Demystifying Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated by Understanding the Key Personas

September 27, 2023 Dani Barkelew

VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated brings enterprise-grade Kubernetes to organizations, but who exactly uses it and what do they do? Getting insight into the main personas can help demystify Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated and set clear expectations across teams. Knowing what you are responsible for can go a long way in having a good relationship between teams. Let's break down the key players that come together to operate Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated by following Alana, Cody, and Naomi. By the end of this blog you will have the tools and insight needed to avoid strife on your team and instead harmonize with each other through Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated.

Alana: The Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated caretaker

We know that Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated has basic needs in order to be deployed, as well as ongoing maintenance. This is where administrators like Alana step in as caretakers to keep Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated operating smoothly and in top shape. 

Alana's responsibilities include the initial deployment and ongoing management of the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated control plane. They are the administrator and operator who have key duties such as performing the installation and configuration of Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated by deploying the management cluster and configuring access. 

Alana also manages upgrades and patches to various components, which keeps Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated up to date and secure. They set role-based access control policies for the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated control plane API, defining who can access and manage the deployment. 

Additionally, Alana governs access for Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated cluster administrators by approving which users can provision and configure clusters. The Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Admin has broad privileges and acts as a cloud administrator for the environment. They work closely with infrastructure teams, often the virtualization infrastructure (VI) admin and NSX admin, during initial deployment and ongoing operations. Think of Alana as the heart of Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated, putting their technical skills to work behind the scenes. Other teams rely on Alana's diligent care of the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated control plane.

Cody: The cluster conductor

Once Alana deploys Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated, savvy operators like Cody can step in to conduct their symphonies in the cloud known as Kubernetes clusters. These users are authorized by Alana to provision and configure Kubernetes clusters powered by Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated.

Cody's responsibilities include creating Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated clusters using the tkgi CLI tool and specifying desired configurations for compute, networking, storage, and more. Cody acts as the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated cluster admin for their provisioned clusters, managing role-based access control (RBAC) policies and access control for their users. They also provide Kubernetes namespaces, quotas, and roles for developers and app teams to deploy into.

Naomi: The app hero

With Cody conducting the technical cluster operations, the stage is set for app developers like Naomi. Naomi focuses on what matters most—building and deploying applications. Naomi is granted access to specific namespaces and resources within a cluster by the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated cluster admin, Cody. 

Naomi's typical tasks include deploying and managing applications and microservices in assigned namespaces, creating Kubernetes objects like deployments, services, and ingresses, viewing logs and metrics for applications, and requesting additional resources from the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated cluster admin when needed. Naomi uses the access granted namespaces and resources within the cluster to rapidly develop applications without needing ops support. Using kubectl and other tools, Naomi can deploy and manage apps with ease. Continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines let Naomi deliver application updates frequently and reliably. 

This persona utilizes Kubernetes to power applications without needing deep operational knowledge of Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated, as the cluster admin (Cody) handles provisioning the infrastructure and platforms.

Naomi represents the persona who benefits from the capabilities expertly provided by Alana and Cody. The power of Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated is letting personas like Naomi focus on being an app hero!

Bringing teams together

Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated allows organizations to scale Kubernetes gracefully while giving clarity to roles. By understanding the different roles Alana, Cody, and Naomi play with Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated, teams can set clear expectations for responsibilities. Alana is the caretaker and oversees the Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated control plane, Cody conducts the orchestra of Kubernetes clusters, and Naomi is the app hero. Defining these personas upfront alleviates confusion down the road. With clearly defined duties, teams using Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated can work together in harmony!

How does this resonate with your own experience? Share your personas or any feedback via the box/link in the right-hand menu at the bottom of this page.

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