VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2 - Part 1
The new VCF 5.2 Update delivers quite a few interesting updates. This blog post covers expecially the updates and improvements for Tanzu.
Part 1 covers new Feature within Tanzu on vSphere 8 Update 3.
vSphere with Tanzu Update -> vSphere IaaS Control Plane
vSphere with Tanzu is passé - the new naming is vSphere IaaS Control Plane.
The naming already suggest - not only Kubernetes Cluster can be deployed, also VMs (this was possible a long time but with the new naming the focus is not only on k8s). Via the vm-operator you can deploy VMs alongside Tanzu Kubernetes Cluster. The IaaS Control Plane is really interesting as you can deploy VMs with Code. A YAML File will describe your VM. It is even possible to deploy Windows Workloads via VM-Operator with sysprep! (blog to follow)
Deployment of Windows Server within a ArgoCD Pipeline is possible (if you would want that ;))
Now also the Backup via vSphere Storage APIs for Data Protection (VADP) for VMs deployed via vm-operator are supportet (as "normal" VMs) - within Veeam you can just backup the whole vSphere Namespace (with is basically a advanced vSphere Ressource Pool)
LCI - Local consumption Interface
With the new Local Consumption Interface within vSphere UI you can deploy Tanzu Kubernetes Clusters or VMs - both via IaaS Control Plane with a GUI!
Surely some of you already knew the Cloud Consumption Interface (CCI) within Aria - Local Cloud Consumption Interface is a built in UI within vSphere UI (no need to deploy Aria)
LCI Installation
LCI is a supervisor Service. Supervisor Services are deployed directly to the Supervisor instead of deploying to a TKGS Cluster.
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsphere-with-tanzu-services-workloads/GUID-4843E6C6-747E-43B1-AC55-8F02299CC10E.html
- https://vsphere-tmm.github.io/Supervisor-Services/#consumption-interface
Download Link of LCI YAML: https://vmwaresaas.jfrog.io/ui/native/supervisor-services/cci-supervisor-service/v1.0.0/cci-supervisor-service.yml
vSAN streched Cluster support for Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service (TKGs)
With vSphere 8 Update 3 TKGS now supports vSAN streched Clusters. Interesting is that Kubernetes Control Plane Nodes and the Supervisor Control Plane Nodes should be kept at one site within a vSAN streched Clusters. This is due to etcd. etcd requires more than half of the replicas to be available at any time.
- The 3 Supervisor Control Plane VMs should be placed in the same site
- All the Control Plane VMs of any given TKGs cluster should be placed in the same site
- Worker Nodes can be streched acroos two sites
Tanzu Kubernetes Cluster Autoscaling
As the name already suggest: Autoscaling of Tanzu Kubernetes Workers Nodes (VMs)! Only requirements is to have TKR Relase 1.25
Links
[1] https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/06/25/vmware-cloud-foundation-launch/
[2] https://core.vmware.com/resource/whats-new-vsphere-update-3-vsphere-iaas-control-plane