Implementing Kubernetes Network Policy with Calico

Overview

Calico is an open-source CNI plugin that provides fine-grained network policy enforcement for Kubernetes clusters. It implements the full Kubernetes NetworkPolicy API and extends it with Calico-specific GlobalNetworkPolicy, supporting policy ordering, deny rules, and service-account-based selectors.

When to Use

• When deploying or configuring implementing kubernetes network policy with calico capabilities in your environment
• When establishing security controls aligned to compliance requirements
• When building or improving security architecture for this domain
• When conducting security assessments that require this implementation

Prerequisites

• Kubernetes cluster (v1.24+)
• Calico CNI installed (v3.26+)
• kubectl and calicoctl CLI tools
• Cluster admin RBAC permissions

Installing Calico

Operator-based Installation (Recommended)

# Install the Tigera operator
kubectl create -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/projectcalico/calico/v3.27.0/manifests/tigera-operator.yaml

# Install Calico custom resources
kubectl create -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/projectcalico/calico/v3.27.…