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Creating a Cluster via the AWS CLI

In this guide we will create an HA Kubernetes cluster with 3 worker nodes. We assume an existing VPC, and some familiarity with AWS. If you need more information on AWS specifics, please see the official AWS documentation.

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Set the needed info

Change to your desired region: 
REGION="us-west-2"
aws ec2 describe-vpcs --region $REGION

VPC="(the VpcId from the above command)"

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Create the Subnet

Use a CIDR block that is present on the VPC specified above. 
aws ec2 create-subnet \
    --region $REGION \
    --vpc-id $VPC \
    --cidr-block ${CIDR_BLOCK}
Note the subnet ID that was returned, and assign it to a variable for ease of later use: 
SUBNET="(the subnet ID of the created subnet)"

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Official AMI Images

Official AMI image ID can be found in the cloud-images.json file attached to the Talos release: Replace amd64 in the line above with the desired architecture. Note the AMI id that is returned is assigned to an environment variable: it will be used later when booting instances. If using the official AMIs, you can skip to Creating the Security group

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Create your own AMIs

The use of the official Talos AMIs are recommended, but if you wish to build your own AMIs, follow the procedure below.

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Create the S3 Bucket

aws s3api create-bucket \
    --bucket $BUCKET \
    --create-bucket-configuration LocationConstraint=$REGION \
    --acl private

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Create the vmimport Role

In order to create an AMI, ensure that the vmimport role exists as described in the official AWS documentation. Note that the role should be associated with the S3 bucket we created above.

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Create the Image Snapshot

First, download the AWS image from a Talos release: Copy the RAW disk to S3 and import it as a snapshot: 
aws s3 cp disk.raw s3://$BUCKET/talos-aws-tutorial.raw
aws ec2 import-snapshot \
    --region $REGION \
    --description "Talos kubernetes tutorial" \
    --disk-container "Format=raw,UserBucket={S3Bucket=$BUCKET,S3Key=talos-aws-tutorial.raw}"
Save the SnapshotId, as we will need it once the import is done. To check on the status of the import, run: 
aws ec2 describe-import-snapshot-tasks \
    --region $REGION \
    --import-task-ids
Once the SnapshotTaskDetail.Status indicates completed, we can register the image.

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Register the Image

aws ec2 register-image \
    --region $REGION \
    --block-device-mappings "DeviceName=/dev/xvda,VirtualName=talos,Ebs={DeleteOnTermination=true,SnapshotId=$SNAPSHOT,VolumeSize=4,VolumeType=gp2}" \
    --root-device-name /dev/xvda \
    --virtualization-type hvm \
    --architecture x86_64 \
    --ena-support \
    --name talos-aws-tutorial-ami
We now have an AMI we can use to create our cluster. Save the AMI ID, as we will need it when we create EC2 instances. 
AMI="(AMI ID of the register image command)"

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Create a Security Group

aws ec2 create-security-group \
    --region $REGION \
    --group-name talos-aws-tutorial-sg \
    --description "Security Group for EC2 instances to allow ports required by Talos"

SECURITY_GROUP="(security group id that is returned)"
Using the security group from above, allow all internal traffic within the same security group: 
aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
    --region $REGION \
    --group-name talos-aws-tutorial-sg \
    --protocol all \
    --port 0 \
    --source-group talos-aws-tutorial-sg
and expose the Talos and Kubernetes APIs: 
aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
    --region $REGION \
    --group-name talos-aws-tutorial-sg \
    --protocol tcp \
    --port 6443 \
    --cidr 0.0.0.0/0

aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
    --region $REGION \
    --group-name talos-aws-tutorial-sg \
    --protocol tcp \
    --port 50000-50001 \
    --cidr 0.0.0.0/0
If you are using KubeSpan and will be adding workers outside of AWS, you need to allow inbound UDP for the Wireguard port: 
aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
    --region $REGION \
    --group-name talos-aws-tutorial-sg \
    --protocol udp --port 51820 --cidr 0.0.0.0/0

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Create a Load Balancer

aws elbv2 create-load-balancer \
    --region $REGION \
    --name talos-aws-tutorial-lb \
    --type network --subnets $SUBNET
Take note of the DNS name and ARN. We will need these soon. 
LOAD_BALANCER_ARN="(arn of the load balancer)"

aws elbv2 create-target-group \
    --region $REGION \
    --name talos-aws-tutorial-tg \
    --protocol TCP \
    --port 6443 \
    --target-type ip \
    --vpc-id $VPC
Also note the TargetGroupArn that is returned. 
TARGET_GROUP_ARN="(target group arn)"

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Create the Machine Configuration Files

Using the DNS name of the loadbalancer created earlier, generate the base configuration files for the Talos machines.
Note that the port used here is the externally accessible port configured on the load balancer - 443 - not the internal port of 6443: 
$ talosctl gen config talos-k8s-aws-tutorial https://<load balancer DNS>:<port> --with-examples=false --with-docs=false
created controlplane.yaml
created worker.yaml
created talosconfig
Note that the generated configs are too long for AWS userdata field if the --with-examples and --with-docs flags are not passed.
At this point, you can modify the generated configs to your liking. Optionally, you can specify --config-patch with RFC6902 jsonpatch which will be applied during the config generation.

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Validate the Configuration Files

$ talosctl validate --config controlplane.yaml --mode cloud
controlplane.yaml is valid for cloud mode
$ talosctl validate --config worker.yaml --mode cloud
worker.yaml is valid for cloud mode

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Create the EC2 Instances

change the instance type if desired. Note: There is a known issue that prevents Talos from running on T2 instance types. Please use T3 if you need burstable instance types.

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Create the Control Plane Nodes

CP_COUNT=1
while [[ "$CP_COUNT" -lt 4 ]]; do
  aws ec2 run-instances \
    --region $REGION \
    --image-id $AMI \
    --count 1 \
    --instance-type t3.small \
    --user-data file://controlplane.yaml \
    --subnet-id $SUBNET \
    --security-group-ids $SECURITY_GROUP \
    --associate-public-ip-address \
    --tag-specifications "ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Name,Value=talos-aws-tutorial-cp-$CP_COUNT}]"
  ((CP_COUNT++))
done
Make a note of the resulting PrivateIpAddress from the controlplane nodes for later use.

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Create the Worker Nodes

aws ec2 run-instances \
    --region $REGION \
    --image-id $AMI \
    --count 3 \
    --instance-type t3.small \
    --user-data file://worker.yaml \
    --subnet-id $SUBNET \
    --security-group-ids $SECURITY_GROUP
    --tag-specifications "ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Name,Value=talos-aws-tutorial-worker}]"

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Configure the Load Balancer

Now, using the load balancer target group’s ARN, and the PrivateIpAddress from the controlplane instances that you created : 
aws elbv2 register-targets \
    --region $REGION \
    --target-group-arn $TARGET_GROUP_ARN \
    --targets Id=$CP_NODE_1_IP  Id=$CP_NODE_2_IP  Id=$CP_NODE_3_IP
Using the ARNs of the load balancer and target group from previous steps, create the listener: 
aws elbv2 create-listener \
    --region $REGION \
    --load-balancer-arn $LOAD_BALANCER_ARN \
    --protocol TCP \
    --port 443 \
    --default-actions Type=forward,TargetGroupArn=$TARGET_GROUP_ARN

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Bootstrap Etcd

Set the endpoints (the control plane node to which talosctl commands are sent) and nodes (the nodes that the command operates on): 
talosctl --talosconfig talosconfig config endpoint <control plane 1 PUBLIC IP>
talosctl --talosconfig talosconfig config node <control plane 1 PUBLIC IP>
Bootstrap etcd: 
talosctl --talosconfig talosconfig bootstrap

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Retrieve the kubeconfig

At this point we can retrieve the admin kubeconfig by running: 
talosctl --talosconfig talosconfig kubeconfig .
The different control plane nodes should send/receive traffic via the load balancer, notice that one of the control plane has intiated the etcd cluster, and the others should join. You can now watch as your cluster bootstraps, by using 
talosctl --talosconfig talosconfig  health
You can also watch the performance of a node, via: 
talosctl  --talosconfig talosconfig dashboard
And use standard kubectl commands.