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Create and Manage IPAM Node Pools

You can create and manage additional IP Address Management (IPAM) node pools for Private Cloud Gateways (PCGs) deployed in VMware vSphere or MAAS environments. IPAM node pools provide static IP address assignment for clusters that do not use Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

By default, Palette creates a PCG with a single node pool definition based on the values provided during the installation process. The default node pool created during the installation is reserved for the PCG cluster and cannot be used by other clusters.

You can also create additional node pools to meet the requirements of your workloads, such as defining different node pools for different workloads, better managing IP address utilization, or providing additional capacity.

IPAM node pools can be assigned when deploying the following types of clusters:

  • VMware vSphere Clusters - Assign the node pool to both control plane and worker pools that use static placement.
  • MAAS LXD Workload Clusters - Assign the node pool to the control plane pool only. The control plane pool must have Use LXD VMs enabled. IPAM node pools cannot be assigned to MAAS worker pools.
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You cannot create IPAM node pools for Apache CloudStack through Palette. Apache CloudStack natively supports IPAM and DHCP. You can manage where compute nodes are deployed using the native placement capabilities provided by Apache CloudStack, such as tags, availability zones, and regions.

IP Allocation in Clusters​

When a cluster is deployed using an IPAM node pool, Palette reserves additional IP addresses to support cluster operations. The number of extra IPs reserved depends on the machine pool type:

  • Control Plane Pool - Two additional IPs are reserved for infrastructure components, including the Cluster API (CAPI) bootstrap VM and the Kubernetes API load balancer.
  • Worker Pool - One additional IP is reserved for Expand First and Custom rolling updates. If the worker pool uses the Contract First rolling update strategy, no additional IP is reserved.

If you do not have a sufficient number of IP addresses available, the cluster will not be deployed. For example, if you plan to use the node pool for a cluster with one control plane node and three worker nodes using the default Expand First rolling update strategy, you need at least seven IP addresses available: three for the control plane pool (one node + two extra) and four for the worker pool (three nodes + one extra).

VMware vSphere Autoscaling​

If autoscaling is enabled when deploying VMware vSphere clusters using an IPAM node pool with static placement configured, the Maximum size determines the number of IP addresses automatically reserved for worker nodes. During Day-2 operations, even if autoscaler is disabled or the Maximum size of the worker pool is reduced, the original number of IP addresses remains allocated. To release the IP addresses, you must delete the worker node pool.

Create IPAM Node Pools​

Take the following steps to create an IPAM node pool for a PCG deployed in a VMware vSphere or MAAS environment.

Prerequisites​

  • A PCG is installed, active, and in a healthy state. Refer to Deploy a PCG for instructions on how to install a PCG.

  • Tenant administrator access.

  • An IP address range or subnet available for the node pool.

Enablement​

  1. Log in to Palette as a tenant administrator.

  2. From the left main menu, select Tenant Settings.

  3. In the Infrastructure section, select Private Cloud Gateways.

  4. Select the PCG for which you want to create a node pool.

  5. From the PCG details page, select the IP Address Management (IPAM) tab.

  6. Select Add New Pool.

  7. The Create IP Pool modal window appears. Complete the necessary fields.

    FieldDescription
    NameA unique name for the node pool.
    Network TypeChoose between Range or Subnet. Each option has different input requirements. Refer to the Range or Subnet section to learn more.
    GatewayThe gateway IP address for the node pool.
    Nameserver addressesThe IP addresses of the nameservers for the node pool.
    Nameserver search suffixThe search suffix for the domain supported by the nameservers. This field is optional.
    Restrict to a single clusterIf enabled, the node pool will be restricted to a single cluster. Additional clusters will require creating more node pools. This option is required if you plan to assign the IPAM pool to a MAAS workload cluster whose control plane uses LXD VMs.

    Range​

    If you select Range as the Network Type, you must provide the following information.

    FieldDescription
    IP Start rangeThe starting IP address for the node pool.
    IP End rangeThe ending IP address for the node pool.
    Network PrefixThe network prefix for the node pool. For example, /18.

    Subnet​

    If you select Subnet as the Network Type, you must provide the following information.

    FieldDescription
    SubnetThe subnet for the node pool in CIDR format. For example, 10.10.100.0/24.
    Network PrefixThe network prefix for the node pool. For example, /18.

  8. Select Confirm to create the node pool.

Validate​

Use the following steps to validate that the node pool was created.

  1. Log in to Palette as a tenant administrator.

  2. From the left main menu, select Tenant Settings.

  3. In the Infrastructure section, select Private Cloud Gateways.

  4. Select the PCG you created a node pool for.

  5. From the PCG details page, select the IP Address Management (IPAM) tab.

  6. Locate the recently created node pool. For VMware vSphere node pools, review the Allocated IPs.

Edit IPAM Node Pools​

Edit and resize your node pool at any time by selecting the three-dot menu beside the node pool and selecting Edit. You can edit all fields except the node pool Name.

For VMware vSphere node pools, the Allocated IPs column displays the total number of allocated and available IP addresses in the node pool based on the range or subnet provided. Select N IPs allocated, N IPs available for a breakdown of all IP addresses in the pool and their statuses. When you create a node pool, all IP addresses are initially Free; as clusters are provisioned using the node pool, individual IP addresses are Allocated for use.

For more information on how IP addresses are allocated, refer to IP Allocation in Clusters.

Viewing allocated IP addresses for a node pool

Delete IPAM Node Pools​

Delete your node pool by selecting the three-dot menu beside the node pool and selecting Delete. You cannot delete a node pool if any IP address within the pool is being used in a cluster.

Next Steps​

To use the new node pool, you will need to create a VMware vSphere cluster or MAAS LXD workload cluster with a static IP network.

For VMware vSphere clusters, assign the node pool when configuring the cluster control plane and worker nodes. For MAAS LXD workload clusters, you can assign the node pool when configuring the control plane nodes using static IPs. IPAM node pools cannot be assigned to MAAS worker pools.