Deploying vSphere with Kubernetes via VCF 4.0 SDDC Manager (Video)

In this post, I am going to share another short video that I made which highlights the main steps involved when deploying vSphere with Kubernetes from VCF 4.0 SDDC Manager. You can find the complete steps here in this previous post which shows how to deploy vSphere with Kubernetes in a Workload Domain. The video will talk you through the validation steps that are done in SDDC Manager, and then show you the complete vSphere with Kubernetes deployment in the vSphere UI. We will see the configuration changes that are made to NSX-T during the process as well. At the end of this video, you will see that, on deployment completion, we are ready to start creating namespaces, deploy PodVMs, and roll-out Tanzu Kubernetes (TKG) clusters.

5 Replies to “Deploying vSphere with Kubernetes via VCF 4.0 SDDC Manager (Video)”

  1. Hello Cormac, Thank you for an excellent post. Is the SDDC Manager necessary for the Kubernetes deployment? Also, how does vSphere Integrated Container fits here?? Is VIC over / being replaced by the solution you described here?

    1. Hi Martin – yes, if you wish to deploy “vSphere with Kubernetes” (formerly Project Pacific), then you will need VCF 4.0 and vSphere 7.0.

      There are some similarities with running PodVMs in the Supervisor Cluster and VIC, but VIC is still available as a stand-alone product.

      You can still deploy K8s natively as a set of VMs on vSphere as well of course.

  2. Hi Cormac, Thank you for the reply. I read a couple of articles about VMware attempts for vSphere with Kubernetes and go little bit dizzy. If you don’t mind, I have few more questions 🙂
    – Can the VCF 4.0 be deployed without vSAN, just on any e.g. HP ProLiant G10s with just SAN storage?
    – Also what is VMware Enterprise PKS? Another product similar to VCF?
    – I tried VIC, however, VIC doesn’t come with the cluster feature, scaling, load balancing. There is not even mentioning in documentation about such basic stuff like how to use it with Kubernetes, Swarn – so it is more like a sand box for testing what containers are. So this was one big disappointment when I tested it some year ago.
    So I joggle with terms VCF, VIC, PKS. I assume VCF is the future, VIC is a toy and dead and PKS some false path?

    What I am after, is in otherwise traditional vSphere environment with regular VMs, with SAN storage, with NSX-V now, but will be migrated to NSX-T, how to alongside deploy small environment for docker containers, with some cluster manager, like Kubernetes. Without paying tons of money for VCF.
    If there is some cheaper solution to VCF, are you aware of some guides, video where people were able to make it work?

    1. OK – Easier to begin with an explanation of what VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is first – you shouldn’t confuse it with anything to do with Kubernetes. VCF is basically an SDDC (Software Defined Data Center) deployed according to VMware best practices and design principles. And yes, VCF workload domains can be deployed without vSAN – https://cormachogan.com/2020/02/18/getting-started-with-vcf-part-11-external-storage/. But the VCF Management Domain must use vSAN.

      Now, for this initial release of “vSphere with Kubernetes” (formerly Project Pacific), then you must use VCF 4.0 and vSphere 7.0. This requirement may be relaxed at some future date, but I am not able to say anything about that.

      Yes – PKS is somewhat similar to “vSphere with Kubernetes” (not VCF) in so far as it can deploy Kubernetes clusters on top of vSphere infrastructure.

      If you want something for sandbox testing, and do not want to go the VCF + “vSphere with Kubernetes” with Kubernetes route, then Tanzu Kubernetes Grid might be an option. There is more info here – https://tanzu.vmware.com/kubernetes-grid – might be worth looking at it. I’m not au-fait with all the capabilities, but if you talk to your local VMware rep, they can probably give you a decent overview.

  3. Thanks for the great video! Just what I was looking for, simple preview before deployment in our environment.

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