22 @@ simcod: image_url: https://github.com/simcod.png page: true socials: - github: simcod \ No newline at end of file + github: simcod + +mac641: + name: Marcel Arndt + title: Young Professional Cloud Native Consultant @ x-cellent technologies GmbH + url: https://github.com/mac641 + image_url: https://github.com/mac641.png + page: true + socials: + github: mac641 + +ma-hartma: + name: Matthias Hartmann + title: Junior Cloud Native Engineer @ x-cellent technologies GmbH + url: https://github.com/ma-hartma + image_url: https://github.com/ma-hartma.png + page: true + socials: + github: ma-hartma