Running WordPress with MySQL on Kubernetes: Multi-Tier Website Use Cases

As organizations increasingly adopt containerized applications, Kubernetes emerges as the ideal platform for orchestrating and managing these applications. One popular use case is hosting multi-tier websites, such as a WordPress application connected to a MySQL database. In this blog, we will cover the steps to connect WordPress with MySQL in a Kubernetes environment, along with exploring advanced multi-tier website use cases to demonstrate the power of Kubernetes.

Setting Up WordPress and MySQL on Kubernetes

Deploying WordPress and MySQL on Kubernetes involves the following steps:

1. Create MySQL Deployment and Service

MySQL serves as the database backend for WordPress. In Kubernetes, we can define a Deployment for MySQL and expose it using a Service.

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: mysql-pv-claim
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 20Gi
---
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: mysql
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: mysql
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: mysql
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: mysql
          image: mysql:5.6
          env:
            - name: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
              value: "password"
            - name: MYSQL_DATABASE
              value: "wordpress"
          ports:
            - containerPort: 3306
          volumeMounts:
            - name: mysql-persistent-storage
              mountPath: /var/lib/mysql
      volumes:
        - name: mysql-persistent-storage
          persistentVolumeClaim:
            claimName: mysql-pv-claim
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: mysql
spec:
  ports:
    - port: 3306
  selector:
    app: mysql

2. Create WordPress Deployment and Service

WordPress will be deployed as a separate service and will connect to the MySQL database.

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: wordpress
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: wordpress
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: wordpress
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: wordpress
          image: wordpress:4.8-apache
          env:
            - name: WORDPRESS_DB_HOST
              value: mysql:3306
            - name: WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD
              value: "password"
          ports:
            - containerPort: 80
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: wordpress
spec:
  ports:
    - port: 80
  selector:
    app: wordpress
  type: LoadBalancer

3. Deploy to Kubernetes

Apply both the MySQL and WordPress configurations to the Kubernetes cluster:

kubectl apply -f mysql-deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f wordpress-deployment.yaml

4. Access WordPress

Once both services are running, the WordPress service will be exposed through the LoadBalancer. You can access the WordPress site via the external IP of the LoadBalancer to complete the setup.

Expanding Use Cases: Multi-Tier Websites on Kubernetes

Now that we’ve successfully deployed WordPress with MySQL, let’s explore more advanced use cases for multi-tier websites hosted on Kubernetes:

1. E-commerce Platform: Magento with Redis and MySQL

Magento, a popular e-commerce platform, can be deployed using Kubernetes to create a scalable and resilient online store. By integrating Redis as a caching layer and MySQL for the database, you ensure that the platform remains performant, even under heavy traffic.

• Magento (Frontend): Serves the e-commerce site.
• Redis (Cache): Speeds up page loading times and session storage.
• MySQL (Database): Stores customer information, products, and transaction data.

Kubernetes makes it easier to scale each component independently, ensuring optimal resource utilization.

2. Social Media Platform: Node.js with MongoDB and NGINX

For building a social media platform, a stack like Node.js with MongoDB for storing user data and NGINX as a reverse proxy can be a powerful combination. Kubernetes helps you manage these multi-tier architectures and ensures high availability.

• Node.js (Backend): Handles requests, user authentication, and other server-side logic.
• MongoDB (Database): Stores user posts, comments, and interactions.
• NGINX (Reverse Proxy): Manages web traffic and serves static content efficiently.

With Kubernetes, you can dynamically scale your backend services based on user activity, keeping response times low and performance high.

3. Content Management System: Drupal with MySQL and Memcached

Drupal is another popular CMS platform, similar to WordPress but often used for more complex websites. By integrating Memcached as a caching layer along with MySQL, the performance and scalability of your content management system improve significantly.

• Drupal (Frontend): Content management and delivery.
• MySQL (Database): Stores all CMS-related data.
• Memcached (Cache): Speeds up retrieval of frequently accessed data, improving user experience.

With Kubernetes, you can ensure high availability by deploying your CMS across multiple nodes and cloud environments, guaranteeing uptime.

Why Use Kubernetes for Multi-Tier Websites?

Deploying multi-tier applications like the ones described above offers several benefits when managed via Kubernetes:

1. Scalability: Each tier can be scaled independently based on traffic demands.
2. Resilience: Kubernetes’ self-healing capabilities ensure high availability, automatically replacing failed containers.
3. Cost Efficiency: Optimized use of resources by auto-scaling services based on actual demand.
4. Portability: Multi-cloud or hybrid cloud deployments are easier to manage, avoiding vendor lock-in.
5. Security: Kubernetes offers fine-grained security controls like role-based access control (RBAC) and network policies.

Conclusion

Running WordPress with MySQL on Kubernetes is just the beginning. Kubernetes’ flexibility makes it a perfect fit for hosting multi-tier applications that span across different services such as databases, caching layers, and reverse proxies. Whether you’re building an e-commerce platform, social media site, or content management system, Kubernetes ensures that your infrastructure remains scalable, resilient, and efficient.