Install the Cluster Agent

This page describes how to install the Cluster Agent. For optional post-installation steps, including instrumenting applications with App Server Agents, see Post-Install Workflow.

Installation Overview

You can install the Cluster Agent using either the Kubernetes CLI (kubectl) or Cluster Agent Helm. In both cases, the Cluster Agent Operator is installed first, followed by the Cluster Agent. The exact configuration applied during the installation differs slightly based on whether the cluster is an OpenShift or Kubernetes cluster.

Installation Workflow

You must make these decisions during the installation workflow: 

• The first decision is to use the officially released pre-built Appdynamics Operator images published on DockerHub and Redhat Registry or If you want to build a custom Appdynamics Operator image. See Build the Custom AppDynamics Operator Image. 
• The second decision is whether to use the officially released pre-built Cluster Agent images published on DockerHub and Redhat Registry or If you want to build a custom Cluster Agent image. See Cluster Agent Container Image.
• The third decision is whether to install the Cluster Agent using the Kubernetes CLI or the Cluster Agent Helm Chart. See Install the Cluster Agent with the Kubernetes CLI and Install the Cluster Agent with Helm Charts.

The Cluster Agent requires that you install the Metrics Server in the cluster. If the metrics server is not already installed under the kube-system namespace, then you can install it using the Kubernetes CLI, as described in Install the Cluster Agent with the Kubernetes CLI. If you are using the Cluster Agent Helm chart, you can set the install.metrics-server Helm value to true to install the Metrics Server subchart. See Install the Cluster Agent with Helm Charts.

After the installation completes, see Validate the Cluster Agent Installation for validation and troubleshooting procedures.

Post-Install Workflow

After you install and Validate the Cluster Agent, you can instrument the Kubernetes applications in the cluster with AppDynamics Server Agents. See Container Installation Options for an overview of the options.

To install the AppDynamics Server Visibility Agent or Network Agent on cluster nodes, see Install Infrastructure Visibility with the Kubernetes CLI.

To enable log collection for failing pods on on-premises Controllers, see Enable Log Collection for Failing Pods.

Next Steps

Install the Cluster Agent with the Kubernetes CLI

Install the Cluster Agent with Helm Charts

This page describes how to install the Cluster Agent. For optional post-installation steps, including instrumenting applications with App Server Agents, see Post-Install Workflow.