• For many enterprise platform teams, adoption isn’t blocked by Kubernetes features-it’s blocked by the operating system (OS). • You might want the automated lifecycle management of vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS), but you cannot abandon the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) standards that underpin your security compliance, licensing models, and operational toolchains. • Historically, this forced a difficult choice: adopt a managed platform and rebuild your entire operational stack on a new OS (like Ubuntu or Photon), or stay on legacy infrastructure just to keep your OS. • With the release of VKS 3.6, we are removing that friction. • We are excited to announce Build Your Own Image (BYOI) support for RHEL 9. • This isn’t just about adding another option to the menu; it’s about acknowledging that the best platform is one that fits seamlessly into your existing environment, without forcing you to rebuild your foundation.
Article Summaries:
- VMware has announced that vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS) 3.6 now supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, allowing enterprises to keep their RHEL‑based security, licensing, and tooling while adopting managed Kubernetes. The update introduces Build‑Your‑Own‑Image (BYOI) capability, letting teams create custom RHEL 9 node images that inherit Red Hat’s end‑to‑end support. A new “Image Baker” tool, accessed via the VCF CLI, automates image creation with an OCI‑based BuildKit backend, enabling declarative, clean builds that can be tailored for disk size, tools, or hardening. This removes the OS barrier that previously forced teams to switch to Ubuntu or Photon.
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