---
# source: src/content/solutions/en/vmware/vmware-cloud-foundation/vks.md
# route:  /en/solutions/vmware/vmware-cloud-foundation/vks/
title: vSphere Kubernetes Service
tags: [containers, virtualization]
vendors: [vmware]
summary: Kubernetes inside the vSphere stack. Containers run on the existing platform and are managed with the same tools.
photoNeed: "A vSphere or VCF console on a real screen at soulTec: a cluster view, a running task, an inventory tree, so the reader should recognise the UI"
stub: false
draft: false
kind: product
formerly: vSphere with Tanzu
acronym: VKS
editions: [vvf, vcf]
addon: false
sourceNote: "Broadcom, VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 and VMware vSphere Foundation 9.1: Feature Comparison & Upgrade Paths, read 2026-08-28"
vendorName: VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service
status: current
---

## What it is

vSphere Kubernetes Service, formerly vSphere with Tanzu, puts Kubernetes into the vSphere
stack. Containers run on the platform that is already there and are managed with the same
tools.

## The alternative: a second platform

Standing up a separate Kubernetes estate means a second operating model, second monitoring,
second set of permissions, and a second team who know it in an emergency. With vSphere
skills the way in here is much shorter.

## What it is for

Two cases.

Development teams need Kubernetes clusters to build and test containerised applications.

The other: organisations that write no software of their own also need a platform for
containers, because third-party software increasingly ships only as a container image.

## What to watch

Storage classes, networking and access rights want deciding before the first cluster
exists.