Orchestrators

Orchestrators are agents that connect BadgerPanel to Kubernetes clusters, enabling you to deploy and manage game servers on Kubernetes instead of traditional daemon nodes.

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What Are Orchestrators?

An orchestrator is a component that runs inside a Kubernetes cluster and acts as the bridge between BadgerPanel and the cluster. It receives instructions from the panel (create a server, stop a server, etc.) and translates them into Kubernetes resources - pods, services, and persistent volume claims.

Each orchestrator manages one Kubernetes cluster. If you have multiple clusters, you need one orchestrator per cluster.

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Prerequisites

Before adding an orchestrator, you need:

• A running Kubernetes cluster
• kubectl access to the cluster from a machine where you can run the install script
• Network connectivity from the cluster to your panel URL (HTTPS)

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Adding an Orchestrator

1. Navigate to Admin > Orchestrators and click Add Orchestrator.
2. Enter a name and optional description for the orchestrator.
3. Click Create. The panel generates a one-line install command.

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Running the Install Command

Run the install command on a machine with kubectl access to your target cluster:

curl -sSL "https://panel.example.com/api/orchestrators/install/TOKEN" | bash

Replace the URL with the actual command shown in your panel.

What the Script Deploys

The install script creates the following Kubernetes resources:

• Namespace - badger-system to isolate the orchestrator components
• ServiceAccount - used by the orchestrator pod for cluster access
• ClusterRole and ClusterRoleBinding - grants the orchestrator permissions to manage pods, services, PVCs, and other resources across namespaces
• Deployment - runs the orchestrator binary as a pod with automatic restarts

The orchestrator pod connects to your panel using the registration token embedded in the install script. Once connected, the cluster appears in your panel automatically.

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Status Indicators

After installation, the orchestrator's status is visible in Admin > Orchestrators.

Status	Meaning
Online	The orchestrator is connected and communicating with the panel
Offline	The orchestrator pod is not sending heartbeats - check if the pod is running
Pending	The orchestrator was created but has not connected yet
Error	The orchestrator reported an error - check pod logs for details

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Activity Logs

Each orchestrator maintains an activity log that records events such as:

• Server deployments and deletions
• Connection and disconnection events
• Errors and warnings
• Update installations

View the activity log on the orchestrator's detail page in Admin > Orchestrators.

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Updating Orchestrators

When a new version of the orchestrator is available, you can push the update directly from the panel:

1. Navigate to Admin > Orchestrators and select the orchestrator.
2. If an update is available, click Update.
3. The panel sends the new binary to the orchestrator, which performs a rolling restart.

No manual intervention on the cluster is required.

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Daemon Nodes vs Orchestrators

Feature	Daemon Nodes	Orchestrators
Runtime	Docker containers (Linux) or native processes (Windows)	Kubernetes pods
Port management	IP:port allocations configured manually	NodePort services or LoadBalancer
Storage	Local disk on the node	Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs)
Scaling	Add more nodes manually	Kubernetes handles scheduling across cluster nodes
OS support	Linux and Windows	Any Kubernetes cluster
Setup	Install daemon on each server	Install orchestrator once per cluster
Resource isolation	Docker containers or Windows Job Objects	Kubernetes resource requests and limits
Best for	Dedicated servers, bare metal, VPS	Cloud environments, dynamic scaling, existing K8s infrastructure

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Removing an Orchestrator

Before removing an orchestrator, delete or transfer all servers deployed to its cluster.

1. In the panel, navigate to Admin > Orchestrators, select the orchestrator, and click Delete.
2. Clean up the Kubernetes resources from your cluster:

kubectl delete namespace badger-system

This removes the orchestrator deployment, service account, and all associated resources from the cluster.