Install Istio and Gloo Mesh

Before you begin

1. Create or use an existing Kubernetes cluster, and save the cluster name in an environment variable. Note: The cluster name must be alphanumeric with no special characters except a hyphen (-), lowercase, and begin with a letter (not a number).

   export CLUSTER_NAME=<cluster_name>
   

2. Install meshctl, the Gloo command line tool for bootstrapping Gloo Platform, registering clusters, describing configured resources, and more. Be sure to download version 2.4.1, which uses the latest Gloo Mesh installation values.

   curl -sL https://run.solo.io/meshctl/install | GLOO_MESH_VERSION=v2.4.1 sh -
   export PATH=$HOME/.gloo-mesh/bin:$PATH
   

3. Set environment variables for the Istio repository and image version that you want to install. You can find both values in the Istio images built by Solo.io support article.

   export REPO=<repo-key>
   export ISTIO_IMAGE=<image-tag>
   

Install Istio and Gloo Mesh in ambient mode

1. Install the Solo Istio CLI. You can find the CLI version and the repository from which to download that version in the Istio images built by Solo.io support article.

2. Install the Istio operator.

   istioctl operator init \
     --hub $REPO \
     --tag $ISTIO_IMAGE
   

3. Create an Istio operator CRD to set up Istio with the ambient profile.

   kubectl apply -f- <<EOF
   apiVersion: install.istio.io/v1alpha1
   kind: IstioOperator
   metadata:
     namespace: istio-system
     name: example-istiocontrolplane
   spec:
     hub: $REPO
     tag: $ISTIO_IMAGE
     components:
       cni: 
         enabled: true
         namespace: kube-system
     profile: ambient
     values:
       ztunnel:
         meshConfig:
           defaultConfig:
             proxyMetadata:
               ISTIO_META_DNS_CAPTURE: "true"
               ISTIO_META_DNS_AUTO_ALLOCATE: "false" 
               DNS_PROXY_ADDR: "0.0.0.0:15053"
       meshConfig:
         defaultConfig:
           proxyMetadata:
             ISTIO_META_DNS_CAPTURE: "true"
             ISTIO_META_DNS_AUTO_ALLOCATE: "false" 
             DNS_PROXY_ADDR: "0.0.0.0:15053"
         accessLogFile: /dev/stdout
   EOF
   

4. Verify that the components of the Istio ambient mesh are successfully installed. Because the ztunnel is deployed as a daemon set, the number of ztunnel pods equals the number of nodes in your cluster. Note that it might take a few seconds for the pods to become available.

   kubectl get pods -n istio-system
   

   Example output:

   istiod-d765ff7cf-46dbm                  1/1     Running   0          2m4s
   ztunnel-648wc                           1/1     Running   0          2m8s
   ztunnel-6rhp5                           1/1     Running   0          2m8s
   ztunnel-hllxg                           1/1     Running   0          2m8s
   ztunnel-mg4w7                           1/1     Running   0          2m8s
   ztunnel-s8j5t                           1/1     Running   0          2m8s
   ztunnel-xgvnc                           1/1     Running   0          2m8s
   

5. Verify that the Istio CNI pods are up and running. Because the Istio CNI is deployed as a daemon set, the number of Istio CNI pods equals the number of nodes in your cluster.

   kubectl get pods -n kube-system | grep istio-cni
   

   Example output:

   istio-cni-node-55kj6                                             2/2     Running   0          62s
   istio-cni-node-5cz2q                                             2/2     Running   0          62s
   istio-cni-node-cp469                                             2/2     Running   0          62s
   istio-cni-node-h2ckw                                             2/2     Running   0          62s
   istio-cni-node-mdsnt                                             2/2     Running   0          62s
   istio-cni-node-s7wb2                                             2/2     Running   0          62s
   

6. Install Gloo Mesh Enterprise in ambient mode.

   meshctl install --profiles gloo-mesh-single \
     --set common.cluster=$CLUSTER_NAME \
     --set alpha.ambientEnabled=true \
     --set licensing.glooMeshLicenseKey=$GLOO_MESH_LICENSE_KEY \
     --set istioInstallations.enabled=false \
     --set glooMgmtServer.createGlobalWorkspace=true
   

7. Verify that Gloo Mesh is correctly installed. This check might take a few seconds to verify that:

   • Your Gloo Mesh product license is valid and current.
   • The Gloo Mesh CRDs are installed at the correct version.
   • The Gloo Mesh pods are running and healthy.
   • The Gloo agent is running and connected to the management server.

   meshctl check
   

Next

Deploy sample apps