vSphere FIPS: Create a Managed Cluster Using the DKP CLI

Creating a vSphere FIPS Managed cluster with the DKP CLI assumes that you already fulfilled all of the prerequisites and successfully created a vSphere Management cluster. Use this procedure to create a Managed vSphere cluster.

When creating Managed clusters, you do not need to create and move CAPI objects, or install the Kommander component. Those tasks are only done on Management clusters!

Choose a Workspace for the New Cluster

1. If you have an existing Workspace name, run this command to find the name:
   ⚠️ NOTE: If you need to create a new Workspace, follow the instructions to Create a Workspace.

   CODE

   kubectl get workspace -A

2. When you have the Workspace name, set the WORKSPACE_NAMESPACE environment variable:

   CODE

   export WORKSPACE_NAMESPACE=<workspace_namespace>

Name your Cluster

1. Give your cluster a unique name suitable for your environment.

2. Set the CLUSTER_NAME environment variable with the command:

   CODE

   export CLUSTER_NAME=<my-vsphere-cluster>

Create a New vSphere Kubernetes Cluster

DKP uses the vsphere CSI driver as the default storage provider. Use a Kubernetes CSI compatible storage that is suitable for production.

Follow these steps to create the cluster:

1. Use the following command to set the environment variables for vSphere:

   CODE

   export VSPHERE_SERVER=example.vsphere.url
   export VSPHERE_USERNAME=user@example.vsphere.url
   export VSPHERE_PASSWORD=example_password

2. Generate the Kubernetes cluster objects by copying and editing this command to include the correct values, including the VM template name you assigned in the previous procedure:

• To increase Dockerhub's rate limit use your Dockerhub credentials when creating the cluster, by setting the following flag --registry-mirror-url=https://registry-1.docker.io --registry-mirror-username= --registry-mirror-password= on the dkp create cluster command.

• The following example shows a common configuration. See dkp create cluster reference for the full list of cluster creation options:

dkp create cluster vsphere \
  --cluster-name ${CLUSTER_NAME} \
  --network <NETWORK_NAME> \
  --control-plane-endpoint-host <xxx.yyy.zzz.000> \
  --data-center <DATACENTER_NAME> \
  --data-store <DATASTORE_NAME> \
  --folder <FOLDER_NAME> \
  --server <VCENTER_API_SERVER_URL> \
  --ssh-public-key-file <SSH_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE> \
  --resource-pool <RESOURCE_POOL_NAME> \
  --vm-template <TEMPLATE_NAME>
  --virtual-ip-interface <ip_interface_name> \
  --kubernetes-version=v1.25.4+fips.0 \
  --kubernetes-image-repository=docker.io/mesosphere \
  --etcd-image-repository=docker.io/mesosphere \
  --etcd-version=3.5.5+fips.0 \
  --namespace=${WORKSPACE_NAMESPACE}

If your environment uses HTTP/HTTPS proxies, you must include the flags --http-proxy, --https-proxy, and --no-proxy and their related values in this command for it to be successful. More information is available in Configuring an HTTP/HTTPS Proxy.

Manually Attach a DKP CLI Cluster to the Management Cluster

1. Find out the name of the created Cluster, so you can reference it later:

   CODE

   kubectl -n <workspace_namespace> get clusters

2. Attach the cluster by creating a KommanderCluster:

   CODE

   cat << EOF | kubectl apply -f -
   apiVersion: kommander.mesosphere.io/v1beta1
   kind: KommanderCluster
   metadata:
     name: <cluster_name>
     namespace: <workspace_namespace>
   spec:
     kubeconfigRef:
       name: <cluster_name>-kubeconfig
     clusterRef:
       capiCluster:
         name: <cluster_name>
   EOF

If you have existing clusters or want to create other new clusters to attach, there are many ways to attach a cluster with various requirements and restrictions. To see all the options, visit the section in documentation Day 2 - Attach an Existing Kubernetes Cluster.

At this point, you can create more clusters, perform other configuration tasks, or proceed to Day 2 Operations.