In this lab session, I want to transform my workload cluster into a “native Kubernetes platform” by using vSphere with Tanzu.
VMware Tanzu is a portfolio of products and solutions which allow its customers to build, run, and manage Kubernetes controlled container-based applications.
In the Operations (or Run) catalog depicted above, VMware has different implementations for Tanzu Kubernetes Grid, all of which provision and manage the lifecycle of Tanzu Kubernetes clusters on multiple platforms. It consists of the following options:
- vSphere with Tanzu: Also known as Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service (TKGS). Runs Kubernetes workloads natively in vSphere and enables self-provisioning of Tanzu Kubernetes clusters running on vSphere with Tanzu.
- Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG): TKG is a standalone offering whose origins come from VMware’s acquisition of Heptio and is installed as a management cluster, which is a Kubernetes cluster itself, that deploys and operates the Tanzu Kubernetes clusters. These Tanzu Kubernetes clusters are the workload Kubernetes clusters on which the actual workload is deployed.
- Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated (TKGI): TKGi’s origins come from VMware’s acquisition of and joint development efforts with Pivotal. TKGI (formerly known as VMware Enterprise PKS) is a Kubernetes-based container solution with advanced networking, a private container registry, and life cycle management. TKGI provisions and manages Kubernetes clusters with the TKGI control plane, which consists of BOSH and Ops Manager.
In this session, we’ll cover vSphere with Tanzu.