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The CLI tools enable a privileged user to create a Kubernetes cluster.
The Open hyperlink is pulled from the Control Plane Node Address of the Supervisor Cluster where the namespace was created, as shown in Figure 77.
The .zip file contains two binaries which can be copied into the proper operating system (for example, Linux) of a machine configured for the purpose. Utilizing these binaries, users who have been given permission to the namespace can access the environment.
Figure 77 above displays the steps for logging in to the namespace.
kubectl-vsphere login --server 172.16.20.105 -u \ administrator@vsphere.local
kubectl config get-contexts
kubectl config use-context powerflex
kubectl get virtualmachineclassbindings
kubectl get tkr
The user also requires the available storage classes. This information is listed in the UI. However, because of the previously mentioned restrictions around storage class naming, the classes that are listed in the UI may differ than what Kubernetes uses. For example, capital letters are not permitted for storage classes. Therefore, the two storage classes that are listed in the UI - Namespace-SCSI and Namespace-TCP - are renamed to namespace-scsi and namespace-tcp in Kubernetes.
kubectl get sc
The user can use this information to create a Kubernetes cluster using TKGS in the powerflex namespace. There are two APIs available for creating the cluster: v1alpha1 API and v1alpha2 API.
VMware advises using v1alpha2 API since v1alpha1 API is deprecated. However, v1alpha2 API has some specific version requirements (for example, ESXi 7.0U3). If the environment does not meet them, use v1alpha1 API. The lab in this example meets the requirements, so the v1alpha2 API is used.
Note: The following YAML is a basic cluster configuration. The most important adjustable parameters are bolded. Be sure that both the vmClass and StorageClass values are ones available for the chosen namespace (previously queried above).
apiVersion: run.tanzu.vmware.com/v1alpha2
kind: TanzuKubernetesCluster
metadata:
name: pf-cluster
namespace: powerflex
spec:
topology:
controlPlane:
replicas: 1
vmClass: guaranteed-medium
storageClass: namespace-scsi
tkr:
reference:
name: v1.23.8---vmware.3-tkg.1
nodePools:
- name: worker-nodes
replicas: 3
vmClass: guaranteed-medium
storageClass: namespace-tcp
tkr:
reference:
name: v1.23.8---vmware.3-tkg.1
The user can monitor the creation of the cluster from the namespace within vCenter.
When cluster creation is complete, the Phase shows Running, as shown in Figure 82.
Note: As shown in the red box around the Control Plane Address, the load balancer provided the workload IP address.
kubectl-vsphere login --server 172.16.20.105 -u \ administrator@vsphere.local --tanzu-kubernetes-cluster-namespace \ powerflex --tanzu-kubernetes-cluster-name pf-cluster
The output is shown in Figure 83.
At this point, applications can be deployed on the new cluster. For completeness, an example is available in Appendix A, Application deployment.