#Huawei DCS Provider

#Overview

The Huawei DCS Infrastructure Provider enables Immutable Infrastructure on Huawei Datacenter Virtualization Solution (DCS) platform.

DCS (Datacenter Virtualization Solution) is Huawei's virtualization platform that provides enterprise-grade virtualization capabilities. The DCS Provider integrates with DCS to manage virtual machines, networks, and storage resources for Kubernetes clusters.

#Key Features

• Virtual Machine Management: Provision and manage VMs on DCS platform
• Network Configuration: Support for multi-NIC configurations with customizable network settings
• Storage Management: Flexible disk configuration with template disks and IP-slot-based persistent disks across multiple datastores
• High Availability: Built-in support for highly available control plane deployments
• Rolling Updates: Automated rolling updates for zero-downtime maintenance
• Upgrade Data Preservation: Declared persistent disks can be detached from old VMs and reattached to replacement VMs during rolling upgrades so preserved node-local data is not lost with the system disk

#Cluster Management Capabilities

The DCS Provider always supports YAML-based cluster management through Cluster API manifests. It also supports UI-based cluster management when Fleet Essentials is installed and Alauda Container Platform DCS Infrastructure Provider is 1.0.13 or later. If the UI workflow relies on pool-managed persistent disks, use DCS provider v1.0.16 or later. In v1.0.16, the persistent-disk declaration on DCSIpHostnamePool remains YAML-only.

#UI-Based Management (Fleet Essentials)

Fleet Essentials provides the UI extension anchors that allow Alauda Container Platform DCS Infrastructure Provider to add DCS-specific pages dynamically. When Fleet Essentials is installed and the provider version is 1.0.13 or later, you can manage DCS clusters through the web UI. Pool-managed persistent-disk scenarios require DCS provider v1.0.16 or later, but in v1.0.16 the persistentDisk declaration on DCSIpHostnamePool must still be managed through YAML manifests:

Infrastructure Resource Management:

• Cloud Credentials - Store DCS platform access credentials
• IP Pools - Manage IP address allocations and multi-NIC settings. In v1.0.16, IP-slot persistent disks such as /var/cpaas remain YAML-managed
• Machine Templates - Define VM specifications for Control Plane and Worker Nodes, excluding pool-managed persistent disks

Cluster Lifecycle:

• Create Clusters - 5-step wizard workflow for guided cluster creation
• View cluster details with Overview, Nodes, Node Pools, and Aligned Extensions tabs
• Upgrade Clusters - Two-phase upgrade: Distribution Version → Kubernetes
• Destroy clusters with confirmation dialogs

Node Pool Management:

• View Control Plane and Worker Node Pools
• Add Worker Node Pools with configurable replicas and rollout strategies
• Delete Worker Node Pools
• Upgrade Kubernetes version per Node Pool
• View detailed Conditions for Control Plane Node Pool

#YAML-Based Management

For automation and GitOps workflows, you can manage DCS clusters using YAML manifests. This workflow does not depend on Fleet Essentials:

• Define infrastructure resources (Secret, DCSIpHostnamePool, DCSMachineTemplate)
• Create cluster resources (KubeadmControlPlane, DCSCluster, Cluster)
• Manage worker nodes (MachineDeployment, KubeadmConfigTemplate)
• Perform rolling updates and upgrades with declared persistent disks preserved across node replacement

See Creating Clusters on Huawei DCS for YAML-based instructions.

#Supported Kubernetes Versions

The DCS Provider supports Kubernetes versions as defined in the OS Support Matrix. Each MicroOS release includes a specific Kubernetes version, and VM templates must be created using the corresponding MicroOS images.

#Architecture

The DCS Provider implements the Cluster API infrastructure provider specification:

• DCSCluster: Represents the DCS infrastructure cluster
• DCSMachine: Represents individual virtual machines
• DCSMachineTemplate: Defines VM templates for machine creation
• DCSIpHostnamePool: Manages IP and hostname allocations for machines

#Requirements

• DCS platform with API access
• Interface interconnection user with administrator role
• Virtual machine templates with MicroOS images
• DCS VM templates 4.2.1 or later when you use pool-managed persistent disks, because safe shutdown and disk detach depend on guest tools
• Shared storage with cross-host access capability

#Documentation

For detailed instructions on using the DCS Provider, see:

• Installation
• Infrastructure Resources
• Creating Clusters
• Managing Nodes
• Upgrading Clusters
• API Reference