Install the Network Observability Operator

Install the Network Observability Operator and use the setup wizard to create the FlowCollector custom resource definition (CRD) to complete the initial configuration.

You can set specifications in the web console when you create the FlowCollector.

Important

The actual memory consumption of the Operator depends on your cluster size and the number of resources deployed. Memory consumption might need to be adjusted accordingly. For more information refer to "Network Observability controller manager pod runs out of memory" in the "Important Flow Collector configuration considerations" section.

Prerequisites
  • If you choose to use Loki, install the Loki Operator version 5.7+.

  • You must have cluster-admin privileges.

  • One of the following supported architectures is required: amd64, ppc64le, arm64, or s390x.

  • Any CPU supported by Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.

  • Must be configured with OVN-Kubernetes as the main network plugin, and optionally using secondary interfaces with Multus and SR-IOV.

Note

Additionally, this installation example uses the netobserv namespace, which is used across all components. You can optionally use a different namespace.

Procedure
  1. In the OpenShift Container Platform web console, click EcosystemSoftware Catalog.

  2. Choose Network Observability Operator from the list of available Operators in the software catalog, and click Install.

  3. Select the checkbox Enable Operator recommended cluster monitoring on this Namespace.

  4. Navigate to OperatorsInstalled Operators. Under Provided APIs for Network Observability, select the Flow Collector link.

  5. Follow the Network Observability FlowCollector setup wizard.

  6. Click Create.

Verification

To confirm this was successful, when you navigate to Observe you should see Network Traffic listed in the options.

In the absence of Application Traffic within the OpenShift Container Platform cluster, default filters might show that there are "No results", which results in no visual flow. Beside the filter selections, select Clear all filters to see the flow.