17 NeuVector #

NeuVector is a security solution for Kubernetes that provides L7 network security, runtime security, supply chain security, and compliance checks in a cohesive package.

NeuVector is deployed as a platform of several containers that communicate with each other on various ports and interfaces. The following are the different containers deployed:

Manager. A stateless container which presents the Web-based console. Typically, only one is needed and this can run anywhere. Failure of the Manager does not affect any of the operations of the controller or enforcer. However, certain notifications (events) and recent connection data are cached in memory by the Manager so viewing of these would be affected.
Controller. The ‘control plane’ for NeuVector must be deployed in an HA configuration, so configuration is not lost in a node failure. These can run anywhere, although customers often choose to place these on ‘management’, master or infra nodes because of their criticality.
Enforcer. This container is deployed as a DaemonSet so one Enforcer is on every node to be protected. Typically deploys to every worker node but scheduling can be enabled for master and infra nodes to deploy there as well. Note: If the Enforcer is not on a cluster node and connections come from a pod on that node, NeuVector labels them as ‘unmanaged’ workloads.
Scanner. Performs the vulnerability scanning using the built-in CVE database, as directed by the Controller. Multiple scanners can be deployed to increase scanning capacity. Scanners can run anywhere but are often run on the nodes where the controllers run. See below for sizing considerations of scanner nodes. A scanner can also be invoked independently when used for build-phase scanning, for example, within a pipeline that triggers a scan, retrieves the results, and stops the scanner. The scanner contains the latest CVE database so should be updated daily.
Updater. The updater triggers an update of the scanner through a Kubernetes cron job when an update of the CVE database is desired. Please be sure to configure this for your environment.

A more in-depth NeuVector onboarding and best practices documentation can be found here.

17.1 How does SUSE Edge use NeuVector? #

SUSE Edge provides a leaner configuration of NeuVector as a starting point for edge deployments.

17.2 Important notes #

The Scanner container must have enough memory to pull the image to be scanned into memory and expand it. To scan images exceeding 1 GB, increase the scanner’s memory to slightly above the largest expected image size.
High network connections expected in Protect mode. The Enforcer requires CPU and memory when in Protect (inline firewall blocking) mode to hold and inspect connections and possible payload (DLP). Increasing memory and dedicating a CPU core to the Enforcer can ensure adequate packet filtering capacity.

17.3 Installing with Edge Image Builder #

SUSE Edge is using Chapter 10, Edge Image Builder in order to customize base SLE Micro OS images. Follow Section 24.7, “NeuVector Installation” for an air-gapped installation of NeuVector on top of Kubernetes clusters provisioned by EIB.