--- title: "Effective Deployments with the Kubernetes MiniKube Dashboard" description: "Learn how to effectively manage deployments of containers with the MiniKube Dashboard in this ATA Learning tutorial!" canonical: "https://adamtheautomator.com/minikube-dashboard/" --- # Effective Deployments with the Kubernetes MiniKube Dashboard > Learn how to effectively manage deployments of containers with the MiniKube Dashboard in this ATA Learning tutorial! Source: https://adamtheautomator.com/minikube-dashboard/ --- ATA Learning Tap to hide [ ATA Learning ](/) * [Home](/) * [Tutorials](/tutorials/) * [Instructors](/author/) * [Advertising](/advertising/) * [Recommended Resources](/resources/) * [About Adam](/about-adam/) Search for: * [](https://twitter.com/adbertram) * [](https://github.com/Adam-the-Automator) * [](https://www.linkedin.com/company/adam-the-automator-llc) * [](/feed/) ![Effective Deployments with the Kubernetes MiniKube Dashboard](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Effective-Deployments-with-the-Kubernetes-MiniKube-Dashboard.jpg) # Effective Deployments with the Kubernetes MiniKube Dashboard [![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b4cd4a109fc359fca6ccc8a192dd75bf9a440677bb2a87da8c23f48d76b3bb39?s=192&d=mm&r=g)Edem Afenyo](https://adamtheautomator.com/author/edem-afenyo/)18 May 20227 min. read Categories: [DevOps](/category/devops/) Tags:[Kubernetes](/tag/kubernetes/)[Minikube](/tag/minikube/) Table of Contents * [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) * [Creating a MiniKube Cluster](#creating-a-minikube-cluster) * [Enabling the Dashboard and Metrics-Server Addons](#enabling-the-dashboard-and-metrics-server-addons) * [Launching the Kubernetes MiniKube Dashboard](#launching-the-kubernetes-minikube-dashboard) * [Creating a Deployment in the Minikube Dashboard](#creating-a-deployment-in-the-minikube-dashboard) * [Scaling and Managing Containers in the MiniKube Dashboard](#scaling-and-managing-containers-in-the-minikube-dashboard) * [Obtaining the IP Address of the Node from the MiniKube Dashboard](#obtaining-the-ip-address-of-the-node-from-the-minikube-dashboard) * [Listing Existing Services](#listing-existing-services) * [Editing Pod Resources](#editing-pod-resources) * [Deleting a Resource](#deleting-a-resource) * [Monitoring Pod Resource Utilization](#monitoring-pod-resource-utilization) * [Reading Container Logs From the Dashboard](#reading-container-logs-from-the-dashboard) * [Conclusion](#conclusion) The [Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io/) dashboard is an effective way of monitoring a [Minikube](https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/start/) cluster. Did you know that you can manage the cluster and its resources from the dashboard, apart from viewing utilization and cluster-specific parameters? Minikube Dashboard is the thing! Read on as you create and destroy pods, services, and many more resources via the dashboard – tasks you would otherwise have performed with the command line. ## Prerequisites This tutorial will be a hands-on demonstration. If you’d like to follow along, be sure you have the following: * A [Linux](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux) machine to host the cluster – this tutorial uses [Fedora 35](https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/). * A container or a virtual machine manager, such as [Docker](https://www.docker.com/), [KVM](https://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page), [Hyper-V](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/about/), [Podman](https://podman.io/), or [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/) – This tutorial uses Docker v20.10.12. [Install Docker with this tutorial](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/fedora/) if you do not already have any of the alternatives installed. Related:[How to Install and Use Docker on Ubuntu (In the Real World)](https://adamtheautomator.com/docker-ubuntu/) * Minikube – This article uses version v1.25.2 which comes with [Kubectl](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/) automatically. * Install [MiniKube](https://adamtheautomator.com/minikube-tutorial/) and Kubectl by following the related article link below if you do not already have them. Related:[Jumpstart Kubernetes Locally with This Minikube Tutorial](https://adamtheautomator.com/minikube-tutorial/) ## Creating a MiniKube Cluster With the prerequisites successfully installed, you can now start playing with MiniKube. To begin, you’ll start by creating a Kubernetes cluster. Open a terminal session and run the below command. This command creates a Kubernetes cluster. The `-extra-config=kubelet.housekeeping-interval=10s` switch enables showing the [CPU](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_processing_unit) utilization metrics in the dashboard. ```bash minikube start --extra-config=kubelet.housekeeping-interval=10s ``` > _Changing the housekeeping interval of a cluster is an optimization decision by the developers of Minikube. You can read more about it from [Minikube’s issue tracker](https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/13620). A fix for this side effect has been tested and should be included in later versions._ The command will automatically set up a single node cluster running inside a Docker container, as shown below. ![set up a single node cluster running inside a Docker](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-262.png) set up a single node cluster running inside a Docker ### Enabling the Dashboard and Metrics-Server Addons Minikube comes with several Kubernetes tools installed as add-ons to simplify the development process. 1\. Run the `minikube addons` command below to `list` all installed add-ons. `minikube addons list` ```bash minikube addons list ``` You should see an output similar to the one in the image below. The dashboard and metrics-server addon’s status are disabled by default on a new Minikube cluster. ![Listing available Minikube addons](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-263.png) Listing available Minikube addons 2\. Enable the dashboard using the `minikube addons` command below. ```bash minikube addons enable dashboard ``` The feedback should be similar to the shot below. ![Enabling the Minikube Dashboard Addon](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-264.png) Enabling the Minikube Dashboard Addon 3\. Enable the `metrics-server` add-on by using the following `minikube addons` command. Metrics-server enriches the dashboard by aggregating and providing access to more data about the node and running pods. ```bash minikube addons enable metrics-server ``` As shown below, you will see a notification once the metrics-server addon becomes enabled. ![Enabling the Metrics Server Addon](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-265.png) Enabling the Metrics Server Addon 4\. Rerun the `minikube addons list` command to confirm both `addons` are now enabled, as shown below. ![Listing available Minikube Addons](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-266.png) Listing available Minikube Addons ## Launching the Kubernetes MiniKube Dashboard Execute the `minikube dashboard` command shown below to automatically launch the dashboard in your default web browser. ```bash minikube dashboard ``` After waiting a few minutes, you should have feedback in the terminal window showing the dashboard has started. ![Launching Minikube’s Kubernetes Dashboard](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-267.png) Launching Minikube’s Kubernetes Dashboard Your browser should also open to the dashboard, as shown below. ![Launching Minikube’s Kubernetes Dashboard in a browser](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-268.png) Launching Minikube’s Kubernetes Dashboard in a browser > _Usually, the browser window should open automatically. If it does not, for whatever reason, you can copy the dashboard’s address from the terminal and manually open it in a browser._ ## Creating a Deployment in the Minikube Dashboard In addition to getting performance data on your cluster, you will, in this section, create and manage a web service deployment via the dashboard. 1\. Click the **Create New Resource** button to create a new deployment, as shown below. ![Creating a deployment in the Minikube dashboard](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-269.png) Creating a deployment in the Minikube dashboard 2\. Click the **Create from form** tab to create the deployment by filling out a form instead of declaratively via [YAML](https://yaml.org/) or [JSON](https://www.json.org/json-en.html) files. ![Clicking the Create from form tab](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-271.png) Clicking the Create from form tab 3\. Type in the corresponding parameters for the deployment as shown below * **App name**: The name of the deployment. This tutorial uses `myhttpd`_._ * **Container Image**: Defines the base image for the deployment. For this tutorial, enter `httpd:latest`. * **Number of pods:** Specifies how many pods to include in the deployment. Leave the value to `1` for now. * **Service:** Select show to expose the deployment. Select `External` to expose the web service outside the cluster using a [Loadbalancer](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/access-application-cluster/create-external-load-balancer/) service. Doing so allows accessing the service via the web browser. * Set both the **Port** and **Target port**s values to `80`. Your form’s final entries screen should look like the shot below. Now, click **Deploy** to initiate the deployment. ![Creating a deployment in the Minikube Dashboard](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-272.png) Creating a deployment in the Minikube Dashboard Monitor the progress of the deployment on the Workloads dashboard. After a few minutes, the status should transition from an immediate amber to a lively green. ![Monitoring a successful deployment](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/9c5088bb-42df-4274-bb80-d8c225f30025/Untitled.png) Monitoring a successful deployment ![Monitoring a successful deployment](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-273.png) Monitoring a successful deployment ## Scaling and Managing Containers in the MiniKube Dashboard With the deployment now complete, it is time to perform some of the cluster management tasks you would have performed over the command line (if you didn’t have the Mnikube dashboard). First, scale the deployment out with the following steps. 1\. Click **Deployments** on the navigation bar on the left-hand side of the browser window. ![Clicking Deployments](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-274.png) Clicking Deployments 2\. Click **myhttpd** under the **Deployments** section, which is the deployment you set up earlier. ![Scaling a deployment: Selecting the deployment](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-275.png) Scaling a deployment: Selecting the deployment 3\. Click the **Scale Resource** icon near the top-right corner, as shown in the following screenshot. ![Scaling a deployment: Selecting the Scale Resource button](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-276.png) Scaling a deployment: Selecting the Scale Resource button 4\. Set the **Desired replicas** value to `2` to scale out the deployment. Doing so increases the replica count from 1 (current) to 2. Click **Scale** to effect the changes. ![Increasing the replica count](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-277.png) Increasing the replica count 5\. Click the **Workload Status** link on the navigation pane and confirm the dashboard reflects the changes. You should see two running pods in the deployment. ![Confirming an increase in running pods](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-278.png) Confirming an increase in running pods ### Obtaining the IP Address of the Node from the MiniKube Dashboard The IP is one way of reaching the services within the cluster. Finding out a node’s IP address typically requires you to run commands. But now that you have the dashboard, you can conveniently view that information. Follow the steps below to get the IP of your cluster. 1\. Click **Nodes** from the navigation bar on the right of the dashboard as below. ![Opening the Nodes page](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-279.png) Opening the Nodes page 2\. Click the **minikube** link under the **Nodes** card. ![Selecting the Node](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-280.png) Selecting the Node 3\. Scroll down to the **Resource information** card and find the node’s IP address. ![Viewing the IP address of the node](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-281.png) Viewing the IP address of the node ### Listing Existing Services You attached a LoadBalancer service to the deployment by selecting External while creating the deployment. You can see the list of services for your deployment by following the steps below. 1\. Click **Services** on the navigation bar. ![Navigating the Services page](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-282.png) Navigating the Services page 2\. You should see a list similar to the image below confirming the service type for **myhttpd** is **LoadBalancer.** Take note of the port number that maps the service externally. In this example, the port number is `32276`. ![Viewing service details](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-283.png) Viewing service details Now, open a new browser window or tab and navigate to `HTTP://:external_port`. In this example, the URL is `http://192.168.49.2:32276`. ![Accessing a service externally](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-284.png) Accessing a service externally ### Editing Pod Resources LoadBalancer services usually are for production use in cloud environments where you can find an actual load balancer serving the cluster. But, in development environments, the more common way to expose deployments quickly is through the _NodePort_ service. Create a Nodeport service by following the steps below. 1\. Click the **Create New Resource** button as shown below. ![Creating a resource](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-285.png) Creating a resource 2\. Copy the YAML code below and paste it into the embedded editor. This YAML code declares a `NodePort` Service. The NodePort will make the web service, which is listening on `TargetPort` `80`, available externally on port **`31337`** ```yaml apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: # Append np to Service name set to avoid collision with existing LoadBalancer service name: myhttpd-np spec: type: NodePort selector: k8s-app: myhttpd ports: # By default and for convenience, the `targetPort` is set to the same value as the `port` field. - port: 80 targetPort: 80 # Optional field # If omitted the Kubernetes control plane will allocate a port from a range (default: 30000-32767) nodePort: 31337 ``` Your screen should look similar to the screenshot below. ![Defining a NodePort service](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-286.png) Defining a NodePort service 3\. After editing, click the **Upload** button to apply the definition and create the service. ![Applying the service definition](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-287.png) Applying the service definition 4\. Scroll to the **Services** section of the **Workloads** dashboard to see the status of the NodePort. The service status should turn green to signify success. ![Editing pod resources: Monitoring the created service](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-288.png) Editing pod resources: Monitoring the created service 5\. In your browser, open the external URL, `http://192.168.49.2:31337`, to confirm the web service is available. ![Confirming the service is accessible](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-289.png) Confirming the service is accessible ### Deleting a Resource With the NodePort correctly set up for external access, you can now delete the LoadBalancer service. First, click the **Services** link in the navigation menu of the Dashboard. ![Opening the Service page](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-290.png) Opening the Service page Next, click the **Actions** menu on the right-most of the myhttpd LoadBalancer service and click **Delete.** ![Deleting a resource](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-291.png) Deleting a resource ### Monitoring Pod Resource Utilization A vital part of managing Pods is monitoring resource utilization. Luckily, the dashboard allows you to view these resources with statistical graphs. Click **Pods** on the navigation menu. You should see the charts for the CPU and Memory usage. ![Viewing the Pods dashboard](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-292.png) Viewing the Pods dashboard Zoom in to the **Pods** Card to see metrics per pod. ![Viewing utilization per pod](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-293.png) Viewing utilization per pod ### Reading Container Logs From the Dashboard Logs are an excellent troubleshooting reference and could help to investigate events quickly. And in such a situation, you can read the logs for a specific container from the **Pods** cards. 1\. Click the **Actions** menu for the pod whose logs you want to see and click **Logs**. ![Opening the logs viewport](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-294.png) Opening the logs viewport 2\. Explore logs from the viewport as shown below. ![Viewing the Pod’s logs](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/63a556d4-d156-4ae5-aaff-e103261b1eaf/Untitled.png) Viewing the Pod’s logs ![](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-295.png) 3\. Click the options menu at the top-right and check the **Auto-refresh** box to enable refreshing the logs every 5 seconds. ![Enabling the auto-refresh](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-296.png) Enabling the auto-refresh 4\. Lastly, click the Download button at the top and click **Save to download or export the logs**. You now have a copy of the logs that you could share, analyze, parse, or archive. ![Downloading the logs to a file](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/image-297.png) Downloading the logs to a file ## Conclusion You have learned to effectively create, scale, and edit deployments with the Kubernetes MiniKube dashboard by coming to the end of this tutorial. Play around with it. You will find it even more helpful for taming a cluster as the number of pods increases. Share this article [Share on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadamtheautomator.com%2Fminikube-dashboard%2F&text=Effective%20Deployments%20with%20the%20Kubernetes%20MiniKube%20Dashboard)[Share on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fadamtheautomator.com%2Fminikube-dashboard%2F)[Share on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadamtheautomator.com%2Fminikube-dashboard%2F) ## Related Posts ![](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/featured_image-3.png) ### [Build Your First Internal Developer Platform](/build-first-internal-developer-platform/) Build your first Internal Developer Platform with Backstage, a software catalog, software templates, CI/CD handoffs, and Kubernetes deployment manifests. ![](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/featured_image-9.png) ### [DevOps to Platform Engineer: 2026 Transition Roadmap](/devops-platform-engineer-2026-transition-roadmap/) Learn how to move from DevOps to platform engineering in 2026 with a practical roadmap covering transferable skills, internal developer platforms, Backstage, Crossplane, and portfolio projects. ![](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/kubernetes-blue-green.jpg) ### [Learning the Kubernetes Blue Green Deployment Strategy](/kubernetes-blue-green/) Dive into Kubernetes blue-green deployments for smooth updates. 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