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Version: v1.10 (Dev)

Rancher K3k Addon

note

rancher-k3k is an Experimental add-on. It is not included in the Harvester ISO, but you can download it from the experimental-addons repository. For more information about experimental features, see Feature Labels.

The rancher-k3k add-on allows you to run Rancher as a workload on the underlying Harvester cluster and is implemented using k3k.

The add-on runs a nested K3s cluster in the rancher-k3k namespace and deploys Rancher to this cluster.

During the installation, the ingress for Rancher is synced to the Harvester cluster, allowing end users to access Rancher.

Installing the Add-on​

If you are using the Harvester kubeconfig file, you can install the add-on by running the following commands:

Install k3k Add-on​

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/harvester/experimental-addons/refs/heads/v1.9/k3k/k3k.yaml

Install rancher-k3k Add-on​

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/harvester/experimental-addons/refs/heads/v1.9/rancher-k3k/rancher-k3k.yaml

Configuring the Add-on​

After installation, configure the add-on using the Harvester UI.

  1. Go to Advanced > Add-ons.

  2. Locate the k3k add-on, and then select : -> Enable.

  3. Wait a few minutes for add-on to be deployed and marked ready.

  4. Locate the rancher-k3k add-on, and then select ⋮ > Edit Yaml.

  5. Change the fields hostname, bootstrapPassword in valuesContent section

spec:
  chart: rancher-k3k
  enabled: false
  repo: https://charts.harvesterhci.io
  valuesContent: |-
    certManagerVersion: "v1.20.2"
    rancher:
      hostname: ""
      version: "v2.14.0"
      replicas: 1
      bootstrapPassword: "password"
    k3kCluster:
      servers: 1
      version: v1.35.4-k3s1
      storageClassName: "harvester-longhorn"
  version: 1.9.0-rc5
  1. Save changes and then select : > Enable.

Once the add-on is deployed, Rancher can take a few minutes to become available.

You can then access Rancher via the hostname DNS record that you provided.

See Rancher Integration for more information.

note

rancher-k3k is deployed on a k3k cluster with rancher bootstrapped as part of cluster init.

When you disable the add-on, the PVC remains in the rancher-k3k namespace. If you enable the add-on again, the PVC is reused and Rancher's previous state is restored.

If you want to wipe the data, ensure that the PVC is deleted.

Troubleshooting​

See Importing of Harvester Clusters into Rancher.