Deploying a WordPress application on Kubernetes using Helm

Day 29 of Kubernetes Writing Challenge ✍

In the previous post, we discussed install Helm on various operating systems. In this post, we will explore some use cases of Helm and create a sample project using Helm.

Use cases of Helm:

1. Simplifies application deployment: Helm simplifies application deployment by providing a single package that contains all the resources required to run an application. This package can be easily installed, upgraded, and removed using simple Helm commands.
2. Versioning: Helm allows versioning of applications and easy rollbacks in case of issues.
3. Sharing: Helm provides a way to share application deployments with others by creating a Helm chart that contains all the necessary resources.
4. Customization: Helm allows users to customize deployments by using templates that can be parameterized. This makes it easy to deploy the same application in different environments with different configurations.

Deploying a WordPress application on Kubernetes using Helm:

For this sample project, we will deploy a WordPress application on Kubernetes using Helm.

Step 1: Install Helm

First, we need to install Helm on our local machine. Follow the instructions in the official documentation to install Helm: https://helm.sh/docs/intro/install/

Step 2: Create a new Helm chart

We will create a new Helm chart for our WordPress application. Run the following command to create a new chart:

$ helm create my-wordpress         

This will create a new directory called my-wordpress that contains the basic structure of a Helm chart.

Step 3: Modify the chart

We need to modify the chart to include the WordPress application. Open the my-wordpress/values.yaml file and modify the following fields:

image:
  repository: wordpress
  tag: 5.7.2-php8.0-apache
wordpressUsername: admin
wordpressPassword: password
wordpressEmail: admin@example.com        

These fields specify the image to use for WordPress, the username and password for the WordPress admin user, and the email address for the admin user.

Step 4: Deploy the chart

Now, we can deploy the chart to our Kubernetes cluster using the following command:

$ helm install my-wordpress ./my-wordpress         

This will create a new deployment of WordPress on our cluster.

Step 5: Access the WordPress application

We can now access the WordPress application by finding the external IP address of the service using the following command:

$ kubectl get service my-wordpress-wordpress         

This will output the external IP address of the WordPress service. Open a web browser and enter the IP address to access the WordPress application.

Conclusion:

Helm simplifies application deployment on Kubernetes by providing a way to package, version, and share applications. With Helm, deploying complex applications on Kubernetes becomes much simpler and more manageable.

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