Overview of the Service Graph in the Calico UI

Lesson Overview

This lesson provides a high-level introduction to the Service Graph in the Calico user interface. You will learn how to navigate the Service Graph, interpret network activity across namespaces and workloads, and utilize key features such as flow logs, DNS logs, HTTP logs, alerts, and networksets. By the end of this lesson, you will have a foundational understanding of how to leverage the Service Graph for monitoring and troubleshooting network traffic within your Kubernetes cluster.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  1. Understand the purpose and functionality of the Service Graph in Calico.

  2. Navigate the Service Graph UI, including different views, filtering, and layout options.

  3. Interpret network activity at both the namespace and workload levels.

  4. Use flow logs, DNS logs, and HTTP logs to analyze traffic patterns.

  5. Identify and investigate security alerts triggered by network policies.

  6. Perform packet captures for namespaces and workloads to troubleshoot network issues.

Key Takeaways

✅ Namespaces and workloads can be visualized for traffic monitoring.
✅ Flow logs, DNS logs, and HTTP logs provide critical insights into network activity.
✅ Alerts and security insights help identify misconfigurations and security threats.
✅ Packet captures enable in-depth troubleshooting of connectivity issues.

Next Steps

📌 Explore flow logs and DNS logs in your cluster.
📌 Create custom views for key namespaces.
📌 Use the time interval feature to analyze historical traffic trends.
📌 Stay tuned for deeper insights into policy enforcement analysis in the next lesson!