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feter20
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create Pod on ESXi 7 without TKGI?

i'm a little bit confused about the vSphere 7 Pod after reading this post.

since the vSphere Pod is natively built inside the ESXi, is it doable to create Pod(CRX) without using the TKGI(enterprise PKS)? or it is supposed to be created via VMware kubernetes cluster?

sorry about this dumb question, just thinking about building a lab to test standalone Pods on vSphere 7 if possible...

I guess I has misunderstood the operation of vSphere Pod?:smileyconfused:

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daphnissov
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I've already answered this question, so let me say another way in a simpler manner.

The so-called "vSphere Pods" feature is a capability of vSphere with Kubernetes add-on. There are other capabilities included. At this time, you can only purchase this add-on as part of VCF. So effectively, ​you cannot use this without VCF​.

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daphnissov
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Some confusion here. Firstly, TKGI is the new name for Enterprise PKS. This is a totally separate product from vSphere 7 with the Kubernetes add-on referenced in that blog post.

The answer is "no" here--you cannot create vSphere pods without the vSphere 7 with Kubernetes product add-on license and going through the steps to enable the service.

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feter20
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thank you for answering this.

i was studying how vSphere Pod can be utilized with some system engineers but had no solid conclusion and some assumed that the vSphere Pod can be created just like typical VM. shouldn't be mislead.

now i rechecked again what "vSphere 7 with kubernetes" is and believe it's a technology/solution rather than a product like NSX or Horizon.

And the way to use the "vSphere 7 with kubernetes" is to deploy it with the VCF4.0 therefore the vSphere Pod can be created.

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daphnissov
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No, it's definitely a product and not just a solution. This ability is engineered in directly to vSphere and not simply a reference architecture that describes how you could do it without any special bits.

At this time, you can only purchase the add-on license as part of VCF, but do not confuse functionality with license entitlement.

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niceguy001
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Hi daphnissov

As for now, does the use of vSphere Pod require only the VCF and its related license? So the deployment of VCF is the key prerequisite for vSphere Pod?

Thank you.

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niceguy001
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oops, my bad.

Just saw this: VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

The statement said: "vSphere Add-on for Kubernetes is available as part of VMware Cloud Foundation™. Please call your sales associate and visit VMware Cloud Foundation in vmware.com for additional information." in page 12.

So I think, feter20, the answer you want is probably hiding in this whitepaper.

However, another docs: Licensing for vSphere with Kubernetes implied that once the "vSphere 7 Enterprise Plus with Add-on for Kubernetes" and "NSX-T Data Center Advanced or higher" are assigned then you can use the vSphere Pod service.

Am I thinking it correctly?

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daphnissov
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I've already answered this question, so let me say another way in a simpler manner.

The so-called "vSphere Pods" feature is a capability of vSphere with Kubernetes add-on. There are other capabilities included. At this time, you can only purchase this add-on as part of VCF. So effectively, ​you cannot use this without VCF​.

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