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Version: 3.18 (latest)

Quickstart

note

The manual method for installing Calico Enterprise for Windows is deprecated in favor of using the Operator and Windows HostProcess containers (HPC). Support for this method will be dropped in a future Calico Enterprise version.

Big picture​

Install Calico Enterprise for Windows manually on your Kubernetes cluster in approximately 5 minutes.

Concepts​

Calico Enterprise for Windows is a hybrid implementation that requires a Linux control node for Calico Enterprise components and Windows nodes for Windows pods.

Before you begin​

Review the Linux requirements and the Calico Enterprise for Windows requirements.

Before beginning the quickstart, setup a Calico Enterprise cluster on Linux nodes and provision Windows machines.

How to​

Configure strict affinity for clusters using Calico Enterprise networking​

For Linux control nodes using Calico Enterprise networking, strict affinity must be set to true. This is required to prevent Linux nodes from borrowing IP addresses from Windows nodes:

kubectl patch ipamconfigurations default --type merge --patch='{"spec": {"strictAffinity": true}}'

Install Calico Enterprise for Windows manually​

The following steps install a Kubernetes cluster on a single Windows node with a minimum of 4 Linux worker nodes.

  • Kubernetes VXLAN

    The geeky details of what you get by default:

    PolicyIPAMCNIOverlayRoutingDatastore

  • Kubernetes BGP

    The geeky details of what you get by default:

    PolicyIPAMCNIOverlayRoutingDatastore

  • EKS

    The geeky details of what you get by default:

    PolicyIPAMCNIOverlayRoutingDatastore

  • AKS

    The geeky details of what you get by default:

    PolicyIPAMCNIOverlayRoutingDatastore

  1. Setup a Calico Enterprise Kubernetes cluster with Windows nodes.

  2. Ensure that BGP is disabled since you're using VXLAN. If you installed Calico Enterprise using operator, you can do this by:

    kubectl patch installation default --type=merge -p '{"spec": {"calicoNetwork": {"bgp": "Disabled"}}}'

    If you installed Calico using the manifest then BGP is already disabled.

  3. Prepare the directory for Kubernetes files on Windows node.

    mkdir c:\k

  4. Copy the Kubernetes kubeconfig file from the control plane node (default, Location $HOME/.kube/config), to c:\k\config.

  5. Copy the Calico Enterprise for Windows installation zip file to c:\tigera-calico-windows.zip.

  6. Download the PowerShell script, install-calico-windows.ps1.

    Invoke-WebRequest https://docs.tigera.io/calico-enterprise/3.18/scripts/install-calico-windows.ps1 -OutFile c:\install-calico-windows.ps1

  7. Install Calico Enterprise for Windows for your datastore with using the default parameters or customize installation parameters. The PowerShell script downloads Calico Enterprise for Windows release binary, Kubernetes binaries, Windows utilities files, configures Calico Enterprise for Windows, and starts the Calico service.

    Kubernetes datastore (default)

    c:\install-calico-windows.ps1 -KubeVersion <your Kubernetes version (e.g. 1.18.6)> `
                                  -ServiceCidr <your service cidr (default 10.96.0.0/12)> `
                                  -DNSServerIPs <your DNS service IP (default 10.96.0.10)>
    note
    • You do not need to pass a parameter if the default value of the parameter is correct for your cluster.
    • If your Windows nodes have multiple network adapters, you can configure the one used for VXLAN by editing VXLAN_ADAPTER in C:\TigeraCalico\config.ps1, then restarting Calico Enterprise for Windows.

  8. Verify that the Calico Enterprise services are running.

    Get-Service -Name CalicoNode
    Get-Service -Name CalicoFelix

  9. Install and start kubelet/kube-proxy service. Execute following PowerShell script/commands.

    C:\TigeraCalico\kubernetes\install-kube-services.ps1
    Start-Service -Name kubelet
    Start-Service -Name kube-proxy

  10. Verify kubelet/kube-proxy services are running.

    Get-Service -Name kubelet
    Get-Service -Name kube-proxy

Congratulations! You now have a Kubernetes cluster with Calico Enterprise for Windows and a Linux control node.

Configure installation parameters​

Parameter NameDescriptionDefault
KubeVersionVersion of Kubernetes binaries to use. If the value is an empty string (default), the Calico Enterprise for Windows installation script does not download Kubernetes binaries and run Kubernetes service. Use the default for managed public cloud.""
DownloadOnlyDownload without installing Calico Enterprise for Windows. Set to yes to manually install and configure Calico Enterprise for Windows. For example, Calico Enterprise for Windows the hard way.no
DatastoreCalico Enterprise for Windows datastore type [kubernetes] for reading endpoints and policy information.kubernetes
ServiceCidrService IP range of the Kubernetes cluster. Not required for most managed Kubernetes clusters. Note: EKS has non-default value.10.96.0.0/12
DNSServerIPsComma-delimited list of DNS service IPs used by Windows pod. Not required for most managed Kubernetes clusters. Note: EKS has a non-default value.10.96.0.10
CalicoBackendCalico backend network type (vxlan or bgp). If the value is an empty string (default), backend network type is auto detected.""

Next steps​

You can now use the Calico Enterprise Linux-based docs site for your documentation. Before you continue, review the Limitations and known issues to understand the features (and sections of documentation) that do not apply to Windows.