# Quickstart
This guide aims to provide a quick way to get started with the MariaDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator for Kubernetes. It will walk you through the process of deploying a MariaDB Enterprise Cluster and MaxScale via the `MariaDB` and `MaxScale` CRs ([Custom Resources](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/extend-kubernetes/api-extension/custom-resources/)) respectively.
Before you begin, ensure you meet the following prerequisites:
* Configure your [customer access for docker.mariadb.com](/docs/tools/mariadb-enterprise-operator/customer-access-to-docker-mariadb-com.md)
* [Install the MariaDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator](https://github.com/mariadb-corporation/mariadb-docs/blob/main/tools/mariadb-enterprise-operator/mariadb-enterprise-operator-installation/README.md)
The first step will be configuring a `Secret` with the credentials used by the `MariaDB` CR:
```yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
name: mariadb
stringData:
password: MariaDB11!
```
```sh
kubectl apply -f secret.yaml
```
Next, we will deploy a MariaDB Enterprise Cluster (Galera) using the following CR:
```yaml
apiVersion: enterprise.mariadb.com/v1alpha1
kind: MariaDB
metadata:
name: mariadb-galera
spec:
rootPasswordSecretKeyRef:
name: mariadb
key: password
imagePullSecrets:
- name: mariadb-enterprise
maxScaleRef:
name: maxscale-galera
username: mariadb
passwordSecretKeyRef:
name: mariadb
key: password
database: mariadb
storage:
size: 1Gi
replicas: 3
galera:
enabled: true
```
```sh
kubectl apply -f mariadb-galera.yaml
```
Let's break it down:
* `rootPasswordSecretKeyRef`: A reference to a `Secret` containing the root password.
* `imagePullSecrets`: The name of the `Secret` containing the customer credentials to pull the MariaDB Enterprise Server image.
* `maxScaleRef`: The name of the `MaxScale` CR that we will be creating right after.
* `username`, `passwordSecretKeyRef` and `database`: The initial user and database to create.
* `storage`: The size of the volume that will back the data directory.
* `replicas`: The number of MariaDB Enterprise Server instances to deploy.
* `galera`: Configuration for the Galera clustering.
After applying the CR, we can observe the MariaDB `Pods` being created:
```sh
❯ kubectl get pods
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
mariadb-galera-0 2/2 Running 0 101s
mariadb-galera-1 2/2 Running 0 101s
mariadb-galera-2 2/2 Running 0 101s
```
Now, let's deploy a `MaxScale` CR:
```yaml
apiVersion: enterprise.mariadb.com/v1alpha1
kind: MaxScale
metadata:
name: maxscale-galera
spec:
imagePullSecrets:
- name: mariadb-enterprise
mariaDbRef:
name: mariadb-galera
replicas: 2
```
```sh
kubectl apply -f maxscale-galera.yaml
```
Again, let's break it down:
* `imagePullSecrets`: The name of the `Secret` containing the customer credentials to pull the MaxScale image.
* `mariaDbRef`: A reference to the `MariaDB` CR that we want to connect to.
* `replicas`: The number of MaxScale instances to deploy.
After applying the CR, we can observe the MaxScale `Pods` being created, and that both the `MariaDB` and `MaxScale` CRs will become ready eventually:
```sh
❯ kubectl get pods
mariadb-galera-0 2/2 Running 0 10m
mariadb-galera-1 2/2 Running 0 10m
mariadb-galera-2 2/2 Running 0 10m
maxscale-galera-0 1/1 Running 0 81s
maxscale-galera-1 1/1 Running 0 81s
❯ kubectl get maxscale
NAME READY STATUS PRIMARY AGE
maxscale-galera True Running mariadb-galera-0 65s
❯ kubectl get mariadb
NAME READY STATUS PRIMARY UPDATES AGE
mariadb-galera True Running mariadb-galera-0 ReplicasFirstPrimaryLast 10m
```
To conclude, let's connect to the MariaDB Enterprise Cluster through MaxScale using the initial user and database we initially defined in the `MariaDB` CR:
{% code overflow="wrap" %}
```sh
❯ kubectl run mariadb-connect --rm -it --image=docker.mariadb.com/enterprise-server:11.4 -- bash -c "mariadb -u mariadb -p'MariaDB11!' --ssl=false -h maxscale-galera"
If you don't see a command prompt, try pressing enter.
MariaDB [(none)]> SHOW DATABASES;
+--------------------+
| Database |
+--------------------+
| information_schema |
| mariadb |
+--------------------+
2 rows in set (0.001 sec)
```
{% endcode %}
{% hint style="success" %}
You have successfully deployed a MariaDB Enterprise Cluster with MaxScale in Kubernetes using the MariaDB Enterprise Kubernetes Operator!
{% endhint %}
Refer to the [documentation](/docs/tools/mariadb-enterprise-operator.md), the [API reference](/docs/tools/mariadb-enterprise-operator/api-reference.md) and the [examples catalog](/docs/tools/mariadb-enterprise-operator/examples-catalog.md) for further detail.
*This page is: Copyright © 2025 MariaDB. All rights reserved.*
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