Deploy and manage enterprise Kubernetes clusters across private cloud and multi-cloud environments with Tanzu Kubernetes Grid.
Best for
Organizations adopting Kubernetes face significant operational complexity. Standing up production-grade clusters, managing lifecycle operations across environments, and maintaining security and compliance at scale requires deep expertise and custom tooling. Tanzu Kubernetes Grid provides an enterprise Kubernetes runtime that simplifies these challenges.
Open source Kubernetes requires significant effort to make production-ready. Teams spend months integrating networking, storage, monitoring, and security before deploying a single workload.
TKG delivers a complete, validated Kubernetes runtime with high availability, advanced networking via NSX-T, and pre-integrated platform services out of the box.
Managing Kubernetes clusters at scale introduces operational burden: rolling upgrades, security patching, health monitoring, and capacity planning across multiple environments.
TKG automates lifecycle management with zero-downtime upgrades, self-healing clusters, and automated security fixes so teams can focus on delivering applications rather than managing infrastructure.
Proprietary container platforms create lock-in. Teams building on non-standard distributions face compatibility issues and limited access to the Kubernetes ecosystem.
TKG is a CNCF-certified Kubernetes distribution. Applications built on TKG are portable across any conformant Kubernetes environment, preserving flexibility and ecosystem access.
Under the Broadcom acquisition, Tanzu Kubernetes Grid capabilities have been reorganized across VMware product lines. Understanding where each component now lives is important for planning.
TKGs (vSphere with Tanzu) is now vSphere Kubernetes Service, built directly into vSphere 8. This is the recommended path for running Kubernetes natively on vSphere infrastructure.
TKGm (multicluster) capabilities, along with Tanzu Mission Control and Tanzu Service Mesh, have moved under the VCF division.
TKGI (Integrated Edition) remains available as a standalone enterprise Kubernetes runtime with its own lifecycle management, advanced networking, and private registry.
Contact our team to understand which Kubernetes path aligns with your environment and roadmap.
GET GUIDANCE ON YOUR KUBERNETES STRATEGY
Deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters consistently across vSphere, VMware Cloud Foundation, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
Declarative Kubernetes APIs provide unified management regardless of where clusters run, eliminating environment-specific operational procedures.
Rolling upgrades with zero downtime, automated health checks, and self-healing clusters reduce operational burden as your Kubernetes footprint grows.
Apply security fixes quickly across all clusters. Workload isolation keeps multi-tenant environments secure and stable.
Pre-validated logging, monitoring, networking, and storage services come integrated with TKG, reducing the time to stand up production-ready Kubernetes environments.
Advanced networking with NSX-T provides micro-segmentation and enhanced security for containerized workloads.
Built-in private container registry provides secure image storage and distribution without relying on external registry services.
Vulnerability scanning and image signing help enforce security policies across the container supply chain.
As your Kubernetes footprint scales, Tanzu Platform provides global visibility across teams, clusters, and workloads with automated multi-region configuration and policy management.
Role-based access control and broad observability keep the operational burden low even at enterprise scale.
24x7 production support from VMware Global Support Services covers the full Kubernetes stack, not just the infrastructure layer.
Access guidance from the Kubernetes community and the broader cloud native ecosystem through VMware's support organization.
Organizations running Kubernetes across on-premises vSphere and public cloud providers need consistent tooling, policies, and operational procedures. Without standardization, each environment becomes a silo with its own management overhead.
TKG provides a single Kubernetes runtime that deploys consistently on vSphere, VMware Cloud Foundation, AWS, Azure, and GCP. Teams use the same operational workflows regardless of where clusters run.
Developers need access to Kubernetes clusters quickly, without waiting for infrastructure teams to provision environments manually. Slow provisioning creates bottlenecks and pushes teams toward shadow IT solutions.
TKG on vSphere and VCF enables platform teams to offer Kubernetes as a service through the native Kubernetes API. Developers request clusters through familiar tooling while infrastructure teams maintain governance and security policies.
Organizations modernizing applications need to run containerized workloads alongside existing virtual machine workloads. Ripping and replacing infrastructure is costly and risky.
TKG runs on existing VMware infrastructure, allowing teams to modernize applications incrementally. Regulated workloads benefit from enhanced security with flexible security postures at the cluster level and support for data residency requirements.
Compute: VMware vSphere or VMware Cloud Foundation
Kubernetes Runtime: Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated
Networking: NSX-T or Antrea for container networking and micro-segmentation
Storage: vSAN, NFS, or vSphere CSI for persistent volumes
Management: Tanzu Platform for multi-cluster governance and observability
Registry: Built-in Harbor private container registry
DESIGN YOUR KUBERNETES ARCHITECTURETanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated (TKGI) is a production-grade Kubernetes runtime with advanced networking, a private container registry, and full lifecycle management. It simplifies Kubernetes deployment with high availability, rolling upgrades, health checks, and self-healing.
TKGI can be deployed on-premises on vSphere and VMware Cloud Foundation, as well as on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
TKG capabilities have been reorganized under Broadcom. The vSphere-integrated version (formerly TKGs / vSphere with Tanzu) is now vSphere Kubernetes Service, built directly into vSphere 8. This is the recommended approach for running Kubernetes natively on vSphere.
TKGI remains available as a standalone Kubernetes runtime with its own lifecycle management. TKGm capabilities have moved under the VCF division. Contact our team to determine which path fits your environment.
Infrastructure architects, platform engineers, and infrastructure operators use TKGI to provide application teams with reliable, secure, and compliant Kubernetes infrastructure.
Developers and application administrators use TKGI to automate delivery, operation, and management of cloud native applications. It is commonly used by organizations that need enterprise support, regulated workload isolation, and multi-cloud consistency.
Yes. TKGI supports large-scale, multi-cluster Kubernetes environments with workload isolation and automated lifecycle management. As your footprint grows, Tanzu Platform provides global visibility, automated configuration, role-based access control, and policy management across all clusters.
TKG licensing has evolved under Broadcom's VMware portfolio restructuring. Licensing depends on which TKG variant you need and whether it is bundled with VMware Cloud Foundation or purchased separately.
Contact our team for current licensing details and pricing based on your environment size and deployment model.
VirtualizationWorks helps organizations evaluate Tanzu Kubernetes Grid, plan Kubernetes architecture on VMware infrastructure, and navigate licensing options across the evolving Tanzu portfolio.
Have questions about this product, VMware licensing, or deployment options? Fill out the form below and a VirtualizationWorks specialist will follow up.
