What is RBAC?

Kubernetes Role-Based Access Control or the (RBAC) system describes how we define different permission levels of unique, validated users or groups in a cluster. It uses granular permission sets defined within a .yaml file to allow access to specific resources and operations.

Starting with Kubernetes 1.6, RBAC is enabled by default and users start with no permissions, and as such, permissions must be explicitly granted by an admin to a specific service or resource. These policies are crucial for effectively securing your cluster. They permit us to specify what types of actions are allowed, depending on the user’s role and their function within the organization.