Day 66 · Kubernetes

Deploy MySQL on Kubernetes with PV, PVC, and Secrets

By Varun DeshpandePublished 2026-07-20Kubernetes~1h to complete

Technical Overview

Deploying a stateful database management system like MySQL on Kubernetes requires bringing together multiple core API primitives:

1. Persistent Storage (PV & PVC): Ensures database data stored in /var/lib/mysql persists across container restarts, node maintenance, and Pod relocations.
2. Secret Management (Secrets & secretKeyRef): Keeps database credentials, root passwords, and database names out of plain-text manifests and environment definitions by sourcing them directly from Kubernetes Secrets.
3. Network Exposure (Service & NodePort): Provides a stable cluster endpoint and external access port (30007) for application clients and database administration tools.

Secrets, Persistent Storage & Database Injection Deep Dive

1. Database Configuration via Kubernetes Secrets

When initializing a official MySQL container, the container startup script inspects specific environment variables to create databases and user accounts:

• MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: Sets the superuser root password.
• MYSQL_DATABASE: Creates a default database upon startup.
• MYSQL_USER & MYSQL_PASSWORD: Creates a non-root application user and grants them full administrative privileges over MYSQL_DATABASE.

Instead of writing plain-text credentials into the Pod spec, the values are referenced from Kubernetes Secrets using secretKeyRef:

env:
- name: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
  valueFrom:
    secretKeyRef:
      name: mysql-root-pass
      key: password

2. Persistent Storage Binding

MySQL writes all table schemas, indexes, and binary logs to /var/lib/mysql.

• A PersistentVolume (PV) named mysql-pv is defined with 250Mi capacity.
• A PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) named mysql-pv-claim requests 250Mi storage.
• The Kubernetes storage controller binds mysql-pv-claim to mysql-pv. The deployment spec mounts mysql-pv-claim to /var/lib/mysql, ensuring database durability.

Infrastructure & Configuration Requirements

• Target Cluster: Nautilus Kubernetes Cluster
• Jump Host User: thor
• Namespace: default

1. Secrets Configuration

• Secret 1: mysql-root-pass
  • Key: password = YUIidhb667
• Secret 2: mysql-user-pass
  • Key: username = kodekloud_aim
  • Key: password = BruCStnMT5
• Secret 3: mysql-db-url
  • Key: database = kodekloud_db6

2. Storage Configuration

• PersistentVolume: mysql-pv
  • Capacity: 250Mi
  • Access Mode: ReadWriteOnce
  • Storage Class: manual
  • Host Path: /mnt/mysql-data
• PersistentVolumeClaim: mysql-pv-claim
  • Request Capacity: 250Mi
  • Access Mode: ReadWriteOnce
  • Storage Class: manual

3. Deployment Configuration

• Deployment Name: mysql-deployment
• Replicas: 1
• Image: mysql:5.7 (or mysql:8.0)
• Volume Mount: mysql-pv-claim mounted at /var/lib/mysql
• Environment Variables:
  • MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD $\rightarrow$ mysql-root-pass / password
  • MYSQL_DATABASE $\rightarrow$ mysql-db-url / database
  • MYSQL_USER $\rightarrow$ mysql-user-pass / username
  • MYSQL_PASSWORD $\rightarrow$ mysql-user-pass / password

4. Service Configuration

• Service Name: mysql
• Service Type: NodePort
• Port / TargetPort: 3306
• NodePort: 30007

Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Connect to the Kubernetes Jump Host

Establish connection to the control host:

ssh thor@jump_host_ip

Step 2: Create the Required Secrets

Create the three secrets using kubectl create secret generic:

# 1. Root password secret
kubectl create secret generic mysql-root-pass --from-literal=password=YUIidhb667

# 2. User credentials secret
kubectl create secret generic mysql-user-pass \
  --from-literal=username=kodekloud_aim \
  --from-literal=password=BruCStnMT5

# 3. Database name secret
kubectl create secret generic mysql-db-url --from-literal=database=kodekloud_db6

Verify that all three secrets were created successfully:

kubectl get secrets

Step 3: Create the PV and PVC Manifest File

Create a file named mysql-storage.yaml defining the PersistentVolume and PersistentVolumeClaim:

apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
metadata:
  name: mysql-pv
  labels:
    type: local
spec:
  storageClassName: manual
  capacity:
    storage: 250Mi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  hostPath:
    path: "/mnt/mysql-data"
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: mysql-pv-claim
spec:
  storageClassName: manual
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 250Mi

Apply the storage configuration:

kubectl apply -f mysql-storage.yaml

Verify that the PVC successfully binds to mysql-pv:

kubectl get pv,pvc

Expected Output showing Bound status:

NAME                        CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   RECLAIM POLICY   STATUS   CLAIM                    STORAGECLASS   AGE
persistentvolume/mysql-pv   250Mi      RWO            Retain           Bound    default/mysql-pv-claim   manual         10s

NAME                                   STATUS   VOLUME     CAPACITY   ACCESS MODES   STORAGECLASS   AGE
persistentvolumeclaim/mysql-pv-claim   Bound    mysql-pv   250Mi      RWO            manual         10s

Step 4: Create Deployment and Service Manifest File

Create a file named mysql-app.yaml defining the MySQL Deployment and NodePort Service:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: mysql-deployment
  labels:
    app: mysql
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: mysql
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: mysql
    spec:
      volumes:
      - name: mysql-persistent-storage
        persistentVolumeClaim:
          claimName: mysql-pv-claim
      containers:
      - name: mysql
        image: mysql:5.7
        ports:
        - containerPort: 3306
        env:
        - name: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: mysql-root-pass
              key: password
        - name: MYSQL_DATABASE
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: mysql-db-url
              key: database
        - name: MYSQL_USER
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: mysql-user-pass
              key: username
        - name: MYSQL_PASSWORD
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: mysql-user-pass
              key: password
        volumeMounts:
        - name: mysql-persistent-storage
          mountPath: /var/lib/mysql
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: mysql
spec:
  type: NodePort
  selector:
    app: mysql
  ports:
  - port: 3306
    targetPort: 3306
    nodePort: 30007
    protocol: TCP

Apply the Deployment and Service manifest:

kubectl apply -f mysql-app.yaml

Expected Output:

deployment.apps/mysql-deployment created
service/mysql created

Post-Deployment Verification

1. Verify Pod and Service Status

Check that the MySQL Pod reaches the Running state:

kubectl get pods -l app=mysql

Expected Output:

NAME                                READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
mysql-deployment-5f8a9b0c-abcde     1/1     Running   0          30s

Verify the NodePort Service configuration:

kubectl get svc mysql

Expected Output:

NAME    TYPE       CLUSTER-IP      EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)          AGE
mysql   NodePort   10.96.180.120   <none>        3306:30007/TCP   35s

2. Verify Secrets and Environment Variable Mapping

Exec into the MySQL Pod and print the environment variables to verify secret resolution:

POD_NAME=$(kubectl get pods -l app=mysql -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}')
kubectl exec -it $POD_NAME -- env | grep MYSQL

Expected Output:

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=YUIidhb667
MYSQL_DATABASE=kodekloud_db6
MYSQL_USER=kodekloud_aim
MYSQL_PASSWORD=BruCStnMT5

3. Verify Database Initialization

Connect directly to MySQL inside the container using the application user credentials:

kubectl exec -it $POD_NAME -- mysql -u kodekloud_aim -pBruCStnMT5 -e "SHOW DATABASES;"

Expected Output:

+--------------------+
| Database           |
+--------------------+
| information_schema |
| kodekloud_db6      |
+--------------------+

The MySQL database deployment is fully provisioned, secured with secrets, backed by persistent storage, and reachable via NodePort 30007!