Navigating Multiple Meshes with OSSMC

Browse and manage Istio and Kiali instances in the OpenShift Console — without requiring a Kiali server connected to the plugin.

OpenShift Service Mesh Console (OSSMC) includes Istios and Kialis pages in the OpenShift Console Service Mesh menu. These pages let you browse and inspect every Istio and Kiali CR on the cluster directly from the console — without requiring a Kiali server to be connected to the plugin.

This is especially useful when a cluster hosts many mesh instances. Platform teams that operate dozens or hundreds of Istio control planes (and the Kiali instances that observe them) on a cluster can navigate that inventory in one place instead of jumping between CLI commands, individual operator UIs, or separate Kiali routes.

Why this matters

One inventory for the whole cluster — List every Istio CR and every Kiali CR from the OpenShift Console sidebar.
No Kiali server required — The pages talk to the Kubernetes API. You can install the OSSMC plugin independently of any Kiali Server and still get this multi-mesh navigation.
Works alongside Kiali-powered observability — When you do connect a Kiali server to the plugin, Overview, Traffic Graph, and the other observability pages appear for that connected instance. Istios and Kialis stay in the menu so you can still manage the full fleet.

Istio control planes

The Istios page lists every cluster-scoped Istio CR managed by the OSSM/Sail Operator. Open a row to see details for that Istio installation.

Use this page when you need a console view of mesh control-plane instances on the cluster — for example, confirming which Istio CRs exist, opening one for more information, or orienting yourself before connecting a related Kiali instance.

Kiali instances

The Kialis page lists every Kiali CR on the cluster. Open a row to see configuration from that Kiali CR.

Both pages only list CRs your OpenShift user has permission to read. If your account has namespace-scoped access instead of cluster-wide access to istios.sailoperator.io or kialis.kiali.io, the list may show fewer instances than actually exist on the cluster — or appear empty. If you expect to see an instance that is missing, ask your cluster administrator to grant list/get permission on the relevant CR in that namespace (or cluster-wide).

The list includes:

Connected — Shows Active when that Kiali instance is the OSSMC backend, or Inactive when it is not. If OSSMConsole resources cannot be read, the status shows Unknown.
Observe — When route hosts are available, links to the Kiali UI and the OpenShift Console (Kiali | Console).
Actions — Connect or Disconnect to change which Kiali server OSSMC uses.

From the list or detail page you can Connect or Disconnect a Kiali instance:

Connect — Connects that Kiali server to the OSSMC plugin so Overview, Traffic Graph, Mesh, and the other Kiali-powered pages become available for that instance.
Disconnect — Disconnects that Kiali instance from the plugin. Istios and Kialis remain available so you can keep navigating the fleet and connect a different instance when needed.

Connect and disconnect require permission to patch the OSSMConsole CR (ossmconsoles.kiali.io).

OSSMC supports a single tenant at a time for Kiali-powered observability pages. Connect the Kiali instance you want to use for deep observability; use Istios and Kialis to navigate the rest of the fleet and switch when needed.

When a Kiali server is connected — and when it is not

What you see in the Service Mesh menu depends on whether OSSMC has a connected, reachable Kiali server:

When no Kiali server is connected — Expect Istios and Kialis only.
When a Kiali instance is connected and reachable — Expect observability pages (Overview, Traffic Graph, Mesh, and others) in the menu, with Istios and Kialis at the bottom, below a separator.

If OSSMC is configured to use a Kiali server but cannot reach it, observability pages show a Service Mesh is not configured message. Istios and Kialis continue to work — the same as when no server is connected.

Getting started

Install the Kiali Operator (a Kiali server is optional for these pages).
Create an OSSMConsole CR to install the plugin — see The OSSMConsole CR.
Open Service Mesh → Istios or Kialis in the OpenShift Console.

To connect a Kiali server for deep observability on one instance, use Connect on the Kialis page or set spec.kiali on the OSSMConsole CR. See Connecting a Kiali instance to the console.

For a tour of the Kiali-powered pages (Overview, Traffic Graph, and the rest), see the OSSMC User Guide.

Last modified August 18, 2026: Support installing OSSM Console without a Kiali server present ("lite mode") (#1002) (3b04425)