Supervisor with "VDS + FLB"

This section describes the procedures for deploying the Supervisor utilizing a "VDS + FLB" architecture inside a vSphere environment.

• Supervisor
  • Deployment
  • Access via CLI

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Supervisor Deployment

Create Supervisor

Navigate to vCenter > Supervisor Management, and click Get Started.

1. vCenter Server and Network

   • Select the network stack vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) with Load Balancer Type "Foundation Load Balancer", and click Next.

2. Supervisor Location

   • Select the Cluster Deployment, and click Next.
     

3. Storage

   • Select the different Storage Policies, and click Next.
     

4. Management Network

   • Configure the Supervisor Management IP Settings, and click Next.
     

5. Workload Network

   • Configure the Workload Network, and click Next.
     Choose the Port Group to host the K8s Nodes and configure the Layer 3 Routing Configuration for the Supervisor and future K8s Nodes and VMs.

     Note: The Internal Network for Kubernetes Services is pre-populated with the subnet 10.96.0.0/23.

     

6. Load Balancer

   • Configure the Foundation Load Balancer, and click Next.
     Choose its Network Topology (One-Arm or Two-Arm), its Size, High-Availability architecture (1 FLB Active, or 2 FLB Active/Standby VMs), and configure the following networks:
     • Management Network (see picture "1" below)
       Choose the Port Group to host the FLB Node(s) Management vNIC and specify its Layer 3 routing configuration.
     • Virtual Server Network (see picture "2" below)
       Choose the Port Group to host the FLB Node(s) VIP vNIC and specify its Layer 3 routing configuration.
     • Transit Network By default, the same Port Group used by the Supervisor and future K8s Nodes/VMs is selected, but this can be changed. This is the FLB(s) vNIC used to communicate with the Supervisor and workloads.

   
   
   

7. Advanced Settings

   • Select the Supervisor Control Plane Size, and click Next.
     

8. Ready to Complete

   • Review your configuration and click Finish.
     

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Finish Supervisor Creation for future Kubernetes Clusters

Create a Content Library for future Kubernetes Clusters

If you plan to deploy Kubernetes Clusters, create a Content Library with VKS images.
Navigate to vCenter > Content Libraries > and click Create.

1. Name and Location
   Give it a Name and select the vCenter hosting that Content Library, and click Next.
   

2. Configure Content Library
   Choose between Local content library (you manually upload VKS images) and Subscribed content library (vCenter automatically downloads VKS images from a repository), and click Next.
   > Note: This example uses a Subscribed content library pointing to the public repository https://wp-content.vmware.com/v2/latest/lib.json, with the option to "download content when needed" to save local storage space.

   

3. Apply Security Policy
   Apply a security policy if required by your organization, and click Next.
   (This example uses no security policy).
   

4. Add Storage
   Select a storage to host the content library images, and click Next.
   

5. Ready to complete
   Review the content library, and click Finish.
   

Associate the Content Library to the Supervisor

Navigate to vCenter > Supervisor Management > Supervisors, select [your supervisor], and click on Kubernetes Service - Manage.

1. Add Content Library
   Click ADD.
   

2. Select Content Library
   Select Content Library with VKS images, and click ADD.
   

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Validate Deployment

Validate Supervisor Status

Once the wizard completes, verify the deployment was successful by navigating to vCenter > Supervisor Management > Supervisors.

Check the following fields to ensure they reflect a healthy state:

• Config Status
• Host Config Status
• Control Plane Node Address

Validate Supervisor Content Library

Validate Supervisor Content Library by navigating to vCenter > Supervisor Management > Supervisors, select [your supervisor]

Ignore Kubernetes Status Warning

A Supervisor utilizing the "VDS + FLB" architecture supports a maximum of 2 FLB VMs, meaning it only requires 2 IP addresses within the Management and Virtual Server Networks (configured during Step 6).
If exactly 2 IPs are allocated to those networks, the pool is fully consumed immediately upon deployment, triggering a low-IP warning in the UI.
This warning is expected behavior in this specific architecture and can be safely ignored.