Manage RabbitMQ Services Using the Declarative Cluster API in KubeBlocks

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for exposing RabbitMQ services managed by KubeBlocks, both externally and internally. You'll learn to configure external access using cloud provider LoadBalancer services, manage internal services, and properly disable external exposure when no longer needed.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following:

Environment Setup:
- A Kubernetes cluster is up and running.
- The kubectl CLI tool is configured to communicate with your cluster.
- KubeBlocks CLI and KubeBlocks Operator are installed. Follow the installation instructions here.
Namespace Preparation: To keep resources isolated, create a dedicated namespace for this tutorial:

kubectl create ns demo
namespace/demo created

Deploy a RabbitMQ Cluster

KubeBlocks uses a declarative approach for managing RabbitMQ Clusters. Below is an example configuration for deploying a RabbitMQ Cluster with 3 replicas.

Apply the following YAML configuration to deploy the cluster:

apiVersion: apps.kubeblocks.io/v1
kind: Cluster
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster
  namespace: demo
spec:
  terminationPolicy: Delete
  clusterDef: rabbitmq
  topology: clustermode
  componentSpecs:
    - name: rabbitmq
      serviceVersion: 3.13.7
      replicas: 3
      resources:
        limits:
          cpu: "0.5"
          memory: "0.5Gi"
        requests:
          cpu: "0.5"
          memory: "0.5Gi"
      volumeClaimTemplates:
        - name: data
          spec:
            storageClassName: ""
            accessModes:
              - ReadWriteOnce
            resources:
              requests:
                storage: 20Gi

Verifying the Deployment

Monitor the cluster status until it transitions to the Running state:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo -w

Expected Output:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo
NAME               CLUSTER-DEFINITION   TERMINATION-POLICY   STATUS     AGE
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq             Delete               Creating   15s
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq             Delete               Running    83s

Check the pod status and roles:

kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Expected Output:

NAME                          READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-0   2/2     Running   0          106s
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-1   2/2     Running   0          82s
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-2   2/2     Running   0          47s

Once the cluster status becomes Running, your RabbitMQ cluster is ready for use.

TIP

If you are creating the cluster for the very first time, it may take some time to pull images before running.

View Network Services

List the Services created for the RabbitMQ cluster:

kubectl get service -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Example Services:

NAME                        TYPE        CLUSTER-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)              AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq   ClusterIP   10.96.6.67   <none>        5672/TCP,15672/TCP   33m

Expose RabbitMQ Service

External service addresses enable public internet access to RabbitMQ, while internal service addresses restrict access to the user's VPC.

Service Types Comparison

Type	Use Case	Cloud Cost	Security
ClusterIP	Internal service communication	Free	Highest
NodePort	Development/testing	Low	Moderate
LoadBalancer	Production external access	High	Managed via security groups

Option 1: Using OpsRequest

To expose the RabbitMQ service externally using a LoadBalancer, create an OpsRequest resource:

apiVersion: operations.kubeblocks.io/v1alpha1
kind: OpsRequest
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster-expose-enable-ops
  namespace: demo
spec:
  type: Expose
  clusterName: rabbitmq-cluster
  expose:
  - componentName: rabbitmq
    services:
    - name: internet
      # Determines how the Service is exposed. Defaults to 'ClusterIP'.
      # Valid options are 'ClusterIP', 'NodePort', and 'LoadBalancer'.
      serviceType: LoadBalancer
      ports:
        - name: managment
          port: 15672
          targetPort: management
      # Contains cloud provider related parameters if ServiceType is LoadBalancer.
      # Following is an example for AWS EKS
      annotations:
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: nlb
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "false"  # or "true" for an internal VPC IP
    switch: Enable

Wait for the OpsRequest to complete:

kubectl get ops rabbitmq-cluster-expose-enable-ops -n demo

Example Output:

NAME                                 TYPE     CLUSTER            STATUS    PROGRESS   AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-expose-enable-ops   Expose   rabbitmq-cluster   Succeed   1/1        31s

Option 2: Using Cluster API

Alternatively, update the spec.services section in the Cluster resource to include a LoadBalancer service:

apiVersion: apps.kubeblocks.io/v1
kind: Cluster
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster
  namespace: demo
spec:
  terminationPolicy: Delete
  clusterDef: rabbitmq
  # expose a external service
  services:
    - annotations:
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: nlb  # Use Network Load Balancer
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "false"  # or "true" for an internal VPC IP
      componentSelector: rabbitmq
      name: rabbitmq-internet
      serviceName: rabbitmq-internet
      spec:  # defines the behavior of a K8s service.
        ipFamilyPolicy: PreferDualStack
        ports:
        - name: tcp-rabbitmq
          # port to expose
          port: 15672 # port 15672 for rabbitmq management console
          protocol: TCP
          targetPort: management
        type: LoadBalancer
  componentSpecs:
  ...

The YAML configuration above adds a new external service under the services section. This LoadBalancer service includes annotations for AWS Network Load Balancer (NLB).

NOTE

Cloud Provider Annotations

When using a LoadBalancer service, you must include the appropriate annotations specific to your cloud provider. Below is a list of commonly used annotations for different cloud providers:

service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: nlb  # Use Network Load Balancer
service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "true"  # Use "false" for internet-facing LoadBalancer

Azure

service.beta.kubernetes.io/azure-load-balancer-internal: "true" # Use "false" for internet-facing LoadBalancer

networking.gke.io/load-balancer-type: "Internal"  # Restricts the LoadBalancer to internal VPC access only. Defaults to internet-facing if not specified.
cloud.google.com/l4-rbs: "enabled" # Optimization for internet-facing LoadBalancer

Alibaba Cloud

service.beta.kubernetes.io/alibaba-cloud-loadbalancer-address-type: "internet"  # Use "intranet" for internal-facing LoadBalancer

NOTE

The service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal annotation controls whether the LoadBalancer is internal or internet-facing. Note that this annotation cannot be modified dynamically after service creation.

  service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "false"  # Use "true" for internal VPC IPs

If you change this annotation from "false" to "true" after the Service is created, the annotation may update in the Service object, but the LoadBalancer will still retain its public IP.

To properly modify this behavior:

First, delete the existing LoadBalancer service.
Recreate the service with the updated annotation (service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "true").
Wait for the new LoadBalancer to be provisioned with the correct internal or external IP.

Wait for the Cluster status to transition to Running using the following command:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo -w

NAME            CLUSTER-DEFINITION   TERMINATION-POLICY   STATUS    AGE
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq           Delete               Running   18m

Verify the Exposed Service

Check the service details to confirm the LoadBalancer service is created:

kubectl get service -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Example Output:

NAME                                 TYPE           CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)              AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-internet   LoadBalancer   172.20.60.24   <EXTERNAL-IP> 15672:31243/TCP      1m

Access RabbitMQ Management Console

Retrieve Credentials

KubeBlocks automatically creates a Secret containing the RabbitMQ root credentials. Retrieve the credentials:

NAME=`kubectl get secrets -n demo rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-account-root -o jsonpath='{.data.username}' | base64 -d`
PASSWD=`kubectl get secrets -n demo rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-account-root -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d`

Access Management Console

Then log in to the RabbitMQ Management console at http://<endpoint>:<port>/ with the user and password.

Disable External Exposure

Option 1: Using OpsRequest

To disable external access, create an OpsRequest:

apiVersion: operations.kubeblocks.io/v1alpha1
kind: OpsRequest
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster-expose-disable-ops
  namespace: demo
spec:
  clusterName: rabbitmq-cluster
  expose:
  - componentName: rabbitmq
    services:
    - name: internet
      serviceType: LoadBalancer
    switch: Disable
  preConditionDeadlineSeconds: 0
  type: Expose

Wait for the OpsRequest to complete:

kubectl get ops rabbitmq-cluster-expose-disable-ops -n demo

Example Output:

NAME                                  TYPE     CLUSTER            STATUS    PROGRESS   AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-expose-disable-ops   Expose   rabbitmq-cluster   Succeed   1/1        24s

Option 2: Using Cluster API

Alternatively, remove the spec.services field from the Cluster resource:

kubectl patch cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo --type=json -p='[
  {
    "op": "remove",
    "path": "/spec/services"
  }
]'

Monitor the cluster status until it is Running:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo -w

NAME               CLUSTER-DEFINITION    TERMINATION-POLICY   STATUS     AGE
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq              Delete               Running    44m

Verify Service Removal

Ensure that the 'rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-internet' Service is removed:

kubectl get service -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Expected Result: The 'rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-internet' Service should be removed.

Cleanup

To remove all created resources, delete the RabbitMQ cluster along with its namespace:

kubectl delete cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo
kubectl delete ns demo

Summary

This guide demonstrated how to:

Expose a RabbitMQ service externally or internally using KubeBlocks.
Configure LoadBalancer services with cloud provider-specific annotations.
Manage external access by enabling or disabling services via OpsRequest or direct updates to the Cluster API.

KubeBlocks provides flexibility and simplicity for managing MySQL services in Kubernetes environments. simplicity for managing RabbitMQ services in Kubernetes environments.

Manage RabbitMQ Services Using the Declarative Cluster API in KubeBlocks

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following:

Environment Setup:
- A Kubernetes cluster is up and running.
- The kubectl CLI tool is configured to communicate with your cluster.
- KubeBlocks CLI and KubeBlocks Operator are installed. Follow the installation instructions here.
Namespace Preparation: To keep resources isolated, create a dedicated namespace for this tutorial:

kubectl create ns demo
namespace/demo created

Deploy a RabbitMQ Cluster

KubeBlocks uses a declarative approach for managing RabbitMQ Clusters. Below is an example configuration for deploying a RabbitMQ Cluster with 3 replicas.

Apply the following YAML configuration to deploy the cluster:

apiVersion: apps.kubeblocks.io/v1
kind: Cluster
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster
  namespace: demo
spec:
  terminationPolicy: Delete
  clusterDef: rabbitmq
  topology: clustermode
  componentSpecs:
    - name: rabbitmq
      serviceVersion: 3.13.7
      replicas: 3
      resources:
        limits:
          cpu: "0.5"
          memory: "0.5Gi"
        requests:
          cpu: "0.5"
          memory: "0.5Gi"
      volumeClaimTemplates:
        - name: data
          spec:
            storageClassName: ""
            accessModes:
              - ReadWriteOnce
            resources:
              requests:
                storage: 20Gi

Verifying the Deployment

Monitor the cluster status until it transitions to the Running state:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo -w

Expected Output:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo
NAME               CLUSTER-DEFINITION   TERMINATION-POLICY   STATUS     AGE
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq             Delete               Creating   15s
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq             Delete               Running    83s

Check the pod status and roles:

kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Expected Output:

NAME                          READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-0   2/2     Running   0          106s
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-1   2/2     Running   0          82s
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-2   2/2     Running   0          47s

Once the cluster status becomes Running, your RabbitMQ cluster is ready for use.

TIP

If you are creating the cluster for the very first time, it may take some time to pull images before running.

View Network Services

List the Services created for the RabbitMQ cluster:

kubectl get service -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Example Services:

NAME                        TYPE        CLUSTER-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)              AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq   ClusterIP   10.96.6.67   <none>        5672/TCP,15672/TCP   33m

Expose RabbitMQ Service

External service addresses enable public internet access to RabbitMQ, while internal service addresses restrict access to the user's VPC.

Service Types Comparison

Type	Use Case	Cloud Cost	Security
ClusterIP	Internal service communication	Free	Highest
NodePort	Development/testing	Low	Moderate
LoadBalancer	Production external access	High	Managed via security groups

Option 1: Using OpsRequest

To expose the RabbitMQ service externally using a LoadBalancer, create an OpsRequest resource:

apiVersion: operations.kubeblocks.io/v1alpha1
kind: OpsRequest
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster-expose-enable-ops
  namespace: demo
spec:
  type: Expose
  clusterName: rabbitmq-cluster
  expose:
  - componentName: rabbitmq
    services:
    - name: internet
      # Determines how the Service is exposed. Defaults to 'ClusterIP'.
      # Valid options are 'ClusterIP', 'NodePort', and 'LoadBalancer'.
      serviceType: LoadBalancer
      ports:
        - name: managment
          port: 15672
          targetPort: management
      # Contains cloud provider related parameters if ServiceType is LoadBalancer.
      # Following is an example for AWS EKS
      annotations:
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: nlb
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "false"  # or "true" for an internal VPC IP
    switch: Enable

Wait for the OpsRequest to complete:

kubectl get ops rabbitmq-cluster-expose-enable-ops -n demo

Example Output:

NAME                                 TYPE     CLUSTER            STATUS    PROGRESS   AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-expose-enable-ops   Expose   rabbitmq-cluster   Succeed   1/1        31s

Option 2: Using Cluster API

Alternatively, update the spec.services section in the Cluster resource to include a LoadBalancer service:

apiVersion: apps.kubeblocks.io/v1
kind: Cluster
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster
  namespace: demo
spec:
  terminationPolicy: Delete
  clusterDef: rabbitmq
  # expose a external service
  services:
    - annotations:
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: nlb  # Use Network Load Balancer
        service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "false"  # or "true" for an internal VPC IP
      componentSelector: rabbitmq
      name: rabbitmq-internet
      serviceName: rabbitmq-internet
      spec:  # defines the behavior of a K8s service.
        ipFamilyPolicy: PreferDualStack
        ports:
        - name: tcp-rabbitmq
          # port to expose
          port: 15672 # port 15672 for rabbitmq management console
          protocol: TCP
          targetPort: management
        type: LoadBalancer
  componentSpecs:
  ...

The YAML configuration above adds a new external service under the services section. This LoadBalancer service includes annotations for AWS Network Load Balancer (NLB).

NOTE

Cloud Provider Annotations

When using a LoadBalancer service, you must include the appropriate annotations specific to your cloud provider. Below is a list of commonly used annotations for different cloud providers:

service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: nlb  # Use Network Load Balancer
service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "true"  # Use "false" for internet-facing LoadBalancer

Azure

service.beta.kubernetes.io/azure-load-balancer-internal: "true" # Use "false" for internet-facing LoadBalancer

networking.gke.io/load-balancer-type: "Internal"  # Restricts the LoadBalancer to internal VPC access only. Defaults to internet-facing if not specified.
cloud.google.com/l4-rbs: "enabled" # Optimization for internet-facing LoadBalancer

Alibaba Cloud

service.beta.kubernetes.io/alibaba-cloud-loadbalancer-address-type: "internet"  # Use "intranet" for internal-facing LoadBalancer

NOTE

  service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "false"  # Use "true" for internal VPC IPs

If you change this annotation from "false" to "true" after the Service is created, the annotation may update in the Service object, but the LoadBalancer will still retain its public IP.

To properly modify this behavior:

First, delete the existing LoadBalancer service.
Recreate the service with the updated annotation (service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal: "true").
Wait for the new LoadBalancer to be provisioned with the correct internal or external IP.

Wait for the Cluster status to transition to Running using the following command:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo -w

NAME            CLUSTER-DEFINITION   TERMINATION-POLICY   STATUS    AGE
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq           Delete               Running   18m

Verify the Exposed Service

Check the service details to confirm the LoadBalancer service is created:

kubectl get service -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Example Output:

NAME                                 TYPE           CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)              AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-internet   LoadBalancer   172.20.60.24   <EXTERNAL-IP> 15672:31243/TCP      1m

Access RabbitMQ Management Console

Retrieve Credentials

KubeBlocks automatically creates a Secret containing the RabbitMQ root credentials. Retrieve the credentials:

NAME=`kubectl get secrets -n demo rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-account-root -o jsonpath='{.data.username}' | base64 -d`
PASSWD=`kubectl get secrets -n demo rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-account-root -o jsonpath='{.data.password}' | base64 -d`

Access Management Console

Then log in to the RabbitMQ Management console at http://<endpoint>:<port>/ with the user and password.

Disable External Exposure

Option 1: Using OpsRequest

To disable external access, create an OpsRequest:

apiVersion: operations.kubeblocks.io/v1alpha1
kind: OpsRequest
metadata:
  name: rabbitmq-cluster-expose-disable-ops
  namespace: demo
spec:
  clusterName: rabbitmq-cluster
  expose:
  - componentName: rabbitmq
    services:
    - name: internet
      serviceType: LoadBalancer
    switch: Disable
  preConditionDeadlineSeconds: 0
  type: Expose

Wait for the OpsRequest to complete:

kubectl get ops rabbitmq-cluster-expose-disable-ops -n demo

Example Output:

NAME                                  TYPE     CLUSTER            STATUS    PROGRESS   AGE
rabbitmq-cluster-expose-disable-ops   Expose   rabbitmq-cluster   Succeed   1/1        24s

Option 2: Using Cluster API

Alternatively, remove the spec.services field from the Cluster resource:

kubectl patch cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo --type=json -p='[
  {
    "op": "remove",
    "path": "/spec/services"
  }
]'

Monitor the cluster status until it is Running:

kubectl get cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo -w

NAME               CLUSTER-DEFINITION    TERMINATION-POLICY   STATUS     AGE
rabbitmq-cluster   rabbitmq              Delete               Running    44m

Verify Service Removal

Ensure that the 'rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-internet' Service is removed:

kubectl get service -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=rabbitmq-cluster -n demo

Expected Result: The 'rabbitmq-cluster-rabbitmq-internet' Service should be removed.

Cleanup

To remove all created resources, delete the RabbitMQ cluster along with its namespace:

kubectl delete cluster rabbitmq-cluster -n demo
kubectl delete ns demo

Summary

This guide demonstrated how to:

Expose a RabbitMQ service externally or internally using KubeBlocks.
Configure LoadBalancer services with cloud provider-specific annotations.
Manage external access by enabling or disabling services via OpsRequest or direct updates to the Cluster API.

KubeBlocks provides flexibility and simplicity for managing MySQL services in Kubernetes environments. simplicity for managing RabbitMQ services in Kubernetes environments.