Kubernetes Dashboard: A Web UI for Your Cluster

Introduction

Kubernetes Dashboard provides a web UI to explore and manage cluster resources—Pods, Deployments, Services, and more—useful for demos, learning, and lightweight ops.

Highlights

• Create/scale Deployments from the UI.
• Inspect logs and container details without switching terminals.
• Namespaced view to reduce clutter.

Getting Started

1. Deploy the Dashboard add-on:

   kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/dashboard/v1.4.0/src/deploy/kubernetes-dashboard.yaml
   

2. Start a local proxy for secure access:

   kubectl proxy
   open http://localhost:8001/ui
   

3. Authenticate using a bearer token from a ServiceAccount:

   kubectl -n kube-system describe secret $(kubectl -n kube-system get sa dashboard -o jsonpath="{.secrets[0].name}")
   

Security Note

In 2016, cluster auth is still evolving—be careful exposing the Dashboard publicly. Prefer secured access and scoped permissions.

• Run the Dashboard behind kubectl proxy, an SSH tunnel, or a VPN; do not expose it directly on a public LoadBalancer.
• Create dedicated ServiceAccounts with minimal RBAC once Kubernetes 1.4+ support lands, instead of default admin credentials.
• Rotate tokens and audit usage regularly; logins show up in the API server audit logs.

Conclusion

The Dashboard rounds out the developer experience with visibility and basic operations from a browser.