What are Connected Clusters
A connected cluster is a Kubernetes cluster linked to vCluster Platform. It serves as the Control Plane Cluster where tenant cluster control planes run. Platform deploys, manages, and monitors everything that runs inside it.
How connection works​
Connecting a cluster installs the vCluster Platform agent on it. The agent provides the communication layer between Platform and that cluster: tenant cluster provisioning, access control enforcement, lifecycle operations, and health monitoring. It uses an outbound connection to Platform, so no inbound firewall rules are required on the cluster.
Once connected, the cluster appears in the Platform UI and can be assigned to projects. Members of those projects can then create tenant clusters and spaces within the cluster, scoped to their access level.
Multi-cluster deployments​
Platform can connect to as many clusters as your infrastructure requires. This lets you:
- Distribute tenant clusters across regions or cloud providers for latency or data residency requirements
- Isolate different environments (production, staging, development) onto separate clusters
- Scale capacity by adding clusters without changing how tenants access their environments
All connected clusters are managed from one Platform instance. Tenants interact only with their tenant clusters and never have direct access to the connected cluster.
The cluster where Platform is installed​
Platform itself runs on a Kubernetes cluster. That cluster is automatically connected and available as a Control Plane Cluster. For smaller deployments, all tenant clusters can run on the same cluster as Platform. For larger fleets or stricter isolation requirements, dedicated clusters are connected separately.
Connectivity and resilience​
The agent maintains a persistent outbound connection to the Platform API server. If connectivity is lost, existing tenant clusters continue running without interruption. Platform resumes full management once the connection is restored.