Creating and Managing Network Profiles

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This topic describes how VMware Enterprise PKS administrators on vSphere with NSX-T can create and delete network profiles for Kubernetes clusters provisioned by Enterprise PKS. It also lists verified use cases for network profiles on Enterprise PKS.

For more information on how to use network profiles, see Using Network Profiles.

Create a Network Profile

To create a network profile in Enterprise PKS, you:

1. Define a network profile in a JSON configuration file, following the Network Profile Format below.

2. Use the PKS CLI to define the network profile within Enterprise PKS, as described in The create-network-profile Command, below.

Network Profile Format

To create a network profile, you must first define it as a JSON file that specifies network parameters, listed in Network Profile Parameters below.

Here is an example network profile that includes all available parameters.

Note: This example network profile is for illustration purposes only. It is not intended to be used as a template for network profile definition.

{
    "name": "example-network-profile",
    "description": "Example Network Profile with All Available Parameters -- FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY",
    "parameters": {
        "lb_size": "large",
        "pod_ip_block_ids": [
            "ebe78a74-a5d5-4dde-ba76-9cf4067eee55",
            "ebe78a74-a5d5-4dde-ba76-9cf4067eee56" ],
        "pod_subnet_prefix": 27,
        "pod_routable": true,
        "fip_pool_ids": [
            "e50e8f6e-1a7a-45dc-ad49-3a607baa7fa0",
            "ebe78a74-a5d5-4dde-ba76-9cf4067eee55" ],
        "t0_router_id": "5a7a82b2-37e2-4d73-9cb1-97a8329e1a90",
        "master_vms_nsgroup_id": "9b8d535a-d3b6-4735-9fd0-56305c4a5293",
        "node_ip_block_ids": [
            "2250dc43-63c8-4bb8-b8cf-c6e12ccfb7de", "3d577e5c-dcaf-4921-9458-d12b0e1318e6" ],
        "node_routable": true,
        "node_subnet_prefix": 20,
        "nodes_dns": [
            "8.8.8.8", "192.168.115.1", "192.168.116.1" ],      
        "dns_lookup_mode": "API_INGRESS",
        "ingress_prefix": "ingress",
        "single_tier_topology": true,
        "infrastructure_networks": [
            "30.0.0.0/24",
            "192.168.111.0/24",
            "192.168.115.1" ],
        "cni_configurations": {
            "type": "nsxt",
            "parameters": {
                "nsx_lb": false,
                "nsx_ingress_controller": true,         
                "x_forwarded_for": "insert",
                "ingress_ip": "192.168.160.212",
                "log_settings": {
                    "log_level": "DEBUG",
                "ingress_persistence_settings": {
                    "persistence_type": "cookie",
                    "persistence_timeout": 1 },
                "max_l4_lb_service": 10,
                "l4_persistence_type": "source_ip",
                "l4_lb_algorithm": "weighted_round_robin",
                "top_firewall_section_marker":"section-id",
                "bottom_firewall_section_marker":"section-id"                         
            }
        }
    }
}

WARNING: None of the parameters defined under cni_configurations can be updated.

Network Profile Parameters

The network profile JSON can include the following top-level parameters:

The network profile JSON accepts the following parameters for cni_configurations:

The create-network-profile Command

After a network profile is defined in a JSON file as described in Network Profile Format, an Enterprise PKS administrator can create the network profile by running the following PKS CLI command:

pks create-network-profile PATH-TO-YOUR-NETWORK-PROFILE-CONFIGURATION

Where PATH-TO-YOUR-NETWORK-PROFILE-CONFIGURATION is the path to the JSON file you created when defining the network profile.

For example:

$ pks create-network-profile np-routable-pods.json

Network profile small-routable-pod successfully created

Only cluster administrators, pks.clusters.admin, can create network profiles. If a cluster manager, pks.clusters.manage, attempts to create a network profile, the following error occurs:

You do not have enough privileges to perform this action. Please contact the PKS administrator.

After an administrator creates a network profile, cluster managers can create clusters with it or assign it to existing clusters. For more information, see the Using Network Profiles topic.

Manage Network Profiles

Enterprise PKS administrators can delete network profiles. Administrators can also perform the same operations that cluster managers use to list network profiles and manage how clusters use them.

Delete a Network Profile

To delete a network profile, run the following command:

pks delete-network-profile NETWORK-PROFILE-NAME

Where NETWORK-PROFILE-NAME is the name of the network profile you want to delete.

Note: You cannot delete a network profile that is in use.

Only cluster administrators, pks.clusters.admin, can delete network profiles. If a cluster manager, pks.clusters.manage, attempts to delete a network profile, the following error occurs:

You do not have enough privileges to perform this action. Please contact the PKS administrator.

Cluster Manager Operations

The following sections link to operations that both Enterprise PKS administrators and cluster managers can perform on network profiles, documented in the Using Network Profiles (NSX-T Only) topic.

• List Network Profiles
• Create a Cluster with a Network Profile
• Assign a Network Profile to an Existing Cluster
  • This operation can assign a network profile to a cluster that does not have one, or change a cluster’s existing profile.
  • You cannot change a cluster’s network profile to remove pod IP block IDs. For details, see Limitation: Pod IP Block Changes]

Limitation: Pod IP Block Changes

You cannot remove a cluster’s pod IP block IDs by creating and assigning a new network profile with pod_ip_block_ids array values removed.

You only can change the pod_ip_block_ids field as follows:

• Reorder the IP Block IDs in the array
• Add more IP Block IDs in the array

To update the pod_ip_block_ids network profile field for a cluster, do the following:

1. Define a new network profile. In the pod_ip_block_ids field, reorder the IP Block IDs or add additional IP Block IDs. For more information on defining the network profile JSON file, see Defining Network Profiles.

   Note: If possible, start with the exact contents of the original network profile and update the pod_ip_block_ids field, as well as the name field. If it is not possible to obtain the original network profile, create a new network profile with a unique name and the original values in the pod_ip_block_ids field. Then reorder or add IPs as desired.

For more information on the pod_ip_block_ids field, see Network Profile Parameters. For more information on the supported use cases for the pod_ip_block_ids field, see Network Profile Use Cases.

Network Profile Use Cases

Network profiles let you customize NSX-T configuration parameters at the time of cluster creation. Use cases for network profiles include: