---
title: Quickstart for Calico on Kubernetes
canonical_url: '/getting-started/kubernetes/'
---


### Overview

This quickstart gets you a single-host Kubernetes cluster with {{site.prodname}}
in approximately 15 minutes. You can use this cluster for testing and
development.

To deploy a cluster suitable for production, refer to [Installation](/{{page.version}}/getting-started/kubernetes/installation/).


### Requirements

- AMD64 processor
- 2CPU
- 2GB RAM
- 10GB free disk space
- RedHat Enterprise Linux 7.x+, CentOS 7.x+, Ubuntu 16.04+, or Debian 9.x+


### Before you begin

- Ensure that {{site.prodname}} can manage `cali` and `tunl` interfaces on the host.
  If NetworkManager is present on the host, refer to
  [Configure NetworkManager](../../usage/troubleshooting/#configure-networkmanager).

- [Follow the Kubernetes instructions to install kubeadm](https://kubernetes.io/docs/setup/independent/install-kubeadm/){:target="_blank"}.

   > **Note**: After installing kubeadm, do not power down or restart
   the host. Instead, continue directly to the
   [next section to create your cluster](#create-a-single-host-kubernetes-cluster).
   {: .alert .alert-info}


### Create a single-host Kubernetes cluster

1. As a regular user with sudo privileges, open a terminal on the host that
   you installed kubeadm on.

1. Initialize the master using the following command.

   ```
   sudo kubeadm init --pod-network-cidr=192.168.0.0/16
   ```

   > **Note**: If 192.168.0.0/16 is already in use within your network you must select a different pod network
   > CIDR, replacing 192.168.0.0/16 in the above command as well as in any manifests applied below.
   {: .alert .alert-info}

1. Execute the following commands to configure kubectl (also returned by
   `kubeadm init`).

   ```
   mkdir -p $HOME/.kube
   sudo cp -i /etc/kubernetes/admin.conf $HOME/.kube/config
   sudo chown $(id -u):$(id -g) $HOME/.kube/config
   ```

1. Install an etcd instance with the following command.

   ```
   kubectl apply -f \
   {{site.url}}/{{page.version}}/getting-started/kubernetes/installation/hosted/etcd.yaml
   ```

   > **Note**: You can also
   > [view the YAML in a new tab]({{site.url}}/{{page.version}}/getting-started/kubernetes/installation/hosted/etcd.yaml){:target="_blank"}.
   {: .alert .alert-info}

   You should see the following output.

   ```
   daemonset.extensions/calico-etcd created
   service/calico-etcd created
   ```
   {: .no-select-button}

1. Install {{site.prodname}} with the following command.

   ```
   kubectl apply -f \
   {{site.url}}/{{page.version}}/getting-started/kubernetes/installation/hosted/calico.yaml
   ```

   > **Note**: You can also
   > [view the YAML in a new tab]({{site.url}}/{{page.version}}/getting-started/kubernetes/installation/hosted/calico.yaml){:target="_blank"}.
   {: .alert .alert-info}

   You should see the following output.

   ```
   configmap/calico-config created
   secret/calico-etcd-secrets created
   daemonset.extensions/calico-node created
   serviceaccount/calico-node created
   deployment.extensions/calico-kube-controllers created
   serviceaccount/calico-kube-controllers created
   clusterrole.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/calico-kube-controllers created
   clusterrolebinding.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/calico-kube-controllers created
   clusterrole.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/calico-node created
   clusterrolebinding.rbac.authorization.k8s.io/calico-node created
   ```
   {: .no-select-button}

1. Confirm that all of the pods are running with the following command.

   ```
   watch kubectl get pods --all-namespaces
   ```

   Wait until each pod has the `STATUS` of `Running`.

   ```
   NAMESPACE    NAME                                       READY  STATUS   RESTARTS  AGE
   kube-system  calico-etcd-x2482                          1/1    Running  0         2m45s
   kube-system  calico-kube-controllers-6ff88bf6d4-tgtzb   1/1    Running  0         2m45s
   kube-system  {{site.noderunning}}-24h85                          2/2    Running  0         2m43s
   kube-system  coredns-846jhw23g9-9af73                   1/1    Running  0         4m5s
   kube-system  coredns-846jhw23g9-hmswk                   1/1    Running  0         4m5s
   kube-system  etcd-jbaker-1                              1/1    Running  0         6m22s
   kube-system  kube-apiserver-jbaker-1                    1/1    Running  0         6m12s
   kube-system  kube-controller-manager-jbaker-1           1/1    Running  0         6m16s
   kube-system  kube-proxy-8fzp2                           1/1    Running  0         5m16s
   kube-system  kube-scheduler-jbaker-1                    1/1    Running  0         5m41s
   ```
   {: .no-select-button}

1. Press CTRL+C to exit `watch`.

1. Remove the taints on the master so that you can schedule pods
   on it.

   ```
   kubectl taint nodes --all node-role.kubernetes.io/master-
   ```

   It should return the following.

   ```
   node/<your-hostname> untainted
   ```
   {: .no-select-button}

1. Confirm that you now have a node in your cluster with the
   following command.

   ```
   kubectl get nodes -o wide
   ```

   It should return something like the following.

   ```
   NAME              STATUS   ROLES    AGE   VERSION   INTERNAL-IP   EXTERNAL-IP   OS-IMAGE             KERNEL-VERSION    CONTAINER-RUNTIME
   <your-hostname>   Ready    master   52m   v1.12.2   10.128.0.28   <none>        Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS   4.15.0-1023-gcp   docker://18.6.1
   ```
   {: .no-select-button}

Congratulations! You now have a single-host Kubernetes cluster
equipped with {{site.prodname}}.


### Next steps

**[Secure a simple application using the Kubernetes `NetworkPolicy` API](tutorials/simple-policy)**

**[Control ingress and egress traffic using the Kubernetes `NetworkPolicy` API](tutorials/advanced-policy)**

**[Create a user interface that shows blocked and allowed connections in real time](tutorials/stars-policy/)**

**[Install and configure calicoctl](/{{page.version}}/usage/calicoctl/install)**
