Shared control plane (multi-network)
Follow this guide to configure a multicluster mesh using a shared control plane with gateways to connect network-isolated clusters. Istio’s location-aware service routing feature is used to route requests to different endpoints, depending on the location of the request source.
By following the instructions in this guide, you will setup a two-cluster mesh as shown in the following diagram:
The primary cluster, cluster1
, runs the full set of Istio control plane components while cluster2
only
runs Istio Citadel, Sidecar Injector, and Ingress gateway.
No VPN connectivity nor direct network access between workloads in different clusters is required.
Prerequisites
Two or more Kubernetes clusters with versions: 1.14, 1.15, 1.16.
Authority to deploy the Istio control plane
Two Kubernetes clusters (referred to as
cluster1
andcluster2
).
You can use the
kubectl
command to access both thecluster1
andcluster2
clusters with the--context
flag, for examplekubectl get pods --context cluster1
. Use the following command to list your contexts:$ kubectl config get-contexts CURRENT NAME CLUSTER AUTHINFO NAMESPACE * cluster1 cluster1 user@foo.com default cluster2 cluster2 user@foo.com default
Store the context names of your clusters in environment variables:
$ export CTX_CLUSTER1=$(kubectl config view -o jsonpath='{.contexts[0].name}') $ export CTX_CLUSTER2=$(kubectl config view -o jsonpath='{.contexts[1].name}') $ echo CTX_CLUSTER1 = ${CTX_CLUSTER1}, CTX_CLUSTER2 = ${CTX_CLUSTER2} CTX_CLUSTER1 = cluster1, CTX_CLUSTER2 = cluster2
Setup the multicluster mesh
In this configuration you install Istio with mutual TLS enabled for both the control plane and application pods.
For the shared root CA, you create a cacerts
secret on both cluster1
and cluster2
clusters using the same Istio
certificate from the Istio samples directory.
The instructions, below, also set up cluster2
with a selector-less service and an endpoint for istio-pilot.istio-system
that has the address of cluster1
Istio ingress gateway.
This will be used to access pilot on cluster1
securely using the ingress gateway without mutual TLS termination.
Setup cluster 1 (primary)
Deploy Istio to
cluster1
:$ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 ns istio-system $ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 secret generic cacerts -n istio-system --from-file=samples/certs/ca-cert.pem --from-file=samples/certs/ca-key.pem --from-file=samples/certs/root-cert.pem --from-file=samples/certs/cert-chain.pem $ istioctl manifest apply --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 \ -f install/kubernetes/operator/examples/multicluster/values-istio-multicluster-primary.yaml
Wait for the Istio pods on
cluster1
to become ready:$ kubectl get pods --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -n istio-system NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE istio-citadel-55d8b59798-6hnx4 1/1 Running 0 83s istio-galley-c74b77787-lrtr5 2/2 Running 0 82s istio-ingressgateway-684f5df677-shzhm 1/1 Running 0 83s istio-pilot-5495bc8885-2rgmf 2/2 Running 0 82s istio-policy-69cdf5db4c-x4sct 2/2 Running 2 83s istio-sidecar-injector-5749cf7cfc-pgd95 1/1 Running 0 82s istio-telemetry-646db5ddbd-gvp6l 2/2 Running 1 83s prometheus-685585888b-4tvf7 1/1 Running 0 83s
Create an ingress gateway to access service(s) in
cluster2
:$ kubectl apply --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -f - <<EOF apiVersion: networking.istio.io/v1alpha3 kind: Gateway metadata: name: cluster-aware-gateway namespace: istio-system spec: selector: istio: ingressgateway servers: - port: number: 443 name: tls protocol: TLS tls: mode: AUTO_PASSTHROUGH hosts: - "*.local" EOF
This
Gateway
configures 443 port to pass incoming traffic through to the target service specified in a request’s SNI header, for SNI values of the local top-level domain (i.e., the Kubernetes DNS domain). Mutual TLS connections will be used all the way from the source to the destination sidecar.Although applied to
cluster1
, this Gateway instance will also affectcluster2
because both clusters communicate with the same Pilot.Determine the ingress IP and port for
cluster1
.Set the current context of
kubectl
toCTX_CLUSTER1
$ export ORIGINAL_CONTEXT=$(kubectl config current-context) $ kubectl config use-context $CTX_CLUSTER1
Follow the instructions in Determining the ingress IP and ports, to set the
INGRESS_HOST
andSECURE_INGRESS_PORT
environment variables.Restore the previous
kubectl
context:$ kubectl config use-context $ORIGINAL_CONTEXT $ unset ORIGINAL_CONTEXT
Print the values of
INGRESS_HOST
andSECURE_INGRESS_PORT
:$ echo The ingress gateway of cluster1: address=$INGRESS_HOST, port=$SECURE_INGRESS_PORT
Update the gateway address in the mesh network configuration. Edit the
istio ConfigMap
:$ kubectl edit cm -n istio-system --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 istio
Update the gateway’s address and port of
network1
to reflect thecluster1
ingress host and port, respectively, then save and quit. Note that the address appears in two places, the second undervalues.yaml:
.Once saved, Pilot will automatically read the updated network configuration.
Setup cluster 2
Export the
cluster1
gateway address:$ export LOCAL_GW_ADDR=$(kubectl get --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 svc --selector=app=istio-ingressgateway \ -n istio-system -o jsonpath='{.items[0].status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}') && echo ${LOCAL_GW_ADDR}
This command sets the value to the gateway’s public IP and displays it.
Deploy Istio to
cluster2
:$ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 ns istio-system $ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 secret generic cacerts -n istio-system --from-file=samples/certs/ca-cert.pem --from-file=samples/certs/ca-key.pem --from-file=samples/certs/root-cert.pem --from-file=samples/certs/cert-chain.pem $ istioctl manifest apply --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 \ --set profile=remote \ --set values.global.mtls.enabled=true \ --set values.gateways.enabled=true \ --set values.security.selfSigned=false \ --set values.global.createRemoteSvcEndpoints=true \ --set values.global.remotePilotCreateSvcEndpoint=true \ --set values.global.remotePilotAddress=${LOCAL_GW_ADDR} \ --set values.global.remotePolicyAddress=${LOCAL_GW_ADDR} \ --set values.global.remoteTelemetryAddress=${LOCAL_GW_ADDR} \ --set values.gateways.istio-ingressgateway.env.ISTIO_META_NETWORK="network2" \ --set values.global.network="network2" \ --set autoInjection.enabled=true
Wait for the Istio pods on
cluster2
, except foristio-ingressgateway
, to become ready:$ kubectl get pods --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -n istio-system -l istio!=ingressgateway NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE istio-citadel-55d8b59798-nlk2z 1/1 Running 0 26s istio-sidecar-injector-5749cf7cfc-s6r7p 1/1 Running 0 25s
Determine the ingress IP and port for
cluster2
.Set the current context of
kubectl
toCTX_CLUSTER2
$ export ORIGINAL_CONTEXT=$(kubectl config current-context) $ kubectl config use-context $CTX_CLUSTER2
Follow the instructions in Determining the ingress IP and ports, to set the
INGRESS_HOST
andSECURE_INGRESS_PORT
environment variables.Restore the previous
kubectl
context:$ kubectl config use-context $ORIGINAL_CONTEXT $ unset ORIGINAL_CONTEXT
Print the values of
INGRESS_HOST
andSECURE_INGRESS_PORT
:$ echo The ingress gateway of cluster2: address=$INGRESS_HOST, port=$SECURE_INGRESS_PORT
Update the gateway address in the mesh network configuration. Edit the
istio ConfigMap
:$ kubectl edit cm -n istio-system --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 istio
Update the gateway’s address and port of
network2
to reflect thecluster2
ingress host and port, respectively, then save and quit. Note that the address appears in two places, the second undervalues.yaml:
.Once saved, Pilot will automatically read the updated network configuration.
Prepare environment variables for building the
n2-k8s-config
file for the service accountistio-reader-service-account
:$ CLUSTER_NAME=$(kubectl --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 config view --minify=true -o jsonpath='{.clusters[].name}') $ SERVER=$(kubectl --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 config view --minify=true -o jsonpath='{.clusters[].cluster.server}') $ SECRET_NAME=$(kubectl --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 get sa istio-reader-service-account -n istio-system -o jsonpath='{.secrets[].name}') $ CA_DATA=$(kubectl get --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 secret ${SECRET_NAME} -n istio-system -o jsonpath="{.data['ca\.crt']}") $ TOKEN=$(kubectl get --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 secret ${SECRET_NAME} -n istio-system -o jsonpath="{.data['token']}" | base64 --decode)
Create the
n2-k8s-config
file in the working directory:$ cat <<EOF > n2-k8s-config apiVersion: v1 kind: Config clusters: - cluster: certificate-authority-data: ${CA_DATA} server: ${SERVER} name: ${CLUSTER_NAME} contexts: - context: cluster: ${CLUSTER_NAME} user: ${CLUSTER_NAME} name: ${CLUSTER_NAME} current-context: ${CLUSTER_NAME} users: - name: ${CLUSTER_NAME} user: token: ${TOKEN} EOF
Start watching cluster 2
Execute the following commands to add and label the secret of the
cluster2
Kubernetes. After executing these commands Istio Pilot oncluster1
will begin watchingcluster2
for services and instances, just as it does forcluster1
.$ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 secret generic n2-k8s-secret --from-file n2-k8s-config -n istio-system $ kubectl label --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 secret n2-k8s-secret istio/multiCluster=true -n istio-system
Wait for
istio-ingressgateway
to become ready:$ kubectl get pods --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -n istio-system -l istio=ingressgateway NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE istio-ingressgateway-5c667f4f84-bscff 1/1 Running 0 16m
Now that you have your cluster1
and cluster2
clusters set up, you can deploy an example service.
Deploy example service
As shown in the diagram, above, deploy two instances of the helloworld
service,
one on cluster1
and one on cluster2
.
The difference between the two instances is the version of their helloworld
image.
Deploy helloworld v2 in cluster 2
Create a
sample
namespace with a sidecar auto-injection label:$ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 ns sample $ kubectl label --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 namespace sample istio-injection=enabled
Deploy
helloworld v2
:$ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -f @samples/helloworld/helloworld.yaml@ -l app=helloworld -n sample $ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -f @samples/helloworld/helloworld.yaml@ -l version=v2 -n sample
Confirm
helloworld v2
is running:$ kubectl get po --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -n sample NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE helloworld-v2-7dd57c44c4-f56gq 2/2 Running 0 35s
Deploy helloworld v1 in cluster 1
Create a
sample
namespace with a sidecar auto-injection label:$ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 ns sample $ kubectl label --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 namespace sample istio-injection=enabled
Deploy
helloworld v1
:$ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -f @samples/helloworld/helloworld.yaml@ -l app=helloworld -n sample $ kubectl create --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -f @samples/helloworld/helloworld.yaml@ -l version=v1 -n sample
Confirm
helloworld v1
is running:$ kubectl get po --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -n sample NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE helloworld-v1-d4557d97b-pv2hr 2/2 Running 0 40s
Cross-cluster routing in action
To demonstrate how traffic to the helloworld
service is distributed across the two clusters,
call the helloworld
service from another in-mesh sleep
service.
Deploy the
sleep
service in both clusters:$ kubectl apply --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -f @samples/sleep/sleep.yaml@ -n sample $ kubectl apply --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -f @samples/sleep/sleep.yaml@ -n sample
Wait for the
sleep
service to start in each cluster:$ kubectl get po --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -n sample -l app=sleep sleep-754684654f-n6bzf 2/2 Running 0 5s
$ kubectl get po --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -n sample -l app=sleep sleep-754684654f-dzl9j 2/2 Running 0 5s
Call the
helloworld.sample
service several times fromcluster1
:$ kubectl exec --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -it -n sample -c sleep $(kubectl get pod --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -n sample -l app=sleep -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}') -- curl helloworld.sample:5000/hello
Call the
helloworld.sample
service several times fromcluster2
:$ kubectl exec --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -it -n sample -c sleep $(kubectl get pod --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -n sample -l app=sleep -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}') -- curl helloworld.sample:5000/hello
If set up correctly, the traffic to the helloworld.sample
service will be distributed between instances on cluster1
and cluster2
resulting in responses with either v1
or v2
in the body:
Hello version: v2, instance: helloworld-v2-758dd55874-6x4t8
Hello version: v1, instance: helloworld-v1-86f77cd7bd-cpxhv
You can also verify the IP addresses used to access the endpoints by printing the log of the sleep’s istio-proxy
container.
$ kubectl logs --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -n sample $(kubectl get pod --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 -n sample -l app=sleep -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}') istio-proxy
[2018-11-25T12:37:52.077Z] "GET /hello HTTP/1.1" 200 - 0 60 190 189 "-" "curl/7.60.0" "6e096efe-f550-4dfa-8c8c-ba164baf4679" "helloworld.sample:5000" "192.23.120.32:15443" outbound|5000||helloworld.sample.svc.cluster.local - 10.20.194.146:5000 10.10.0.89:59496 -
[2018-11-25T12:38:06.745Z] "GET /hello HTTP/1.1" 200 - 0 60 171 170 "-" "curl/7.60.0" "6f93c9cc-d32a-4878-b56a-086a740045d2" "helloworld.sample:5000" "10.10.0.90:5000" outbound|5000||helloworld.sample.svc.cluster.local - 10.20.194.146:5000 10.10.0.89:59646 -
In cluster1
, the gateway IP of cluster2
(192.23.120.32:15443
) is logged when v2 was called and the instance IP in cluster1
(10.10.0.90:5000
) is logged when v1 was called.
$ kubectl logs --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -n sample $(kubectl get pod --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 -n sample -l app=sleep -o jsonpath='{.items[0].metadata.name}') istio-proxy
[2019-05-25T08:06:11.468Z] "GET /hello HTTP/1.1" 200 - "-" 0 60 177 176 "-" "curl/7.60.0" "58cfb92b-b217-4602-af67-7de8f63543d8" "helloworld.sample:5000" "192.168.1.246:15443" outbound|5000||helloworld.sample.svc.cluster.local - 10.107.117.235:5000 10.32.0.10:36840 -
[2019-05-25T08:06:12.834Z] "GET /hello HTTP/1.1" 200 - "-" 0 60 181 180 "-" "curl/7.60.0" "ce480b56-fafd-468b-9996-9fea5257cb1e" "helloworld.sample:5000" "10.32.0.9:5000" outbound|5000||helloworld.sample.svc.cluster.local - 10.107.117.235:5000 10.32.0.10:36886 -
In cluster2
, the gateway IP of cluster1
(192.168.1.246:15443
) is logged when v1 was called and the gateway IP in cluster2
(10.32.0.9:5000
) is logged when v2 was called.
Cleanup
Execute the following commands to clean up the example services and the Istio components.
Cleanup the cluster2
cluster:
$ istioctl manifest generate --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 \
--set profile=remote \
--set values.global.mtls.enabled=true \
--set values.gateways.enabled=true \
--set values.security.selfSigned=false \
--set values.global.createRemoteSvcEndpoints=true \
--set values.global.remotePilotCreateSvcEndpoint=true \
--set values.global.remotePilotAddress=${LOCAL_GW_ADDR} \
--set values.global.remotePolicyAddress=${LOCAL_GW_ADDR} \
--set values.global.remoteTelemetryAddress=${LOCAL_GW_ADDR} \
--set values.gateways.istio-ingressgateway.env.ISTIO_META_NETWORK="network2" \
--set values.global.network="network2" \
--set autoInjection.enabled=true | kubectl --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 delete -f -
$ kubectl delete --context=$CTX_CLUSTER2 ns sample
$ unset CTX_CLUSTER2 CLUSTER_NAME SERVER SECRET_NAME CA_DATA TOKEN INGRESS_HOST SECURE_INGRESS_PORT INGRESS_PORT LOCAL_GW_ADDR
Cleanup the cluster1
cluster:
$ istioctl manifest generate --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 \
-f install/kubernetes/operator/examples/multicluster/values-istio-multicluster-primary.yaml | kubectl --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 delete -f -
$ kubectl delete --context=$CTX_CLUSTER1 ns sample
$ unset CTX_CLUSTER1
$ rm n2-k8s-config