# Task Manager — Kubernetes Deployment

A full-stack task management web application deployed on **Kubernetes**, extending the Docker Compose version (z1) with Kubernetes-native orchestration, scaling, and persistent storage.

## Table of Contents

- [Description](#description)
- [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
- [Architecture](#architecture)
- [Kubernetes Objects](#kubernetes-objects)
- [Containers Used](#containers-used)
- [Networking](#networking)
- [Persistent Volumes](#persistent-volumes)
- [Container Configuration](#container-configuration)
- [Quick Start](#quick-start)
- [Usage Instructions](#usage-instructions)
- [Viewing the Application](#viewing-the-application)
- [Example Workflow](#example-workflow)
- [File Structure](#file-structure)
- [Sources](#sources)
- [Use of Artificial Intelligence](#use-of-artificial-intelligence)

---

## Description

**Task Manager** is a full-stack web application for creating, managing, and tracking tasks. Users can:

- **Create tasks** with a title and optional description
- **Mark tasks** as completed or reopen them
- **Delete tasks** they no longer need
- **Filter tasks** by status (All / Active / Completed)
- **View statistics** including total, active, and completed task counts
- **Manage the database** via Adminer web interface

The application consists of a dark-themed Nginx frontend, a Node.js/Express REST API backend, PostgreSQL for persistent task storage, and Redis for API response caching — all orchestrated by Kubernetes.

---

## Prerequisites

| Software | Minimum Version | Purpose |
|----------|----------------|---------|
| **Linux** | Any modern distribution | Host OS |
| **Docker** | 20.10+ | Build container images |
| **kubectl** | 1.25+ | Kubernetes CLI |
| **Minikube** or **kind** | Latest | Local Kubernetes cluster |
| **bash** | 4.0+ | Running management scripts |

### Verify installation:
```bash
docker --version
kubectl version --client
minikube version   # or: kind version
```

### Start a local cluster (if not already running):
```bash
minikube start
# or
kind create cluster
```

---

## Architecture

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Namespace: taskmanager                    │
│                                                             │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │              Kubernetes Cluster DNS                  │   │
│  │                                                     │   │
│  │  NodePort :30080          NodePort :30081           │   │
│  │       │                        │                   │   │
│  │  ┌────▼──────────┐    ┌────────▼──────────┐        │   │
│  │  │   Service     │    │     Service        │        │   │
│  │  │  (frontend)   │    │    (adminer)       │        │   │
│  │  └────┬──────────┘    └────────┬──────────┘        │   │
│  │       │                        │                   │   │
│  │  ┌────▼──────────┐    ┌────────▼──────────┐        │   │
│  │  │  Deployment   │    │    Deployment      │        │   │
│  │  │  (Nginx ×1)   │    │   (Adminer ×1)     │        │   │
│  │  └────┬──────────┘    └────────┬──────────┘        │   │
│  │       │ /api/ proxy             │                   │   │
│  │  ┌────▼──────────┐             │                   │   │
│  │  │   Service     │             │                   │   │
│  │  │  (api:3000)   │             │                   │   │
│  │  └────┬──────────┘             │                   │   │
│  │       │                        │                   │   │
│  │  ┌────▼──────────┐    ┌────────▼──────────┐        │   │
│  │  │  Deployment   │    │    StatefulSet     │        │   │
│  │  │  (API ×2)     │    │   (Postgres ×1)   │        │   │
│  │  └───┬───────────┘    └────────┬──────────┘        │   │
│  │      │                         │ PVC → PV           │   │
│  │  ┌───▼──────────┐              │ /mnt/.../postgres  │   │
│  │  │  StatefulSet │              │                   │   │
│  │  │  (Redis ×1)  │─────────────►│                   │   │
│  │  └──────────────┘              │                   │   │
│  │   PVC → PV                     │                   │   │
│  │   /mnt/.../redis               │                   │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

---

## Kubernetes Objects

| Object | Name | File | Description |
|--------|------|------|-------------|
| **Namespace** | `taskmanager` | `namespace.yaml` | Isolates all objects from other cluster workloads |
| **Secret** | `postgres-secret` | `configmap-secret.yaml` | Stores base64-encoded DB username and password |
| **ConfigMap** | `postgres-init` | `configmap-secret.yaml` | Contains `init.sql` to create the tasks table on first run |
| **PersistentVolume** | `postgres-pv` | `statefulset.yaml` | 1 Gi host-path volume for PostgreSQL data |
| **PersistentVolumeClaim** | `postgres-pvc` | `statefulset.yaml` | Claims `postgres-pv` for the postgres StatefulSet |
| **PersistentVolume** | `redis-pv` | `statefulset.yaml` | 500 Mi host-path volume for Redis AOF data |
| **PersistentVolumeClaim** | `redis-pvc` | `statefulset.yaml` | Claims `redis-pv` for the redis StatefulSet |
| **StatefulSet** | `postgres` | `statefulset.yaml` | Manages the PostgreSQL 16 database pod with stable identity |
| **StatefulSet** | `redis` | `statefulset.yaml` | Manages the Redis 7 cache pod with stable identity |
| **Deployment** | `taskmanager-api` | `deployment.yaml` | Runs 2 replicas of the Node.js REST API |
| **Deployment** | `taskmanager-frontend` | `deployment.yaml` | Runs 1 replica of the Nginx frontend |
| **Deployment** | `taskmanager-adminer` | `deployment.yaml` | Runs 1 replica of Adminer (DB web UI) |
| **Service** | `postgres` | `service.yaml` | ClusterIP — internal access to PostgreSQL on port 5432 |
| **Service** | `redis` | `service.yaml` | ClusterIP — internal access to Redis on port 6379 |
| **Service** | `taskmanager-api` | `service.yaml` | ClusterIP — internal access to API on port 3000 |
| **Service** | `taskmanager-frontend` | `service.yaml` | NodePort — exposes UI at port 30080 |
| **Service** | `taskmanager-adminer` | `service.yaml` | NodePort — exposes Adminer at port 30081 |

---

## Containers Used

### 1. `taskmanager-frontend` (Custom — Nginx)
- **Image:** Built from `frontend/Dockerfile` using `nginx:alpine`
- **Role:** Serves the static HTML/CSS/JS UI and reverse-proxies `/api/` requests to `taskmanager-api:3000` using Kubernetes DNS resolution
- **Port:** 80 (internal), exposed at NodePort 30080

### 2. `taskmanager-api` (Custom — Node.js)
- **Image:** Built from `api/Dockerfile` using `node:20-alpine`
- **Role:** REST API providing full CRUD operations for tasks. Uses PostgreSQL for data and Redis for caching (30 s TTL). 2 replicas for availability
- **Port:** 3000 (ClusterIP)

### 3. `postgres` (Official — `postgres:16-alpine`)
- **Role:** Primary relational database. The `init.sql` ConfigMap is mounted into `/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/` so the schema and sample data are created automatically the first time
- **Port:** 5432 (ClusterIP)

### 4. `redis` (Official — `redis:7-alpine`)
- **Role:** In-memory cache for task list API responses. Configured with append-only persistence (`--appendonly yes`) so the cache survives pod restarts
- **Port:** 6379 (ClusterIP)

### 5. `adminer` (Official — `adminer:latest`)
- **Role:** Web-based database management interface for browsing, querying, and managing the PostgreSQL database directly in a browser
- **Port:** 8080 (internal), exposed at NodePort 30081

---

## Networking

Kubernetes uses a **flat cluster network** — every pod can reach every other pod by its Service DNS name inside the same namespace.

| Service Name | Type | Port | Accessible From |
|-------------|------|------|----------------|
| `postgres` | ClusterIP | 5432 | API pods only (internal) |
| `redis` | ClusterIP | 6379 | API pods only (internal) |
| `taskmanager-api` | ClusterIP | 3000 | Frontend pods (Nginx proxy) |
| `taskmanager-frontend` | NodePort | 80 → 30080 | External (browser) |
| `taskmanager-adminer` | NodePort | 8080 → 30081 | External (browser) |

**DNS resolution example:** Inside the cluster, Nginx resolves `taskmanager-api` to the API Service IP automatically through Kubernetes DNS (`kube-dns`). The database and cache are not reachable from outside the cluster.

---

## Persistent Volumes

| Volume Name | Type | Capacity | Mount Path | Purpose |
|------------|------|----------|-----------|---------|
| `postgres-pv` | hostPath | 1 Gi | `/mnt/taskmanager/postgres` | PostgreSQL data directory |
| `redis-pv` | hostPath | 500 Mi | `/mnt/taskmanager/redis` | Redis append-only file |

**Data persistence:** Stopping the application by scaling to zero (`./stop-app.sh`) or restarting pods does **not** delete the host directories or PVs. Only `./remove-app.sh` deletes them.

---

## Container Configuration

All containers are configured using **environment variables**, **Secrets**, and **ConfigMaps**:

- **Secrets:** `postgres-secret` provides the database username and password to both the `postgres` StatefulSet and `taskmanager-api` Deployment, avoiding plain-text credentials in YAML files
- **ConfigMap:** `postgres-init` provides the `init.sql` script mounted as a file into the postgres container
- **Resource limits:** Every container has `requests` and `limits` defined to prevent resource starvation
- **Readiness/liveness probes:** All containers have health checks so Kubernetes only routes traffic to healthy pods and automatically restarts crashed pods
- **Restart policy:** Kubernetes restarts failed pods by default (managed by the Deployment/StatefulSet controllers)
- **StatefulSets** are used for PostgreSQL and Redis because they need a stable network identity and persistent storage. The API and frontend use Deployments because they are stateless and benefit from rolling updates

---

## Quick Start

```bash
# 1. Start a local Kubernetes cluster (if not already running)
minikube start

# 2. Prepare — build Docker images and create host directories
./prepare-app.sh

# 3. Deploy to Kubernetes
./start-app.sh

# 4. Open the app in your browser
#    Task Manager UI: http://$(minikube ip):30080
#    Adminer (DB UI): http://$(minikube ip):30081
```

For Minikube, get the node IP with:
```bash
minikube ip
```

---

## Usage Instructions

### Preparing the application
```bash
./prepare-app.sh
```
Builds the custom Docker images (`taskmanager-api:latest`, `taskmanager-frontend:latest`), creates the host-path directories used by the PersistentVolumes, and **automatically loads the images into Minikube** if it detects a running Minikube cluster (preventing `ImagePullBackOff` errors).

### Starting the application
```bash
./start-app.sh
```
Applies all Kubernetes manifests in the correct dependency order and waits for StatefulSets and Deployments to be ready. Prints the access URLs at the end.

### Stopping and removing the application
```bash
./stop-app.sh
```
Deletes **all** Kubernetes objects (Deployments, StatefulSets, Services, PVCs, Secrets, ConfigMap, Namespace) and the PersistentVolumes and host directories.
⚠️ **All task data will be lost.** Run `./prepare-app.sh` then `./start-app.sh` to start fresh.

### Pausing without data loss
```bash
# Scale all workloads to 0 — objects and PVs remain, data is preserved
kubectl scale deployment --all --replicas=0 -n taskmanager
kubectl scale statefulset --all --replicas=0 -n taskmanager

# Resume
./start-app.sh
```

---

## Viewing the Application

### Task Manager (Main UI)
- **URL:** `http://$(minikube ip):30080`
- Features: Create, complete, delete, and filter tasks

### Adminer (Database Management)
- **URL:** `http://$(minikube ip):30081`
- **Login credentials:**
  - System: `PostgreSQL`
  - Server: `postgres`
  - Username: `taskuser`
  - Password: `taskpass`
  - Database: `taskmanager`

---

## Example Workflow

```bash
# Start a Minikube cluster
$ minikube start

# Prepare images and host directories
$ ./prepare-app.sh
=============================================
  Preparing Task Manager for Kubernetes...
=============================================
[1/2] Building Docker images...
      ✓ taskmanager-api:latest built
      ✓ taskmanager-frontend:latest built
[2/2] Creating host directories for PersistentVolumes...
      ✓ /mnt/taskmanager/postgres created
      ✓ /mnt/taskmanager/redis created
=============================================
  ✓ Preparation complete!
  Run ./start-app.sh to deploy to Kubernetes
=============================================

# Deploy the application
$ ./start-app.sh
=============================================
  Starting Task Manager on Kubernetes...
=============================================
[1/6] Creating Namespace...
[2/6] Applying Secrets and ConfigMaps...
[3/6] Applying PersistentVolumes, PVCs and StatefulSets...
[4/6] Waiting for postgres StatefulSet to be Ready...
      Waiting for redis StatefulSet to be Ready...
[5/6] Applying Deployments...
[6/6] Applying Services...
Waiting for API deployment to be ready...
=============================================
  ✓ Task Manager is running!

  🌐 Task Manager:  http://$(minikube ip):30080
  🗄️  Adminer (DB):  http://$(minikube ip):30081
=============================================

# Stop (data preserved)
$ ./stop-app.sh
  ✓ Application stopped. Data is preserved in PersistentVolumes.

# Start again — all tasks still there
$ ./start-app.sh

# Remove everything
$ ./remove-app.sh
  ✓ Application completely removed.
```

---

## File Structure

```
z2/
├── namespace.yaml          # Namespace: taskmanager
├── configmap-secret.yaml   # Secret (DB credentials) + ConfigMap (init.sql)
├── statefulset.yaml        # PV, PVC, StatefulSet for postgres and redis
├── deployment.yaml         # Deployments for API, frontend, adminer
├── service.yaml            # Services (ClusterIP + NodePort)
├── prepare-app.sh          # Build images, create host directories
├── start-app.sh            # Deploy all Kubernetes objects
├── stop-app.sh             # Scale to zero (pause)
├── remove-app.sh           # Delete everything
├── README.md               # This documentation
├── api/
│   ├── Dockerfile          # Node.js 20 Alpine image
│   ├── package.json        # Node dependencies
│   ├── server.js           # Express REST API
│   └── db.js               # PostgreSQL connection pool
├── frontend/
│   ├── Dockerfile          # Nginx Alpine image
│   ├── nginx.conf          # Nginx config (proxies /api/ → taskmanager-api)
│   └── public/
│       ├── index.html      # Task Manager SPA
│       ├── style.css       # Dark theme CSS
│       └── app.js          # Frontend JavaScript
└── db/
    └── init.sql            # Database schema + sample data
```

---

## Sources

1. **Kubernetes Documentation** — [https://kubernetes.io/docs/](https://kubernetes.io/docs/)
2. **kubectl Reference** — [https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/kubectl/)
3. **Kubernetes: StatefulSets** — [https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/controllers/statefulset/](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/controllers/statefulset/)
4. **Kubernetes: Persistent Volumes** — [https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/storage/persistent-volumes/](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/storage/persistent-volumes/)
5. **Kubernetes: Secrets** — [https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret/](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret/)
6. **Minikube Documentation** — [https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/](https://minikube.sigs.k8s.io/docs/)
7. **PostgreSQL Docker Image** — [https://hub.docker.com/_/postgres](https://hub.docker.com/_/postgres)
8. **Redis Docker Image** — [https://hub.docker.com/_/redis](https://hub.docker.com/_/redis)
9. **Adminer Docker Image** — [https://hub.docker.com/_/adminer](https://hub.docker.com/_/adminer)
10. **Node.js Docker Image** — [https://hub.docker.com/_/node](https://hub.docker.com/_/node)
11. **Nginx Docker Image** — [https://hub.docker.com/_/nginx](https://hub.docker.com/_/nginx)
12. **Express.js Documentation** — [https://expressjs.com/](https://expressjs.com/)

---

## Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Claude were used as a support tool during development for understanding Kubernetes concepts, writing YAML manifests, and debugging configuration issues. All implementation, testing, and integration were performed independently.