How does the Cluster Agent differ from the node-level Datadog Agent?

The node-level Agent runs as a DaemonSet, one pod per node, collecting host, pod, and container metrics, logs, and traces local to that specific node - it's the workhorse doing per-node data collection.

The Cluster Agent runs as a small, typically single or low-replica Deployment and centralizes cluster-wide concerns: it's the sole component querying the Kubernetes API server for cluster metadata, dispatches Cluster Checks (checks that should run once cluster-wide, not once per node), and powers Horizontal Pod Autoscaling on custom/external metrics.

This split means node Agents only need RBAC permissions scoped to their own node's kubelet, not the whole API server, which is what actually reduces both API server load and the security surface of the per-node Agent fleet.

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