Google Distributed Cloud node pools also support
Container-Optimized OS. Container-Optimized OS on Google Distributed Cloud
supports kdump for
debugging kernel issues.
Google Distributed Cloud offers the following node image options per OS for your
cluster:
OS
Node images
Status
Container-Optimized OS
General Availability
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Ubuntu with Docker (ubuntu)
General Availability
Kubernetes version
New Google Distributed Cloud versions sometimes introduce a new Kubernetes version
for clusters. Version changes are announced in
Release notes. To learn which
Kubernetes version your cluster runs, see
Versions.
Preinstalled tools
Google Distributed Cloud's node OS has the following tools preinstalled: arpingcloud-utils, conntrack, logrotate, prips, systemd-container
Google Distributed Cloud's node OS has the debug-toolbox container image
preinstalled. debug-toolbox includes several packages for debugging node
issues. You run an accompanying shell script, toolbox, to unpack and run the
debug-toolbox container.
Learn about the toolbox script.
Networking
As of Google Distributed Cloud version 1.1.0-gke.6, the node OS' default
networking configuration is disabled to support static IP allocation.
[[["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 2025-08-25 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud cluster nodes primarily utilize Ubuntu 18.04 (bionic) as their default node operating system image, similar to Google Kubernetes Engine's Ubuntu node image.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eContainer-Optimized OS is also supported on Google Distributed Cloud node pools, including support for kdump for kernel debugging.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud offers node image options for both Container-Optimized OS and Ubuntu, with the Ubuntu option including an image with Docker, each of them being in general availability.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe node OS comes preinstalled with tools like \u003ccode\u003earping\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003ecloud-utils\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003econntrack\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003elogrotate\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003eprips\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003esystemd-container\u003c/code\u003e, and the \u003ccode\u003edebug-toolbox\u003c/code\u003e container image with a \u003ccode\u003etoolbox\u003c/code\u003e script for debugging.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAs of Google Distributed Cloud version 1.1.0-gke.6, the default networking configuration on the node OS is disabled to support static IP allocation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Node image\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nThis page describes the node operating system (node OS) image that runs on\nGoogle Distributed Cloud cluster nodes.\n|\n| **Beta\n| --- Preview**\n|\n|\n| This feature is subject to the \"Pre-GA Offerings Terms\" in the General Service Terms section\n| of the [Service Specific Terms](/terms/service-terms#1).\n|\n| Pre-GA features are available \"as is\" and might have limited support.\n|\n| For more information, see the\n| [launch stage descriptions](/products#product-launch-stages).\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud cluster nodes run Ubuntu version 18.04 (bionic) by default. The\nimage is similar to\n[Google Kubernetes Engine's Ubuntu node\nimage](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/node-images).\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud node pools also support\n[Container-Optimized OS](/container-optimized-os/docs/concepts/features-and-benefits). Container-Optimized OS on Google Distributed Cloud\nsupports [kdump](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kdump_(Linux)) for\ndebugging kernel issues.\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud offers the following node image options per OS for your\ncluster:\n\nKubernetes version\n------------------\n\nNew Google Distributed Cloud versions sometimes introduce a new Kubernetes version\nfor clusters. Version changes are announced in\n[Release notes](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.11/release-notes). To learn which\nKubernetes version your cluster runs, see\n[Versions](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.11/version-history).\n\nPreinstalled tools\n------------------\n\n- Google Distributed Cloud's node OS has the following tools preinstalled: `arping` `cloud-utils`, `conntrack`, `logrotate`, `prips`, `systemd-container`\n- Google Distributed Cloud's node OS has the `debug-toolbox` container image preinstalled. `debug-toolbox` includes several packages for debugging node issues. You run an accompanying shell script, `toolbox`, to unpack and run the `debug-toolbox` container. [Learn about the `toolbox` script](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.11/toolbox).\n\nNetworking\n----------\n\nAs of Google Distributed Cloud version 1.1.0-gke.6, the node OS' default\nnetworking configuration is disabled to support static IP allocation.\n\nSecurity\n--------\n\nSee [node security](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.11/concepts/security#node_security)."]]
