> ## 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.

# Installing Istio Introduction

> This article explores how to install Istio on a Kubernetes cluster using different methods, focusing on the Istioctl command-line utility.

In this article, we will explore how to install Istio on your Kubernetes cluster. There are three primary approaches:

1. Using the Istioctl command-line utility.
2. Deploying via an Istio operator.
3. Installing with a Helm package.

For this guide, we will install Istio using Istioctl.

## Installing Istio with Istioctl

To deploy Istio using Istioctl, execute the following command using the demo profile:

```bash theme={null}
$ istioctl install --set profile=demo -y
Detected that your cluster does not support third party JWT authentication. Falling back to less secure first party JWT. See https://istio.io/v1.9/docs/ops/best-practices/security/#configure-third-party-service-account-tokens for details.
∘ Istio core installed
∘ Istiod installed
∘ Ingress gateways installed
∘ Egress gateways installed
Installation complete
```

<Callout icon="lightbulb" color="#1CB2FE">
  This command deploys a control plane component named Istiod in a new namespace (typically the Istio system namespace). In addition to Istiod — which includes key components such as Citadel, Pilot, and Galley — Istioctl deploys the Istio Ingress Gateway and the Istio Egress Gateway. Several Kubernetes service objects are also created to expose these services within your cluster.
</Callout>

Different profiles are available to suit various environments such as production or performance testing. For this demo, the demo profile is used.

## Verifying the Istio Installation

Once the installation completes, verify that Istio has been correctly deployed by running:

```bash theme={null}
$ istioctl verify-install
1 Istio control planes detected, checking --revision "default" only
✔ Deployment: istio-ingressgateway.istio-system checked successfully
✔ PodDisruptionBudget: istio-ingressgateway.istio-system checked successfully
✔ Role: istio-ingressgateway-sds.istio-system checked successfully
✔ RoleBinding: istio-ingressgateway-sds.istio-system checked successfully
✔ Service: istio-ingressgateway.istio-system checked successfully
✔ ServiceAccount: istio-ingressgateway-service-account.istio-system checked successfully
✔ Deployment: istio-egressgateway.istio-system checked successfully
✔ PodDisruptionBudget: istio-egressgateway.istio-system checked successfully
✔ Role: istio-egressgateway-sds.istio-system checked successfully
✔ RoleBinding: istio-egressgateway-sds.istio-system checked successfully
✔ Service: istio-egressgateway.istio-system checked successfully
✔ ServiceAccount: istio-egressgateway-service-account.istio-system checked successfully
✔ ClusterRole: istiod.istio-system checked successfully
✔ EnvoyFilter: tcp-stats-filter-1.9.istio-system checked successfully
Checked 12 custom resource definitions
Checked 3 Istio Deployments
✔ Istio is installed and verified successfully
```

This verification step confirms that Istio extends Kubernetes by adding custom resource definitions (CRDs) and deploying essential components into your cluster.

<Callout icon="lightbulb" color="#1CB2FE">
  Stay tuned for the upcoming demo where we will show Istio in action and demonstrate its capabilities within your cluster.
</Callout>

For further reading on Istio and Kubernetes, check out the following resources:

* [Istio Documentation](https://istio.io/latest/docs/)
* [Kubernetes Basics](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/overview/what-is-kubernetes/)
* [Helm Charts Repository](https://artifacthub.io/)

Happy deploying!

<CardGroup>
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