<h1>Quick Start with DigitalOcean </h1>

Deploy and manage your DigitalOcean infrastructure with Meshery. You can run Meshery on DigitalOcean in two ways: out-of-cluster using Docker on a Droplet, or in-cluster on a DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS) cluster. Note: It is advisable to install Meshery in your DOKS cluster.

<div class="prereqs"><h4>Prerequisites</h4> <ol> <li>Install the Meshery command line client, <a href="/installation/mesheryctl" class="meshery-light">mesheryctl</a>.</li> <li>Install <a href="https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/tools/">kubectl</a> on your local machine.</li> <li>Install the <a href="https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/how-to/install/">DigitalOcean CLI (doctl)</a>, authenticated for your account.</li> <li>A <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/">DigitalOcean</a> account with access to either a Droplet or an active DOKS cluster.</li> </ol> </div>

Also see: Install Meshery on Kubernetes

Available Deployment Methods

Option 1: Docker on a Droplet (Out-of-Cluster)
Option 2: DigitalOcean Kubernetes (In-Cluster)

Option 1: Docker on a Droplet (Out-of-Cluster)

Run Meshery as a standalone management plane on a DigitalOcean Droplet using Docker. This out-of-cluster deployment is well suited for managing one or more remote clusters from a single, always-on host.

Provision a Droplet

Create an Ubuntu Droplet from the DigitalOcean Control Panel, or with doctl:

{{< code code="doctl compute droplet create meshery --image ubuntu-22-04-x64 --size s-2vcpu-4gb --region nyc1 --ssh-keys [YOUR_SSH_KEY_FINGERPRINT]" >}}

Meshery runs comfortably on a Droplet with at least 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of memory. Once the Droplet is ready, connect to it over SSH:

Install Docker and Docker Compose on the Droplet, followed by mesheryctl.

Install Meshery on Docker

On the Droplet, start Meshery on Docker:

To manage a remote cluster (for example, a DOKS cluster) from this out-of-cluster deployment, make the cluster's kubeconfig available to Meshery. See Customizing Kubernetes Configuration Location.

Access Meshery UI

By default, Meshery UI is served on port 9081. To reach it from your browser, allow inbound traffic to that port using a DigitalOcean Cloud Firewall:

{{< code code=doctl compute firewall create --name meshery-ui --inbound-rules "protocol:tcp,ports:9081,address:[YOUR_IP]/32" --droplet-ids [DROPLET_ID] >}}

Open your browser and navigate to http://[DROPLET_IP]:9081.

{{% alert title="Secure your Droplet" color="warning" %}} Avoid exposing Meshery UI to the public internet. Restrict the firewall rule to your own IP address, or keep port 9081 closed and reach the UI through an SSH tunnel instead: ssh -L 9081:localhost:9081 root@[DROPLET_IP]. {{% /alert %}}

Option 2: DigitalOcean Kubernetes (In-Cluster)

Follow the steps below to install Meshery into your DigitalOcean Kubernetes (DOKS) cluster.

Preflight: Cluster Connectivity

Authenticate doctl with your DigitalOcean account using a personal access token.

{{< code code="doctl auth init" >}} 2. Download your cluster's credentials and set it as the current kubectl context. Replace [CLUSTER_NAME] with the name or ID of your DOKS cluster.

{{< code code="doctl kubernetes cluster kubeconfig save [CLUSTER_NAME]" >}} 3. Verify your kubeconfig's current context.

Installation: Using `mesheryctl`

Ensure that the current platform is set to kubernetes in ~/.meshery/config.yaml, then execute <a href='/reference/mesheryctl/system/start'>mesheryctl system start</a> to start Meshery.

If you encounter any authentication issues, you can use mesheryctl system login. For more information, click here to learn more.

Installation: Using Helm

For detailed instructions on installing Meshery using Helm V3, please refer to the Helm Installation guide.

Post-Installation Steps

Optionally, you can verify the health of your Meshery deployment using <a href='/reference/mesheryctl/system/check'>mesheryctl system check</a>.

To expose Meshery UI outside the cluster, create a LoadBalancer service; DigitalOcean automatically provisions a DigitalOcean Load Balancer and assigns an external IP. Alternatively, use port-forwarding by following the mesheryctl system dashboard guide.

You're ready to use Meshery! Open your browser and navigate to the Meshery UI.

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