Kubernetes Cluster Management

Guide for creating and managing Kubernetes clusters using PKS (Pivotal Container Service).

Overview
Prerequisites
Install PKS CLI
Create Cluster
Cluster Management
Troubleshooting
References

Overview

This document covers the process of creating and managing Kubernetes clusters using PKS (now VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition). PKS provides enterprise-grade Kubernetes with automated provisioning, scaling, and lifecycle management.

Key Benefits

Automated Provisioning: Consistent cluster deployment
Enterprise Security: RBAC and network policies
High Availability: Multi-master cluster configurations
Monitoring: Integrated observability tools

Prerequisites

Required Access

PKS API endpoint access
Valid PKS user credentials
Network connectivity to cluster endpoints

Required Tools

PKS CLI
kubectl
Certificate authority certificate

Install PKS CLI

Download PKS CLI and kubectl from Pivnet, move it to /usr/local/bin and chmod 755.

# Download from Pivotal Network
# Move binaries to system path
sudo mv pks /usr/local/bin/
sudo mv kubectl /usr/local/bin/

# Make executable
sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/pks
sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/kubectl

# Verify installation
pks --version
kubectl version --client

Create Cluster

Step 1: Authenticate with PKS API

# Load environment credentials
source "./scripts/set-om-creds.sh"

# Extract PKS CA certificate
om credentials \
  -p pivotal-container-service \
  --credential-reference .pivotal-container-service.pks_tls \
  --credential-field cert_pem > /tmp/pks-ca.crt

# Login to PKS API
pks login -a api.pks.markalston.net --ca-cert /tmp/pks-ca.crt -u malston

Step 2: Create Kubernetes Cluster

# Create cluster with external hostname
pks create-cluster tibanna \
  --external-hostname tibanna.markalston.net \
  --plan small

# Monitor cluster creation progress
watch -n 60 pks clusters

Step 3: Configure kubectl Access

# Get cluster credentials
pks get-credentials tibanna

# Verify cluster connectivity
kubectl cluster-info
kubectl get nodes

Cluster Management

View Available Clusters

# List all clusters
pks clusters

# Get detailed cluster information
pks cluster tibanna

Scale Cluster

# Resize cluster (requires cluster plan support)
pks resize tibanna --num-nodes 5

Delete Cluster

# Delete cluster (irreversible)
pks delete-cluster tibanna

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Symptoms:

Certificate verification errors
Authentication failures

Solution:

# Verify CA certificate
openssl x509 -in /tmp/pks-ca.crt -text -noout

# Check API endpoint connectivity
curl -k https://api.pks.markalston.net:9021/v1/info

Issue: Cluster Creation Stuck