Configuration Reference

This document describes the configuration for the Cisco Virtual Kubelet Provider.

Supported Devices

Currently supported: - Cisco Catalyst 8000V (cat8kv) virtual routers running IOS-XE 17.15.4c - Cisco Catalyst 9000 (cat9k) virtual routers running IOS-XE 17.18.2

NOTE: Other versions that support Cisco App Hosting may work but have not been validated

Device Prerequisites

The following IOS-XE configuration is required on the Catalyst 8000V:

! Enable IOx container platform
iox

! Enable RESTCONF API
restconf

! Disable app-hosting verification (required for unsigned containers)
app-hosting verification disable
no app-hosting signed-verification

VirtualPortGroup and DHCP Configuration

Configure a VirtualPortGroup interface to serve as the gateway for container networking, along with a DHCP pool:

! Configure VirtualPortGroup0 as the gateway for containers
interface VirtualPortGroup0
 ip address 192.168.1.254 255.255.255.0
 ip nat inside
!
! Configure DHCP pool for app-hosting containers
ip dhcp pool app-hosting
 network 192.168.1.0 255.255.255.0
 default-router 192.168.1.254
 dns-server 192.168.8.8

The VirtualPortGroup IP address (192.168.1.254) becomes the default gateway for containers that receive DHCP addresses from this pool.

Configuration File

The configuration file describes the device only. Runtime settings (node name, node IP, log level, etc.) are supplied via CLI flags or environment variables.

Default location: /etc/virtual-kubelet/config.yaml

Minimal Configuration Example

device:
  driver: XE
  address: "192.168.1.100"
  port: 443
  username: admin
  password: cisco123
  tls:
    enabled: true
    insecureSkipVerify: true
  xe:
    networking:
      interface:
        type: VirtualPortGroup
        virtualPortGroup:
          dhcp: true
          interface: "0"
          guestInterface: 0

CLI Flags & Environment Variables

Runtime settings are not in the config file. They are passed as flags or env vars:

Flag	Env Var	Default	Description
--nodename	VKUBELET_NODE_NAME	cisco-vk-<device-address>	Kubernetes node name
--config / -c	-	/etc/virtual-kubelet/config.yaml	Path to device config file
--kubeconfig	KUBECONFIG	(in-cluster)	Path to kubeconfig file
--log-level	LOG_LEVEL	info	Log level: debug, info, warn, error

Precedence: flag → environment variable → default.

Configuration Fields

Device Section

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
driver	string	Yes	-	Driver type: XE, XR, NXOS, FAKE
address	string	Yes	-	Device management IP address
port	int	No	443 (TLS) / 80	RESTCONF API port
username	string	Yes	-	Device username
password	string	Yes	-	Device password
podCIDR	string	No	-	CIDR for static IP allocation

TLS Section (device.tls)

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
enabled	bool	No	false	Enable HTTPS
insecureSkipVerify	bool	No	false	Skip certificate verification

IOS-XE Networking Section (device.xe.networking)

Driver-specific networking lives under the driver key.

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
interface.type	string	Yes	-	VirtualPortGroup, AppGigabitEthernet, or Management

VirtualPortGroup (device.xe.networking.interface.virtualPortGroup)

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
dhcp	bool	No	false	Use DHCP for container IPs
interface	string	No	"0"	VirtualPortGroup interface number
guestInterface	int	No	0	Guest interface number

AppGigabitEthernet (device.xe.networking.interface.appGigabitEthernet)

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
mode	string	Yes	-	access or trunk
dhcp	bool	No	false	DHCP (access mode only)
guestInterface	int	No	0	Guest interface (access mode only)
vlanIf.vlan	int	No	-	VLAN ID (trunk mode only)
vlanIf.dhcp	bool	No	false	DHCP (trunk mode only)
vlanIf.guestInterface	int	No	0	Guest interface (trunk mode only)

Management (device.xe.networking.interface.management)

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
dhcp	bool	No	false	Use DHCP for container IPs
guestInterface	int	No	0	Guest interface number

Example Pod Manifest

Deploy a container to the cat8kv node:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: dhcp-test-pod
  namespace: default
spec:
  nodeName: cat8kv-node
  containers:
  - name: test-app
    image: flash:/hello-app.iosxe.tar
    resources:
      requests:
        memory: "64Mi"
        cpu: "250m"
      limits:
        memory: "128Mi"
        cpu: "500m"

NOTE: Currently the container image must be pre-loaded onto the device flash storage.

Verifying Device Configuration

Test RESTCONF connectivity:

curl -k -u admin:cisco \
  https://192.0.2.24/restconf/data/Cisco-IOS-XE-native:native/hostname

Verify IOx is running:

cat8kv# show iox-service

Check app-hosting status:

cat8kv# show app-hosting list