Unleashing Terraform for Kubernetes secret management with IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service and Secrets Manager

On this weblog put up, we discover the sensible implementation of using Terraform on IBM Cloud to create and handle secrets and techniques by seamlessly integrating your IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service with IBM Cloud Secrets Manager.

Beforehand, this performance to manage TLS and non-TLS certificates and secrets was primarily accessed by way of the CLI utilizing the namespace ibmcloud ks ingress secret. This API permits customers to create an “Ingress secret” useful resource by passing Secrets and techniques Supervisor secret CRNs to the API to ascertain a managed corresponding secret of their Kubernetes cluster. Notably, any updates made to the secrets and techniques throughout the Secrets and techniques Supervisor occasion are routinely mirrored throughout the related Kubernetes cluster, guaranteeing synchronization between the 2 environments.

Structure and conduct

The IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service reconciles the created Ingress secrets and techniques within the following approach:

1. The person has an current IBM Cloud Secrets Manager occasion and IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service occasion.
2. The person registers the Secrets and techniques Supervisor occasion to make sure its secret CRNs might be synchronized between the Secrets and techniques Supervisor secret and corresponding Ingress secret(s).
3. The person then creates an IBM Cloud Kubernetes Ingress secret that may both be an Opaque or TLS secret with a Secrets and techniques Supervisor CRN (ID). This creates a backing useful resource within the cloud that correlates the key CRN to the ClusterID/SecretName/SecretNamespace.
4. IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service fetches the Secrets and techniques Supervisor secret through the CRN.
5. IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service creates a Kubernetes secret within the cluster with the values of the CRN(s).
6. IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service ensures that the secrets and techniques values keep in sync with the corresponding Secrets and techniques Supervisor secret CRN.

Advantages

By using the integration with IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service and IBM Cloud Secrets and techniques Supervisor, you possibly can leverage the next advantages:

• Seamlessly create and handle Secrets and techniques Supervisor secrets and techniques with built-in autorotation for enhanced safety.
• Effortlessly provision Kubernetes secrets and techniques utilizing the key CRN of any Secrets and techniques Supervisor occasion you personal, guaranteeing constant and dependable secret administration.
• Routinely synchronize and persist your secrets and techniques inside your Kubernetes cluster frequently, eliminating the necessity for guide updates and lowering the chance of outdated secrets and techniques.
• Simply monitor and monitor the expiration dates of your secrets and techniques straight from the IBM Cloud console, guaranteeing well timed rotation and stopping potential safety vulnerabilities.
• Keep management over entry to your secrets and techniques by creating secret teams, permitting you to grant permissions solely to accepted customers and enhancing the general safety of your functions.

Arms-on instance

The under instance exhibits an integration of IBM Cloud Kubernetes and IBM Cloud Secrets and techniques Supervisor through a Terraform script. To comply with alongside within the full pattern, go to this example. You’ll provision an IBM Cloud Secrets Manager occasion, register it to an IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service, and create managed IBM Cloud Kubernetes Ingress secrets backed by Secrets and techniques Supervisor secrets and techniques.

Stipulations

To comply with this instance, you’ll require the next:

Strolling by way of the Terraform script

1. Create an IBM Cloud Secrets and techniques Supervisor occasion

Create an IBM Cloud Secrets and techniques Supervisor occasion and secret group to host your secrets and techniques. Study extra about Creating a Secrets Manager service instance:

useful resource "ibm_resource_instance"https://www.ibm.com/weblog/unleashing-terraform-for-kubernetes-secret-management-with-ibm-cloud-kubernetes-service-and-secrets-manager/"sm_instance" {
  title     = var.sm_instance_name
  service  = "secrets-manager"
  plan     = var.sm_instance_plan
  location = var.sm_instance_region
  timeouts {
    create = "60m"
    delete = "2h"
  }

}

useful resource "ibm_sm_secret_group"https://www.ibm.com/weblog/unleashing-terraform-for-kubernetes-secret-management-with-ibm-cloud-kubernetes-service-and-secrets-manager/"sm_secret_group" {
  instance_id   = ibm_resource_instance.sm_instance.guid
  area        = ibm_resource_instance.sm_instance.location
  title          = var.sm_secret_group_name
  description   = var.sm_secret_group_description
}

2. Arrange service-to-service authorization by way of IAM

See extra about what configurations are wanted to enable service-to-service communication:

useful resource "ibm_iam_authorization_policy"https://www.ibm.com/weblog/unleashing-terraform-for-kubernetes-secret-management-with-ibm-cloud-kubernetes-service-and-secrets-manager/"sm_auth" {
  source_service_name = "containers-kubernetes"
  target_service_name = "secrets-manager"
  roles               = ["Manager"]
}

3. Register the Secrets and techniques Supervisor occasion to the IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service cluster

While you register a Secrets Manager instance to your cluster because the default, all new Ingress subdomain certificates are saved in that occasion:

useful resource "ibm_container_ingress_instance"https://www.ibm.com/weblog/unleashing-terraform-for-kubernetes-secret-management-with-ibm-cloud-kubernetes-service-and-secrets-manager/"occasion" {
  cluster         = var.cluster_name_or_id
  secret_group_id = ibm_sm_secret_group.sm_secret_group.secret_group_id
  instance_crn    = ibm_resource_instance.sm_instance.id
  is_default      = true
}

4. Create secrets and techniques in Secrets and techniques Supervisor and allow computerized rotation

Create an arbitrary and username credential secret in Secrets and techniques Supervisor. Study extra about totally different secret types:

useful resource "ibm_sm_arbitrary_secret"https://www.ibm.com/weblog/unleashing-terraform-for-kubernetes-secret-management-with-ibm-cloud-kubernetes-service-and-secrets-manager/"sm_arbitrary_secret" {
  instance_id      = ibm_resource_instance.sm_instance.guid
  area           = ibm_resource_instance.sm_instance.location
  endpoint_type    = var.sm_endpoint_type
  title 		    = var.sm_arbitrary_secret_name
  description      = var.sm_arbitrary_secret_description
  expiration_date  = var.sm_arbitrary_secret_expiration_date
  labels           = var.sm_arbitrary_secret_labels
  secret_group_id  = ibm_sm_secret_group.sm_secret_group.secret_group_id
  payload          = var.sm_arbitrary_secret_payload
}

useful resource "ibm_sm_username_password_secret"https://www.ibm.com/weblog/unleashing-terraform-for-kubernetes-secret-management-with-ibm-cloud-kubernetes-service-and-secrets-manager/"sm_username_password_secret" {
  instance_id      = ibm_resource_instance.sm_instance.guid
  area           = ibm_resource_instance.sm_instance.location
  endpoint_type    = var.sm_endpoint_type
  title 		    = var.sm_username_password_secret_name
  description      = var.sm_username_password_secret_description
  expiration_date  = var.sm_username_password_secret_expiration_date
  labels           = var.sm_username_password_secret_labels
  secret_group_id  = ibm_sm_secret_group.sm_secret_group.secret_group_id
  rotation {
    auto_rotate    = true
    interval       = 1
    unit           = "day"
  }

  username         = var.sm_username_password_secret_username
  password         = var.sm_username_password_secret_password
}

5. Within the cluster, create a persistent Opaque secret that’s backed by the CRN of the secrets and techniques in Secrets and techniques Supervisor

Create an Ingress Opaque secret within the cluster. Now, anytime the secrets and techniques in Secrets and techniques Supervisor are up to date, the corresponding Kubernetes Opaque secret might be up to date as soon as a day. The persistence discipline ensures that if a person inadvertently deletes the key from the cluster, will probably be recreated:

useful resource "ibm_container_ingress_secret_opaque"https://www.ibm.com/weblog/unleashing-terraform-for-kubernetes-secret-management-with-ibm-cloud-kubernetes-service-and-secrets-manager/"secret_opaque" {
    cluster          = var.cluster_name_or_id
    secret_name      = var.opaque_secret_name
    secret_namespace = var.opaque_secret_namespace
    persistence      = true
    fields {
        crn          = ibm_sm_arbitrary_secret.sm_arbitrary_secret.crn
    }
    fields {
        crn          = ibm_sm_username_password_secret.sm_username_password_secret.crn
    }
}

Creating the infrastructure

Now that you just’ve gone by way of what every block of the Terraform script might be doing, let’s create the infrastructure.

1. Run terraform init in your listing.
2. Copy the essential.tf and output.tf recordsdata from the instance repo.
3. Create a .tfvars file and fill within the corresponding variables wanted. You’ll be able to be taught extra about what variables are wanted within the variables.tf file.
4. Run terraform plan -var-file=<file_name>.
5. Create the sources with terraform apply -var-file=<file_name>.

Verifying created sources

Now that these sources are created, go into the IBM Cloud Dashboard to view the created sources beneath Resource list:

Navigate to the created IBM Cloud Secrets and techniques Supervisor occasion and look at the created secrets and techniques:

Navigate to the IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service, click on on Ingress, then choose the Secrets and techniques tab to view the Opaque secret:

Contact us

This pattern serves as a place to begin to showcase the advantages and performance of integrating Terraform with IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service and IBM Cloud Secrets Manager. Be happy to broaden and tailor this strategy to suit your use case.

In case you have questions, have interaction our staff through Slack by registering here and be part of the dialogue within the #normal channel on our public IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service Slack.