> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Demo Istio Installation > Learn to install and verify Istio 1.9.0 on Kubernetes with demo profile and explore observability add-ons like Kiali, Prometheus, Grafana, and Jaeger. Learn how to download, install, and verify Istio 1.9.0 on a Kubernetes cluster using the demo profile. You’ll also explore built-in add-ons like Kiali, Prometheus, Grafana, and Jaeger for full observability. ## Prerequisites * A running Kubernetes cluster (version compatible with Istio 1.9.0) * `kubectl` configured to interact with your cluster ## Step 1: Download and Install Istio ### 1.1 Download Istio 1.9.0 Fetch the installer script and extract the release: ```bash theme={null} curl -Ls https://istio.io/downloadIstio | ISTIO_VERSION=1.9.0 sh - cd istio-1.9.0 export PATH=$PWD/bin:$PATH ``` ### 1.2 Install the Demo Profile The **demo** profile is preconfigured with observability add-ons for testing and learning. It is **not** recommended for production environments. Install Istio’s control plane and sample add-ons: ```bash theme={null} istioctl install --set profile=demo -y kubectl apply -f samples/addons ``` ### 1.3 Verify Installation Output After installation, you should see messages similar to: ```plaintext theme={null} namespace "istio-system" created configmap "istio-sidecar-injector" created customresourcedefinition "virtualservices.networking.istio.io" configured customresourcedefinition "destinationrules.networking.istio.io" configured deployment "grafana" created deployment "kiali" created service "grafana" created service "kiali" created ``` ## Step 2: Istio Components Overview Once installed, Istio deploys core control-plane components and add-ons. Here’s what you get: | Component | Purpose | | ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------- | | Namespace `istio-system` | Isolates the service mesh control plane | | ConfigMap `istio-sidecar-injector` | Automates Envoy sidecar injection | | CRDs (`VirtualService`, `DestinationRule`) | Define traffic management policies | | Control Plane (`istiod`, gateways) | Manages configuration and proxies | | Jaeger | Distributed tracing | | Prometheus | Metrics collection and alerting | | Grafana | Visualize time-series data | | Kiali | Service mesh observability and topology maps | ![The image showcases four tools: Jaeger, Grafana, Prometheus, and Kiali, each used for monitoring and visualizing microservices and infrastructure data. It includes brief descriptions and screenshots of their interfaces.](https://kodekloud.com/kk-media/image/upload/v1752873751/notes-assets/images/DevSecOps-Kubernetes-DevOps-Security-Demo-Istio-Installation/jaeger-grafana-prometheus-kiali-tools.jpg) ## Step 3: Verify the Control Plane and Add-ons ### 3.1 List All Istio Resources Run: ```bash theme={null} kubectl -n istio-system get all ``` Expected output: ```plaintext theme={null} NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE pod/istiod-xxxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 1m pod/istio-ingressgateway-xxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 1m pod/istio-egressgateway-xxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 1m pod/prometheus-xxxxx-xxxxx 1/2 Running 0 1m pod/grafana-xxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 1m pod/jaeger-xxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 1m pod/kiali-xxxxx-xxxxx 1/1 Running 0 1m NAME TYPE CLUSTER-IP EXTERNAL-IP PORT(S) service/istiod ClusterIP 10.0.0.123 15012/TCP,443/TCP service/istio-ingressgateway LoadBalancer 10.0.0.124 80:31500/TCP,443:31501/TCP service/prometheus ClusterIP 10.0.0.125 9090/TCP service/grafana ClusterIP 10.0.0.126 3000/TCP service/jaeger-collector ClusterIP 10.0.0.127 14250/TCP,14268/TCP service/kiali ClusterIP 10.0.0.128 20001/TCP ``` ## Step 4: Enable Automatic Sidecar Injection Label your application namespace to inject Envoy sidecars automatically: ```bash theme={null} kubectl label namespace default istio-injection=enabled ``` Enabling sidecar injection will add an Envoy proxy to every pod in the `default` namespace. Ensure your workloads are compatible. ## Step 5: Access the Kiali Dashboard By default, Kiali’s service is `ClusterIP`. To expose it on a NodePort: ### 5.1 Change Service Type ```bash theme={null} kubectl edit service kiali -n istio-system ``` In the editor, update: ```yaml theme={null} spec: type: NodePort ``` Save and exit. ### 5.2 Retrieve and Use the NodePort ```bash theme={null} kubectl get service kiali -n istio-system ``` Sample output: ```plaintext theme={null} NAME TYPE CLUSTER-IP EXTERNAL-IP PORT(S) AGE kiali NodePort 10.0.0.128 20001:32001/TCP,9090:32002/TCP 2m ``` Point your browser to: ```text theme={null} http://:32001 ``` to open the Kiali UI. ![The image shows a Kiali dashboard interface displaying an overview of namespaces, including "default" and "istio-system," with details about applications and traffic. The browser tabs and taskbar are visible, indicating a Windows operating system.](https://kodekloud.com/kk-media/image/upload/v1752873752/notes-assets/images/DevSecOps-Kubernetes-DevOps-Security-Demo-Istio-Installation/kiali-dashboard-namespaces-overview-windows.jpg) *** ## Links and References * [Istio Documentation](https://istio.io/latest/docs/) * [Kubernetes Basics](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/what-is-kubernetes/) * [Kiali Project](https://kiali.io/) * [Prometheus Documentation](https://prometheus.io/docs/introduction/overview/) * [Grafana Documentation](https://grafana.com/docs/) * [Jaeger Documentation](https://www.jaegertracing.io/docs/)