---
title: Additional Steps for Installing Istio on an RKE2 Cluster
---

<head>
  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/integrations-in-rancher/istio/configuration-options/install-istio-on-rke2-cluster"/>
</head>

When installing or upgrading the Istio Helm chart through **Apps & Marketplace** (Rancher before v2.6.5) or **Apps** (Rancher v2.6.5+),

1. If you are installing the chart, click **Customize Helm options before install** and click **Next**.
1. You will see options for configuring the Istio Helm chart. On the **Components** tab, check the box next to **Enabled CNI**.
1. Add a custom overlay file specifying `cniBinDir` and `cniConfDir`. For more information on these options, refer to the [Istio documentation.](https://istio.io/latest/docs/setup/additional-setup/cni/#helm-chart-parameters) An example is below:

    ```yaml
    apiVersion: install.istio.io/v1alpha1
    kind: IstioOperator
    spec:
      components:
        cni:
          enabled: true
          k8s:
            overlays:
            - apiVersion: "apps/v1"
              kind: "DaemonSet"
              name: "istio-cni-node"
              patches:
              - path: spec.template.spec.containers.[name:install-cni].securityContext.privileged
                value: true
      values:
        cni:
          image: rancher/mirrored-istio-install-cni:1.9.3
          excludeNamespaces:
            - istio-system
            - kube-system
          logLevel: info
          cniBinDir: /opt/cni/bin
          cniConfDir: /etc/cni/net.d
    ```

**Result:** Now you should be able to utilize Istio as desired, including sidecar injection and monitoring via Kiali.
