If your database runs in a Kubernetes cluster, then you can add sidecar
containers to your database cluster using the AlloyDB Omni Kubernetes operator.
AlloyDB Omni operator sidecar containers are regular Kubernetes
containers that run
independently alongside the main application container within the same Pod.
You can use these sidecar containers to serve requests for application
monitoring, logging, and tracing.
AlloyDB Omni operator sidecar containers are distinct from Kubernetes
built-in sidecar containers.
To manually add a sidecar container to an existing AlloyDB Omni
installation, you create a sidecar custom resource (CR) and add it to your
database cluster.
CONTAINER_ARGS: the arguments for the command for the container that runs in the Pod.
CONTAINER_NAME: the name of the container. You can have multiple containers in the same sidecar CR, and each container has a different container name, image, command, and arguments.
To verify that the sidecar CR is created, run the following command:
kubectldescribeSidecar/SIDECAR_CR_NAME
The output is similar to the following:
Name:SIDECAR_CR_NAMELabels:<none>
Annotations:<none>
API Version:alloydbomni.dbadmin.goog/v1Kind:SidecarMetadata:Creation Timestamp:2024-04-15T21:49:00ZFinalizers:sidecars.dbadmin.goog/finalizerGeneration:2Resource Version:2561336UID:e57f2e13-20c5-4905-b13b-39203bab36b4Spec:Sidecars:Args:CONTAINER_ARGSCommand:CONTAINER_COMMANDImage:CONTAINER_IMAGEName:CONTAINER_NAMEResources:Status:Observed Generation:2Reconciled:trueEvents:<none>
Register a sidecar container
To register the sidecar container name to your database cluster, use the
following command to apply the updated specification:
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis guide pertains exclusively to Kubernetes-based AlloyDB Omni deployments, not single-server setups.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAlloyDB Omni operator sidecar containers, distinct from built-in Kubernetes sidecars, run alongside the main application in the same Pod, facilitating tasks like monitoring and logging.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAdding a sidecar container to an AlloyDB Omni installation involves creating a sidecar custom resource (CR) and then applying it to the database cluster.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou need to use the \u003ccode\u003ekubectl\u003c/code\u003e command to create and register the sidecar CR to your database cluster by including the name, image, command, and arguments of the container in the manifest.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eModifying an active sidecar container can cause a restart of its Pod, which may lead to database downtime.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Use a sidecar container in Kubernetes\n\nSelect a documentation version: 15.7.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [Current (16.8.0)](/alloydb/omni/current/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [16.8.0](/alloydb/omni/16.8.0/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [16.3.0](/alloydb/omni/16.3.0/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [15.12.0](/alloydb/omni/15.12.0/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [15.7.1](/alloydb/omni/15.7.1/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [15.7.0](/alloydb/omni/15.7.0/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [15.5.5](/alloydb/omni/15.5.5/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [15.5.4](/alloydb/omni/15.5.4/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n- [15.5.2](/alloydb/omni/15.5.2/docs/kubernetes-sidecar-container)\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n| The information on this page applies only to AlloyDB Omni for Kubernetes. It does not apply to AlloyDB Omni for containers.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nIf your database runs in a Kubernetes cluster, then you can add sidecar\ncontainers to your database cluster using the AlloyDB Omni Kubernetes operator.\nAlloyDB Omni operator sidecar containers are regular Kubernetes\n[containers](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/containers/) that run\nindependently alongside the main application container within the same Pod.\nYou can use these sidecar containers to serve requests for application\nmonitoring, logging, and tracing.\n\nAlloyDB Omni operator sidecar containers are distinct from Kubernetes\nbuilt-in [sidecar containers](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/workloads/pods/sidecar-containers/#pod-sidecar-containers).\n\nTo manually add a sidecar container to an existing AlloyDB Omni\ninstallation, you create a sidecar custom resource (CR) and add it to your\ndatabase cluster.\n| **Caution:** Making changes to an active sidecar container restarts the Pod that it runs on, which might result in database downtime.\n\nCreate a sidecar CR\n-------------------\n\n1. Apply the following manifest:\n\n apiVersion: alloydbomni.dbadmin.goog/v1\n kind: Sidecar\n metadata:\n name: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eSIDECAR_CR_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n spec:\n sidecars:\n - image: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eCONTAINER_IMAGE\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n command: [\"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eCONTAINER_COMMAND\u003c/var\u003e\"]\n args: [\"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eCONTAINER_ARGS\u003c/var\u003e\"]\n name: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eCONTAINER_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n\n Replace the following:\n - \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eSIDECAR_CR_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name to apply to your sidecar container.\n - \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eCONTAINER_IMAGE\u003c/var\u003e: the name of the file containing the image to run in the sidecar container, for example, `busybox`.\n - \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eCONTAINER_COMMAND\u003c/var\u003e: the command for the container that runs in the Pod. The command can be a list of quoted strings. For more information, see [Define a command and arguments when you create a Pod](https://kubernetes.io/docs/tasks/inject-data-application/define-command-argument-container/).\n - \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eCONTAINER_ARGS\u003c/var\u003e: the arguments for the command for the container that runs in the Pod.\n - \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eCONTAINER_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name of the container. You can have multiple containers in the same sidecar CR, and each container has a different container name, image, command, and arguments.\n2. To verify that the sidecar CR is created, run the following command:\n\n kubectl describe Sidecar/\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eSIDECAR_CR_NAME\u003c/var\u003e\n\n The output is similar to the following: \n\n Name: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eSIDECAR_CR_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n Labels: \u003cnone\u003e\n Annotations: \u003cnone\u003e\n API Version: alloydbomni.dbadmin.goog/v1\n Kind: Sidecar\n Metadata:\n Creation Timestamp: 2024-04-15T21:49:00Z\n Finalizers:\n sidecars.dbadmin.goog/finalizer\n Generation: 2\n Resource Version: 2561336\n UID: e57f2e13-20c5-4905-b13b-39203bab36b4\n Spec:\n Sidecars:\n Args:\n \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eCONTAINER_ARGS\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n Command:\n \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eCONTAINER_COMMAND\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n Image: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eCONTAINER_IMAGE\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n Name: \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"devsite-syntax-l devsite-syntax-l-Scalar devsite-syntax-l-Scalar-Plain\"\u003eCONTAINER_NAME\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/var\u003e\n Resources:\n Status:\n Observed Generation: 2\n Reconciled: true\n Events: \u003cnone\u003e\n\nRegister a sidecar container\n----------------------------\n\nTo register the sidecar container name to your database cluster, use the\nfollowing command to apply the updated specification: \n\n kubectl patch dbclusters.alloydbomni.dbadmin.goog \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eDB_CLUSTER_NAME\u003c/var\u003e -p '{\"spec\":{\"primarySpec\":{\"sidecarRef\":{\"name\":\"\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eSIDECAR_CR_NAME\u003c/var\u003e\"}}}}' --type=merge\n\nReplace the following:\n\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eDB_CLUSTER_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name of your database cluster.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eSIDECAR_CR_NAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name to apply to your sidecar container.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- [Configure AlloyDB Omni](/alloydb/omni/15.7.0/docs/configure-omni)\n- [Manage and monitor AlloyDB Omni](/alloydb/omni/15.7.0/docs/manage)"]]