There is nothing much in deploying mailserver to Kubernetes itself. The things are pretty same as in [`docker-compose.yml`][1], but with Kubernetes syntax.
Any sensitive data (keys, etc) should be deployed via [Secrets][50]. Other configuration just fits well into [ConfigMaps][51].
__Note:__
Make sure that [Pod][52] is [assigned][59] to specific [Node][53] in case you're using volume for data directly with `hostPath`. Otherwise Pod can be rescheduled on a different Node and previous data won't be found. Except the case when you're using some shared filesystem on your Nodes.
## Exposing to outside world
The hard part with Kubernetes is to expose deployed mailserver to outside world. Kubernetes provides multiple ways for doing that. Each has its downsides and complexity.
The major problem with exposing mailserver to outside world in Kubernetes is to [preserve real client IP][57]. Real client IP is required by mailserver for performing IP-based SPF checks and spam checks.
Preserving real client IP is relatively [non-trivial in Kubernetes][57] and most exposing ways do not provide it. So, it's up to you to decide which exposing way suits better your needs in a price of complexity.
If you do not require SPF checks for incoming mails you may disable them in [Postfix configuration][2] by dropping following line (which removes `check_policy_service unix:private/policyd-spf` option):
The simplest way is to expose mailserver as a [Service][55] with [external IPs][56].
```yaml
kind: Service
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
name: mailserver
labels:
app: mailserver
spec:
selector:
app: mailserver
ports:
- name: smtp
port: 25
targetPort: smtp
# ...
externalIPs:
- 80.11.12.10
```
##### Downsides
- __Real client IP is not preserved__, so SPF check of incoming mail will fail.
- Requirement to specify exposed IPs explicitly.
### Proxy port to Service
The [Proxy Pod][58] helps to avoid necessity of specifying external IPs explicitly. This comes in price of complexity: you must deploy Proxy Pod on each [Node][53] you want to expose mailserver on.
##### Downsides
- __Real client IP is not preserved__, so SPF check of incoming mail will fail.
### Bind to concrete Node and use host network
The simplest way to preserve real client IP is to use `hostPort` and `hostNetwork: true` in the mailserver [Pod][52]. This comes in price of availability: you can talk to mailserver from outside world only via IPs of [Node][53] where mailserver is deployed.
```yaml
kind: Deployment
apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
metadata:
name: mailserver
# ...
spec:
hostNetwork: true
# ...
containers:
# ...
ports:
- name: smtp
containerPort: 25
hostPort: 25
- name: smtp-auth
containerPort: 587
hostPort: 587
- name: imap-secure
containerPort: 993
hostPort: 993
# ...
```
##### Downsides
- Not possible to access mailserver via other cluster Nodes, only via the one mailserver deployed at.
This way is ideologically the same as [using Proxy Pod](#proxy-port-to-service) but instead Proxy Pod you should use [HAProxy image][11] or [Nginx Ingress Controller][12] and proxy TCP traffic to mailserver Pod with PROXY protocol usage which does real client IP preservation.
This requires some additional mailserver configuration: you should enable PROXY protocol on ports that [Postfix][2] and [Dovecot][3] listen on for incoming connections.
```yaml
kind: ConfigMap
apiVersion: v1
metadata:
name: mailserver.config
labels:
app: mailserver
data:
postfix-main.cf: |
smtpd_upstream_proxy_protocol = haproxy
dovecot.cf: |
service imap-login {
inet_listener imaps {
haproxy = yes
}
}
# ...
---
kind: Deployment
apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
metadata:
name: mailserver
#...
volumeMounts:
- name: config
subPath: postfix-main.cf
mountPath: /tmp/docker-mailserver/postfix-main.cf
readOnly: true
- name: config
subPath: dovecot.cf
mountPath: /etc/dovecot/conf.d/zz-custom.cf
readOnly: true
# ...
```
##### Downsides
- Not possible to access mailserver via inner cluster Kubernetes DNS, as PROXY protocol is required for incoming connections.
## Let's Encrypt certificates
[Kube-Lego][10] may be used for a role of Let's Encrypt client. It works with Kubernetes [Ingress Resources][54] and automatically issues/manages certificates/keys for exposed services via Ingresses.
```yaml
kind: Ingress
apiVersion: extensions/v1beta1
metadata:
name: mailserver
labels:
app: mailserver
annotations:
kubernetes.io/tls-acme: 'true'
spec:
rules:
- host: example.com
http:
paths:
- path: /
backend:
serviceName: default-backend
servicePort: 80
tls:
- secretName: mailserver.tls
hosts:
- example.com
```
Now, you can use Let's Encrypt cert and key from `mailserver.tls` [Secret][50]
