Ansible Role RKE2 Setup

This role prepares the system, installs, and configures a Kubernetes cluster based on RKE2 (Rancher Kubernetes Engine 2). A three-phase model is implemented to reliably and sequentially deploy or expand a cluster.

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Execution Phases

Phase 1. System preparation (runs on all hosts)

1. system_preparation.yml
   • Update repositories and packages
   • Install required utilities
   • Remove unnecessary software
   • Configure system limits (sysctl, limits.d)
   • Reboot the node and wait for it to come back online if required

Phase 2. RKE2 installation & configuration (runs on all hosts)

2. download_rke2_locally.yml — cache RKE2 binaries locally
3. install_rke2.yml — install RKE2 server/agent and systemd units
4. setup_kubectl_kubeconfig.yml — install kubectl and distribute kubeconfig
5. config_rke_plugins.yml — configure Ingress-NGINX, CoreDNS, and other addons

Phase 3. Cluster bootstrap & verification (sequential operations)

6. start_rke2_leader.yml — start the first master (leader) node
7. configure_rke2_vars.yml — retrieve and propagate the bootstrap token
8. start_rke2_masters.yml — join remaining master nodes
9. start_rke2_workers.yml — join worker nodes
10. verify_cluster.yml — check node readiness and cluster health

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Role Variables

Default values (defaults/main.yml)

# RKE2 version
rke2_version: "v1.32.5+rke2r1"

# Paths
rke2_local_download_path: "/tmp/rke2_downloads"
rke2_remote_install_path: "/tmp/rke2_install"

# System settings
configure_sysctl_limits: true
configure_custom_inotify: true
reboot_after_system_prep: true

# Packages
system_packages:
  - net-tools
  - screen
  - software-properties-common
  - ufw
  - telnet
  - traceroute
  - qemu-guest-agent

common_packages:
  - mc
  - unzip
  - iftop
  - iotop

packages_to_remove:
  - fail2ban
  - metricbeat
  - snapd

Additional variables (e.g. cluster_name, kubelet_args, node_taint, HelmChartConfig contents) are defined in inventory or via -e.

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Supported Tags

Tag	Purpose
cluster_setup	Complete cluster deployment (all three phases).
cluster_expand	Add new nodes to an existing cluster.
cluster_addons_config	Install / update only addons (Ingress-NGINX, CoreDNS, etc.).
system_preparation	Run only Phase 1: OS preparation, limits, reboot.

Tags allow flexible role execution for specific tasks without affecting others.

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Usage Example

- name: Deploy RKE2 cluster
  hosts: all
  become: true
  roles:
    - rke2_setup
  vars:
    cluster_name: "production"
    rke2_version: "v1.32.5+rke2r1"

Run full deployment:

ansible-playbook -i rke2-inventory-example.yaml rke2_setup.yaml \
  --become --tags cluster_setup -u <sudo_or_root_user>

Run only system preparation:

ansible-playbook -i rke2-inventory-example.yaml rke2_setup.yaml \
  --become --tags system_preparation -u <sudo_or_root_user>

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Requirements

• Ansible 2.9+
• Target Linux hosts with sudo privileges
• Network access to package repositories & GitHub for RKE2 binaries

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License

MIT

Author — Evgenii Sudlenkov