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Connect a cluster to Calico Cloud using Helm

You can connect your cluster to Calico Cloud by generating a unique Helm command in the Calico Cloud Manager UI and running it on your cluster. With Helm installations you can also set optional installation parameters to enable certain features.

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 Calico Cloud Manager UI 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.
  • You have installed Helm 3.0 or later on your workstation.

Install Calico Cloud using 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 Advanced Options, and then select Install via helm

  5. 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

  6. (Optional) To make changes to what features are enabled during installation, paste the command to a text editor and append the --set option any of the following key-value pairs. You can change these options only by reinstalling or upgrading Calico Cloud and changing the values.

    FeatureKeyValues
    Image Assuranceinstaller.components.imageAssurance.stateEnabled (default), Disabled
    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.
    Security Posture Dashboardinstaller.components.securityPosture.stateEnabled (default), Disabled
    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 \
    --set installer.components.securityPosture.state=Enabled

    In this example, this command connects the cluster to Calico Cloud with Image Assurance, Runtime Security, and Security Posture Dashboard features enabled.

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

  8. 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​