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Version: 3.18 (latest)

Helm

Big picture​

Install Calico Enterprise on a Kubernetes cluster using Helm 3.

Value​

Helm charts are a way to package up an application for Kubernetes (similar to apt or yum for operating systems). Helm is also used by tools like ArgoCD to manage applications in a cluster, taking care of install, upgrade (and rollback if needed), etc.

Before you begin​

Required

Concepts​

Operator based installation​

In this guide, you install the Tigera Calico operator and custom resource definitions using the Helm 3 chart. The Tigera operator provides lifecycle management for Calico Enterprise exposed via the Kubernetes API defined as a custom resource definition.

How to​

Download the Helm chart​

curl -O -L https://downloads.tigera.io/ee/charts/tigera-operator-v3.18.2-0.tgz

Customize the Helm chart​

If you are installing on a cluster installed by EKS, GKE, AKS or Mirantis Kubernetes Engine (MKE), or you need to customize TLS certificates, you must customize this Helm chart by creating a values.yaml file. Otherwise, you can skip this step.

  1. If you are installing on a cluster installed by EKS, GKE, AKS or Mirantis Kubernetes Engine (MKE), set the kubernetesProvider as described in the Installation reference. For example:

    echo '{ installation: {kubernetesProvider: EKS }}' > values.yaml

    For Azure AKS cluster with no Kubernetes CNI pre-installed, create values.yaml with the following command:

    cat > values.yaml <<EOF
    installation:
      kubernetesProvider: AKS
      cni:
        type: Calico
      calicoNetwork:
        bgp: Disabled
        ipPools:
        - cidr: 10.244.0.0/16
          encapsulation: VXLAN
    EOF

  2. Add any other customizations you require to values.yaml. To see values that can be customized in the chart, see the helm docs or run the following command:

    helm show values ./tigera-operator-v3.18.2-0.tgz

Install Calico Enterprise​

Standalone is a standard Kubernetes cluster.

To install a standard Calico Enterprise cluster with Helm:

  1. Configure a storage class for Calico Enterprise.

  2. Install the Tigera Calico Enterprise operator and custom resource definitions using the Helm 3 chart:

    helm install calico-enterprise tigera-operator-v3.18.2-0.tgz \
    --set-file imagePullSecrets.tigera-pull-secret=<path/to/pull/secret>,tigera-prometheus-operator.imagePullSecrets.tigera-pull-secret=<path/to/pull/secret> \
    --set-file licenseKeyContent=<path/to/license/file/yaml> \
    --namespace tigera-operator --create-namespace

    or if you created a values.yaml above:

    helm install calico-enterprise tigera-operator-v3.18.2-0.tgz -f values.yaml \
    --set-file imagePullSecrets.tigera-pull-secret=<path/to/pull/secret>,tigera-prometheus-operator.imagePullSecrets.tigera-pull-secret=<path/to/pull/secret> \
    --set-file licenseKeyContent=<path/to/license/file/yaml> \
    --namespace tigera-operator --create-namespace

  3. You can now monitor progress with the following command:

    watch kubectl get tigerastatus

    Congratulations! You have now installed Calico Enterprise using the Helm 3 chart.

Next steps​

Multicluster Management

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