Overview of Installation Options for KNIME Business Hub
About this guide
This document provides an overview of the support and compatibility matrix for KNIME Business Hub installations. It is intended for IT administrators, platform engineers, and solution architects evaluating or operating KNIME Business Hub in Kubernetes-based environments. It focuses on supported and validated infrastructure components rather than step-by-step installation instructions.
Installation types
KNIME Business Hub offers several installation types to support different infrastructure and operational needs. Each installation type has specific advantages and disadvantages. The following overview helps you choose the installation that best fits your environment. General prerequisites and supported technologies apply to all installation types. You can find installation-type-specific details in the dedicated sections.
Overview of installation types
| Installation type | Description | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| kURL-based (embedded cluster) | Installs KNIME Business Hub on a new Kubernetes cluster using kURL. | Automated setup, bundled components, suitable for isolated environments | Limited flexibility, not designed for large-scale or highly customized environments, supports only single-node or small clusters |
| Existing cluster (Helm-based / ArgoCD) | Deploys on an existing Kubernetes cluster using Helm charts with ArgoCD. | Uses existing Kubernetes infrastructure, integrates with enterprise tooling, and supports complex environments. Enables DevOps and GitOps workflows with Helm and ArgoCD, simplifying upgrades and rollbacks. | Requires Helm/ArgoCD expertise, manual setup and maintenance, less automated compared to kURL/KOTS |
| Existing OpenShift cluster (Helm-based / ArgoCD) | Deploys on an existing OpenShift cluster using Helm charts with ArgoCD. | Integrates with OpenShift features to provide enterprise-grade security and management, while combining OpenShift capabilities with Helm- and ArgoCD-based GitOps workflows for advanced enterprise environments. | Higher operational complexity, requires OpenShift and Helm/ArgoCD expertise, manual setup and maintenance |
INFO
Not all installation types are supported in all editions or without Professional Services. Refer to the Support & Compatibility Matrix and official documentation for details.
Support & compatibility matrix
Definitions
- Supported: Fully validated and maintained configurations. Guaranteed compatibility and upgrade path.
- Supported with Professional Services (PS): Deployments that require PS engagement for setup, customization, or maintenance. Compatibility and upgrade support depend on re-engagement.
Compatibility matrix
| Component | Supported | Supported with Professional Services | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes | AKS, EKS, GKE, OpenShift 4.x+, kURL | Rancher, Kubermatic, VMware Tanzu | Supported Kubernetes distributions must be within their respective vendor-supported lifecycle and compatible with the Kubernetes version required by the KNIME Business Hub release. |
| Ingress | NGINX, HAProxy (OpenShift) | ||
| Service Mesh | Istio 1.24+, OpenShift Service Mesh v2 & v3 | Service mesh in shared clusters | Support for service meshes assumes a dedicated cluster or namespace aligned with KNIME Business Hub reference architectures. |
| Database | Bundled Postgres (in-cluster), AWS RDS, Azure Database for PostgreSQL | EnterpriseDB (EDB), managed open-source PostgreSQL (only the Hub-supported PostgreSQL version is supported) | |
| Object Storage | Bundled MinIO (API 2006-03-01), AWS S3 | Azure Blob Storage (non-Chinese regions) using an S3 proxy, customer-managed external MinIO | |
| Authentication | AD/LDAP, SAML, OIDC, SCIM | Authentication support refers to integration with standard enterprise identity providers using the listed protocols. Feature availability may depend on the selected edition and identity provider capabilities. | |
| Security & Policies | Pod Security Standards, Kyverno/Gatekeeper policies aligned with the latest CIS Kubernetes Benchmark | Custom PSPs (restricted) | |
| Monitoring and Logging | Prometheus, Grafana | Sysdig (non-KOTS, Helm/ArgoCD), Datadog, New Relic, Dynatrace | |
| Volume Storage | Volume expansion (embedded cluster only): SSD ≥ 500 GB for var | NFS drivers (latency considerations) | |
| Networking | Flannel, AWS VPC CNI, AWS NLB and ALB, Azure Kubenet, Azure CNI, GKE Dataplane V2, OVN-Kubernetes (OpenShift) | Default CNIs for VMware Tanzu, Kubermatic, Rancher |
Important notes on the compatibility matrix
- “Supported” assumes standard, documented configurations.
- Version compatibility (for example Kubernetes or Istio versions) must align with the KNIME Business Hub release in use.
- Deviations from documented reference architectures may require Professional Services.
Kubernetes supported versions
KNIME Business Hub 1.17 supports the following versions of Kubernetes:
- 1.27
- 1.28
- 1.29
- 1.30
- 1.31
- 1.32
- 1.33
Compatibility specifics for installations with Replicated
Operating system support for kURL-based installs
- Supported: Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04 LTS, RHEL 8.x / 9.x, Amazon Linux 2023
- Not supported: SUSE, CentOS
Limitations for Replicated/KOTS installs
- kURL installations are supported only for embedded clusters. Installing KNIME Business Hub with KOTS on an existing Kubernetes cluster is not supported.
- Single-node deployments are supported for:
- Air-gapped environments
- KNIME Business Hub Basic and Standard editions
- Multi-node deployments require a Professional Services engagement.
Official installation documentation
For authoritative, up-to-date installation instructions, refer to the official KNIME Business Hub installation guides:
For Helm-based / ArgoCD installations, KNIME Business Hub provides a supported and production-ready installation approach designed for advanced DevOps and GitOps environments.
INFO
If you are interested in more information on Helm-based / ArgoCD installations, please contact support@knime.com.
Because these installations are highly configurable and closely tied to the customer’s target infrastructure and reference architecture, the corresponding installation documentation is not published as generic public documentation. Instead, it is delivered directly to the customer as part of the installation repository provided by KNIME.
This repository serves as the authoritative source for Helm-based and ArgoCD deployments and includes:
- Helm charts
- ArgoCD configuration
- Environment-specific configuration examples
- Installation, upgrade, and operational guidance aligned with the supported reference architecture