Reference Architectures

VMware provides validated reference architectures and designs for deploying Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) in various environments.

Supervisor on vSphere 8 Network Topology

For vSphere with Tanzu Supervisor network topologies, see Supervisor Networking in the vSphere documentation.

Tanzu Reference Architecture

The VMware Tanzu Reference Architecture Documentation includes the following designs and procedures for deploying TKG with a standalone management cluster to various infrastructures as part of Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations.

• Air-Gap Solution Architecture: Provides separate reference designs and deployment steps for deploying Tanzu Kubernetes Grid in an air-gapped environment on the following platforms:

  • Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on AWS (TKG versions up to and including v2.4 only)
  • Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on vSphere with vSphere networking
  • Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on vSphere with NSX-T networking

  The latest version, VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid 2.3 Air-Gapped Reference Design and Deployment, is applicable to both TKG v2.3 and TKG v2.4.

  Note

  A reference design for TKG v2.5.x will be published soon.

• VMware Tanzu Edge Solution Reference Architecture: Provides a reference architecture and deployment steps for deploying Tanzu on the VMware Edge Compute Stack. The Tanzu components in the design and deployment include Tanzu Kubernetes Grid, Tanzu Mission Control, and VMware Aria Operations for Applications (formerly, Tanzu Observability).

  See VMware Tanzu Edge Solution Reference Architecture 1.0.

• Tanzu for Kubernetes Operation Reference Architecture: Provides a reference architecture and designs for deploying the components in Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations, including Tanzu for Kubernetes Grid, on the following platforms:

  • VMware Cloud on AWS
  • vSphere using vSphere networking or using NSX-T.
  • vSphere with Tanzu using vSphere networking or using NSX-T
  • AWS, and Microsoft Azure (TKG versions up to and including v2.4 only)

  VMware Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations Reference Architecture provides a high-level architecture for deploying the Tanzu components that make up VMware Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations. The reference designs are tailored for deploying Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations on your SaaS or infrastructure of choice.

  The latest version, VMware Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations Reference Architecture 2.3, is applicable to both TKG v2.3 and TKG v2.4.

  Note

  A reference architecture for TKG v2.5.x will be published soon.

Automating Reference Design Deployment

You can automate a reference design deployment using Service Installer for VMware Tanzu.

Service Installer for VMware Tanzu automates the deployment of the reference designs for Tanzu for Kubernetes Operations on the following platforms:

• Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on VMware Cloud
• Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on vSphere with NSX-T
• Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on vSphere running Virtual Distributed Switch (VDS)
• Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service on vSphere running Virtual Distributed Switch (VDS)
• Tanzu Kubernetes Grid on AWS, for air-gapped and non air-gapped deployments (TKG versions up to and including v2.4 only)

For more information, see Service Installer for VMware Tanzu the Service Installer for VMware Tanzu Documentation page.