Preparing for Cluster Deployments

In a production cloud environment, a set of base images are made available for creating virtual machines. If you're wondering why you need base images, take a look at the FAQ.

If you're working with Photon Controller in Workstation or on ESXi, you must download the images. On Fusion, the base images are automatically downloaded for you if you're installing Photon Controller by using the installation script.

Downloading the Base Image for a Cluster

You can download the base image from the following location:

• Kubernetes

Uploading Images to Photon Controller

Once you've download the images, you can upload them to Photon Controller. For more information, see Images. Here's how to upload a base image for a cluster:

photon image create <kubernetes_image_filename> 
-n photon-kubernetes-vm.vmdk -i EAGER

To save space, upload only the images for the orchestration framework that you want to work with.

The upload takes some time, and each image consumes some disk space.

Enabling The Cluster Type for an Image

Get the image ID for your uploaded cluster image:

photon image list

Get the deployment ID:

photon deployment list

Enable each cluster type with the its image ID:

photon deployment enable-cluster-type "deployment_ID" 
-k KUBERNETES -i "Kubernetes Image ID"

Once you've uploaded the base images and enabled the cluster types for your images, you can begin working directly with a cluster framework. See Creating a Kubernetes Cluster.