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Frequent Query container volume async Tasks in vSphere UI 

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If you are running vSphere workloads that leverage Cloud Native Storage (CNS), whether through upstream or third party Kubernetes, vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS), vSAN File Services, or VCF Automation (VCFA), you have likely noticed recurring "Query container volume async" tasks appearing in the vCenter Recent Tasks pane.


I have generally treated these as informational events and ignored them, but during a recent VCFA upgrade I had noticed an uptick in the frequency of these tasks and wanted to understand where they were coming from and whether I could reduce the frequency of these events.

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Modern Kubernetes Visualization using Radar

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Over the years, many graphical user interfaces have appeared for Kubernetes, but only a few continue to be actively maintained and developed. While I prefer the standard kubectl CLI for basic interactions with a Kubernetes (k8s) cluster, a visual representation can be extremely helpful for troubleshooting and debugging.

Headlamp was my go to UI tool for k8s, which provides a simliar user experience to many of the previous Kubernetes visualization tools, nothing fancy but it gets the job done.

I recently discovered another OSS Kubernetes visualization tool called Radar, which aims to fill some of the gaps left by existing tools on the market. I was a bit skeptical as this could just be another "modern" tool until the next one is built, but I figured I would give it a try!


At first glance, it has a much cleaner, modern look and feel after I connected it to my vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS) cluster. The homepage provides a summary of all the expected datapoints including versioning, resource utilization, deployment details, and the health of components and workloads.

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Enabling new vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS) Cluster Management for VCF Automation (VCFA)

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As of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0.1, users can now manage the full lifecycle of their vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS) Clusters, including backup and restore, using the new vSphere Kubernetes Service Cluster Management (VKSM) capability, natively integrated into VCF Automation (VCFA).


This is definitely a must have capability for users managing dozen or even hundreds of VKS Clusters across different versions, VKSM provides the easy button for platform operators!

I figured before going on PTO next week and shutting down my lab, this would be the perfect time to get this deployed in my lab ... what could go wrong, right!? 😅

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