Kubernetes Dashboard to Headlamp

Kubernetes Dashboard is a web-based UI for Kubernetes clusters. You can use the UI to deploy applications, manage workloads, monitor Kubernetes resources, and troubleshoot applications running in a cluster.

Headlamp is a modern Kubernetes UI that offers multi-cluster support, plugin-based extensibility, application-centric views, and desktop and in-cluster deployment options.

This article compares the capabilities and workflows of Kubernetes Dashboard and Headlamp.

Table of Contents

• Kubernetes Dashboard - An Overview
• Headlamp - An Overview
• Mapping Kubernetes Dashboard Workloads with Headlamp
• Advantages of Headlamp Over Kubernetes Dashboard
• Where Headlamp Runs
• Headlamp Installation
• Headlamp Desktop Installation For Windows
• FAQs
• Conclsuion

Kubernetes Dashboard (Now Archived) - An Overview

Kubernetes Dashboard is a web-based UI for managing Kubernetes clusters. You can access it locally via kubectl port-forward. Kubernetes authentication and RBAC permissions control access to the Dashboard.

The Kubernetes Dashboard project is now archived and no longer maintained, according to Kubernetes documentation. Headlamp is the successor to the Kubernetes Dashboard project.

Headlamp - An Overview

Headlamp is an open-source, web-based Kubernetes user interface (UI) that you can run as a desktop application or as an application inside a Kubernetes cluster. It provides a graphical alternative to command-line tools such as kubectl.

With Headlamp, you can:

• View and manage Pods, Deployments, ConfigMaps, Services,  and Secrets
• Examine logs and Kubernetes resource details
• Monitor cluster resources and workloads
• Manage multiple Kubernetes clusters
• Use authentication and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
• Extend functionality using a plugin system.

In short, Headlamp provides a user-friendly graphical interface to view and manage Kubernetes clusters and workloads.

Mapping Kubernetes Dashboard Workloads with Headlamp

This section explains how Kubernetes Dashboard workflows map to Headlamp.

1. Viewing Workloads

Headlamp provides views to find and monitor workloads. It also simplifies navigation between namespaces and clusters. It helps you organise resources and navigate multiple environments more efficiently.

2. Interacting with Resources

Headlamp lets you see and edit manifests directly in the user interface. However, this depends on the permissions organisations grant users. You can also scale workloads, delete resources, and update configurations using Headlamp.

3. Understanding Relationships

Headlamp helps you understand how services, workloads, and configurations are connected. It supports many common Dashboard workflows, including viewing workloads, viewing logs, and performing RBAC-authorised operations.

It also provides UI-based actions for supported Kubernetes resources, but access depends on the RBAC permissions granted to the user.

The table below maps Kubernetes Dashboard to the equivalent Headlamp features across multiple aspects.

Kubernetes Dashboard	Headlamp Equivalent
View workloads and resources	Headlamp provides UI views to identify and inspect Kubernetes workloads and resources across namespaces and clusters.
Navigate namespaces and clusters.	It supports navigation across clusters and namespaces in multiple environments.
View logs	View logs for supported workloads and resources through its UI.
Edit resource manifests	It allows users to view manifests through the UI, subject to their RBAC permissions.
Perform RBAC-authorised actions	It exposes supported UI actions according to the permissions granted to the user through Kubernetes RBAC.

Advantages of Headlamp Over Kubernetes Dashboard

Let’s go through the advantages of Headlamp over Kubernetes Dashboard here.

1. Support for Multi-cluster Workflows

Headlamp supports working with multiple clusters, unlike Kubernetes Dashboard. It helps you manage development, staging, and production operations from a single interface.

2. UI Extensibility

Headlamp lets you use plugins to extend its UI with workflows. So you don’t need to switch between tools.

For example, you can use the Flux plugin to integrate GitOps workflows in Headlamp. It lets you view Git changes alongside changes in resources running in the Kubernetes cluster. Additionally, the AI assistant lets you interact with the UI using natural language. You can understand what you are viewing, troubleshoot issues and perform supported actions.

Most importantly, you can do all this from the same screen. It can answer contextual questions and perform supported actions based on the user’s permissions.

3. Headlamp Projects

Headlamp Projects provide an application-centric view that groups related services, workloads, and resources in a single place. You can monitor changes in context with Projects and troubleshoot the cluster whenever required.

Labels, namespaces, and RBAC in Headlamp Projects work like the Kubernetes Dashboard. Projects offer more flexibility, letting you view individual or multiple resources as needed.

4. Building Plugins

Headlamp provides a plugin framework that lets teams build plugins needed for their workflows and enhance the user experience.

Where Headlamp Runs

You can run Headlamp in a Kubernetes cluster. You can also run it as a desktop application. Choose the deployment option that best fits your needs. If you manage a shared environment, you can run Headlamp in a Kubernetes cluster. It provides a centralised UI with access control and standard authentication.

Alternatively, you can run Headlamp as a desktop application for local environments. This approach works better when you need to manage multiple clusters from a single place.

Headlamp Installation

You can deploy Headlamp in a Kubernetes cluster or run it as a desktop application.

Headlamp uses RBAC to control user access to resources. You can configure authentication using a ServiceAccount token.

1. Creating a service account token

• Use the command below to create a ServiceAccount:

kubectl -n kube-system create serviceaccount headlamp-admin

• Grant the account cluster-admin permissions using the command below:

kubectl create clusterrolebinding headlamp-admin --serviceaccount=kube-system:headlamp-admin --clusterrole=cluster-admin

• For Kubernetes version 1.24 and later, create the token using the following command:

kubectl create token headlamp-admin -n kube-system

2. Headlamp in-cluster Deployment

• You can install Headlamp in your existing cluster using the Headlamp Helm chart. Use the command below:

helm repo add headlamp

• First, add the Headlamp repository to your local Helm repositories:

https://kubernetes-sigs.github.io/headlamp/

• Then install Headlamp using Helm:

helm install my-headlamp headlamp/headlamp --namespace kube-system

• You can configure the Helm release using the values file or set your preferred values directly:

# install Headlamp with your own values.yaml

helm install my-headlamp headlamp/headlamp --namespace kube-system -f values.yaml

# install Headlamp by setting values directly

helm install my-headlamp headlamp/headlamp --namespace kube-system --set replicaCount=2

3. Cluster Inventory

• Once Cluster Inventory is enabled, the Cluster Inventory API identifies Headlamp ClusterProfile resources.
• The Helm chart configures the backend flags from config.clusterInventory and creates an access provider config file.
• Then create a cluster-inventory-values.yaml file with the required configuration.

config:
  clusterInventory:
    enabled: true
    accessProvidersConfig:
      providers:
        - name: secretreader
          execConfig:
            apiVersion: client.authentication.k8s.io/v1
            command: /access-plugins/secretreader/bin/secretreader-plugin
            provideClusterInfo: true

plugins:
      - name: secretreader
        image: registry.k8s.io/cluster-inventory-api/secretreader:v0.1.1
        mountPath: /access-plugins/secretreader

• Install Headlamp using the values file with the command below:

helm install my-headlamp headlamp/headlamp --namespace kube-system --values cluster-inventory-values.yaml

Headlamp Desktop Installation For Windows

1. Installation through WinGet

• Run the following command to install Headlamp from the Winget package manager:

winget install headlamp

• Run the following command to upgrade Headlamp:

winget upgrade headlamp

2. Installation through Chocolatey

• First, install Chocolatey to install Headlamp from the Chocolatey registry.
• Once Chocolatey is available, install Headlamp by running the following command.

choco install headlamp

• Run the command below to upgrade Headlamp.

choco upgrade headlamp

Prepare Kubernetes Interview Questions with Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is Headlamp a replacement for Kubernetes Dashboard?

Yes, Headlamp serves as an alternative UI for many common Kubernetes management workflows.

2. Can Headlamp manage multiple Kubernetes clusters?

Yes. Headlamp supports multiple Kubernetes clusters and lets users switch between them.

3. Is Headlamp suitable for beginners?

Yes. It is suitable for beginners because its graphical interface helps users explore Kubernetes resources without remembering kubectl commands.

4. Can I edit Kubernetes resources using Headlamp?

Yes. Headlamp allows you to view and edit supported resource manifests. You can do this through its UI, subject to the user’s RBAC permissions.

5. Does Headlamp replace kubectl?

No, it does not replace kubectl. Headlamp provides a graphical interface, while kubectl remains the command-line interface for Kubernetes. Simply put, you can use both of them together.

Conclusion

In summary, Headlamp replaces Kubernetes Dashboard with more advanced capabilities. This article should help you understand how Kubernetes Dashboard maps to Headlamp and how to install it.

If you are looking for the right platform to expand your Kubernetes knowledge, you can sign up for a Kubernetes course with MindMajix. By the end of the course, you will explore more about Kubernetes dashboards, Headlamp, and much more.