---
title: "Installing Metrics Server on Kubernetes on Ubuntu"
description: "A guide on how to install and configure Kubernetes Metrics Server on Ubuntu, including deployment commands, configuration adjustments, and how to view resource monitoring with `kubectl top`."
canonical_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/ubuntu-install-kubernetes-metrics-server"
author: "Mark Ku"
author_url: "https://blog.markkulab.net/en/author/mark-ku"
site: "Mark Ku's Tech Notes"
date_published: "2024-12-03T01:01:35+08:00"
category: "DevOps"
tags: ["ubuntu", "kubernetes", "metrics server", "kubectl", "devops", "infra"]
language: "en"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
license_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
attribution: "when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original"
---

# Installing Metrics Server on Kubernetes on Ubuntu

## Introduction

In Kubernetes, `Metrics Server` is an important component that provides real-time metric data on cluster resource usage. These metrics are crucial for managing and scaling the resource usage of Pods and nodes. This article will introduce how to install, configure, and view data from the Metrics Server.


## Kubernetes Has Two Main Types of Metrics

* Core metrics: Data is collected from Kubelet and cAdvisor, then provided by the metrics-server to the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA) and other services for use.
* Custom Metrics: Data metrics collected by Prometheus.


## 1. Install Metrics Server

First, we need to install `Metrics Server`. Its installation and configuration are very simple and can be deployed directly via a Kubernetes YAML file. Run the following command to download and apply the latest version of the Metrics Server deployment configuration:

```bash
kubectl apply -f https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/metrics-server/releases/latest/download/components.yaml
```

This will automatically download the latest `metrics-server` configuration from GitHub and deploy it to your Kubernetes cluster.

## 2. Configure the Default Editor to `vim`

In Kubernetes, certain commands (like `kubectl edit`) use the default editor for editing. If you're used to using `vim`, you can set the `KUBE_EDITOR` environment variable to change the default editor. Run the following command to set it:

```bash
export KUBE_EDITOR=vim
```

This way, every time you execute the `kubectl edit` command, the system will automatically launch `vim` for editing.

## 3. Check the Metrics Server's Running Status

After installing and deploying `Metrics Server`, you can check its running status with the following commands:

### View the Metrics Server Logs:

```bash
kubectl logs -n kube-system -l k8s-app=metrics-server
```

This will display the logs for `metrics-server`, allowing you to check if it has started successfully and is running correctly.

### View Cluster Resource Usage:

```bash
kubectl top po -A
```

This command displays the resource usage of Pods in all namespaces, including CPU and memory consumption. This helps you understand the overall resource consumption of the cluster.

## 4. Modify the Metrics Server Configuration

Sometimes, you may need to modify the configuration of `metrics-server`, for example, to adjust resource limits or change other parameters. You can use the following command to edit the Metrics Server's Deployment:

```bash
kubectl edit deployment -n kube-system metrics-server
```

This will open an editor where you can modify the YAML configuration as needed.

In the `args` section, add a line

```
- --kubelet-insecure-tls
```
to add the setting for certificate checking.
```
spec:
  containers:
  - args:
    - --cert-dir=/tmp
    - --secure-port=4443
    - --kubelet-insecure-tls
    - --kubelet-preferred-address-types=InternalIP,ExternalIP,Hostname
    - --kubelet-use-node-status-port
    image: k8s.gcr.io/metrics-server/metrics-server:v0.4.1
    imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
```

### After updating, restart metrics and confirm the deployment status
Use the following command to ensure the changes have been applied and there are no errors.
```bash
kubectl rollout status deployment metrics-server -n kube-system
```

This will display the rolling update status of `metrics-server`. When all Pods have been successfully updated, it will show "deployment "metrics-server" successfully rolled out".

Check the metrics-server status
```bash
kubectl get pods -n kube-system -l k8s-app=metrics-server
```

Test
```
kubectl top get nodes
kubectl top get pods
```
![kubectl top command](https://blog.markkulab.net/content/markku/posts/ubuntu-install-kubernetes-metrics-server/images/kubectl-top-command.png)

## Conclusion

Metrics Server is a very useful component in Kubernetes that can help you better manage resource usage within your cluster. Through this article, you have learned how to install, configure, and use the Metrics Server, as well as how to view and modify its deployment configuration. Hopefully, these steps will help you manage resources in your Kubernetes cluster more efficiently.

---

## About this article and its author

Originally published on [Mark Ku's Tech Notes](https://blog.markkulab.net/en/post/ubuntu-install-kubernetes-metrics-server)

License: [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — when reusing or quoting, credit the author and link back to the original

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