Installing Istio Service Mesh in Kubernetes Cluster using Istioctl

Introduction

• Previous videos used Helm for Istio installation
• Helm 3 not supported by Istio for installation anymore
• Istioctl method now recommended

Installation Process

Download Istioctl

• Download the Istioctl binary
• Prerequisite: Download Istio release
• Command: sudo mv istioctl /usr/local/bin
• Verify installation: istioctl version

Verify Kubernetes Cluster

• Ensure the cluster is suitable for Istio installation
• Command: istioctl verify-install
• Checks Kubernetes API, version, compatibility, existing Istio, etc.

Installing Istio

Choosing a Profile

• Profiles available: default, demo, minimal, remote, SSO
• Profiles determine which features are enabled
• Demo profile includes all features for learning purposes
• Command: istioctl manifest apply --set profile=demo

Installation Steps

• Install Istio into the istio-system namespace
• Verify installation: kubectl get namespace & kubectl get pods -n istio-system

Accessing Dashboards

• Command: istioctl dashboard [dashboard_name]
• Dashboards available: Kiali, Grafana, Prometheus, Jaeger

Examples

• Kiali: Username/Password: admin/admin
• Grafana
• Prometheus
• Jaeger

Uninstalling Istio

• Use generated manifest to delete all resources
• Command to generate manifest: istioctl manifest generate > /tmp/istio.yaml
• Command to delete resources: kubectl delete -f /tmp/istio.yaml

Summary

• Recommended way of installing Istio
• Use Istioctl for easier and more reliable deployments

Help & Support

• Questions and support available