Configure Data Transfer Mode

Pixie stores the data it collects in-memory on the nodes in your cluster. For more information, see the FAQ.

Pixie supports two modes for accessing this data by the Live UI.

Data Passthrough Mode (Default)

In data passthrough mode, your cluster's data flows through Pixie's control cloud via a reverse proxy as encrypted traffic without any persistence. This allows users to access data without being in the same VPC/network as the cluster.

Pixie offers end-to-end encryption for telemetry data in flight.

When enabled, the Live UI Admin Page will show your cluster's Mode as Passthrough.

Data Isolation (Direct) Mode - DEPRECATED

We will be removing support for Direct Mode on March 31, 2022. Existing clusters with Direct Mode enabled may continue using Direct Mode until support is discontinued, at which time the cluster will automatically be switched to Passthrough Mode. To manually switch a cluster from Direct to Passthrough mode, see the "Steps to Disable" in the section below. New and existing clusters without Direct Mode enabled will be prevented from enabling Direct Mode moving forward.

In Data Isolation Mode, the browser directly proxies into Pixie's Vizier Module and no customer data is transferred to Pixie's Control Cloud. Communication to Pixie's Control Cloud is limited to account and Kubernetes control data. See the FAQ and Architecture Diagram for more details.

Note that you must be behind your cluster's firewall to see data in the Live UI when Data Isolation Mode is enabled.

Steps to Enable

To configure your cluster to use Data Isolation Mode, use Pixie's CLI tool to

Get your Cluster ID:

px get viziers

Access your cluster id using the `px get viziers` command.

Switch from Passthrough Mode (default) to Data Isolation Mode. Don't forget to copy in your Cluster ID.

px config update -c <YOUR_CLUSTER_ID> --passthrough=false

Once enabled, the Live UI Admin Page will show your cluster's Mode as Direct.

Admin page showing Data Isolation (Direct) mode.

Steps to Disable

To switch from Data Isolation (Direct) Mode to Passthrough Mode, run:

px config update -c <YOUR_CLUSTER_ID> --passthrough=true

Once enabled, the Live UI Admin Page will show your cluster's Mode as Passthrough.

Data Passthrough Mode (Default)Data Isolation (Direct) Mode - DEPRECATED Steps to Enable Steps to Disable

This site uses cookies to provide you with a better user experience. By using Pixie, you consent to our use of cookies.