Install Calico

Quickstart tutorials and guides for installing Calico on Kubernetes, OpenStack, and non-cluster hosts.

Getting started

System requirements

Cluster, kernel, and platform requirements you must meet before installing Calico Open Source on Kubernetes.

Calico quickstart guide

Install Calico Open Source on a single-host Kubernetes cluster in roughly 15 minutes — the standard starter path for trying Calico networking and network policy on a development machine.

Community-tested Kubernetes versions

Community-reported compatibility data for Calico Open Source across Kubernetes versions, distributions, and host platforms.

Installing

Installing on on-premises deployments

Install Calico Open Source networking and network policy on a self-managed Kubernetes cluster running on-premises hardware.

Install Calico for policy and flannel (aka Canal) for networking

Install Calico Open Source network policy on an existing Flannel-networked cluster without replacing the data plane.

Installing on RKE

Install Calico Open Source on a Rancher Kubernetes Engine cluster.

System requirements

Cluster, OpenShift, and host OS requirements you must meet before installing Calico Open Source on an OpenShift 4 cluster.

Install an OpenShift 4 cluster with Calico

Install Calico Open Source on a self-managed OpenShift 4 cluster using the operator-based installation flow.

Quickstart for Calico on K3s

Quickstart that installs Calico Open Source on a single-node K3s cluster in roughly 5 minutes for testing or development.

K3s multi-node install

Install Calico Open Source on a multi-node K3s cluster for testing or development workloads.

Installing on cloud infrastructure

Installing on EKS

Add Calico Open Source network policy to an Amazon EKS cluster running the AWS VPC CNI, without replacing the cluster's networking data plane.

Installing on GKE

Add Calico Open Source network policy to a Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster on top of the built-in GKE networking.

Installing on IKS

IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service (IKS) ships with Calico Open Source as the built-in networking and policy engine — what is included and how to use it.

Installing on AKS

Add Calico Open Source network policy to an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster running the Azure CNI.

Installing on AWS

Run Calico Open Source on a self-managed Kubernetes cluster in Amazon Web Services (AWS) — what to know about VPC sizing, MTU, and source/dest checks.

Installing on GCE

Run Calico Open Source on a self-managed Kubernetes cluster in Google Compute Engine (GCE) — what to know about IP forwarding, MTU, and route limits.

Installing on Azure

Run Calico Open Source on a self-managed Kubernetes cluster in Microsoft Azure — what to know about VNet routing, UDR limits, and IPAM choices.

Installing on Digital Ocean

Run Calico Open Source on a self-managed Kubernetes cluster in DigitalOcean — what to know about MTU, droplet networking, and floating IPs.

Calico for Windows

Limitations and known issues

Known limitations of Calico Open Source for Windows that you should review before planning an installation.

Requirements

Cluster and Windows host requirements you must meet before installing Calico Open Source for Windows.

Install using Operator

Install Calico Open Source for Windows on a Kubernetes cluster using the operator, for testing or development.

Calico for Windows on a Rancher Kubernetes Engine cluster

Install Calico Open Source for Windows on a Rancher RKE cluster with Windows worker nodes.

Basic policy demo

Interactive demo that applies basic Calico Open Source network policy to pods running on a Windows node.

Troubleshoot Calico for Windows

Troubleshooting guide for Calico Open Source for Windows clusters — common issues, diagnostic steps, and where to look for logs.

OpenStack

Calico for OpenStack

Components and topology used when running Calico Open Source as the networking and policy layer for an OpenStack deployment.

System requirements

Hypervisor, OS, and OpenStack requirements you must meet before installing Calico Open Source on OpenStack nodes.

Calico on OpenStack

Pick an installation method for Calico Open Source on OpenStack — DevStack for evaluation, or a per-distribution path for production.

Ubuntu

Install Calico Open Source on an OpenStack deployment running Ubuntu compute nodes.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Install Calico Open Source on an OpenStack deployment running Red Hat Enterprise Linux compute nodes.

DevStack

Quickstart that wires Calico Open Source into a DevStack OpenStack environment to verify connectivity and policy.

Verify your deployment

Verification steps that confirm a Calico Open Source OpenStack deployment is forwarding traffic and applying policy correctly.

Non-cluster hosts

About non-cluster hosts

Install Calico Open Source on non-cluster hosts and VMs — pick between policy-only and networking-and-policy modes for protecting hosts outside Kubernetes.

System requirements

Operating system, kernel, and connectivity requirements for installing Calico Open Source on a non-cluster host.

Docker container install

Run the Calico Open Source agent on a non-cluster host inside a Docker container.

Binary install with package manager

Install the Calico Open Source binary on a non-cluster host using a Linux package manager such as apt or yum.

Binary install without package manager

Install the Calico Open Source binary directly on a non-cluster host without using a package manager.