---
title: "Install xNIC on Kubernetes"
slug: "install-xnic-on-kubernetes"
updated: 2026-02-27T21:23:45Z
published: 2026-02-27T21:35:02Z
canonical: "docs.swxtch.io/install-xnic-on-kubernetes"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.swxtch.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Install xNIC on Kubernetes

> [!NOTE]
> **WHAT TO EXPECT**
> 
> For Kubernetes, the xNIC is a lightweight daemonset that must be installed on every node with pods sending/receiving traffic to/from the cloudSwXtch. This creates a virtual network interface within the node in a Kubernetes Cluster. Applications that use IP multicast should target this virtual network interface. **In this section**, users will learn how to install xNIC on Kubernetes (K8s).

## Supported Types

Below is a list of tested K8s Container Network Interface (CNI) on each managed Kubernetes service. The * denotes default.

- Azure AKS: Cilium CNI* (using Azure CNI Powered by Cilium), both using Type 1 or Type 2 xNIC Daemonset, or Cilium CNI using BYO CNI and Type 1
- AWS EKS: Amazon VPC CNI* and Cilium CNI
- Google GKE: Traditional CNI*, Callico CNI and Dataplane V2 (Cillium)
- Oracle OKE: VCN-Native CNI*, Cilium CNI

The following operating systems in a pod are tested for the xNIC on K8s: **RHEL 8**, **RHEL 9**, **CentOS 8**, **Ubuntu 20.04,** and **Ubuntu 22.04.**

## Installation

The installation process can be split into three steps:

1. Create a Kubernetes Cluster (AKS, EKS, GKE, or OKE) (users can see the the [How to create a Kubernetes cluster on the cloud](/v2/docs/how-to-create-a-kubernetes-cluster-on-the-cloud) page for a quick guide on how to create one)
2. [Install xNIC on K8s Cluster](/v2/docs/install-xnic2-on-aks-cilium-native)
3. [Test xNIC on K8s](/v2/docs/test-xnic-with-k8s)

### **Post-Installation**

In case of a cloudSwXtch upgrade, you can learn how to upgrade your xNIC nodes on K8s in the [Upgrade xNIC nodes on K8s](/v2/docs/upgrade-xnic-nodes-on-k8s) page.

## xNIC Architecture Diagram

Below is an example architecture for an xNIC installed on AKS with Cilium, with communication to and from a cloudSwXtch. Other Virtual Machines (not AKS) with xNICs installed could also communicate with the AKS worker nodes via cloudSwXtch and xNIC v2.

![AKS-xNIC](https://cdn.document360.io/84c5db44-f675-4f33-a980-5d3fc63073ca/Images/Documentation/AKS-xNIC.png)

> [!WARNING]
> **PLEASE NOTE**
> 
> The *producer pod* and *consumer pod* of the same stream ***must be in different nodes***. For example, referring to the image above, Consumer Pod 0 is consuming a stream from Producer Pod 1 from a different node. Consumer Pod 0 cannot consume what Producer Pod 0 is creating since they are in the same node.