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Installing outside an AZ

In this model, the management cluster runs on a dedicated, neutral Kubernetes cluster separate from every workload AZ. A single control plane can orchestrate one or many Superphenix clusters from that management environment.

Part of the deployment guide. For the alternative placement, see Installing inside an AZ.

Overview

Management outside the AZ

The control plane runs outside your workload AZs. This is recommended for multi-AZ orchestration and maximum redundancy.

When to choose this model

  • Multi-AZ at scale: one management cluster orchestrates many AZs.
  • Redundancy: management is independent of any workload AZ.
  • Greenfield datacenters: pair with Automated OS installation for hands-off server provisioning on workload clusters.

Requirements

Important

The management cluster needs connectivity to the Kubernetes API of every Superphenix cluster it will manage.

  • You can install the operator on any conformant Kubernetes cluster (v1.28+), as long as it can reach the control plane of each destination cluster.
  • The management cluster does not need to be Talos; it can run on vanilla Kubernetes or even another cloud, as long as network paths to your AZs are reliable.
  • Plan GitOps and API connectivity from management to every AZ before you define Cluster resources.

Trade-offs

Aspect Notes
Deployment Harder: an additional cluster to provision and operate
Maintenance Harder: separate management fleet to patch and monitor
Multiple AZs Easier to manage many AZs from one neutral control plane
Failover Easier: management is not tied to any workload AZ
Dependency No chicken-and-egg: management does not depend on Superphenix workload stacks

Next steps

  1. Provision a management Kubernetes cluster (any supported distribution).
  2. Installing management plane: install the operator and configure the management stack.
  3. Installing the OS or Automated OS installation: provision workload AZ clusters.
  4. Installing an AZ: register each AZ with a Cluster resource.

See Deployment topology for the full comparison with management on an AZ.