You can use the Fleet management feature to manage multiple clusters that are associated with a Fleet instance across regions. To enable the Fleet management feature, you must specify the region, virtual private cloud (VPC), and vSwitch information for the Fleet instance. This topic describes the architecture that is used to connect the network of a Fleet instance to the network of the clusters that are associated with the Fleet instance. This topic also describes how to specify a proper region, VPC, and vSwitch for a Fleet instance.
Network architecture
The following figure shows the network architecture that is used by Distributed Cloud Container Platform for Kubernetes (ACK One) for Fleet management. ACK Cluster 1 and ACK Cluster 2 are deployed in VPC 1 in Region 1. ACK Cluster 3 is deployed in VPC 2 in Region 2. The system administrator can access the endpoint of the API server of the Fleet instance to manage the associated clusters.
The connections marked by Circled Number 1 in the following figure indicate that the VPC of the Fleet instance can access the endpoints of the API servers of the associated clusters.
The connections marked by Circled Number 2 in the following figure indicate that the VPCs of the associated clusters can access the endpoint of the API server of the Fleet instance.
How to select a region
A Fleet instance serves as an ingress to the clusters that are associated with the Fleet instance. We recommend that you select a region that is close to most of the associated clusters. In the preceding figure, two associated clusters are deployed in Region 1 and one associated cluster is deployed in Region 2. In this scenario, you can deploy the Fleet instance in Region 1.
You can create one or more Fleet instances for multi-cluster management based on various factors, such as the business type, nearest region, test environment, and production environment. To increase the quota of Fleet instances, log on to Quota Center console and request a quota increase.
Each associated cluster can be managed by only one Fleet instance.
For more information about the regions supported by the Fleet management feature of ACK One, see Regions that support ACK One.
How to select a VPC
To use a Fleet instance to manage the associated clusters in a centralized manner, you must create network connections between the Fleet instance and the associated clusters. This way, the Fleet instance and associated clusters can access the endpoints of the API servers of each other.
The connections marked by Circled Number 1 in the preceding figure indicate that the VPC of the Fleet instance can access the endpoints of the API servers of the associated clusters.
The connections marked by Circled Number 2 in the preceding figure indicate that the VPCs of the associated clusters can access the endpoint of the API server of the Fleet instance.
If the Fleet instance and the associated clusters are deployed in different VPCs, you must create a Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) instance to connect the VPCs. This ensures that the API servers of the Fleet instance and associated clusters can access each other. You can also enable the public endpoints of the Fleet instance and associated clusters to allow them to communicate over the Internet. For more information, see CEN.
ImportantMake sure that the security groups of the Fleet instance and the associated clusters accept connection requests from each other.
When you specify the VPC of a Fleet instance, we recommend that you select the region in which most of the associated clusters reside. The Fleet instance is automatically connected to the associated clusters by using the VPC. In the preceding figure, ACK Cluster 1 and ACK Cluster 2 are deployed in VPC 1, and ACK Cluster 3 is deployed in VPC 2. In this scenario, you can deploy the Fleet instance in VPC 1.
How to select a vSwitch
Fleet instances do not have specific requirements on vSwitches. You can select a vSwitch based on your network design.