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This page describes the node operating system (node OS) image that runs on
Google Distributed Cloud cluster nodes.
Google Distributed Cloud cluster nodes run Ubuntu version 18.04 (bionic) by default. The
image is similar to
Google Kubernetes Engine's Ubuntu node image. Container-Optimized OS is also supported in Google Distributed Cloud node pools as a preview feature.
Google Distributed Cloud offers the following node image options per OS for your
cluster:
OS
Node images
Status
Container-Optimized OS
Preview
Ubuntu
Ubuntu
Ubuntu with Docker (ubuntu)
General Availability
Supported and Unsupported Features with Container-Optimized OS
Container-Optimized OS does not support the following feature.
dataplane v2
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 2025-08-29 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud cluster nodes primarily use Ubuntu 18.04 (bionic) as their operating system, similar to Google Kubernetes Engine's Ubuntu node image.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eContainer-Optimized OS is available as a preview feature, but it does not support dataplane v2.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe node OS comes preinstalled with several 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.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe default networking configuration on the node OS is disabled from Google Distributed Cloud version 1.1.0-gke.6 to support static IP allocation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe use of this feature is subject to "Pre-GA Offerings Terms" as it is a Beta preview, and may have limited support.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Node image\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 image](/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/node-images). Container-Optimized OS is also supported in Google Distributed Cloud node pools as a preview feature.\n\nGoogle Distributed Cloud offers the following node image options per OS for your\ncluster:\n\nSupported and Unsupported Features with Container-Optimized OS\n--------------------------------------------------------------\n\nContainer-Optimized OS does not support the following feature.\n\n- dataplane v2\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/1.7/release-notes). To learn which\nKubernetes version your cluster runs, see\n[Versions](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.7/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/1.7/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/1.7/concepts/security#node_security)."]]
