tigera-operator

Infra

Updated 4 days ago

Tigera-Operator Overview

Secure your stack with a hardened Tigera-Operator image freshly-built by Minimus. Minimus images always include the most up-to-date package version for all packages and dependencies contained in the image.

Tigera Operator is the Kubernetes operator for Calico, managing the full lifecycle of Calico networking and network policy, including installation, upgrades, and configuration through Kubernetes custom resources. The operator handles self-healing, seamless upgrades, and centralized network configuration for the cluster.

Try It Out

Prerequisites

A running Kubernetes cluster (v1.21 or higher is recommended)
Helm v3.8 or higher for OCI support (Installation instructions)
kubectl installed and configured

Step 1: Start Cluster

If you have a cluster to work with, skip this step. Otherwise, start a Minikube cluster. Deployment instructions

Step 2: Add Repository to your Local Client

Add the Helm chart to your local Helm client.

helm repo add tigera https://docs.tigera.io/calico/charts
helm repo update

Step 3: Deploy via Helm Chart

Deploy the Tigera Operator using the Minimus image:

helm install tigera-operator tigera/tigera-operator \
    --namespace tigera-operator \
    --create-namespace \
    --set tigeraOperator.registry=reg.mini.dev \
    --set tigeraOperator.image=tigera-operator \
    --set tigeraOperator.version=latest

Confirm the operator Pod is running:

kubectl -n tigera-operator get pods

Step 4: Install Calico

Once the operator is running, create an Installation custom resource to deploy Calico:

cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
apiVersion: operator.tigera.io/v1
kind: Installation
metadata:
  name: default
spec:
  calicoNetwork:
    ipPools:
      - blockSize: 26
        cidr: 192.168.0.0/16
        encapsulation: VXLANCrossSubnet
        natOutgoing: Enabled
        nodeSelector: all()
EOF

Wait for all Calico Pods to come up:

kubectl get pods -n calico-system

Step 5: Clean Up

kubectl delete installation default
helm uninstall tigera-operator -n tigera-operator

Technical Considerations

The Tigera-Operator image provided by Minimus is a slim, security-hardened alternative to the public image. The images are largely interchangeable, with a few differences as noted below.

Tigera-Operator built by Minimus:

Runs as non-root by default as user 10001.
Drill down on the version specification tab to see the default user, listening ports, entrypoint, volumes, environment variables, etc.

The Payoff

A hardened, minimal image that will remain more secure for the long run and accrue vulnerabilities at a slower rate.

See the risk reduction dashboard for a detailed CVE comparison over the past 30 days.
Review the compliance report to see the default hardening and security configurations for the image.

Terms & Info

Trademark

This catalog is published by Minimus. All product names, logos, and marks, other than those belonging to Minimus, shown are owned by their respective rights holders and appear here only to identify the open source software each image contains. Minimus claims no ownership of those marks and implies no affiliation with, endorsement by, certification by, or sponsorship by any rights holder.

Disclaimer

Images are provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind. "Hardened" refers to the security configuration applied at the time of build and does not constitute a guarantee of ongoing security or absence of vulnerabilities. The free tier is provided without support, SLA, or guaranteed patching timelines. Security updates may be applied to paid subscriptions before or instead of free tier images. By pulling or using any image you agree to our Terms of Use.