Workshop
MCP on Kubernetes: Connect, Observe, and Secure Your AI Tool Servers with Isovalent
Virtual
About this session
Model Context Protocol (MCP) has become the standard way for AI assistants to reach real tools, APIs, and data. When MCP servers run on Kubernetes - a common pattern - you need to connect and secure them properly, especially given the level of access and power they might possess.
In this hands-on workshop, you'll run MCP servers on Kubernetes and take one from "exposed and wide open" to "connected, observed, and enforced" with the Isovalent toolkit. To make the risk concrete, you'll replay a real MCP server CVE, watch it succeed, then shut it down live, and finish with a hands-on exam that earns you an Isovalent badge.
No prior MCP experience is needed. If you're comfortable with kubectl and everyday Kubernetes objects, you're ready.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- Deploy MCP servers on Kubernetes and expose them over stdio and streamable HTTP transports.
- Explore an MCP server's tools, resources, and prompts live using the MCP Inspector.
- Connect and control access to MCP servers with Cilium network policy.
- Observe MCP traffic and in-container process activity with Hubble and Tetragon.
- Replay a real MCP server CVE and shut it down with a Tetragon runtime policy.
- Prove your skills in a hands-on exam and earn an Isovalent badge on completion.
See how to run Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers securely on Kubernetes in this guided hands-on workshop. Explore MCP tools, resources, and prompts with the MCP Inspector, connect and observe server traffic with Cilium, Hubble, and Tetragon, and enforce runtime security that blocks unauthorised commands.
Nico Vibert, Principal Technical Marketing Engineer
Nico Vibert is a Principal Technical Marketing Engineer at Isovalent, the company behind the open-source cloud-native solution Cilium. Prior to joining Isovalent, Nico worked in many different roles - operations and support, design and architecture, and technical pre-sales - at companies such as HashiCorp, VMware, and Cisco. In his current role, Nico focuses primarily on creating content to make networking a more approachable field and regularly speaks at events like KubeCon and Cisco Live. Nico has held over 15 networking certifications, including the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert CCIE (# 22990). Nico is the co-author of the "Cilium: Up and Running" O'Reilly book and is the Lead Subject Matter Expert on the Cilium Certified Associate (CCA) certification.
October 15, 2026