What problem does it solve?
This Skill eliminates the complexity of deploying, configuring, and troubleshooting Calico, the Kubernetes CNI and network policy engine, removing guesswork from cluster networking, policy enforcement, and pod connectivity issues.
Core Features & Use Cases
- Full Lifecycle Management: Deploy Calico via Tigera Operator, configure IP pools and encapsulation modes (VXLAN, IPIP, BGP), and manage upgrades across standard Kubernetes, K3s, RKE2, and Rancher clusters.
- Policy & Routing Configuration: Author Calico NetworkPolicy and GlobalNetworkPolicy rules, set up BGP peering, route reflectors, and tune the Felix agent for optimal performance.
- Troubleshooting & Optimization: Diagnose common and edge-case issues including node NotReady states, cross-node pod failures, DNS resolution problems, and airgapped deployment errors.
Use case example: If your Kubernetes pods cannot communicate across nodes after a Calico upgrade, use this Skill to identify misconfigured IP pools, blocked tunnel ports, or BGP session failures and resolve the issue quickly.
Quick Start
Use the calico skill to deploy Calico to your Kubernetes cluster with a VXLAN IP pool and default deny network policy, then verify cross-node pod connectivity.