Configuring the Cluster Endpoint

In this section, we will step through the configuration of a Talos based Kubernetes cluster. There are three major components we will configure:

• apid and talosctl
• the master nodes
• the worker nodes

Talos enforces a high level of security by using mutual TLS for authentication and authorization.

We recommend that the configuration of Talos be performed by a cluster owner. A cluster owner should be a person of authority within an organization, perhaps a director, manager, or senior member of a team. They are responsible for storing the root CA, and distributing the PKI for authorized cluster administrators.

Recommended settings

Talos runs great out of the box, but if you tweak some minor settings it will make your life a lot easier in the future. This is not a requirement, but rather a document to explain some key settings.

Endpoint

To configure the talosctl endpoint, it is recommended you use a resolvable DNS name. This way, if you decide to upgrade to a multi-controlplane cluster you only have to add the ip adres to the hostname configuration. The configuration can either be done on a Loadbalancer, or simply trough DNS.

For example:

This is in the config file for the cluster e.g. init.yaml, controlplane.yaml and join.yaml. for more details, please see: v1alpha1 endpoint configuration

.....
cluster:
  controlPlane:
    endpoint: https://endpoint.example.local:6443
.....

If you have a DNS name as the endpoint, you can upgrade your talos cluster with multiple controlplanes in the future (if you don’t have a multi-controlplane setup from the start) Using a DNS name generates the corresponding Certificates (Kubernetes and Talos) for the correct hostname.