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Add Nutanix index pg & architecture doc and diagram
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ritawatson committed Dec 8, 2023
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13 changes: 12 additions & 1 deletion docs/docs-content/clusters/data-center/nutanix/architecture.md
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Expand Up @@ -8,11 +8,22 @@ tags: ["data center", "nutanix", "architecture"]
---


Nutanix is a private data center-based cloud that can be registered to Palette using Palette's generic framework built upon the open-source Cluster API (CAPI) initiative. For more information about the CAPI, review [Cluster API (CAPI) framework](#generic-framework-for-capi-clouds). Nutanix offers a hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) that combines storage, compute, and networking into a single integrated system.

Below are key architectural highlights of Nutanix clusters provisioned through Palette.

- Palette integrates with Nutanix through the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) [Nutanix Cluster API infrastructure provider](https://github.com/nutanix-cloud-native/cluster-api-provider-nutanix).

- Nutanix Prism is a resource management platform that centralizes the monitoring and management of objects across Nutanix environments, whether hosted locally or in the cloud. Nutanix Prism has two main components: Prism Central (PC) and Prism Element (PE).

- Prism Central is required. CAPI Provider Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (CAPX) interacts with Prism Central APIs using a Prism Central user account. For more information, refer to the Nutanix [Credential Management](https://opendocs.nutanix.com/capx/latest/credential_management/) reference guide.

- Prism Element is a localized cluster manager available for every deployed Nutanix cluster. Within Prism Element, you can configure a cluster, specifying its components such as the number of control plane and worker nodes, networking settings, and more.

- The Kubernetes API Server endpoint is accessible through kube-vip, which is a load balancing solution for the cluster’s control plane. Kube-vip distributes API requests across control plane nodes and also has fail over capabilities.

- A self-hosted Private Cloud Gateway (PCG) is required to enable Palette to securely communicate with the Nutanix cloud. The direct communication channel allows Palette to create clusters within the Nutanix cloud.

The following diagram illustrates the Nutanix architecture.

![alt text]
![Network flow from an architectural perspective of how Nutanix works with Palette.](/clusters_data-center_nutanix_architecture.png)
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Expand Up @@ -35,7 +35,12 @@ Use the following steps to deploy a new Nutanix cluster.

5. Fill out the following basic information, and click **Next** to continue.

<<< TABLE PLACEHOLDER >>>
| **Field** | **Description** |
|-----------|-----------------|
| **Cluster Name**| A custom name for the cluster. |
| **Description**| Use the description to provide context about the cluster.|
| **Tags**| Assign any desired cluster tags. Tags on a cluster are propagated to the Virtual Machines (VMs) deployed to the target environments.|
| **Cloud Account** | If your Nutanix account is already added in Palette, select it from the **drop-down Menu**. Otherwise, click on **Add New Account** and add your Nutanix account information. |

6. Select the Nutanix cluster profile you created and click **Next**. Palette displays the cluster profile layers.

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14 changes: 6 additions & 8 deletions docs/docs-content/clusters/data-center/nutanix/nutanix.md
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tags: ["data center", "nutanix"]
---

Palette enables seamless integration with Canonical MAAS, allowing you to deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters directly on bare metal servers. Palette achieves this through the Private Cloud Gateway (PCG), establishing a secure connection from the internal network to the internet-accessible Palette instance and effectively bypassing NAT gateways and firewalls.
[Nutanix](https://www.nutanix.com/what-we-do) is a hyper-converged infrastructure platform that combines storage, compute, and networking into a single integrated system. Palette provides a generic framework built upon the open-source CAPI initiative to support adding cloud providers. Using this framework, Palette supports integration with Nutanix as a *Tech Preview* for enabling cluster deployment within the Nutanix environment. This integration is achieved through a Private Cloud Gateway (PCG), which establishes a secure connection with Nutanix.


Palette also supports self-hosted deployment of Kubernetes clusters in the MAAS environment, allowing direct access to MAAS through a private network without the need for a PCG. This setup ensures network connectivity and flexibility in managing Kubernetes clusters on bare metal servers, either through a VPN or by directly accessing the Palette instance in a private network.

## Resources

- [Nutanix Architecture]
- [Nutanix Architecture](architecture.md)

- [Register Nutanix Cloud]
- [Register Nutanix Cloud](register-nutanix-cloud.md)

- [Install Private Cloud Gateway]
- [Install Private Cloud Gateway](install-pcg.md)

- [Add Nutanix Cloud Account]
- [Add Nutanix Cloud Account](add-nutanix-cloud-account.md)

- [Create and Manage Nutanix Cluster]
- [Create and Manage Nutanix Cluster](create-manage-nutanix-cluster.md)
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