Kubernetes Dashboard – Tutorial, Best Practices & Alternatives

The Kubernetes Dashboard is a web-based user interface that provides a graphical representation of various aspects of a Kubernetes cluster, allowing users to manage and monitor their clusters and workloads running on them. Key features include cluster overview, resource monitoring, deployment management, pod management, service discovery, log viewing, node details, event viewer, namespace support, user authentication and RBAC, and CRD support. The dashboard is not deployed by default and must be installed/deployed before accessing the UI. It can be accessed using a token or Kubeconfig authentication method. To fix common errors like Forbidden 403 error, check RBAC permissions applied to the account and ensure proper configuration of service accounts and tokens. Security best practices include enabling HTTPS, implementing network policies, configuring token expiration, enabling audit logging, and keeping the dashboard version up-to-date. There are several alternatives to the Kubernetes Dashboard, such as Lens, Octant, Rancher, and Grafana + Prometheus, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.