Mastering Jaeger Deployment on Kubernetes: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction :-

In the world of microservices and distributed systems, tracing and monitoring have become crucial. Jaeger, an open-source distributed tracing system, offers a powerful solution when combined with Kubernetes. This article will guide you through the process of deploying Jaeger on Kubernetes using operators, ensuring optimal performance and ease of management.

Jaeger operators are essential tools that simplify the deployment and management of Jaeger on Kubernetes clusters. These operators watch for new Jaeger custom resources (CRs) across specific namespaces or the entire cluster, automating many operational tasks.

Prerequisites for Jaeger Deployment :-

Before diving into the installation process, it’s crucial to set up cert-manager. Since Jaeger Operator version 1.31, webhooks are used to validate Jaeger CRs, necessitating an installed version of cert-manager.

2. Installing Cert-Manager
To install cert-manager, execute the following command:

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/releases/download/v1.9.0/cert-manager.yaml

Verify the installation by checking the status of cert-manager pods:

kubectl get pods -n cert-manager

3. Deploying Jaeger Operator with Helm

Helm, the package manager for Kubernetes, offers a straightforward method to install the Jaeger operator.

3.1 Adding Jaeger Helm Repository

helm repo add jaegertracing https://jaegertracing.github.io/helm-charts

3.2 Installing Jaeger Operator

kubectl create ns observability
helm install my-release jaegertracing/jaeger-operator -n observability

3.3 Verifying the Installation

helm list -A

4. Creating a Jaeger Instance

After installing the operator, you can create Jaeger instances for the operator to manage.

4.1 Simplest Jaeger Instance
Create a YAML file (simplest.yml) with the following content:

apiVersion: jaegertracing.io/v1
kind: Jaeger
metadata:
 name: simplest

Apply the configuration:

kubectl apply -f simplest.yaml

4.2 Verifying the Jaeger Instance

kubectl get jaegers
kubectl get pods -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=simplest
kubectl get services -n default | grep jaeger

5. Accessing the Jaeger UI

To access the Jaeger UI, use port-forwarding:

kubectl port-forward svc/simplest-query 16686:16686

6. Deploying a Demo Application

To test Jaeger’s functionality, deploy a NodeJS demo application on your Kubernetes cluster.

6.1 Creating the Demo Application YAML
Create a file named jaeger-nodejs.yaml with the necessary configurations for services and deployments.

6.2 Deploying the Application

kubectl apply -f jaeger-nodejs.yaml

6.3 Accessing the Demo Application

kubectl port-forward svc/service-a 8080:8080

Conclusion :-

By following this guide, you’ve successfully deployed Jaeger on Kubernetes using operators. This setup allows for efficient distributed tracing in your microservices architecture, enhancing observability and performance monitoring. As you continue to work with Jaeger and Kubernetes, you’ll discover more advanced configurations and use cases to optimize your distributed systems.