Install Multi-Primary

Follow this guide to install the Istio control plane on both cluster1 and cluster2, making each a primary cluster. Both clusters reside on the

Before proceeding, be sure to complete the steps under before you begin⁶.

In this configuration, each control plane observes the API Servers in both clusters for endpoints.

Service workloads communicate directly (pod-to-pod) across cluster boundaries.

Configure cluster1 as a primary

Create the Istio configuration for cluster1:

$ cat <<EOF > cluster1.yaml
apiVersion: install.istio.io/v1alpha1
kind: IstioOperator
spec:
  values:
    global:
      meshID: mesh1
      multiCluster:
        clusterName: cluster1
      network: network1
EOF

Apply the configuration to cluster1:

$ istioctl install --context="${CTX_CLUSTER1}" -f cluster1.yaml

Configure cluster2 as a primary

Create the Istio configuration for cluster2:

$ cat <<EOF > cluster2.yaml
apiVersion: install.istio.io/v1alpha1
kind: IstioOperator
spec:
  values:
    global:
      meshID: mesh1
      multiCluster:
        clusterName: cluster2
      network: network1
EOF

Apply the configuration to cluster2:

$ istioctl install --context="${CTX_CLUSTER2}" -f cluster2.yaml

Enable Endpoint Discovery

Install a remote secret in cluster2 that provides access to cluster1’s API server.

$ istioctl x create-remote-secret \
    --context="${CTX_CLUSTER1}" \
    --name=cluster1 | \
    kubectl apply -f - --context="${CTX_CLUSTER2}"

Install a remote secret in cluster1 that provides access to cluster2’s API server.

$ istioctl x create-remote-secret \
    --context="${CTX_CLUSTER2}" \
    --name=cluster2 | \
    kubectl apply -f - --context="${CTX_CLUSTER1}"

Congratulations! You successfully installed an Istio mesh across multiple primary clusters!

Next Steps

You can now verify the installation⁷.