3V0-24.25 Advanced VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 vSphere Kubernetes Service Questions and Answers

In Workload Management, updating the Supervisor and updating VKS clusters are related but distinct lifecycle operations. The Supervisor runs its own Kubernetes distribution, while VKS clusters consume vSphere Kubernetes releases (VKrs). These are “delivered differently,” with Supervisor Kubernetes releases and VKrs each having their own release cadence and compatibility constraints. As a result, successfully updating the Supervisor control plane does not automatically change the Kubernetes version running inside an existing VKS workload cluster; the VKS cluster must be updated to a compatible VKr separately. This mismatch is exactly why an application can still fail after a Supervisor update: the DevOps engineer is still deploying onto a cluster that hasn’t been updated to the Kubernetes version required by the application (or by the API versions/features it depends on). Additionally, Workload Management enforces sequential minor-version updates and compatibility checks between Supervisor and VKrs, so the correct remediation is to update the VKS cluster to an appropriate VKr that satisfies both application needs and Supervisor compatibility.

Configuration Sequence (in order):

Create the vSphere Namespace

Assign the zones

Select workload networking

Assign the zonal storage policy

Define resource quotas / limits

Grant RBAC / permissions

A zonal vSphere Namespace is created as a standard namespace first, then “zonalized” by associating it with one or morevSphere Zonesso workloads can be scheduled according to zone placement rules. You start bycreating the namespacebecause it is the tenancy and governance container where networking, storage access, quotas, and permissions are applied. Next, youassign the zones, since zone association is what makes the namespace “zonal” and determines where Kubernetes workloads (and their node pools) are allowed to land.

With zones set, you configureworkload networking, because namespaces must have the correct network attachment and IP behavior for the workloads that will be placed across the selected zones. Then youassign the zonal storage policy, ensuring that persistent volumes can be provisioned using storage that is valid/available for the zone placement model you selected. After networking and storage access are defined, you setresource quotas/limits(CPU, memory, storage) so multi-tenant consumption stays within governance boundaries. Finally, yougrant RBAC/permissionsso the right DevOps/users can consume the namespace and provision clusters/workloads under the enforced controls.

VCF 9.0 describes a vSphere Namespace as the control point where administrators defineresource boundariesfor workloads, explicitly stating that vSphere administrators can create namespaces and “configure them with specified amount ofmemory, CPU, and storage,” and that you can “set limits forCPU, memory, storage” for a namespace. This directly supports stepAas a day-2 control to keep multi-tenant clusters governed and prevent resource contention across different teams and workload types.

For monitoring and optimization, VCF 9.0 explains that day-2 operations include visibility into utilization and operational metrics for VKS clusters, noting that application teams can use day-2 actions and gain insights intoCPU and memory utilizationand advanced metrics (including contention and availability) for VKS clusters. In addition, VCF 9.0 monitoring guidance for VKS clusters states thatTelegraf and Prometheusmust be installed and configured on each VKS cluster before metrics and object details are sent for monitoring, and that VCF Operations supports metrics collection for Kubernetes objects (namespaces, nodes, pods, containers) via Prometheus. Since the Prometheus stack commonly includes Grafana dashboards for visualization, deployingPrometheus + Grafanamatches the required monitoring/optimization outcome inC.

VCF 9.0 states that you can provision Kubernetes clusters using both GUI and CLI approaches, and it explicitly calls out the CLI clients: “the VCF CLI and kubectl provide command-line interfaces for provisioning Kubernetes clusters.” That directly maps tokubectl (A)andVCF CLI (E)as supported clients for provisioning and lifecycle operations. Separately, VCF 9.0 explains that vSphere administrators can “manage and monitor vSphere Pods, VMs, and VKS clusters by using the vSphere Client,” which corresponds tovSphere UI (C)in the question. In addition, the vSphere Client is used to access Supervisor-facing self-service interfaces (for example, the Local Consumption Interface through the vSphere Client), reinforcing vSphere UI as an operational entry point for managing Supervisor-backed services and workloads.

By contrast,Cluster APIis a controller framework (not an operator “client” for admins in this context), andesxtop/esxcliare ESXi host tools that do not represent the documented, supported interfaces for provisioning and managing VKS clusters at the Kubernetes service layer.

In VCF 9.0, VKS cluster provisioning and lifecycle management is built around Kubernetes-native, declarative APIs. The VMware documentation describes thatCluster API provides declarative, Kubernetes-style APIs for cluster creation, configuration, and management, and that its inputs include the cluster definition plus the resources describing the virtual machines and “cluster add-ons.” This is why Cluster API is the component associated withprovisioning(creating and managing) workload clusters in the VKS model.

By contrast,cert-manageris typically used to automate certificate issuance/renewal for in-cluster components, andCarvelis a set of tools often used to package, configure, and install Kubernetes software, but neither is the core provisioning controller for creating the clusters themselves. The VCF documentation is explicit that Cluster API is the API layer responsible for cluster creation/configuration/management, making it the correct answer for provisioning VKS workload clusters (including those intended to run service mesh capabilities).

VCF 9.0 defines aVCF CLI contextas aconfiguration setfor a specific endpoint (for example, a Kubernetes cluster, vSphere Supervisor, or VCF Automation) and explains that a context stores the key connection parameters such asendpoint,context type,path to kubeconfig, andcredentials. This aligns directly with optionC, because vcf context create is used to create anamedcontext that encapsulates the access parameters needed to work with a specific Supervisor or VKS cluster and to switch between multiple environments without rewriting configuration each time.

The documentation further shows vcf context create being used to connect either to aSupervisor endpointor to aworkload (VKS) cluster(by providing workload cluster name/namespace or by using a generated kubeconfig), which is exactly the multi-tenant operational pattern in the question. While authentication is part of what happens during context creation (for example, creating a configuration that includes a JWT for Kubernetes API access), the command’s purpose is broader: it creates the reusablecontextobject that defineswhereandhowthe CLI connects.

A Global Namespace in a service-mesh-driven, multi-cluster design is fundamentally anorganizational and policy boundarythat lets platform teams treat multiple Kubernetes namespaces—across multiple clusters/regions—as one logical application domain. That is whyBis correct: it defines an application boundary spanning clusters, which is exactly what “GovApp” needs when its tiers are distributed across regions but must still behave as one application. It also explains whyAis correct: the value of a Global Namespace is that you can applyconsistent identity, security, and traffic policiesacross all member namespaces and clusters, rather than configuring them separately per cluster. This supports uniform mTLS/authorization posture, consistent service-to-service access rules, and standardized routing behaviors regardless of where a service instance runs.

The other options describe outcomes that may be enabled by additional service-mesh features, but they are not the corerequirementsthat define a Global Namespace: distributed ingress/egress is not guaranteed simply by the namespace construct, automatic workload placement is typically handled by schedulers/placement engines rather than the namespace boundary, and centralized logging is an observability capability outside the namespace requirement itself.

When you build Kubernetes-aware policy constructs, “groups” are commonly used to collect objects so you can apply consistent controls (security posture, traffic rules, observability scope, etc.) to a set of endpoints. In VCF 9.0 documentation, the Kubernetes member types that can be used for group-based collection includeKubernetes NodeandKubernetes Serviceas supported member object categories. Nodes represent the worker compute endpoints that run workloads, while Services represent stable networking front-ends for sets of pods (and are often the anchoring object for policy and routing decisions at the Kubernetes layer). Using Node-based grouping helps apply policies to the infrastructure execution points where workloads run, and Service-based grouping helps apply policies consistently to application entry points and east-west communication targets, regardless of pod churn. This combination is especially useful in Kubernetes-centric operational models because it aligns policy scope with both (1) where workloads execute (nodes) and (2) how workloads are exposed and discovered (services).

Hosts and Clusters

To create avSphere Zone(used as a Supervisor Management Zone and/or Workload Zone), the administrator must start from the vSphere Client inventory wherevCenterand its clusters are managed. That’s why the correct starting point in the “Inventories” toolbar isHosts and Clusters—it is the entry point used to select the vCenter object and the target clusters.

VCF 9.0 documents the zone-creation workflow as:navigate to vCenter, thenSelect Configure, thenselect vSphere Zones, and finally clickAdd New vSphere Zone. After naming the zone, youselect a vSphere cluster to add to the zoneand finish the wizard.

This sequence matches the intent of the hotspot: you must first open the inventory view that exposes vCenter and clusters (Hosts and Clusters), then perform the configuration steps under vCenter to define vSphere Zones. Once created, these zones can later be selected during Supervisor deployment (for multi-zone placement) or assigned to namespaces for workload placement.

The documented behavior of kubectl edit is that it opens the object manifest in a local text editor, and the editor it launches is controlled by environment variables. In the VCF 9.0 documentation (Workload Management / Supervisor operations), the procedure explicitly states: “The kubectl edit command opens the namespace manifest in the text editor defined by your KUBE_EDITOR or the EDITOR environment variable.”

If the administrator’s environment does not have KUBE_EDITOR or EDITOR defined (or they point to an invalid/interactive-less editor in the current session), kubectl edit may not open the expected editor workflow, and the admin may not see the normal confirmation after saving and exiting. Setting KUBE_EDITOR (preferred for kubectl-specific behavior) or EDITOR ensures kubectl launches a known-good editor, allowing the manifest to be modified, saved, and then submitted back to the API server when the editor exits. The same documented requirement also applies to editing other Kubernetes objects (such as a VKS cluster manifest) because the kubectl edit mechanism is identical.

A service mesh is an application communication layer that standardizesservice-to-service trafficinside Kubernetes. Instead of each development team building custom logic for retries, timeouts, encryption, and telemetry, the mesh provides these capabilities consistently across workloads. This is typically done by inserting a data plane (often sidecar proxies or node-level proxies) that intercepts inbound and outbound traffic for each microservice, plus a control plane that distributes configuration and identity material.

The key outcomes align directly to optionB: communication becomespossible(reliable connectivity patterns),structured(consistent routing rules, policies, and identity), andobservable(metrics, logs, and distributed tracing for east-west traffic). A service mesh commonly adds controls such asmTLS encryption, fine-grainedtraffic policy(allow/deny, rate limits, circuit breaking), and progressive delivery patterns (canary/blue-green) without changing application code.

By contrast, service discovery (A) is usually a built-in Kubernetes function, load balancing/autoscaling across sites (C) is not the primary definition of a service mesh, and a single centralized global routing table (D) is not how meshes are typically described or implemented.

In VCF 9.0 VKS clusters, network policy is a core Kubernetes networking control implemented by the cluster’s CNI (Antrea or Calico). The VCF documentation’s “VKS Cluster Networking” table describesNetwork policyas the feature that “controls what traffic is allowed to and from selected pods and network endpoints,” and identifies Antrea or Calico as the providers for this capability. That definition precisely matches optionB: it governs pod-to-pod and pod-to-external endpoint communication rules. This is different from ingress routing (which the same table describes separately as “Cluster ingress … routing for inbound pod traffic”), so option C is not correct for “network policy.” It is also different from NodePort behavior (external access via a port on each worker node through the Kubernetes network proxy), which is explicitly listed as “Service type: NodePort.” Finally, creating/operating clusters natively in Supervisor is a broader lifecycle function (Cluster API/VKS API), not the definition of network policy. Therefore,NetworkPolicyis the Kubernetes-layer mechanism to define and enforce allowed traffic flows.

A Supervisor upgrade impacts the lifecycle and compatibility of Supervisor Services (including Core Supervisor Services). VMware guidance emphasizes validating compatibility for the components that depend on the Supervisor and remediating any incompatibilities as part of the overall upgrade process. If a Core Supervisor Service remains stuck in“Configuring”after the Supervisor is upgraded, a common and expected cause is that the service version isnot compatiblewith the upgraded Supervisor/vCenter software state. In those cases, the upgrade workflow expects you toidentify and update incompatible Supervisor Servicesto versions that match the new supported software level. Ensuring the vSphere Kubernetes Service is at asupportedversion (for the upgraded Supervisor) aligns with the documented approach: run compatibility checks and thenupdate the versions of incompatible Supervisor Servicesso they can complete reconciliation and reach a healthy state.

Kubernetes Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is implemented through theRBAC API group(rbac.authorization.k8s.io) and defines the core authorization primitives used to grant permissions to users, groups, and service accounts. The cluster-scoped objects declared by the RBAC API areClusterRoleandClusterRoleBinding. AClusterRoledefines a set of permissions (verbs such as get/list/watch/create/update/delete) over resources at thecluster scope(including cluster-wide resources and optionally namespaced resources across namespaces). AClusterRoleBindingthenbindsthat ClusterRole to a subject (user/group/serviceaccount), making those permissions effective cluster-wide.

This differs from namespace-scoped RBAC objects (RoleandRoleBinding) which apply only within a single namespace. The other options are incorrect becauseClusterObject/ClusterNodeare not RBAC API objects,ValidatingAdmissionPolicybelongs to the admission control API surface (policy enforcement),ResourceQuotais a namespace resource governance object, andContainer/Deploymentare workload/runtime concepts defined in the core/apps APIs rather than authorization primitives.

VCF 9.0 documentation explicitly indicates thatvCenter upgrades and the Supervisor/cluster (Workload Management) upgrade are distinct, noting that “if you have only upgraded vCenter and not the cluster” then DevOps engineers have reduced permissions until the cluster is upgraded. This supports the stated standard that VKS/Workload Management lifecycle can be treated separately from vCenter. For the private registry requirement, VCF 9.0 provides an operational mechanism to authenticate and pull artifacts from private registries: “Registry secrets allow package and repository consumers to authenticate to and pull images from private registries,” implemented via a standard Kubernetes Secret of type kubernetes.io/dockerconfigjson.

Taken together, the standard implies (1)asynchronoushandling (separate lifecycle from vCenter) and (2)privatesourcing (images pulled from an internal registry with registry secrets). Therefore, selectingAsynchronous Privatebest matches both requirements in a single configuration choice, aligning with the documented separation of upgrades and the documented need to use authenticated access to private registries.