Version 1.6. This version is no longer supported. For information about how to upgrade to version 1.7, see Upgrading Anthos on bare metal in the 1.7 documentation. For more information about supported and unsupported versions, see the Version history page in the latest documentation.
You must configure the base operating system of your node machines to use Google Distributed Cloud. This page contains the steps you need to take to complete the needed configuration.
For more information about troubleshooting Google Distributed Cloud requirements, see the troubleshooting guides.
Before you begin
Ensure you are using a supported version of your operating system. Google Distributed Cloud supports the following versions for Ubuntu:
18.04
20.04
Validate package manager:
sudo apt-get check
The output should show no errors and look similar to the following example:
[[["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 2025-08-07 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud requires specific configurations on Ubuntu node machines, supporting versions 18.04 and 20.04.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ccode\u003eAppArmor\u003c/code\u003e security module must be stopped and disabled on Ubuntu nodes, using \u003ccode\u003esystemctl\u003c/code\u003e commands.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ccode\u003eufw\u003c/code\u003e firewall needs to be disabled by using \u003ccode\u003esudo ufw disable\u003c/code\u003e to ensure compatibility with Google Distributed Cloud.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDocker version 19.03.13 or later is required for Google Distributed Cloud, and the \u003ccode\u003ebmctl\u003c/code\u003e tool will install or upgrade it if necessary.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWorkstations running \u003ccode\u003ebmctl\u003c/code\u003e must have non-root user access to Docker, with instructions available for configuration.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,[]]