In this hands-on lab, you will learn how to deploy a Node.js app with a MySQL database, secured over SSL, on a Kubernetes cluster. We will cover the following steps:

1. Set up a Kubernetes cluster (You can use a cloud provider or a local cluster).
2. Deploy a MySQL database with SSL support.
3. Create a Node.js application.
4. Configure and deploy the Node.js app with SSL connectivity to the MySQL database.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following tools and resources:

• Kubernetes Cluster: You should have a working Kubernetes cluster set up. You can use a cloud provider like AWS, GCP, or a local solution like Minikube or Docker Desktop.
• kubectl: Make sure kubectl is installed and configured to connect to your Kubernetes cluster.
• Docker: You’ll need Docker installed on your local machine for building and pushing Docker images.
• Node.js: Ensure Node.js is installed on your local machine.
• Helm: Helm is a package manager for Kubernetes. Make sure Helm is installed on your local machine.
• MySQL Client: You’ll need a MySQL client like mysql or a GUI tool to connect to the MySQL database.

Step 1: Deploy MySQL Database

In this step, you’ll deploy a MySQL database with SSL support to your Kubernetes cluster. We will use Helm to simplify the MySQL deployment.

1. Create a file mysql-values.yaml with the following content. Make sure to replace placeholders (<your-password>) with your actual values:

mysqlRootPassword: <your-root-password>
mysqlUser: <your-db-user>
mysqlPassword: <your-db-password>
mysqlDatabase: <your-db-name>

2. Deploy the MySQL Helm chart using your mysql-values.yaml file:

helm repo add stable https://charts.helm.sh/stable
helm install my-mysql stable/mysql -f mysql-values.yaml

3. Check the status of the MySQL pod:

kubectl get pods

Wait until the pod is in the Running state.

4. Connect to the MySQL database using a MySQL client and confirm that SSL connectivity is enabled.

Step 2: Create a Node.js Application

In this step, you’ll create a simple Node.js application that connects to the MySQL database over SSL.

1. Create a directory for your Node.js application and navigate to it:

mkdir nodejs-app
cd nodejs-app

2. Create a package.json file for your Node.js app:

npm init -y

3. Install the required Node.js modules:

npm install express mysql2

4. Create an index.js file and add the following code to set up a basic Node.js app:

const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const mysql = require('mysql2');

const connection = mysql.createConnection({
  host: '<mysql-service-name>',
  user: '<your-db-user>',
  password: '<your-db-password>',
  database: '<your-db-name>',
  ssl: {
    ca: fs.readFileSync('<path-to-ca-cert.pem>'),
  },
});

app.get('/', (req, res) => {
  connection.query('SELECT 1 + 1 AS solution', (error, results, fields) => {
    if (error) throw error;
    res.send(`The solution is: ${results[0].solution}`);
  });
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Node.js app is running on port 3000');
});

Ensure you replace <mysql-service-name>, <your-db-user>, <your-db-password>, <your-db-name>, and <path-to-ca-cert.pem> with your actual values.

Step 3: Build and Dockerize the Node.js App

1. Create a Dockerfile for your Node.js app in the same directory as your index.js file:

FROM node:14

WORKDIR /app

COPY package*.json ./
RUN npm install

COPY . .

EXPOSE 3000
CMD [ "node", "index.js" ]

2. Build a Docker image for your Node.js app:

docker build -t nodejs-app:1.0 .

3. Push the Docker image to a container registry (e.g., Docker Hub, Amazon ECR) if you plan to deploy it to a Kubernetes cluster.

Step 4: Deploy the Node.js App on Kubernetes

1. Create a Kubernetes Deployment YAML file, e.g., nodejs-app-deployment.yaml, with the following content:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: nodejs-app
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: nodejs-app
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: nodejs-app
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: nodejs-app
        image: nodejs-app:1.0
        ports:
        - containerPort: 3000

2. Create a Kubernetes Service YAML file, e.g., nodejs-app-service.yaml, with the following content:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: nodejs-app-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: nodejs-app
  ports:
    - protocol: "TCP"
      port: 80
      targetPort: 3000
  type: LoadBalancer

3. Deploy the Node.js app to your Kubernetes cluster:

kubectl apply -f nodejs-app-deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f nodejs-app-service.yaml

4. Check the status of the Node.js app pod:

kubectl get pods

5. Check the service status and obtain the external IP:

kubectl get svc

Step 5: Access Your Node.js App

1. Use the external IP of the service from the previous step to access your Node.js app in a web browser or via curl:

curl http://<external-ip>

You should see the response from your Node.js app, indicating a successful connection to the MySQL database over SSL.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully deployed a Node.js app with SSL connectivity to a MySQL database on Kubernetes.

Conclusion

In this hands-on lab, you learned how to set up a Kubernetes cluster, deploy a MySQL database with SSL support, create a Node.js application, and configure SSL connectivity between the app and the database. This knowledge can be valuable for deploying secure and scalable applications in Kubernetes environments.