Orchestration Control Plane Compatibility Checking for Virtual Clusters
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Solution Overview
Problem
In Kubernetes systems, there is a need for a method to logically separate virtualized infrastructure management, cluster management, and application development, allowing administrators to upgrade virtual infrastructure and application platforms independently with minimal coordination, while enabling developers to manage Kubernetes clusters without expertise in virtualized infrastructure or orchestration control planes.
Innovation Solution
A method is described that involves creating a guest cluster as a virtual extension of a host cluster, with an orchestration control plane managing the guest cluster, using compatibility documents to check software compatibility and allowing for declarative cluster configuration, thereby simplifying lifecycle management and upgrading processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If virtualized infrastructure management and cluster management are integrated into a single layer, then coordination between infrastructure upgrades and cluster upgrades becomes simpler, but the complexity of managing both virtualized infrastructure and Kubernetes clusters increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the management system into separate layers: a virtualized infrastructure management layer and a Kubernetes cluster management layer. The infrastructure layer manages virtualization components (vSphere, vSAN, vNetwork), while the Kubernetes layer manages container orchestration. This segmentation allows independent upgrades and management of each layer without requiring coordination between them, resolving the technical contradiction by reducing overall system complexity while maintaining operational ease.
2Ease of operation
If developers can manage Kubernetes clusters without expertise in virtualized infrastructure, then ease of cluster management improves, but the separation of infrastructure management and cluster management becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer - the Kubernetes control plane - that mediates between the virtualized infrastructure and the applications. This control plane handles cluster management operations independently of the underlying infrastructure details. Developers interact with the Kubernetes API to manage clusters without needing to understand the virtualization layer below, while the control plane automatically handles the separation and coordination with infrastructure components, thus maintaining ease of operation while achieving proper layer separation.
3Productivity
If VI administrators can upgrade virtual infrastructure independently, then productivity of infrastructure upgrades improves, but compatibility issues between infrastructure versions and cluster versions may arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary compatibility checking before allowing infrastructure upgrades. The system maintains compatibility matrices that define which infrastructure versions are compatible with which Kubernetes versions. Before an upgrade is applied, the system checks the compatibility matrix to ensure the new infrastructure version is compatible with the running cluster version. This preliminary action enables fast independent upgrades while preventing compatibility issues, thus maintaining both productivity and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An example method of checking compatibility of a guest cluster executing as a virtual extension of a host cluster having an orchestration control plane managing the guest cluster, the host cluster being part of a software defined data center (SDDC), is described. The method includes: receiving, at the orchestration control plane, a guest cluster infrastructure software (GCIS) compatibility document that specifies what a GCIS of the orchestration control plane requires and offers; receiving a request for a compatibility check on the guest cluster with respect to the GCIS; obtaining, at the orchestration control plane in response to the request, an SDDC compatibility documents for the SDDC and a guest cluster compatibility document for the guest cluster; computing, at the orchestration control plane, the compatibility check in response to the GCIS compatibility document, the SDDC compatibility document, and the guest cluster compatibility document; and transmitting a result of the compatibility check from the orchestration control plane to a virtual infrastructure (VI) control plane of the SDDC.