Just like vSphere (if not more so), Kubernetes requires detailed planning.
If you intend to first run a Dev/Test cluster, you can spend less time on planning and learn as you go.
For production-grade clusters, planning should start early - even before you build the VMware cluster and networking. If these foundations are not firm, your Rancher implementation may be less successful.
Prerequisites for Rancher on NetApp HCI is available here.
Noteworthy gotcha(s):
- DRS is required for vApp functionality present in HCC deployment wizard which also looks for available Resource Pools (which you won’t have if you don’t have DRS, which in turn requires vSphere Enterprise Plus). ez-rancher (shell deployment scripts) works without DRS.