OpenG2P In a Box

Getting started with OpenG2P

This document describes a deployment model wherein the infrastructure and components required by OpenG2P modules can be set up on a single node/VM/machine. This will help you to get started with OpenG2P and experience the functionality without having to meet all resource requirements for a production-grade setup. This is based on V4 architecture, but a compact version of the same. The essence of the V4 is preserved so that upgrading the infra is easier when more hardware resources are available.

Deployment architecture

OpenG2P In a Box

Do NOT use this deployment model for production/pilots.

Installation

Prerequisites

Hardware requirements

OpenG2P in-a-box minimally requires access to a machine (virtual machine) with the following configuration. Please make sure this machine is available with OS installed as mentioned below. You must have "root" access to the machine:

• 16vCPU / 64 GB RAM / 256 GB storage

• Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04

DNS for SSL certificate

A valid domain with DNS management access is required. You may use AWS Route53 or any other DNS provider. The DNS access must allow you to:

• Create and delete TXT records (for DNS-ACME challenge).

• Manage A records (for pointing domains to IP/Ingress).

• Create CNAME records (if needed for subdomain routing).

Concepts

Before proceeding with the deployment, read up on the following topics to better understand each infrastructure component required for a successful setup:

1. 🔒 Firewall Rules
2. 📦 Kubernetes Cluster
3. 🔐 WireGuard Bastion
4. 📁 NFS Server
5. 🔗 Kubernetes NFS CSI Driver
6. 🧩 Istio Service Mesh
7. 🔐 SSL Certificates
8. 🧑‍💻 Rancher
9. 🧾 Keycloak
10. 📊 Prometheus Monitoring
11. 📝 Logging and Fluentd

Base infrastructure setup

To set up the base infrastructure, log in to the machine and install the following. Make sure to follow each verification step to ensure that everything is installed correctly and the setup is progressing smoothly.

1. Tools: Install the following tools. After installation, verify the version of each tool to confirm that they have been installed correctly. Tools: wget , curl , kubectl , istioctl , helm , jq 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Run the following commands and verify that each returns the version information:

   wget --version
   curl --version
   kubectl version --client
   istioctl version
   helm version
   jq --version

   ✅ You should see version details for each tool without any errors.

2. Firewall: Follow the document linked below to set up the firewall rules required for the deployment. 🔒Set up Firewall rules 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Run iptables -L or ufw status to ensure the rules are active in case you're using on-premises or self-managed native server nodes. If you're deploying on AWS cloud infrastructure, verify or configure the necessary firewall rules within the Security Groups associated with your instances.
3. Kubernetes cluster: Follow the below steps to set up Kubernetes Cluster (RKE2 Server) as a root user.

   1. Create the rke2 config directory - mkdir -p /etc/rancher/rke2

   2. Create a config.yaml file in the above directory, using the following config file template. Use rke2-server.conf.primary.template. The token can be any arbitrary string.
   3. Edit the above config.yaml file with the appropriate names, IPs, and tokens.

   4. Run the following commands to set the RKE2 version, download the same and start RKE2 server:

      export INSTALL_RKE2_VERSION="v1.28.9+rke2r1"
      curl -sfL https://get.rke2.io | sh - 
      systemctl enable rke2-server
      systemctl start rke2-server

   5. Export KUBECONFIG:

      echo -e 'export PATH="$PATH:/var/lib/rancher/rke2/bin"\nexport KUBECONFIG="/etc/rancher/rke2/rke2.yaml"' >> ~/.bashrc
      source ~/.bashrc
      kubectl get nodes 

      Download the Kubeconfig file rke2.yaml and keep it securely. (This is important!) 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Check the status of rke2 server as shown in the screenshot below.

      
4. Wireguard: Install Wireguard Bastion server for secure VPN access:

   1. Clone the openg2p-deployment repo and navigate to the kubernetes/wireguard directory
   2. Run this command to install wireguard server/channel with root user:

      WG_MODE=k8s ./wg.sh <name for this wireguard server> <client ips subnet mask> <port> <no of peers> <subnet mask of the cluster nodes & lbs>

      For example:

      WG_MODE=k8s ./wg.sh wireguard_app_users 10.15.0.0/16 51820 254 172.16.0.0/24

   3. Check logs of the servers and wait for all servers to finish startup. Example:

      kubectl -n wireguard-system logs -f wireguard-app-users

   4. Once it finishes, navigate to /etc/wireguard-app-users. You will find multiple peer configuration files and CD in to peer1 folder and copy peer1.conf to your notepad.

   5. Follow the link provided below to setup a WireGuard on your system. Install WireGuard Client on Desktop 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Make sure the WireGuard server is running on server node and the wireguard setup is completed on your machine. On server node:

      

      On your machine:

      
   6. Once WireGuard is running and configured on your machine, you can easily set up kubectl and access the cluster from your machine. (optional)

5. NFS Server: Install NFS Server to provide persistent storage volumes to kubernetes cluster:

   1. Download/copy the install script from the link provided below into the server node. NFS Installation script

      To install an NFS server, run the following command as root user:

      ./install-nfs-server.sh

   2. For every sandbox/namespace, create a new folder in /srv/nfs folder on the server node. Suggested folder structure: /srv/nfs/<cluster name>. Example:

      sudo mkdir /srv/nfs/rancher
      sudo mkdir /srv/nfs/openg2p

      Run this command to provide full accces for nfs folder sudo chmod -R 777 /srv/nfs 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Make sure the NFS server is running and the setup is completed on server node.

      
6. Install the Kubernetes NFS CSI driver and the NFS client provisioner on the cluster as follows:

   1. From openg2p-deployment repo kubernetes/nfs-client directory, run: (Make sure to replace the <Node Internal IP> and <cluster name> parameters appropriately below)

      NFS_SERVER=<Node Internal IP> \
      NFS_PATH=/srv/nfs/<cluster_name> \
          ./install-nfs-csi-driver.sh

      🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Make sure the NFS CSI driver and client provisioner is running and the setup is completed on server node.

      
7. Istio: To set up Istio from kubernetes/istio directory, run the commands below to install the Istio Operator, Istio Service Mesh, and Istio Ingress Gateway components.

   istioctl install -f istio-operator-no-external-lb.yaml
   kubectl apply -f istio-ef-spdy-upgrade.yaml

   Wait for istiod and ingressgateway pods to start on istio-system namespace. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Check whether all the Istio pods have come up.

   
8. TLS: Set up Transport Layer Security (TLS) for secure communication by following the steps. This will ensure that data transmitted between services is encrypted and protected from unauthorized access:

   1. Install letsencrypt and certbot using below command:

      sudo apt install certbot

   2. Since the preferred challenge is DNS type, the below command asks for _acme-challenge. Create the _acme-challenge TXT DNS record accordingly using a Public DNS Provider (e.g., AWS Route 53, Cloudflare, GoDaddy), and continue with the prompt to generate certs.

      
   3. Create SSL Certificate using letsencrypt for rancher by editing hostname below:

      certbot certonly --agree-tos --manual \
          --preferred-challenges=dns \
          -d rancher.your.org

      Create Rancher TLS Secret using below command (edit certificate paths below):

      kubectl -n istio-system create secret tls tls-rancher-ingress \
          --cert /etc/letsencrypt/live/rancher.your.org/fullchain.pem \
          --key /etc/letsencrypt/live/rancher.your.org/privkey.pem

   4. Create SSL Certificate using letsencrypt for keycloak by editing hostname below:

      certbot certonly --agree-tos --manual \
          --preferred-challenges=dns \
          -d keycloak.your.org

      Create Keycloak TLS Secret, using (edit certificate paths below):

      kubectl -n istio-system create secret tls tls-keycloak-ingress \
          --cert /etc/letsencrypt/live/keycloak.your.org/fullchain.pem \
          --key /etc/letsencrypt/live/keycloak.your.org/privkey.pem

      🔍 Verification Checkpoint: After creating the certificates, verify that they are present in the /etc/letsencrypt/live/ directory and have been uploaded to the istio-system namespace as a Kubernetes secret.

      kubectl get secrets -n istio-system

      
9. DNS: Set up DNS records for the Rancher and Keycloak hostnames so that they resolve to the public (or private, depending on your setup) IP address of the node where the services are exposed. This can be achieved in the following way:

   Using a Public DNS Provider (e.g., AWS Route 53, Cloudflare, GoDaddy):

   Create A records (or CNAMEs, if appropriate) for the fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) you plan to use for Rancher and Keycloak (e.g., rancher.example.com and keycloak.example.com).

   Point these records to the Internal IP address of node. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: The screenshot below is an example of DNS mapping using AWS Route 53. You can use any DNS provider as per your requirements, and the domain mapping should be similar to what is shown in the screenshot.

   
10. Rancher: Install rancher from kubernetes/rancher directory (edit hostname):

    RANCHER_HOSTNAME=rancher.your.org \
    TLS=true \
    ./install.sh --set replicas=1 --version 2.9.3

    Login to Rancher using the above hostname and bootstrap the admin user according to the instructions. After successfully logging in to Rancher as admin, save the new admin user password in local cluster, in cattle-system namespace, under rancher-secret, with key adminPassword. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Verify that all Rancher pods are running properly in the cattle-system namespace, and Rancher is accessible from your browser.

    

    
11. keycloak: Install keycloak from kubernetes/keycloak directory (edit hostname):

    KEYCLOAK_HOSTNAME=keycloak.your.org \
    TLS=true \
    ./install.sh --set replicaCount=1

    Log in to Keycloak using admin credentials from the Keycloak namespace secrets in Rancher. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Verify Keycloak pods in the keycloak-system namespace and ensure it's accessible in your browser.

    

    
12. Integrating Rancher with Keycloak enables centralized authentication and user management using Keycloak as the IdP. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Once you attempt to log in using rancher.hostname.org, you will be redirected to authenticate via Keycloak. Log in using your Keycloak credentials. In Rancher, your user status should appear as "Active," as shown in the screenshot.

    

    Note: So, this completes the base infrastructure setup for OpenG2P, and you can now begin installing the OpenG2P modules by following the steps below.

13. Creating a Project and Namespace: Continue to use the same cluster (local cluster) for OpenG2P modules installation.

    1. In Rancher, create a project and namespace, on which the OpenG2P modules will be installed. The rest of this guide will assume the namespace to be dev.

    2. In rancher -> namespaces menu, enable Istio Auto Injection for dev namespace. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Verify Istio injection is enabled for the dev namespace in the dev project.

       
14. Istio: Set up an Istio gateway on dev namespace.

    1. Provide your hostname and run this to define the variables:

       export NS=dev
       export WILDCARD_HOSTNAME='*.dev.your.org'

    2. Go to kubernetes/istio directory and run this to apply gateway.

       kubectl create ns $NS
       envsubst < istio-gateway-tls.yaml | kubectl apply -f -

    3. Create SSL certificate using letsencrypt for the wildcard hostname used above. Example usage(provide your hostname):

       certbot certonly --agree-tos --manual \
           --preferred-challenges=dns \
           -d dev.your.org \
           -d *.dev.your.org

       Create OpenG2P TLS Secret, using (Edit certificate paths below):

       kubectl -n istio-system create secret tls tls-openg2p-$NS-ingress \
           --cert=<certificate path> \
           --key=<certificate key path>

    4. Follow step 9 for DNS Mapping. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Once created, the gateway will appear in Rancher UI under Istio > Gateway in the dev namespace.

       
15. Cluster Monitoring: Install Prometheus and Monitoring enable cluster monitoring directly from the Rancher UI. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Once monitoring is installed in Rancher, navigate to the Monitoring section where you'll see options for Alertmanager and Grafana. You can click on these to access their respective dashboards.

    
16. Cluster Logging: Install Logging and Fluentd Installation.

    Fluentd is used to collect and parse logs generated by applications within the Kubernetes cluster.

    Only one Fluentd installation is required per Kubernetes cluster. Follow the below steps from rancher.

    1. Navigate to Apps & Marketplace → Charts.

    2. Search for and select the Logging chart.

    3. Install it using the default values.

    4. When prompted, select Project: System to ensure Fluentd runs in the appropriate system namespace. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Once logging is installed, verify that all pods in the cattle-logging-system namespace are up and running, and ensure that logs are being collected for each service.

OpenG2P module's installation

You can follow the below links to install OpenG2P modules via Rancher UI.

1. Install OpenG2P Landing Page.
2. Install SocialRegistry Module.
3. Install PBMS Module.
4. Install SPAR Module. 🔍 Verification Checkpoint: Once you deploy any of the modules mentioned above, you can also deploy the OpenG2P Landing Page. All services should be accessible from landing page.

How is "In a Box" different from V4? Why should this not be used for production?

• In-a-box does not use the Nginx Load Balancer. The HTTPS traffic directly terminates on the Istio gateway via Wireguard. However, Nginx is required in production as described here.
• The SSL certificates are loaded on the Istio gateway while in V4 the certificates are loaded on the Nginx server.

• The Wireguard bastion runs inside the Kubernetes cluster itself as a pod. This is not recommended in production where Wireguard must run on a separate node.

• A single private access channel is enabled (via Wireguard). In production, you will typically need several channels for access control.
• In-a-box does not offer high availability as the node is a single point of failure.

• NFS runs inside the box. In production, NFS must run on a separate node with its access control, allocated resources and backups.