Version 1.16. This version is no longer supported. For information about how to upgrade to version 1.28, seeUpgrade clustersin the latest documentation. For more information about supported and unsupported versions, see theVersioningpage in the latest documentation.
Your clusters use a container runtime to create and run Kubernetes Pods and
Google Distributed Cloud requires your container runtime to becontainerd.
You must continue to install Docker on youradmin workstationbecausebmctlrequires Docker for operations, such as cluster creation. You
can still use Docker to create images and build application containers. Those
containers still work inside your cluster.
Check the status of the container runtime
To check the status of the container runtime, run the following command:
[[["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 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Distributed Cloud requires the \u003ccode\u003econtainerd\u003c/code\u003e container runtime for creating and running Kubernetes Pods.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ccode\u003espec.nodeConfig.containerRuntime\u003c/code\u003e field is no longer used or included in cluster configuration files generated by \u003ccode\u003ebmctl\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDocker must still be installed on the admin workstation because \u003ccode\u003ebmctl\u003c/code\u003e uses Docker for operations like cluster creation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eEven with \u003ccode\u003econtainerd\u003c/code\u003e as the cluster runtime, Docker can still be used for tasks such as creating images and building application containers.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eTo check the container runtime status you can execute \u003ccode\u003esystemctl status containerd\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# About the container runtime\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nYour clusters use a container runtime to create and run Kubernetes Pods and\nGoogle Distributed Cloud requires your container runtime to be `containerd`.\n| **Note:** In earlier versions of Google Distributed Cloud, you chose your container runtime, Docker or `containerd`, by specifying a value in the `spec.nodeConfig.containerRuntime` field in your cluster configuration file. This field is no longer included in cluster configuration files generated by `bmctl` and is ignored if it's added.\n\nYou must continue to install Docker on your\n[admin workstation](/anthos/clusters/docs/bare-metal/1.16/installing/install-prereq#workstation_prerequisites)\nbecause `bmctl` requires Docker for operations, such as cluster creation. You\ncan still use Docker to create images and build application containers. Those\ncontainers still work inside your cluster.\n\nCheck the status of the container runtime\n-----------------------------------------\n\nTo check the status of the container runtime, run the following command: \n\n systemctl status containerd"]]
