Workload endpoint

A workload endpoint resource (WorkloadEndpoint) represents an interface connecting a Calico networked container or VM to its host.

Each endpoint may specify a set of labels and list of profiles that Calico will use to apply policy to the interface.

A workload endpoint is a namespaced resource, that means a NetworkPolicy in a specific namespace only applies to the WorkloadEndpoint in that namespace. Two resources are in the same namespace if the namespace value is set the same on both.

note

While calicoctl allows the user to fully manage Workload Endpoint resources, the lifecycle of these resources is generally handled by an orchestrator-specific plugin such as the Calico CNI plugin, the Calico Docker network plugin, or the Calico OpenStack Neutron Driver. In general, we recommend that you only use calicoctl to view this resource type.

Sample YAML

apiVersion: projectcalico.org/v3
kind: WorkloadEndpoint
metadata:
  name: node1-k8s-my--nginx--b1337a-eth0
  namespace: default
  labels:
    app: frontend
    projectcalico.org/namespace: default
    projectcalico.org/orchestrator: k8s
spec:
  node: node1
  orchestrator: k8s
  endpoint: eth0
  containerID: 1337495556942031415926535
  pod: my-nginx-b1337a
  endpoint: eth0
  interfaceName: cali0ef24ba
  mac: ca:fe:1d:52:bb:e9
  ipNetworks:
  - 192.168.0.0/32
  profiles:
  - profile1
  ports:
  - name: some-port
    port: 1234
    protocol: TCP
  - name: another-port
    port: 5432
    protocol: UDP

Definitions

Metadata

Field	Description	Accepted Values	Schema	Default
name	The name of this workload endpoint resource. Required.	Alphanumeric string with optional ., _, or -	string
namespace	Namespace provides an additional qualification to a resource name.		string	"default"
labels	A set of labels to apply to this endpoint.		map

Spec

Field	Description	Accepted Values	Schema	Default
workload	The name of the workload to which this endpoint belongs.		string
orchestrator	The orchestrator that created this endpoint.		string
node	The node where this endpoint resides.		string
containerID	The CNI CONTAINER_ID of the workload endpoint.		string
pod	Kubernetes pod name for this workload endpoint.		string
endpoint	Container network interface name.		string
ipNetworks	The CIDRs assigned to the interface.		List of strings
ipNATs	List of 1:1 NAT mappings to apply to the endpoint.		List of IPNATs
ipv4Gateway	The gateway IPv4 address for traffic from the workload.		string
ipv6Gateway	The gateway IPv6 address for traffic from the workload.		string
profiles	List of profiles assigned to this endpoint.		List of strings
interfaceName	The name of the host-side interface attached to the workload.		string
mac	The source MAC address of traffic generated by the workload.		IEEE 802 MAC-48, EUI-48, or EUI-64
ports	List on named ports that this workload exposes.		List of WorkloadEndpointPorts

IPNAT

IPNAT contains a single NAT mapping for a WorkloadEndpoint resource.

Field	Description	Accepted Values	Schema	Default
internalIP	The internal IP address of the NAT mapping.	A valid IP address	string
externalIP	The external IP address.	A valid IP address	string

EndpointPort

A WorkloadEndpointPort associates a name with a particular TCP/UDP/SCTP port of the endpoint, allowing it to be referenced as a named port in policy rules.

Field	Description	Accepted Values	Schema	Default
name	The name to attach to this port, allowing it to be referred to in policy rules. Names must be unique within an endpoint.		string
protocol	The protocol of this named port.	TCP, UDP, SCTP	string
port	The workload port number.	1-65535	int
hostPort	Port on the host that is forwarded to this port.	1-65535	int
hostIP	IP address on the host on which the hostPort is accessible.	1-65535	int

note

On their own, WorkloadEndpointPort entries don't result in any change to the connectivity of the port. They only have an effect if they are referred to in policy.

note

The hostPort and hostIP fields are read-only and determined from Kubernetes hostPort configuration. These fields are used only when host ports are enabled in Calico.

Supported operations

Datastore type	Create/Delete	Update	Get/List	Notes
etcdv3	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kubernetes API server	No	Yes	Yes	WorkloadEndpoints are directly tied to a Kubernetes pod.