Why Choose This Project?

Web applications and microservices require secure HTTPS communication to protect data in transit. Manually issuing and renewing SSL/TLS certificates is error-prone and time-consuming. This project demonstrates how to automate certificate issuance and renewal for Kubernetes clusters using Cert‑Manager and Let’s Encrypt, ensuring secure communication without manual intervention.

What You Get

Automated SSL/TLS certificate issuance for web services and ingress resources
Automatic certificate renewal and deployment
Centralized dashboard for certificate status
Integration with Kubernetes Ingress controllers (NGINX, Traefik, etc.)
Alerts for expiring or failed certificates
Logs for audit and compliance

Key Features

Technology Stack

Infrastructure & Orchestration:

• Kubernetes cluster (on AWS EKS, GCP GKE, or Azure AKS)

• Helm for deploying Cert‑Manager

Certificate Management:

• Cert‑Manager (Kubernetes native certificate controller)

• Let’s Encrypt (ACME protocol for free SSL/TLS certificates)

Frontend (Optional Dashboard):

• HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap 5, JavaScript

• Grafana or custom UI to monitor certificates

Cloud & Hosting:

• Any cloud provider hosting Kubernetes (AWS, Azure, GCP)

• Ingress controllers (NGINX, Traefik) for routing HTTPS traffic

Cloud Services Used

• AWS / Azure / GCP Kubernetes – Host microservices and web applications

• Let’s Encrypt – Certificate authority for automated SSL/TLS certificates

• Cert‑Manager – Automates issuance, renewal, and management of certificates

• Monitoring Tools – Optional Prometheus/Grafana for certificate metrics

Working Flow

1. Install Cert‑Manager – Deploy Cert‑Manager on Kubernetes cluster using Helm.

2. Configure Issuers – Set up Let’s Encrypt issuers (staging for testing, production for live).

3. Define Certificate Resources – Create Kubernetes Certificate custom resources for your domains.

4. Automatic Issuance – Cert‑Manager requests certificates from Let’s Encrypt using ACME challenges.

5. Automatic Renewal – Certificates nearing expiry are automatically renewed and updated in secrets.

6. Ingress Integration – Certificates are applied to Kubernetes Ingress resources for HTTPS traffic.

7. Monitoring & Alerts – Dashboard displays certificate status, sends alerts for failures or expiry.

Main Modules

• Cert‑Manager Controller – Handles certificate requests, challenges, and renewals

• ACME Issuer Module – Communicates with Let’s Encrypt for certificate issuance

• Certificate Resource Module – Defines desired certificates in Kubernetes manifests

• Ingress Integration Module – Applies certificates to web traffic endpoints

• Monitoring & Alerts Module – Tracks expiry and sends notifications

• Secret Management Module – Stores certificates securely for services

Security Features

• Certificates stored securely as Kubernetes secrets

• ACME protocol ensures trusted issuance from Let’s Encrypt

• Automated renewal reduces risk of expired certificates

• Role-based access control (RBAC) in Kubernetes restricts certificate management