How to Install Weave Scope on Kubernetes

How to Install Weave Scope for Kubernetes Monitoring

Weave Scope is a leading visualization and monitoring tool that provides a real-time, interactive map of your Kubernetes cluster. It helps you understand the state of your services, containers, and nodes, simplifying troubleshooting and performance optimization. This tutorial guides you through the installation of Weave Scope on your Kubernetes cluster.

Prerequisites

A running Kubernetes cluster (any cloud provider or local setup such as Minikube).
kubectl command-line tool configured to access your cluster.
Access to a terminal with cluster admin privileges.
Basic familiarity with Kubernetes concepts like pods, services, and deployments.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

Step 1: Download and Apply the Weave Scope Deployment Manifest

The developers of Weave Scope provide a convenient YAML manifest to deploy the Scope agents and UI in your cluster. Run the following command:

kubectl apply -f "https://cloud.weave.works/k8s/scope.yaml"

This command downloads and creates all necessary resources including daemonsets and services automatically.

Step 2: Verify the Scope Pods are Running

Check the status of the Weave Scope pods using:

kubectl get pods -n default -l name=weave-scope

You should see pods in the Running state. If not, wait a moment and re-run the command.

Step 3: Access the Weave Scope User Interface

To view the interactive visualization, open a port-forward to the weave-scope service with this command:

kubectl port-forward -n default service/weave-scope 4040:80

Now, open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:4040. You will see a live map of your Kubernetes cluster with nodes, pods, and processes.

Troubleshooting Tips

Pods not running: Check pod logs with kubectl logs <pod-name> and ensure your cluster nodes have enough resources.
Port forwarding issues: Confirm no other service uses port 4040 locally.
Network policy blocking: Verify your cluster’s network policies allow the weave-scope agents to communicate.

Summary Checklist

Ensure Kubernetes cluster is accessible with kubectl.
Apply the official Weave Scope manifest.
Verify pods are active and running.
Port-forward to the service and open the UI in a browser.
Consult pod logs and cluster policies if issues arise.

Weave Scope offers a powerful way to gain insights into your cluster’s real-time status and networking. For more Kubernetes monitoring tools and guides, check out our comprehensive tutorial on How to Install Loki on Kubernetes: A Step-by-Step Guide to explore log aggregation options.