Add v2.14 preview docs (#2212)

2026-05-04 20:23:24 +00:00 · 2026-03-05 12:30:57 -08:00
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+---
+title: Downstream Cluster Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration"/>
+</head>
+
+The following docs will discuss [machine configuration](machine-configuration/machine-configuration.md).
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+---
+title: EC2 Machine Configuration Reference
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/machine-configuration/amazon-ec2"/>
+</head>
+
+For more details about EC2 nodes, refer to the official documentation for the [EC2 Management Console](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2).
+
+### Region
+
+The geographical [region](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-regions-availability-zones.html) in which to build your cluster.
+
+### Zone
+
+The [zone](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-regions-availability-zones.html#concepts-availability-zones), an isolated location within a region to build your cluster
+
+### Instance Type
+
+The [instance type](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/instance-types.html), which determines the hardware characteristics, used to provision your cluster.
+
+### Root Disk Size
+
+Configure the size (in GB) for your [root device](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/RootDeviceStorage.html).
+
+### VPC/Subnet
+
+The [VPC](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/configure-your-vpc.html) or specific [subnet](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/configure-subnets.html), an IP range in your VPC, to add your resources to.
+
+### IAM Instance Profile Name
+
+The name of the [instance profile](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_use_switch-role-ec2_instance-profiles.html) used to pass an IAM role to an EC2 instance.
+
+## Advanced Options
+
+### AMI ID
+
+The [Amazon Machine Image](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/AMIs.html) used for the nodes in your cluster.
+
+### SSH Username for AMI
+
+The username for connecting to your launched instances. Refer to [here](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/connection-prereqs.html) for the default usernames to selected AMIs. For AMIs not listed, check with the AMI provider.
+
+### Security Group
+
+Choose the default security group or configure a security group.
+
+Please refer to [Amazon EC2 security group when using Node Driver](../../../../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/installation-requirements/port-requirements.md#rancher-aws-ec2-security-group) to see what rules are created in the `rancher-nodes` Security Group.
+
+### EBS Root Volume Type
+
+The [EBS volume type](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-volume-types.html) to use for the root device.
+
+### Encrypt EBS Volume
+
+Enable [Amazon EBS Encryption](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryption.html).
+
+### Request Spot Instance
+
+Enable option to [request spot instances](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/spot-requests.html) and specify the maximum instance price per hour you're willing to pay.
+
+### Use only private address
+
+Enable option on use only [private addresses](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/using-instance-addressing.html).
+
+### EBS-Optimized Instance
+
+Use an [EBS-optimized instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-optimized.html).
+
+### Allow access to EC2 metadata
+
+Enable access to [EC2 metadata](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-instance-metadata.html).
+
+### Use tokens for metadata
+
+Use [Instance Metadata Service Version 2 (IMDSv2)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/configuring-instance-metadata-service.html), a token-based method to access metadata.
+
+### Add Tag
+
+Add metadata using [tags](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/Using_Tags.html) to categorize resources.
+
+### IPv6 Address Count
+
+Specify how many IPv6 addresses to assign to the instance’s network interface.
+
+### IPv6 Address Only
+
+Enable this option if the instance should use IPv6 exclusively. IPv6-only VPCs or subnets require this. When enabled, the instance will have IPv6 as its sole address, and the IPv6 Address Count must be greater than zero.
+
+### HTTP Protocol IPv6
+
+Enable or disable IPv6 endpoints for the instance metadata service.
+
+### Enable Primary IPv6
+
+Enable this option to designate the first assigned IPv6 address as the primary address. This ensures a consistent, non-changing IPv6 address for the instance. It does not control whether IPv6 addresses are assigned.
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+---
+title: Azure Machine Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/machine-configuration/azure"/>
+</head>
+
+For more information about Azure, refer to the official [Azure documentation.](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/?product=featured)
+
+### Environment
+
+Microsoft provides multiple [clouds](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/cloud?view=azure-cli-latest) for compliance with regional laws, which are available for your use:
+
+- AzurePublicCloud
+- AzureGermanCloud
+- AzureChinaCloud
+- AzureUSGovernmentCloud
+
+### Location
+
+Configure the cluster and node [location](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/regions).
+
+### Resource Group
+
+A resource group is a container that holds related resources for an Azure solution. The resource group can include all the resources for the solution, or only those resources that you want to manage as a group. You decide how you want to allocate resources to resource groups based on what makes the most sense for your organization. Generally, add resources that share the same lifecycle to the same resource group so you can easily deploy, update, and delete them as a group.
+
+Use an existing resource group or enter a resource group name and one will be created for you.
+
+For information on managing resource groups, see the [Azure documentation.](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/manage-resource-groups-portal)
+
+### Availability Set (unmanaged)
+
+Name or ID of an existing [availability set](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/availability-set-overview) to add the VM to.
+
+### Image
+
+The name of the operating system image provided as an ARM resource identifier. Requires using managed disk.
+
+### VM Size
+
+Choose a size for each VM in the node pool. For details about each VM size, see [this page.](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/)
+
+## Advanced Options
+
+### Fault Domain Count
+
+Fault domains define the group of virtual machines that share a common power source and network switch. If the availability set has already been created, the fault domain count will be ignored.
+
+For more information on fault domains, see [refer here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/availability-set-overview#how-do-availability-sets-work).
+
+### Update Domain Count
+
+Update domains indicate groups of virtual machines and underlying physical hardware that can be rebooted at the same time. If the availability set has already been created, the update domain count will be ignored.
+
+For more information on update domains, see [refer here](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/availability-set-overview#how-do-availability-sets-work).
+
+### Purchase Plan
+
+Some VM images in the Azure Marketplace require a plan. If applicable, select a purchase plan, formatted as `publisher:product:plan`, to use with your chosen image.
+
+### Subnet
+
+The name of the subnet when creating a new VNet or referencing an existing one.
+
+Default: `docker-machine`
+
+### Subnet Prefix
+
+The subnet IP address prefix to use when creating a new VNet in CIDR format.
+
+Default: `192.168.0.0/16`
+
+### Virtual Network
+
+The [virtual network](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-networks-overview) to use or create if one does not exist. Formatted as `[resourcegroup:]name`.
+
+### Public IP Options
+
+#### No Public IP
+
+Do not allocate a public IP address.
+
+#### Static Public IP
+
+Allocate a static public IP address.
+
+### Use Private IP
+
+Use a static private IP address.
+
+### Private IP Address
+
+Configure a static private IP address to use.
+
+### Network Security Group
+
+The [network security group](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/network-security-groups-overview) to use. All nodes using this template will use the supplied network security group. If no network security group is provided, a new one will be created for each node.
+
+### DNS Label
+
+A unique DNS name label for the public IP address.
+
+### Storage Type
+
+The [storage account](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-account-overview) type to use with your VMs. Options include Standard LRS, Standard ZRS, Standard GRS, Standard RAGRS, and Premium LRS.
+
+### Use Managed Disks
+
+[Azure managed disks](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/managed-disks-overview) are block-level storage volumes that are managed by Azure and used with Azure Virtual Machines. Managed disks are designed for 99.999% availability. Managed disks achieve this by providing you with three replicas of your data, allowing for high durability.
+
+### Managed Disk Size
+
+The size in GB for the disk for each node.
+
+### SSH Username
+
+The username used to create an SSH connection to your nodes.
+
+### Open Port
+
+Opens inbound traffic on specified ports. When using an existing Network Security Group, Open Ports are ignored.
+
+Default: `2379/tcp, 2380/tcp, 6443/tcp, 9796/tcp, 10250/tcp, 10251/tcp, 10252/tcp, 10256/tcp` and `8472/udp, 4789/udp`
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+---
+title: DigitalOcean Machine Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/machine-configuration/digitalocean"/>
+</head>
+
+For more details about DigitalOcean, Droplets, refer to the [official documentation](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/compute/).
+
+### Region
+
+Configure the [region](https://docs.digitalocean.com/glossary/region/) where Droplets are created.
+
+### Size
+
+Configure the [size](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/resources/choose-plan/) of Droplets.
+
+### OS Image
+
+Configure the operating system [image](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/images/) Droplets are created from.
+
+### Monitoring
+
+Enable the DigitalOcean agent for additional [monitoring](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/monitoring/).
+
+### IPv6
+
+Enable IPv6 for Droplets.
+
+For more information, refer to the [Digital Ocean IPv6 documentation](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/networking/ipv6).
+
+### Private Networking
+
+Enable private networking for Droplets.
+
+### Droplet Tags
+
+Apply a tag (label) to a Droplet. Tags may only contain letters, numbers, colons, dashes, and underscores. For example, `my_server`.
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+---
+title: GCE Machine Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/machine-configuration/google-gce"/>
+</head>
+
+
+For more information about Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and the Google Compute Engine (GCE), refer to the official [GCP documentation](https://cloud.google.com/docs).
+
+### Zone
+
+The GCP Region and Zone that the VM will be deployed to. For example, `us-east1-b`.
+
+### Machine Image Project
+
+The image project that the desired image families belong to.
+
+### Machine Image Family
+
+The image family that the desired machine operating system belongs to.
+
+### Machine Image
+
+The operating system that will be installed onto the VM.
+
+### Disk Type
+
+The type of the disk attached to the VM. The available types may differ between regions.
+
+### Disk Size
+
+The size of the disk attached to the VM, in Gigabytes.
+
+### Machine Type
+
+The type of VM that will be deployed. Machine types determine the number of resources (vCPU, RAM, etc.) allocated for each node.
+
+### Network
+
+The VPC network that the VM will be created in. This value cannot be changed once the machine pool has been provisioned.
+
+### Subnet
+
+The VPC subnetwork tha the VM will be created in. This value cannot be changed once the machine pool has been provisioned.
+
+### Username
+
+A custom username set as the default user of the GCE VM. 
+
+### External Address
+
+The desired external IP address for the GCE VM.
+
+### Scopes
+
+A list of OAuth2 scopes which allow the VM to access other GCP APIs.
+
+### Allow Internal Communication
+
+By default, a VPC firewall rule is automatically created to expose a fixed set of ports within the VPC to facilitate communication between cluster nodes. This behavior can be disabled on a per machine pool basis, when clicking the `Show Advanced` option and disabling the `Allow Internal Communication` checkbox. 
+
+### Expose External ports
+
+A list of ports to be opened _externally_ to the wider internet. Open ports are defined at the machine pool level. Enabling this option will result in the automatic creation of a VPC firewall rule. This rule will be automatically deleted when the cluster or machine pool is deleted.
+
+### Network Tags
+
+Tags is a list of _network tags_, which can be used to associate preexisting Firewall Rules with all VMs within a machine pool.
+
+### Labels
+
+A comma separated list of custom labels to be attached to all VMs within a given machine pool. Unlike Tags, Labels do not influence networking behavior and only serve to organize cloud resources.
+
+## Advanced Options
+
+When creating clusters via the Rancher UI some options are automatically configured for you. However, when creating machine config objects manually, you must ensure you properly configure the below fields.
+
+### external-firewall-rule-prefix
+
+A prefix that will be used when creating the firewall rule to expose ports publicly. Ideally, this should be a concatenation the machine pool name and the cluster name. This field must be set if the machine pool is configured to expose ports publicly, otherwise it can be omitted.
+
+### internal-firewall-rule-prefix
+
+A prefix that will be used when creating the internal firewall rule which allows for communication between nodes within the cluster. If this field is omitted, no internal firewall rule will be created.
+
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+title: Machine Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/machine-configuration"/>
+</head>
+
+Machine configuration is the arrangement of resources assigned to a virtual machine. Please see the docs for [Amazon EC2](amazon-ec2.md), [DigitalOcean](digitalocean.md), [Google GCE](google-gce.md), and [Azure](azure.md) to learn more.
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+---
+title: EC2 Node Template Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/node-template-configuration/amazon-ec2"/>
+</head>
+
+For more details about EC2, nodes, refer to the official documentation for the [EC2 Management Console](https://aws.amazon.com/ec2).
+
+### Region
+
+In the **Region** field, select the same region that you used when creating your cloud credentials.
+
+### Cloud Credentials
+
+Your AWS account access information, stored in a [cloud credential.](../../../user-settings/manage-cloud-credentials.md)
+
+See [Amazon Documentation: Creating Access Keys](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_credentials_access-keys.html#Using_CreateAccessKey) how to create an Access Key and Secret Key.
+
+See [Amazon Documentation: Creating IAM Policies (Console)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/access_policies_create.html#access_policies_create-start) how to create an IAM policy.
+
+See [Amazon Documentation: Adding Permissions to a User (Console)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_users_change-permissions.html#users_change_permissions-add-console) how to attach an IAM
+
+See our three example JSON policies:
+
+- [Example IAM Policy](../../../../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/launch-kubernetes-with-rancher/use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider/create-an-amazon-ec2-cluster.md#example-iam-policy)
+- [Example IAM Policy with PassRole](../../../../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/launch-kubernetes-with-rancher/use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider/create-an-amazon-ec2-cluster.md#example-iam-policy-with-passrole) (needed if you want to use [Kubernetes Cloud Provider](../../../../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/kubernetes-clusters-in-rancher-setup/set-up-cloud-providers/set-up-cloud-providers.md) or want to pass an IAM Profile to an instance)
+- [Example IAM Policy to allow encrypted EBS volumes](../../../../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/launch-kubernetes-with-rancher/use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider/create-an-amazon-ec2-cluster.md#example-iam-policy-to-allow-encrypted-ebs-volumes) policy to an user.
+
+### Authenticate & Configure Nodes
+
+Choose an availability zone and network settings for your cluster.
+
+### Security Group
+
+Choose the default security group or configure a security group.
+
+Please refer to [Amazon EC2 security group when using Node Driver](../../../../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/installation-requirements/port-requirements.md#rancher-aws-ec2-security-group) to see what rules are created in the `rancher-nodes` Security Group.
+
+If you provide your own security group for an EC2 instance, please note that Rancher will not modify it. As such, you will be responsible for ensuring that your security group is set to allow the [necessary ports for Rancher to provision the instance](../../../../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/installation-requirements/port-requirements.md#ports-for-rancher-server-nodes-on-rke2). For more information on controlling inbound and outbound traffic to EC2 instances with security groups, refer [here](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/VPC_SecurityGroups.html#WorkingWithSecurityGroups).
+
+### Instance Options
+
+Configure the instances that will be created. Make sure you configure the correct **SSH User** for the configured AMI. It is possible that a selected region does not support the default instance type. In this scenario you must select an instance type that does exist, otherwise an error will occur stating the requested configuration is not supported.
+
+If you need to pass an **IAM Instance Profile Name** (not ARN), for example, when you want to use a [Kubernetes Cloud Provider](../../../../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/kubernetes-clusters-in-rancher-setup/set-up-cloud-providers/set-up-cloud-providers.md), you will need an additional permission in your policy. See [Example IAM policy with PassRole](../../../../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/launch-kubernetes-with-rancher/use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider/create-an-amazon-ec2-cluster.md#example-iam-policy-with-passrole) for an example policy.
+
+### Engine Options
+
+In the **Engine Options** section of the node template, you can configure the container daemon. You may want to specify the container version or a container image registry mirror.
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+---
+title: Azure Node Template Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/node-template-configuration/azure"/>
+</head>
+
+For more information about Azure, refer to the official [Azure documentation.](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/?product=featured)
+
+Account access information is stored as a cloud credential. Cloud credentials are stored as Kubernetes secrets. Multiple node templates can use the same cloud credential. You can use an existing cloud credential or create a new one.
+
+- **Placement** sets the geographical region where your cluster is hosted and other location metadata.
+- **Network** configures the networking used in your cluster.
+- **Instance** customizes your VM configuration.
+
+  :::note
+
+  If using a VNet in a different Resource Group than the VMs, the VNet name should be prefixed with the Resource Group name. For example, `<resource group>:<vnet>`.
+
+  :::
+
+If you use Docker, the [Docker daemon](https://docs.docker.com/engine/docker-overview/#the-docker-daemon) configuration options include:
+
+- **Labels:** For information on labels, refer to the [Docker object label documentation.](https://docs.docker.com/config/labels-custom-metadata/).
+- **Docker Engine Install URL:** Determines what Docker version will be installed on the instance.
+
+  :::note
+
+  If you're provisioning Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or CentOS nodes, leave the **Docker Install URL** field as the default value, or select **none**. This will bypass a check for Docker installation, as Docker is already installed on these node types. 
+
+  If you set **Docker Install URL** to a value other than the default or **none**, you might see an error message such as the following: `Error creating machine: RHEL ssh command error: command: sudo -E yum install -y curl err: exit status 1 output: Updating Subscription Management repositories.`
+  
+  :::
+
+- **Registry mirrors:** Docker Registry mirror to be used by the Docker daemon.
+- **Other advanced options:** Refer to the [Docker daemon option reference](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/dockerd/).
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+title: DigitalOcean Node Template Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/node-template-configuration/digitalocean"/>
+</head>
+
+Account access information is stored as a cloud credential. Cloud credentials are stored as Kubernetes secrets. Multiple node templates can use the same cloud credential. You can use an existing cloud credential or create a new one.
+
+## Droplet Options
+
+The **Droplet Options** provision your cluster's geographical region and specifications.
+
+## Docker Daemon
+
+If you use Docker, the [Docker daemon](https://docs.docker.com/engine/docker-overview/#the-docker-daemon) configuration options include:
+
+- **Labels:** For information on labels, refer to the [Docker object label documentation.](https://docs.docker.com/config/labels-custom-metadata/)
+- **Docker Engine Install URL:** Determines what Docker version will be installed on the instance.
+- **Registry mirrors:** Docker Registry mirror to be used by the Docker daemon
+- **Other advanced options:** Refer to the [Docker daemon option reference](https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/dockerd/).
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+title: Node Template Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/node-template-configuration"/>
+</head>
+
+<EOLRKE1Warning />
+
+To learn about node template config, refer to [EC2 Node Template Configuration](amazon-ec2.md), [DigitalOcean Node Template Configuration](digitalocean.md), [Azure Node Template Configuration](azure.md), [vSphere Node Template Configuration](vsphere.md), and [Nutanix Node Template Configuration](nutanix.md).
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+---
+title: Nutanix Node Template Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/node-template-configuration/nutanix"/>
+</head>
+
+## Account Access
+
+| Parameter                    | Required | Description | Default
+|:-----------------------------|:--------:|:-----------------------------------------------------------------|:-----
+| Management Endpoint          |   ✓      | Hostname/IP address of Prism Central                             |
+| Username                     |   ✓      | Username of the Prism Central user                               |
+| Password                     |   ✓      | Password of the Prism Central user                               |
+| Allow insecure communication |          | Set to true to allow insecure SSL communication to Prism Central | False
+
+## Scheduling
+
+Choose what Nutanix cluster the virtual machine will be scheduled to.
+
+| Parameter | Required | Description
+|:----------|:--------:|:----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+| Cluster   |   ✓      | Name of the Nutanix cluster where the VM should be deployed (case sensitive)
+
+## Instance Options
+
+In the **Instance Options** section, configure the number of vCPUs, memory, and disk size for the VMs created by this template.
+
+| Parameter            | Required | Description                                                                                 | Default
+|:---------------------|:--------:|:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:-------
+| CPUs                 |          | Number of vCPUs allocated to the VM (cores)                                                 | 2
+| Memory               |          | Amount of RAM allocated to the VM (MB)                                                      | 2 GB
+| Template Image       | ✓        | Name of the Disk Image template to clone as the VM's primary disk (must support cloud-init) |
+| VM Disk Size         |          | New size of the VM's primary disk (in GiB)                                                  |
+| Additional Disk Size |          | Size of an additional disk to add to the VM (in GiB)                                        |
+| Storage Container    |          | Storage container _UUID_ in which to provision an additional disk                           |
+| Cloud Config YAML    |          | Cloud-init to provide to the VM (will be patched with Rancher root user)                  |
+| Network              | ✓        | Name(s) of the network(s) to attach to the VM                                               |
+| VM Categories        |          | Name(s) of any categories to be applied to the VM                                           |
+
+The VM may use any modern Linux operating system that is configured with support for [cloud-init](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) using the [Config Drive v2 datasource](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/reference/datasources/configdrive.html).
+
+## Networks
+
+The node template allows a VM to be provisioned with multiple networks. In the **Network** field, you can click **Add** to add any networks available to you in AOS.
+
+## VM Categories
+
+A category is a grouping of entities into a key value pair. Typically, VMs are assigned to a category based on some criteria. Policies can then be tied to those entities that are assigned (grouped by) a specific category value.
+
+## cloud-init
+
+[Cloud-init](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) allows you to initialize your nodes by applying configuration on the first boot. This may involve things such as creating users or authorizing SSH keys.
+
+To make use of cloud-init initialization, paste a cloud config using valid YAML syntax into the **Cloud Config YAML** field. Refer to the [cloud-init documentation](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/topics/examples.html) for a commented set of examples of supported cloud config directives.
+
+Note that cloud-init based network configuration is not recommended and only supported via user data `runcmd` rather than by NoCloud or other network configuration datasources.
+
+Nutanix IP Address Management (IPAM) or another DHCP service is recommended.
+
+## Engine Options
+
+In the **Engine Options** section of the node template, you can configure the container daemon. You may want to specify the container version or a container image registry mirror.
+
+:::note
+If you're provisioning Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or CentOS nodes, leave the **Docker Install URL** field as the default value, or select **none**. This will bypass a check for Docker installation, as Docker is already installed on these node types.
+
+If you set **Docker Install URL** to a value other than the default or **none**, you might see an error message such as the following: `Error creating machine: RHEL ssh command error: command: sudo -E yum install -y curl err: exit status 1 output: Updating Subscription Management repositories.`
+:::
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+---
+title: VMware vSphere Node Template Configuration
+---
+
+<head>
+  <link rel="canonical" href="https://ranchermanager.docs.rancher.com/reference-guides/cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/node-template-configuration/vsphere"/>
+</head>
+
+## Account Access
+
+| Parameter                | Required | Description |
+|:----------------------|:--------:|:-----|
+| Cloud Credentials   |   *      | Your vSphere account access information, stored in a [cloud credential.](../../../user-settings/manage-cloud-credentials.md)  |
+
+Your cloud credential has these fields:
+
+| Credential Field | Description |
+|-----------------|--------------|
+| vCenter or ESXi Server |  Enter the vCenter or ESXi hostname/IP. ESXi is the virtualization platform where you create and run virtual machines and virtual appliances. vCenter Server is the service through which you manage multiple hosts connected in a network and pool host resources. |
+| Port | Configure the port of the vCenter or ESXi server. |
+| Username and password | Enter your vSphere login username and password. |
+
+## Scheduling
+
+Choose what hypervisor the virtual machine will be scheduled to.
+
+The fields in the **Scheduling** section should auto-populate with the data center and other scheduling options that are available to you in vSphere.
+
+| Field | Required | Explanation |
+|---------|---------------|-----------|
+| Data Center |  * | Choose the name/path of the data center where the VM will be scheduled.   |
+| Resource Pool |    |  Name of the resource pool to schedule the VMs in. Resource pools can be used to partition available CPU and memory resources of a standalone host or cluster, and they can also be nested. Leave blank for standalone ESXi. If not specified, the default resource pool is used. |
+| Data Store | * | If you have a data store cluster, you can toggle the **Data Store** field. This lets you select a data store cluster where your VM will be scheduled to. If the field is not toggled, you can select an individual disk. |
+| Folder |    |  Name of a folder in the datacenter to create the VMs in. Must already exist. The VM folders in this dropdown menu directly correspond to your VM folders in vSphere. The folder name should be prefaced with `vm/` in your vSphere config file. |
+| Host |  | The IP of the host system to schedule VMs in. Leave this field blank for a standalone ESXi or for a cluster with DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler). If specified, the host system's pool will be used and the **Resource Pool** parameter will be ignored.   |
+| Graceful Shutdown Timeout | | The amount of time, in seconds, that Rancher waits before deleting virtual machines on a cluster. If set to `0`, graceful shutdown is disabled. Only accepts integer values. |
+
+## Instance Options
+
+In the **Instance Options** section, configure the number of vCPUs, memory, and disk size for the VMs created by this template.
+
+| Parameter                | Required | Description |
+|:----------------|:--------:|:-----------|
+| CPUs                     |   *      | Number of vCPUS to assign to VMs. |
+| Memory                   |   *      | Amount of memory to assign to VMs.  |
+| Disk                     |   *      | Size of the disk (in MB) to attach to the VMs. |
+| Creation method | * | The method for setting up an operating system on the node. The operating system can be installed from an ISO or from a VM template. Depending on the creation method, you will also have to specify a VM template, content library, existing VM, or ISO. For more information on creation methods, refer to [About VM Creation Methods.](#about-vm-creation-methods) |
+| Cloud Init               |          | URL of a `cloud-config.yml` file or URL to provision VMs with. This file allows further customization of the operating system, such as network configuration, DNS servers, or system daemons. The operating system must support `cloud-init`. |
+| Networks | | Name(s) of the network to attach the VM to. |
+| Configuration Parameters used for guestinfo |          | Additional configuration parameters for the VMs. These correspond to the [Advanced Settings](https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1016098) in the vSphere console. Example use cases include providing RancherOS [guestinfo](https://rancher.com/docs/os/v1.x/en/installation/cloud/vmware-esxi/#vmware-guestinfo) parameters or enabling disk UUIDs for the VMs (`disk.EnableUUID=TRUE`). |
+
+
+### About VM Creation Methods
+
+In the **Creation method** field, configure the method used to provision VMs in vSphere. Available options include creating VMs that boot from a RancherOS ISO or creating VMs by cloning from an existing virtual machine or [VM template](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-F7BF0E6B-7C4F-4E46-8BBF-76229AEA7220.html).
+
+The existing VM or template may use any modern Linux operating system that is configured with support for [cloud-init](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) using the [NoCloud datasource](https://canonical-cloud-init.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/reference/datasources/nocloud.html).
+
+Choose the way that the VM will be created:
+
+- **Deploy from template: Data Center:** Choose a VM template that exists in the data center that you selected.
+- **Deploy from template: Content Library:** First, select the [Content Library](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-254B2CE8-20A8-43F0-90E8-3F6776C2C896.html) that contains your template, then select the template from the populated list **Library templates**.
+- **Clone an existing virtual machine:** In the **Virtual machine** field, choose an existing VM that the new VM will be cloned from.
+- **Install from boot2docker ISO:** Ensure that the **OS ISO URL** field contains the URL of a VMware ISO release for RancherOS (`rancheros-vmware.iso`). Note that this URL must be accessible from the nodes running your Rancher server installation.
+
+## Networks
+
+The node template now allows a VM to be provisioned with multiple networks. In the **Networks** field, you can now click **Add Network** to add any networks available to you in vSphere.
+
+## Node Tags and Custom Attributes
+
+Tags allow you to attach metadata to objects in the vSphere inventory to make it easier to sort and search for these objects.
+
+For tags, all your vSphere tags will show up as options to select from in your node template.
+
+In the custom attributes, Rancher will let you select all the custom attributes you have already set up in vSphere. The custom attributes are keys and you can enter values for each one.
+
+:::note
+
+Custom attributes are a legacy feature that will eventually be removed from vSphere.
+
+:::
+
+## cloud-init
+
+[Cloud-init](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) allows you to initialize your nodes by applying configuration on the first boot. This may involve things such as creating users, authorizing SSH keys or setting up the network.
+
+To make use of cloud-init initialization, create a cloud config file using valid YAML syntax and paste the file content in the the **Cloud Init** field. Refer to the [cloud-init documentation.](https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/topics/examples.html) for a commented set of examples of supported cloud config directives.
+
+Note that cloud-init is not supported when using the ISO creation method.
+
+## Engine Options
+
+In the **Engine Options** section of the node template, you can configure the container daemon. You may want to specify the container version or a container image registry mirror.
+
+:::note
+If you're provisioning Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or CentOS nodes, leave the **Docker Install URL** field as the default value, or select **none**. This will bypass a check for Docker installation, as Docker is already installed on these node types.
+
+If you set **Docker Install URL** to a value other than the default or **none**, you might see an error message such as the following: `Error creating machine: RHEL ssh command error: command: sudo -E yum install -y curl err: exit status 1 output: Updating Subscription Management repositories.`
+:::