Solution DaemonSets optional

In this lesson, we explore DaemonSets in a Kubernetes cluster. We will answer key questions about creating DaemonSets, their namespaces, and pod scheduling. In addition, you’ll learn how to deploy a logging DaemonSet using Fluentd and Elasticsearch.

1. Listing DaemonSets in All Namespaces

To begin, determine how many DaemonSets exist across all namespaces in your Kubernetes cluster. Execute the following command:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl get daemonsets -A

The output confirms that there are two DaemonSets in the cluster: kube-flannel-ds and kube-proxy, both located in the kube-system namespace:

NAMESPACE     NAME                DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   NODE SELECTOR
kube-system   kube-flannel-ds     1         1         1       1            1           <none>
kube-system   kube-proxy          1         1         1       1            1           kubernetes.io/os=linux

Always verify the namespace of your DaemonSets to ensure proper deployment and troubleshooting.

2. Identifying the Namespace of DaemonSets

The NAMESPACE column in the output above shows that both DaemonSets are deployed in kube-system. To further validate that no DaemonSets are running in the default namespace, run:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl get daemonsets
No resources found in default namespace.

Running the following command again:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl get daemonsets -A

confirms that the only active DaemonSets are in the kube-system namespace:

NAMESPACE     NAME               DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   NODE SELECTOR
kube-system   kube-flannel-ds    1         1         1       1            1           <none>
kube-system   kube-proxy         1         1         1       1            1           kubernetes.io/os=linux

Thus, the kube-flannel-ds and kube-proxy are the only DaemonSets running in the cluster.

3. Examining Pod Scheduling for Kube-Proxy

To assess on how many nodes the pods managed by the kube-proxy DaemonSet are scheduled, start by reviewing the initial DaemonSet listing:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl get daemonsets -A

Notice that for kube-proxy, the desired, current, and ready counts are all one. For a deeper look into its configuration, run:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl describe daemonsets kube-proxy -n kube-system

The detailed output confirms that exactly one node is scheduled for the kube-proxy pods:

Name:           kube-proxy
Selector:       k8s-app=kube-proxy
Node-Selector:  kubernetes.io/os=linux
Labels:         k8s-app=kube-proxy
Annotations:    deprecated.daemonset.template.generation: 1
Desired Number of Nodes Scheduled: 1
Current Number of Nodes Scheduled: 1
Number of Nodes Scheduled with Up-to-date Pods: 1
Number of Nodes Scheduled with Available Pods: 1
Number of Nodes Misscheduled: 0
Pods Status:    1 Running / 0 Waiting / 0 Succeeded / 0 Failed
Pod Template:
  Labels:     k8s-app=kube-proxy
  Service Account: kube-proxy
  Containers:
   kube-proxy:
     Image:          k8s.gcr.io/kube-proxy:v1.20.0
     Port:           <none>
     Host Port:      <none>
     Command:
       /usr/local/bin/kube-proxy
       --config=/var/lib/kube-proxy/config.conf
       --hostname-override=$(NODE_NAME)
     Environment:
       NODE_NAME:      (v1.spec.nodeName)
     Mounts:
      /lib/modules from lib-modules (ro)
      /run/x_tables.lock from x_tables-lock (rw)

To verify that your cluster has a single node, run:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl get nodes

Expected output:

NAME          STATUS          ROLES         AGE     VERSION
controlplane  Ready           control-plane 26m     v1.20.0

This confirms that the kube-proxy DaemonSet is scheduled on one node, matching the cluster configuration.

4. Inspecting the Kubelet DaemonSet (Kube-Flannel)

To examine the specific image used by the kube-flannel-ds (managed as a DaemonSet by kubelet), run:

root@controlplane:~# kubectl describe ds kube-flannel-ds -n kube-system

Within the output details of the pod template, locate the container image:

Image: quay.io/coreos/flannel:v0.13.1-rc1

This confirms that the kube-flannel-ds uses the CoreOS Flannel image.

Ensuring the correct container image for your networking components is crucial for cluster stability.

5. Deploying a DaemonSet for Logging

In this section, you’ll deploy a DaemonSet for logging using Fluentd and Elasticsearch. There are two common methods to obtain the DaemonSet specification.

Option 1: Using an Official Sample from Documentation

Refer to the Kubernetes documentation for a sample DaemonSet YAML. Below is an example configuration:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: DaemonSet
metadata:
  name: fluentd-elasticsearch
  namespace: kube-system
  labels:
    k8s-app: fluentd-logging
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      name: fluentd-elasticsearch
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        name: fluentd-elasticsearch
    spec:
      tolerations:
        # This toleration ensures the DaemonSet can run on master nodes.
        # Remove it if your master nodes cannot run pods.
        - key: node-role.kubernetes.io/master
          operator: Exists
          effect: NoSchedule
      containers:
        - name: fluentd-elasticsearch
          image: quay.io/fluentd_elasticsearch/fluentd:v2.5.2
          resources:
            limits:
              memory: 200Mi
            requests:
              cpu: 100m
              memory: 200Mi
          volumeMounts:
            - name: varlog
              mountPath: /var/log
            - name: varlibdockercontainers
              mountPath: /var/lib/docker/containers

Option 2: Converting a Deployment to a DaemonSet

Since Kubernetes doesn’t offer a direct command for creating a DaemonSet, you can start by generating a deployment manifest in dry-run mode and then convert it. Run:

kubectl create deployment elasticsearch --image=k8s.gcr.io/fluentd-elasticsearch:1.20 --dry-run=client -o yaml > fluentd.yaml

Edit the generated fluentd.yaml file to change the kind from Deployment to DaemonSet and remove the replicas and strategy fields, so it closely resembles:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: DaemonSet
metadata:
  creationTimestamp: null
  labels:
    app: elasticsearch
  name: elasticsearch
  namespace: kube-system
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: elasticsearch
  template:
    metadata:
      creationTimestamp: null
      labels:
        app: elasticsearch
    spec:
      containers:
      - image: k8s.gcr.io/fluentd-elasticsearch:1.20
        name: fluentd-elasticsearch
        resources: {}
status: {}

After making the necessary modifications, create the DaemonSet:

kubectl create -f fluentd.yaml

Verify the newly created DaemonSet by listing all DaemonSets in the kube-system namespace:

kubectl get ds -n kube-system

The output should resemble:

NAME                   DESIRED   CURRENT   READY   UP-TO-DATE   AVAILABLE   NODE SELECTOR           AGE
elasticsearch          1         1         1       0            <none>      <none>                10s
kube-flannel-ds        1         1         1       1            <none>      <none>                29m
kube-proxy             1         1         1       1            kubernetes.io/os=linux         29m

The example provided represents a basic logging configuration. Be sure to customize resource limits, volume mounts, and other parameters to match your production environment.

This concludes the lab on DaemonSets in Kubernetes. You learned how to list and inspect DaemonSets, examine their node scheduling, and deploy a new DaemonSet specifically for logging purposes. For further details on Kubernetes concepts and best practices, explore the following resources:

Introduction

Core Concepts

Scheduling

Logging & Monitoring

Application Lifecycle Management

Cluster Maintenance

Security

Storage

Networking

Troubleshooting

Design and Install a Kubernetes Cluster

Helm Basics (2025 Updates)

Kustomize Basics (2025 Updates)

Mock Exams

Install "Kubernetes the kubeadm way"

Solution DaemonSets optional

1. Listing DaemonSets in All Namespaces

2. Identifying the Namespace of DaemonSets

3. Examining Pod Scheduling for Kube-Proxy

4. Inspecting the Kubelet DaemonSet (Kube-Flannel)

5. Deploying a DaemonSet for Logging

Option 1: Using an Official Sample from Documentation

Option 2: Converting a Deployment to a DaemonSet

Watch Video

​1. Listing DaemonSets in All Namespaces

​2. Identifying the Namespace of DaemonSets

​3. Examining Pod Scheduling for Kube-Proxy

​4. Inspecting the Kubelet DaemonSet (Kube-Flannel)

​5. Deploying a DaemonSet for Logging

​Option 1: Using an Official Sample from Documentation

​Option 2: Converting a Deployment to a DaemonSet

Watch Video

1. Listing DaemonSets in All Namespaces

2. Identifying the Namespace of DaemonSets

3. Examining Pod Scheduling for Kube-Proxy

4. Inspecting the Kubelet DaemonSet (Kube-Flannel)

5. Deploying a DaemonSet for Logging

Option 1: Using an Official Sample from Documentation

Option 2: Converting a Deployment to a DaemonSet