Quickstart Install#

As a Kubernetes Cluster Administrator, use these steps to install Kata Containers and the NVIDIA GPU Operator with minimal steps. For additional configuration options and install details, refer to the Detailed Install Guide.

Use this quickstart if you want every node in your cluster to run Confidential Containers. This is the fastest path and is ideal for evaluation or dedicated Confidential Containers clusters. If you need to run Confidential Containers on only some nodes while keeping traditional GPU workloads on others, or you want more control over the installation, use the Detailed Install Guide instead.

This quickstart takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, assuming your cluster already meets the prerequisites.

Note

Before starting, make sure your cluster meets the Prerequisites.

What You Will Build#

By the end of this quickstart, you will have:

  • Kata Containers running on your cluster.

  • The NVIDIA GPU Operator installed and configured for Confidential Containers.

  • All cluster nodes configured for Confidential Containers workloads.

Note

This quickstart configures all cluster nodes for Confidential Containers workloads. A cluster node can only be configured to run one container runtime at a time, so a node configured for Confidential Containers workloads cannot run traditional GPU container workloads.

If you need to run traditional GPU container workloads on your cluster, refer to the Label Nodes for Confidential Containers Components section in the Detailed Install Guide.

Install the Kata Containers Helm Chart#

  1. Set the chart version and registry path:

    $ export VERSION="3.29.0"
$ export CHART="oci://ghcr.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-charts/kata-deploy"

  2. Install the kata-deploy Helm chart:

    $ helm install kata-deploy "${CHART}" \
   --namespace kata-system --create-namespace \
   --set nfd.enabled=false \
   --wait --timeout 10m \
   --version "${VERSION}"

    Example Output:

    Pulled: ghcr.io/kata-containers/kata-deploy-charts/kata-deploy:3.29.0
Digest: sha256:aea41018779716ce2e0bf406d701637d10fb5a0792db51a08dfd3f76701eb933
LAST DEPLOYED: Wed Apr  1 17:03:00 2026
NAMESPACE: kata-system
STATUS: deployed
REVISION: 1
DESCRIPTION: Install complete
TEST SUITE: None

    It can take 2 to 3 minutes for the command to return and all output to be printed.

    Note

    There is a known Helm issue on single-node clusters that may result in the Helm command finishing before all pods are done initializing. If you are deploying to a single-node cluster, wait a few additional minutes after the command completes.

  3. Verify the kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu-snp and kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu-tdx runtime classes are available:

    After helm install completes, the kata-deploy chart creates the Kata RuntimeClass resources on the cluster. Confirm SNP and TDX classes are present before you continue to Install the NVIDIA GPU Operator.

    $ kubectl get runtimeclass | grep kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu

    Example Output:

    NAME                       HANDLER                    AGE
kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu       kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu       40s
kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu-snp   kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu-snp   40s
kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu-tdx   kata-qemu-nvidia-gpu-tdx   40s

    If SNP or TDX runtime classes are not listed, the install did not complete correctly. On a single-node cluster, retry after a few minutes only if Helm returned before the kata-deploy pod reaches Running (refer to the note above). Otherwise, refer to Troubleshooting.

Success criteria: Helm reports STATUS: deployed and both SNP and TDX runtime classes appear in the output above.

Install the NVIDIA GPU Operator#

  1. Add and update the NVIDIA Helm repository:

    $ helm repo add nvidia https://helm.ngc.nvidia.com/nvidia \
   && helm repo update

    Example Output:

    "nvidia" has been added to your repositories
Hang tight while we grab the latest from your chart repositories...
...Successfully got an update from the "nvidia" chart repository
Update Complete. ⎈Happy Helming!⎈

  2. Install the GPU Operator configured for Confidential Containers on all nodes:

    $ helm install --wait --timeout 10m --generate-name \
   -n gpu-operator --create-namespace \
   nvidia/gpu-operator \
   --set sandboxWorkloads.enabled=true \
   --set sandboxWorkloads.defaultWorkload=vm-passthrough \
   --set sandboxWorkloads.mode=kata \
   --set nfd.enabled=true \
   --set nfd.nodefeaturerules=true \
   --version=v26.3.1

    Example Output:

    NAME: gpu-operator
LAST DEPLOYED: Tue Mar 10 17:58:12 2026
NAMESPACE: gpu-operator
STATUS: deployed
REVISION: 1
TEST SUITE: None

    It may take 3 to 5 minutes for all GPU Operator pods to reach the Running state.

    Note

    The sandboxWorkloads.defaultWorkload=vm-passthrough flag sets the default cluster workload type for Confidential Containers.

  3. Verify that all GPU Operator pods are running:

    $ kubectl get pods -n gpu-operator

    Example Output:

    NAME                                                              READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
gpu-operator-1766001809-node-feature-discovery-gc-75776475sxzkp   1/1     Running   0          86s
gpu-operator-1766001809-node-feature-discovery-master-6869lxq2g   1/1     Running   0          86s
gpu-operator-1766001809-node-feature-discovery-worker-mh4cv       1/1     Running   0          86s
gpu-operator-f48fd66b-vtfrl                                       1/1     Running   0          86s
nvidia-cc-manager-7z74t                                           1/1     Running   0          61s
nvidia-kata-sandbox-device-plugin-daemonset-d5rvg                 1/1     Running   0          30s
nvidia-sandbox-validator-6xnzc                                    1/1     Running   0          30s
nvidia-vfio-manager-h229x                                         1/1     Running   0          62s

Success criteria: All GPU Operator pods are Running or Completed. Your cluster is now configured to run Confidential Containers workloads on all nodes.

Next Steps#