Prepare to Install Tanzu Packages

This topic explains how to prepare Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) workload clusters before installing Tanzu packages on them. Tanzu packages are packaged services that extend workload cluster functionality.

Before you can install Tanzu packages to a workload cluster, you need to:

Install the Carvel imgpkg tool on your workstation.
(vSphere 7) Install the Kapp Controller in the target cluster as described in Install Kapp Controller Using Kubectl (vSphere 7 TKr only).
Add a package repository to the target cluster.

The sections below describe these steps.

Prerequisites

Before preparing to install Tanzu packages to a workload cluster as described below, you need:

A Linux client or jump host on which the Tanzu CLI and Kubectl are installed. See the following topics, based on your deployment option:
- Supervisor: Install the Tanzu CLI for Use with TKG Clusters on Supervisor and Install the Kubernetes CLI Tools for vSphere
- Standalone Management Cluster: Install the Tanzu CLI and Kubernetes CLI for Use with Standalone Management Clusters
A running workload cluster as described in Provisioning TKG Clusters on Supervisor (Supervisor) or Creating Workload Clusters (standalone management cluster).
The target workload cluster has sufficient storage to run the packages you install, as described in Storage Requirements for Tanzu Packages below.
(Supervisor) based on the target cluster’s vSphere version, do the following:
- vSphere 8: Ensure that your TKr, vSphere 8, and Supervisor versions are compatible with the package repository that you add to the target workload cluster, as described in Supervisor Version Requirements below.
- vSphere 7: Install the Kapp Controller component in the target cluster as described in Install Kapp Controller Using Kubectl (vSphere 7 TKr only).

Install Carvel `imgpkg`

The Carvel imgpkg command (https://carvel.dev/imgpkg/) lets you browse package repositories.

To install Carvel imgpkg:

Install imgpkg.

wget -O- https://carvel.dev/install.sh > install.sh
sudo bash install.sh

Verify installation:
```
imgpkg version
imgpkg version 0.37.1
```

Add the Package Repository to the Cluster

Before you can install Tanzu packages to a cluster, you need to add the package repository from which the cluster downloads the package images.

The commands below refer to the Tanzu Standard package repository, which is distributed by VMware and contains the packages described in this publication. The Tanzu Standard repository is public, so you do not need to log in.

To add the package repository to a TKG workload cluster:

Log in to the target cluster with both the Tanzu CLI and Kubectl.
List the repository versions:
```
imgpkg tag list -i projects.registry.vmware.com/tkg/packages/standard/repo
```
This command returns the available TKG package repository versions, for example:
```
Tags

Name
...
v1.6.0
v1.6.0-update.1
v1.6.1
v1.6.1_update.1
v2.1.0
v2.1.1
v2.1.1_update.1
v2.1.1_update.2
v2.2.0
v2.2.0_update.1
v2.2.0_update.2
...

25 tags

Succeeded
```
The latest package repository for TKG 2.2 is v2.2.0_update.2. This is the version to use for TKG 2.2, assuming your environment meets the requirements. See Supervisor Version Requirements.
Add the package repository as follows, depending on your TKG deployment option:
- Supervisor:
  1. Create a packagerepo.yaml specification file that references the target repository version.
```
apiVersion: packaging.carvel.dev/v1alpha1
kind: PackageRepository
metadata:
  name: tanzu-standard
  namespace: tkg-system
spec:
  fetch:
    imgpkgBundle:
      image: projects.registry.vmware.com/tkg/packages/standard/repo:v2.2.0_update.2
```
  2. Install the package repository on the TKG cluster:
```
kubectl apply -f packagerepo.yaml
```
- Standalone management cluster: Run the tanzu package repository add command as described in Add a Package Repository.

Use Tanzu CLI or Kubectl commands to confirm that the repository object is created:

tanzu package repository list -A
NAMESPACE   NAME            SOURCE                                                                           STATUS
tkg-system  tanzu-standard  (imgpkg) projects.registry.vmware.com/tkg/packages/standard/repo:v2.2.0_update.2 Reconcile succeeded

kubectl get packagerepositories -A

NAMESPACE    NAME             AGE   DESCRIPTION
tkg-system   tanzu-standard   24s   Reconcile succeeded

Use Tanzu CLI or Kubectl commands to list the packages in the repository:

tanzu package repository list -A

kubectl -n tkg-system get packages

This kubectl command returns a list of all available packages and their versions in the repository by querying the packages CRD. Refer to this list to determine which package versions you want to install.

kubectl -n tkg-system get packages
NAME                                                                 PACKAGEMETADATA NAME                           VERSION                 AGE
cert-manager.tanzu.vmware.com.1.1.0+vmware.1-tkg.2                   cert-manager.tanzu.vmware.com                  1.1.0+vmware.1-tkg.2    4h39m13s
cert-manager.tanzu.vmware.com.1.1.0+vmware.2-tkg.1                   cert-manager.tanzu.vmware.com                  1.1.0+vmware.2-tkg.1    4h39m13s
...
---
contour.tanzu.vmware.com.1.17.1+vmware.1-tkg.1                       contour.tanzu.vmware.com                       1.17.1+vmware.1-tkg.1   4h39m12s
contour.tanzu.vmware.com.1.17.2+vmware.1-tkg.2                       contour.tanzu.vmware.com                       1.17.2+vmware.1-tkg.2   4h39m12s
...

Storage Requirements for Tanzu Packages

The TKG workload cluster where you deploy a Tanzu package should be provisioned with a default storage class. Specifically, the Prometheus and Grafana packages require a default storage class.

For Supervisor-deployed clusters provisioned without the default storage class, you can patch the existing storage class and add the required annotation to specify it as default. See Patching a Storage Class.

For Supervisor-deployed clusters, the storage limit for the vSphere namespace that contains the target workload cluster must be larger than the total persistent volume claim size. For more information on vSphere namespace storage quota, see Configuring vSphere Namespaces for TKG Clusters on Supervisor.

Component	Tanzu Package	Default Storage Size
Grafana	Grafana	8 Gi
Prometheus Server	Prometheus	8 Gi
Alertmanager	Prometheus	8 Gi
Harbor	Harbor Registry	Varies by PVC

To adjust the storage limit for the vSphere Namespace where the TKG cluster is provisioned:

Using the vSphere Client, log in to the vCenter Server where vSphere with Tanzu is enabled.
Select the vSphere Namespace where the target Tanzu Kubernetes cluster is provisioned.
Select Configure > Resource Limits.
Click Edit.
Adjust the Storage limit so that it is larger than the total size of the persistent volume claims required for the Prometheus and Grafana extensions.

Supervisor Version Requirements

The TKG package repository is versioned. The table below maps the version of the repository to a particular vSphere with Tanzu release for Kubectl installations.

With vSphere 8, installing TKG Packages is simplified by the package-based TKR, which includes the Carvel packaging system and Kapp Controller. Both components are automatically managed as part the TKR image on which TKG 2.x nodes are based.

If you are installing packages on a vSphere 7 U3 instance of vSphere with Tanzu, you must first install Kapp Controller. See Install Kapp Controller Using Kubectl (vSphere 7 TKR only).

Refer to the TKR Release Notes for TKR compatibility with vSphere.

Package Repository Version	vSphere Version	Supervisor Version	TKR Version
v2.2.x	vSphere 8 U1c	1.25	vSphere 8 TKR 1.25
v2.1.x	vSphere 8 U1	1.24	vSphere 8 TKR 1.24
v1.6.x	vSphere 8	1.23	vSphere 8 TKR 1.23
v1.6.x	vSphere 7 U3	1.21+	vSphere 7 TKR 1.21+

Next Step

Proceed with installing the Tanzu Packages, starting with Cert Manager. See Install Cert Manager for Certificate Management.