Instana kubectl plug-in

The Instana kubectl plug-in is a binary file. You can use the plug-in to install the operator and trigger administrative actions that the operator performs.

Installing the Instana kubectl plug-in
- Automatic installation
  - Ubuntu or Debian
  - Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS
- Manual installation
Getting help on the kubectl plug-in

Installing the Instana kubectl plug-in

You can install the plug-in either automatically or manually.

For Linux® on Power® (ppc64le) systems, you must manually install the plug-in.

Automatic installation

Use the automatic installation method only if you want to install the Instana kubectl plug-in on Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and CentOS operating systems.

Ubuntu or Debian

As a root user, run the following command to add the repository:

export DOWNLOAD_KEY="<download_key>"

echo 'deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/instana-archive-keyring.gpg] https://artifact-public.instana.io/artifactory/rel-debian-public-virtual generic main' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/instana-product.list

cat << EOF > /etc/apt/auth.conf
machine artifact-public.instana.io
  login _
  password $DOWNLOAD_KEY
EOF

wget -nv -O- --user=_ --password="$DOWNLOAD_KEY" https://artifact-public.instana.io/artifactory/api/security/keypair/public/repositories/rel-debian-public-virtual | gpg --dearmor > /usr/share/keyrings/instana-archive-keyring.gpg

You need to replace <download_key> with your download key.

To install the Instana kubectl plug-in, run the following command:

apt update -y
apt install -y instana-kubectl-plugin

To avoid getting major updates during automated upgrades, run the following commands:

cat > /etc/apt/preferences.d/instana-kubectl <<EOF
Package: instana-kubectl-plugin
Pin: version <version to pin>
Pin-Priority: 1000
EOF

Change <version to pin> to the Instana kubectl plug-in version that you want to pin.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux or CentOS

Add the repository by running the following command as the root user. Replace <download_key> with your download key.

export DOWNLOAD_KEY="<download_key>"

cat << EOF > /etc/yum.repos.d/Instana-Product.repo
[instana-product]
name=Instana-Product
baseurl=https://_:$DOWNLOAD_KEY@artifact-public.instana.io/artifactory/rel-rpm-public-virtual/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=https://_:$DOWNLOAD_KEY@artifact-public.instana.io/artifactory/api/security/keypair/public/repositories/rel-rpm-public-virtual
repo_gpgcheck=1
EOF

Install the Instana kubectl plug-in by running the following command:

yum clean expire-cache -y
yum update -y
yum install -y instana-kubectl-plugin

If the versionlock plug-in is not installed on your host, run the following command to install the plug-in.
```
yum install python3-dnf-plugin-versionlock
```
To avoid automated updates, run the following command:
```
yum versionlock add instana-kubectl-plugin
```

Manual installation

If you want to install the Instana kubectl plug-in manually, follow these steps:

Install kubectl. For more information, see Install kubectl.
Download the Instana kubectl plug-in by clicking one of the following links based on your operating system:

Download the Instana kubectl plug-in by clicking one of the following links based on your operating system:

All binary files are signed by using the following GPG key:

Extract the tar.gz file that you downloaded in the previous step. You see a file that is named instana-kubectl-plugin. Add the file path to your system's PATH environment variable so that kubectl can recognize the file as a plug-in. Make sure to not change the binary name.

kubectl automatically discovers binary files that are prefixed with kubectl- as plug-ins on the system's PATH environment variable.
- For Windows, add the path of the instana-kubectl-plugin.exe file to the system's PATH environment variable directly.
- For Linux and MacOS, add the instana-kubectl-plugin binary file path to the system's PATH environment variable by running the following command:
```
export PATH=$PATH:<path_to_binary_directory>
```

Check whether the instana-kubectl-plugin plug-in is available:

kubectl-instana --version

You can see the output similar to the following output:

kubectl-instana version 1.1.0 (commit=e3612adee7147dbf11d3a28384887a68f3daca93, date=2024-09-17T13:34:19Z, defaultInstanaVersion=3.281.409-0)


Minimum required database versions:

kafka               :   Major: 3        min. Minor: 2
elasticsearch       :   Major: 7        min. Minor: 16
cassandra           :   Major: 4        min. Minor: 0
clickhouse          :   Major: 23.8     min. Minor: 8
beeinstana          :   Major: 1        min. Minor: 160
postgres            :   Major: 15       min. Minor: 0

Getting help on the kubectl plug-in

The help information is integrated into the plug-in and can be displayed for any command by using the --help flag. See the following default help output of the Instana kubectl plug-in:

kubectl-instana --help
Commands for managing Instana

Usage:
  kubectl-instana [command]

Available Commands:
  action      Run a utility action on a Core or a Unit
  completion  Generate the autocompletion script for the specified shell
  help        Help about any command
  images      Print a list of all required images
  license     Download the license
  migrate     Migrate a 'settings.hcl' file
  operator    Install the operator or generate manifests
  template    Create YAML templates for namespaces and custom resources
  versions    Manage the Instana backend version, sub-commands: `identify`, `list-images`, `update`

Flags:
  -h, --help      help for kubectl-instana
  -v, --version   version for kubectl-instana

Use "kubectl-instana [command] --help" for more information about a command.

The Instana kubectl plug-in is versioned together with the Instana Enterprise operator and all Instana components. To install Instana, download the plug-in that is compatible with your Instana Enterprise operator version.