Deploy the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console

This topic describes how to deploy the VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console from the OVA template.

If you have deployed a previous version of VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console, you can use the management console to upgrade it to a newer version. For information about upgrading, see Upgrade Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console.

Prerequisites

Download the OVA template from https://downloads.vmware.com.
Use an account with vSphere administrator privileges to log in to vSphere using the vSphere Client.
The vCenter Server instance must be correctly configured for Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console deployment. For information about the vCenter Server requirements, see Virtual Infrastructure Prerequisites.

Step 1: Deploy the OVA Template

To deploy the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console to vSphere, the procedure is as follows:

In the vSphere Client, right-click an object in the vCenter Server inventory, select Deploy OVF template, select Local file, and click Browse to navigate to your download of the OVA template.
Follow the installer prompts to perform basic configuration of the management console and to select the vSphere resources for it to use.
- Accept or modify the management console VM name
- Select the destination datacenter or folder
- Select the destination cluster or resource pool for the management console VM
- Accept the end user license agreements (EULA)
- Select the disk format and destination datastore for the management console VM
On the Select Networks page, select a network port group to which to connect the management console VM.
Important: If you intend to deploy Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition in a bring your own topology NSX-T Data Center environment, do not use the network on which you deploy the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console VM as the network for the management plane when you deploy Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition. Using the same network for the management console VM and the management plane requires additional NSX-T Data Center configuration and is not recommended.
On the Customize template page, expand Appliance Configuration.
- Set the root password for the management console VM. Setting the root password for the VM is mandatory.
- Optionally uncheck the Permit Root Login checkbox.
Note: If you uncheck the checkbox, you can permit root login later by editing the settings of the management console VM.

The root password is the only mandatory option. If you want to use auto-generated certificates, DHCP networking, and you do not want to integrate with VMware vRealize Log Insight, click Next to start the OVA deployment. Otherwise, complete the remaining steps in this procedure.
Configure the management console VM certificate, that is used by all of the services that run in the management console VM to authenticate connections.

To use auto-generated, self-signed certificates, leave the Appliance TLS Certificate, Appliance TLS Certificate Key, and Certificate Authority Certificate text boxes blank.

To use a custom certificate:

Paste the contents of the server certificate PEM file in the Appliance TLS Certificate text box.
```
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
appliance_certificate_contents
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
```
Paste the contents of the certificate key in the Appliance TLS Certificate Key text box. The management console VM supports unencrypted PEM encoded formats for TLS private keys.
```
-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
appliance_private_key_contents
-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
```
Paste the contents of the Certificate Authority (CA) file in the Certificate Authority Certificate text box.
```
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- 
root_CA_certificate_contents 
-----END CERTIFICATE----- 
```
To use a certificate that uses a chain of intermediate CAs, paste into the Certificate Authority Certificate text box the contents of a certificate chain PEM file. The PEM file must include a chain of the intermediate CAs all the way down to the root CA.
```
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
intermediate_CA_certificate_contents
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
intermediate_CA_certificate_contents
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
root_CA_certificate_contents
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
```
Expand Networking Properties and optionally configure the networking for the management console VM.
To use DHCP, leave these properties blank.
- To set a static IP address on the management console VM, set the Network IP Address, Network Netmask, and Default Gateway settings.
- To configure DNS servers, set the Domain Name Servers, and Domain Search Path settings.
- To specify a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the management console VM, set the FQDN setting.
- If necessary, update Docker Container Network Subnet and Docker Container Network Gateway.
  
  Services in the management console VM are deployed as Docker containers on a Docker bridge network.
  Warning: If the default subnet CIDR 172.18.0.0/16 and gateway address 172.18.0.1 for this bridge network conflict with existing networks, you must update these values.
(Optional) Enter the host name and port for VMware vRealize Log Insight in the Log Insight Server Host/IP and Log Insight Server Port text boxes.
vRealize Log Insight gathers logs from the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console VM itself. For vRealize Log Insight to gather logs from your Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition deployments, you must configure the connection when you deploy Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition from Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console.
Click Next to review the settings that you have made.
Click Finish to deploy the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console.

Use the Recent Tasks panel at the bottom of the vSphere Client to check the status of the OVA import and deployment of the management console VM. The management console VM takes a few minutes to deploy.

If the management console VM fails to deploy, see Troubleshooting.

Step 2: Log In to Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console

When the OVA deployment has completed successfully, you can access the management console.

In the vSphere Client, right-click the management console VM and select Power > Power On.
When the management console VM has booted, go to the Summary tab for the VM and copy its IP address.
Enter the management console VM IP address in a browser.
At the VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition log in page, enter username root and the root password that you set when you deployed the OVA template.

Next Steps

You can now use Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition Management Console to deploy or upgrade Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition instances, either by using the configuration wizard or by importing an existing YAML configuration file.