Reading Time: 3 minutes

Kubernetes (k8s) is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications and during the last years has become the standard de-facto of large containers management.

VMware PKS (launched on August 2017) is a purpose-built product that enables enterprises and service providers to simplify the deployment and operations of Kubernetes clusters. It provides a production-grade Kubernetes distribution with deep NSX-T integration for advanced networking, a built-in private registry with enterprise security features and full life cycle management support of the clusters.

Now VMware is launching VMware Essential PKS, as a first evident result of the acquiring of Heptio (announced during the last VMworld edition).

VMware Essential PKS is a modular approach to cloud native applications (CNA) based on three components:

  1. Google’s kubernetes
  2. Heptio’s Contour, Sonobuoy and Velero
  3. VMware Support
VMware Essential PKS

Plus the VMware Professional Services and Training.

What are the different Heptio’s products?

  • Contour – Master multi-team ingress. Leverages Envoy, an open source edge and service proxy designed for cloud native apps.
  • Sonobuoy – Understand the state of your cluster. A powerful Kubernetes test runner that includes upstream end-to-end conformance test suite. Also an open plugin architecture to enable operators to develop custom conformance and validation tests for environments before going into production.
  • Velero – Back up and restore cluster resources with confidence. Uses the Kubernetes API (not etcd) to capture the state of cluster resources and restore when needed. Provides a high degree of flexibility for backups, including subsets of cluster resources, label selectors, namespace filters, and resource types.

Over the past few years, the use of containers in application development has been growing rapidly and in turn, vaulting Kubernetes into the de facto standard for container orchestration.

VMware offers different customers different ways to consume Kubernetes and the new VMware Essential PKS offer fits in the modular approach, where customers want to build a cloud native operation with upstream Kubernetes and open source technology.

Note that VMware has announced also a new PKS partner competency:

The PKS Competency will be designed to help VMware partners extend their infrastructure modernization practices with new Kubernetes-based solutions and revenue streams. Kubernetes is the most popular developer-ready infrastructure abstraction on which people build new applications. It will provide training and certification along with sales, services and marketing benefits so that partners can deliver higher value-added services to help enterprises run modern applications with flexibility and agility.

VMware PKS Competency Coming Q1 FY2

For more information see the VMware product pages.

Share

Related Posts

  • VMware is acquiring Heptio

    During the VMworld 2018 Europe, VMware has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Heptio, a leader in the open Kubernetes ecosystem. Terms were not disclosed. Founded in 2016 by Joe Beda and Craig McLuckie, two of the creators of Kubernetes, Heptio…

  • VMware is acquiring CloudHealth Technologies

    VMware has announced the intent to acquire CloudHealth Technologies, a company that delivers a cloud operations platform across AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. CloudHealth Technologies platform enables customers to help analyze and manage cloud cost, usage, security and performance centrally for native public clouds.…

  • VMware vFabric Certifications

    VMware and SpringSource have released some certifications specific for the Spring Framework: Spring Professional Web Application Developer Enterprise Integration Specialist For more informations see also the Spring Framework Certification page.

Virtualization, Cloud and Storage Architect. Tech Field delegate. VMUG IT Co-Founder and board member. VMware VMTN Moderator and vExpert 2010-24. Dell TechCenter Rockstar 2014-15. Microsoft MVP 2014-16. Veeam Vanguard 2015-23. Nutanix NTC 2014-20. Several certifications including: VCDX-DCV, VCP-DCV/DT/Cloud, VCAP-DCA/DCD/CIA/CID/DTA/DTD, MCSA, MCSE, MCITP, CCA, NPP.