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Loft Labs Adds Cluster API Support for Virtual K8s Clusters

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by Mike Vizard

Loft Labs has added support for the Cluster application programming interface (API) to make it simpler to programmatically spin up virtual clusters on a shared instance of a Kubernetes platform.

Lukas Gentele, Loft Labs CEO, says support for Cluster API within the open source vcluster platform—created to enable IT teams to more easily create multitenant environments—means a virtual cluster can now be provisioned in the same way as a physical Kubernetes cluster.

Vcluster enables IT teams to create lightweight Kubernetes clusters that run inside the namespaces of a multi-tenant cluster. A virtual cluster behaves just like any certified distribution of Kubernetes and can be spun up using either a graphical tool or via the Loft command line interface (CLI), the kubectl CLI that comes with Kubernetes or, now, the Cluster API maintained by a sub-group of the Kubernetes community that operates under the auspices of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

In addition to Loft Labs, other contributors to the Cluster API project include VMware, Microsoft, Weaveworks, Google, Mattermost, IBM, RedHat, D2iQ, Equinix, Apple, Talos Systems, Spectro Cloud, Daimler TSS, Ericsson, Giant Swarm, AppsCode, Intel, Twilio, New Relic and Amazon.

Loft Labs reports that vcluster has now been downloaded more than three million times. The company also provides an enterprise-grade platform on top of vcluster—dubbed Loft—that IT teams can use to enable developers, engineers or IT administrators self-service provisioning of Kubernetes clusters as required.

Virtual clusters are most often used as development environments when engineers are building, testing and debugging cloud-native software in addition to providing an ephemeral environment for executing continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. The overarching goal is to make it simpler for developers to spin up logically separated instances of Kubernetes that can scale up and down on a server or in the cloud rather than being limited to the resources available on an individual desktop or laptop system.

It’s still early days as far as virtualization of Kubernetes clusters is concerned. As the number of Kubernetes clusters deployed in IT environments continues to increase, finding a way to manage them more efficiently will become a higher priority. The issue many IT organizations will need to resolve is how to address this problem before Kubernetes cluster sprawl gets out of control. A vcluster coupled with the Cluster API makes it simpler to provision—and, just as importantly, tear down—a Kubernetes cluster at various stages of an application development project, notes Gentele.

It may be a while before more organizations focus on Kubernetes life cycle management, but as more microservices-based applications are built and deployed, that day is getting closer. As part of cost-containment efforts, many IT teams will realize they don’t need as many physical clusters as they have currently deployed.

Regardless of the approach to managing Kubernetes, however, it’s clear that some combination of physical and virtual Kubernetes clusters, managed at increasingly higher levels of abstraction, will soon become the IT norm.

Mike Vizard

Mike Vizard is a veteran IT journalist with more than 25 years of experience covering the technology industry, having previously served as Editor-in-Chief of both CRN and InfoWorld and as editorial director for Ziff-Davis Enterprise, where he oversaw titles including eWEEK, CIO Insight and Baseline. Over his career he has also edited or contributed to a wide range of enterprise technology publications, including IT Business Edge, Channel Insider, ComputerWorld, TMCNet and Digital Review, and he later led editorial for CTOEdge.com. His reporting and analysis span software development, cloud computing, cybersecurity, IT channel strategy and, more recently, artificial intelligence and DevOps practices. A recognized voice in enterprise IT journalism, Vizard is known for tracking emerging technology trends as they move from early adoption into mainstream enterprise use. He now serves as Chief Content Officer for Techstrong Group, where he oversees editorial strategy across the full network — DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, Cloud Native Now, Digital CxO, Techstrong.ai, TechStrong.IT, Techstrong Semi and PlatformEngineering.com — in addition to writing and hosting content for Techstrong TV and the Techstrong Gang podcast.

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