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Calico Cloud documentation

Connect a cluster to Calico Cloud

You can quickly connect a cluster to Calico Cloud by generating a unique kubectl or Helm command in the web console and running it on your cluster.

Prerequisites​

  • You have an active Calico Cloud account. You can sign up for a 14-day free trial at calicocloud.io.
  • You are signed in to the web console as a user with the Owner, Admin, or DevOps role.
  • You have at least one cluster that meets our system requirements.
  • You have kubectl access to the cluster.
  • If you're using Helm, you installed Helm 3.0 or later on your workstation.

Connect a cluster to Calico Cloud with kubectl​

  1. From the Managed Clusters page, click Connect Cluster.

  2. In the Connect a Cluster dialog, enter a Cluster Name and select a Cluster Type.

  3. Optional: If you must install a specific older release, select the Calico Cloud version you want to install. We always recommend the latest version, which is installed by default.

  4. Click Connect to generate a unique kubectl command. Copy the command.

    Use alternate manifest for legacy features

    The Image Assurance, Container Threat Detection, and Compliance Reports features were removed for new users in Calico Cloud 21.1.0. Legacy users of those features can continue to use a deprecated version until the features are completely removed in a future release.

    To continue using these features, modify the generated command by replacing two instances of deploy.yaml with deploy-with-container-security.yaml. This change gives you a manifest with all three legacy features enabled. You cannot enable or disable these features individually.

    Example of generated kubectl command with alternate manifest
    kubectl apply -f https://installer.calicocloud.io/manifests/cc-operator/latest/deploy-with-container-security.yaml && curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ..." "https://www.calicocloud.io/api/managed-cluster/deploy-with-container-security.yaml?version=v21.1.0" | kubectl apply -f -

  5. From a terminal, paste and run the command.

  6. On the Managed Clusters page, you should immediately see your cluster in the list of managed clusters. Monitor the status under Connection Status. When the status changes to Connected, installation is complete and your cluster is connected to Calico Cloud.

Connect a cluster to Calico Cloud with Helm​

  1. From the Managed Clusters page, click Connect Cluster.

  2. In the Connect a Cluster dialog, enter a Cluster Name and select a Cluster Type.

  3. Optional: If you must install a specific older release, select the Calico Cloud version you want to install. We always recommend the latest version, which is installed by default.

  4. Click Connect to generate a unique Helm installation command. Copy the command.

    Example of generated Helm installation command
    helm repo add calico-cloud https://installer.calicocloud.io/charts --force-update && helm upgrade --install calico-cloud-crds calico-cloud/calico-cloud-crds --namespace calico-cloud --create-namespace && helm upgrade --install calico-cloud calico-cloud/calico-cloud --namespace calico-cloud --set apiKey=ryl34elz8:9dav6eoag:ifk1uwruwlgp7vzn7ecijt5zjbf5p9p1il1ag8877ylwjo4muu19wzg2g8x5qa7x --set installer.clusterName=my-cluster --set installer.calicoCloudVersion=v19.1.0

  5. Optional: If you want to enable the Packet Capture feature, you can append --set installer.components.packetCaptureAPI.state=Enabled to the generated Helm command. You can change this option only by reinstalling or upgrading Calico Cloud and changing the values.

    FeatureKeyValues
    Packet Captureinstaller.components.packetCaptureAPI.stateEnabled, Disabled (default*)
    * The default for new clusters is Disabled. For upgrades for previously connected clusters, the default will retain the previous state.
    Example of generated Helm command with user-added parameters
    helm repo add calico-cloud https://installer.calicocloud.io/charts --force-update && helm upgrade --install calico-cloud-crds calico-cloud/calico-cloud-crds --namespace calico-cloud --create-namespace && helm upgrade --install calico-cloud calico-cloud/calico-cloud --namespace calico-cloud --set apiKey=ryl34elz8:9dav6eoag:ifk1uwruwlgp7vzn7ecijt5zjbf5p9p1il1ag8877ylwjo4muu19wzg2g8x5qa7x --set installer.clusterName=my-cluster --set installer.calicoCloudVersion=v19.1.0 \
    --set installer.components.packetCaptureAPI.state=Enabled

    In this example, the command connects the cluster to Calico Cloud with the Packet Capture feature enabled.

    Use alternate feature keys for legacy features

    The Image Assurance, Container Threat Detection, and Compliance Reports features were removed for new users in Calico Cloud 21.1.0. Legacy users of those features can continue to use a deprecated version until the features are completely removed in a future release.

    FeatureKeyValues
    Image Assuranceinstaller.components.imageAssurance.stateEnabled, Disabled (default)
    Container Threat Detectioninstaller.components.runtimeSecurity.stateEnabled, Disabled (default*)
    * The default for new clusters is Disabled. For upgrades for previously connected clusters, the default will retain the previous state.
    Packet Captureinstaller.components.packetCaptureAPI.stateEnabled, Disabled (default*)
    * The default for new clusters is Disabled. For upgrades for previously connected clusters, the default will retain the previous state.
    Compliance Reportsinstaller.components.compliance.enabledtrue, false (default)
    Example of generated Helm command with user-added parameters
    helm repo add calico-cloud https://installer.calicocloud.io/charts --force-update && helm upgrade --install calico-cloud-crds calico-cloud/calico-cloud-crds --namespace calico-cloud --create-namespace && helm upgrade --install calico-cloud calico-cloud/calico-cloud --namespace calico-cloud --set apiKey=ryl34elz8:9dav6eoag:ifk1uwruwlgp7vzn7ecijt5zjbf5p9p1il1ag8877ylwjo4muu19wzg2g8x5qa7x --set installer.clusterName=my-cluster --set installer.calicoCloudVersion=v19.1.0 \
    --set installer.components.imageAssurance.state=Enabled \
    --set installer.components.runtimeSecurity.state=Enabled \

    In this example, the command connects the cluster to Calico Cloud with Image Assurance and Container Threat Detection features enabled.

  6. From a terminal, paste and run the command.

  7. On the Managed Clusters page, you should immediately see your cluster in the list of managed clusters. Monitor the status under Connection Status. When the status changes to Connected, installation is complete and your cluster is connected to Calico Cloud.

Additional resources​