Formerly known as vSphere with Tanzu. It gives vSphere clusters a Kubernetes API, declarative in style, through which VKS clusters, vSphere Pods and VMs are run inside namespaces; it underpins VCF Automation.
Also called formerly vSphere with Tanzu, vSphere with Tanzu.
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In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains vSphere Supervisor in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- vSphere
VMware's platform for virtualisation, made up of vCenter and ESX hosts, supplying compute for VCF clusters.
- API
Short for application programming interface: a contract that client code calls programmatically, for example a web API secured with tokens or the Files, Images or Responses APIs.
- Declarative
Describing the result wanted (as Terraform configurations and Bicep files do) and letting tooling work out the steps. Microsoft favours this over imperative scripting.
- VKS
Supervisor service, previously the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service, that deploys and looks after VMware-supported upstream Kubernetes clusters inside vSphere Namespaces.
- Virtual machines
Infrastructure-as-a-service compute giving complete control of the operating system, making it a fit for lift-and-shift moves and for software relying on OS-level pieces like COM.
- VCF Automation
Self-service platform in VCF for provisioning VM, Kubernetes and AI workloads. Providers manage regions and tenants in one portal, while tenants handle projects and consumption in theirs.
Related terms
- Foundation Load Balancer
Basic L4 balancer bundled with vCenter, serving a vSphere Supervisor and its workloads. Only VDS-networked Supervisors can use it; NSX-networked ones rely on Avi or NSX load balancing.
- VCF Planning and Preparation Workbook
Excel workbook for collecting what a VCF fleet deployment needs up front, such as host numbers, sizing, and settings for VCF Automation, vSphere Supervisor, VCF Identity Broker and workload domains.
- VM class
Template on a vSphere Supervisor setting reservations, memory and CPU for VKS cluster nodes and VMs. DevOps users can only pick it once it has been added to their vSphere Namespace.