Master Rancher: Visual Kubernetes Management and Deploying MySQL & SpringBoot

Rancher Overview

Rancher is a container management platform designed for companies using containers. It simplifies the Kubernetes workflow, allowing developers to run Kubernetes anywhere, meeting IT standards and empowering DevOps teams.

Docker Installation

Although Rancher can be installed in several ways, using Docker is the simplest. Install Docker first.

Install required packages:

yum install -y yum-utils device-mapper-persistent-data lvm2

Add Docker repository:

yum-config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo

Install Docker: yum install docker-ce Start Docker:

systemctl start docker

Rancher Installation

After Docker is installed, pull and run the Rancher image. Rancher includes a built‑in Kubernetes cluster, similar to Minikube.

Pull Rancher image: docker pull rancher/rancher:v2.5-head Run Rancher container (may take a few minutes to start):

docker run -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name rancher \
--privileged \
--restart=unless-stopped \
-d rancher/rancher:v2.5-head

Access Rancher UI at https://192.168.5.46 and set the admin account.

Configure the Server URL so other nodes can reach the Rancher instance.

Rancher Usage

On the Rancher homepage you can view all clusters (only the Rancher‑installed cluster at this point). Clicking a cluster name shows its status and provides a kubectl command button. The dashboard displays Deployments, Services, Pods, etc.

Hands‑On: Deploy MySQL

Create a MySQL Deployment via YAML (Deployments → Create → Edit as YAML).

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  # Deployment name
  name: mysql-deployment
  # Namespace
  namespace: default
  labels:
    app: mysql
spec:
  # Number of pod replicas
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: mysql
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: mysql
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: mysql
        image: mysql:5.7
        ports:
        - containerPort: 3306
        env:
        - name: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
          value: root
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /var/log/mysql
          name: log-volume
        - mountPath: /var/lib/mysql
          name: data-volume
        - mountPath: /etc/mysql
          name: conf-volume
      volumes:
      - name: log-volume
        hostPath:
          path: /home/docker/mydata/mysql/log
          type: DirectoryOrCreate
      - name: data-volume
        hostPath:
          path: /home/docker/mydata/mysql/data
          type: DirectoryOrCreate
      - name: conf-volume
        hostPath:
          path: /home/docker/mydata/mysql/conf
          type: DirectoryOrCreate

You can also configure the Deployment via the UI if you are unfamiliar with the YAML syntax.

Create MySQL Service

Create a Service via YAML (Services → Create → NodePort → Edit as YAML). The namespace field is required.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  # Namespace
  namespace: default
  # Service name
  name: mysql-service
spec:
  # Expose via NodePort
  type: NodePort
  selector:
    app: mysql
  ports:
  - name: http
    protocol: TCP
    port: 3306
    targetPort: 3306
    nodePort: 30306

After deployment, create a database named mall and import the schema from the provided GitHub SQL file.

Deploy SpringBoot Application

Create a Deployment for the SpringBoot app via YAML (Deployments → Create → Edit as YAML).

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  namespace: default
  name: mall-tiny-fabric-deployment
  labels:
    app: mall-tiny-fabric
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: mall-tiny-fabric
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: mall-tiny-fabric
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: mall-tiny-fabric
        image: macrodocker/mall-tiny-fabric:0.0.1-SNAPSHOT
        ports:
        - containerPort: 8080
        env:
        - name: spring.datasource.url
          value: jdbc:mysql://mysql-service:3306/mall?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=utf-8&serverTimezone=Asia/Shanghai
        - name: logging.path
          value: /var/logs
        volumeMounts:
        - mountPath: /var/logs
          name: log-volume
      volumes:
      - name: log-volume
        hostPath:
          path: /home/docker/mydata/app/mall-tiny-fabric/logs
          type: DirectoryOrCreate

Create SpringBoot Service

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  namespace: default
  name: mall-tiny-fabric-service
spec:
  type: NodePort
  selector:
    app: mall-tiny-fabric
  ports:
  - name: http
    protocol: TCP
    port: 8080
    targetPort: 8080
    nodePort: 30180

After creation, the deployment becomes ready as shown in the Rancher UI.

Expose Application via Nginx Reverse Proxy

Since Rancher occupies port 80, run Nginx on port 2080.

docker run -p 2080:2080 --name nginx \
-v /mydata/nginx/html:/usr/share/nginx/html \
-v /mydata/nginx/logs:/var/log/nginx  \
-v /mydata/nginx/conf:/etc/nginx \
-d nginx:1.10

Add an Nginx configuration file mall-tiny-rancher.conf to proxy the domain mall-tiny.macrozheng.com to the SpringBoot service.

server {
    listen       2080;
    server_name  mall-tiny.macrozheng.com; # modify domain

    location / {
        proxy_set_header Host $host:$server_port;
        proxy_pass   http://172.17.0.3:30180; # proxy address
        index  index.html index.htm;
    }

    error_page   500 502 503 504  /50x.html;
    location = /50x.html {
        root   /usr/share/nginx/html;
    }
}

Update the host file on the Linux server with 192.168.5.46 mall-tiny.macrozheng.com and access the application at http://mall-tiny.macrozheng.com:2080/swagger-ui.html.

Conclusion

Using Rancher for visual Kubernetes management greatly reduces deployment and operational complexity. A single Docker command can launch Rancher, and the UI allows you to monitor application status, execute scripts, and configure resources without writing scripts.