diff --git a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/rke-clusters/node-pools/vsphere/_index.md b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/rke-clusters/node-pools/vsphere/_index.md
index 627685e3f30..27670985a57 100644
--- a/content/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/rke-clusters/node-pools/vsphere/_index.md
+++ b/content/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/rke-clusters/node-pools/vsphere/_index.md
@@ -7,68 +7,141 @@ aliases:
---
Use {{< product >}} to create a Kubernetes cluster in vSphere.
-### Prerequisites
+## Introduction
-Before setting up a cluster in vSphere, you must ensure that you have a user in vSphere with sufficient permissions to create a Rancher cluster.
+When creating a vSphere cluster Rancher first provisions the specified amount of virtual machines by communicating with the vCenter API. Then it installs Kubernetes on top of them. A vSphere cluster may consist of multiple groups of VMs with distinct properties, such as the amount of memory or the number of vCPUs. This allows for fine-grained controll over the sizing of nodes for the data, control and worker plane respectively.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+> *Note:*
+>
+> If you are planning to make use of vSphere volumes for persistent storage in the cluster, there are [additional requirements]({{< baseurl >}}/rke/v0.1.x/en/config-options/cloud-providers/vsphere/) that must be met.
+
+Before processing to create a cluster you must ensure that you have a vSphere user with sufficient permissions. Let's walk through the steps of creating the user in the vSphere console:
1. From the **vSphere** console, go to the **Administration** page.
2. Go to the **Roles** tab.
-3. Create a new *Role*. Give it a name and select the **Datastore**, **Network**, **Resource**, and **Virtual machine** *privileges*.
+3. Create a new *role*. Give it a name and select the *privileges* listed in the [permissions table](#annex-vsphere-permissions).
- 
4. Go to the **Users and Groups** tab.
-5. Create a new *User*. Fill out the form and then click **ok**. Make sure to note the username and password as you will need it when creating a cluster in Rancher.
+5. Create a new *user*. Fill out the form and then click **OK**. Make sure to note the username and password as you will need it when configuring node templates in Rancher.
6. Go to the **Global Permissions** tab.
-7. Create a new *Global Permission*. Add the *User* you created earlier and assign it the Role you created earlier. Click **ok**.
+7. Create a new *Global Permission*. Add the *user* you created earlier and assign it the Role you created earlier. Click **OK**.
+
- 
-**Result:** Now you have a user that is able to successfully create and manager Rancher clusters in vSphere.
+## Creating vSphere Clusters
-### Creating vSphere Clusters
+### Create a vSphere Node Template
-To create the cluster.
+In order to create a cluster you will need to create at least one vSphere [node template]({{< baseurl >}}/rancher/v2.x/en/cluster-provisioning/rke-clusters/node-pools/#node-templates) first that specifies how VMs are created in vSphere.
+
+> **Note:**
+>
+> Once you create a node template, it will be saved and you will be able to re-use it whenever you create additional vSphere clusters.
+
+1. Log in with an admin account to the Rancher UI.
+2. In the right-hand account menu, select **Node Templates**.
+3. Click **Add Template** and then click on the **vSphere** icon.
+4. Under **[Account Access](#account-access)** enter the vCenter FQDN or IP address and the credentials for the vSphere user account (see [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)).
+5. Under **[Instance Options](#instance-options)**, configure the number of vCPUs, memory and disk size for the VMs created by this template.
+6. Optionally, enter the URL pointing to a [RancherOS]({{< baseurl >}}/os/v1.x/en/) cloud-config file in the **[Cloud Init](#instance-options)** field.
+7. Ensure that the **[OS ISO URL](#instance-options)** contains the URL of a VMware ISO release for RancherOS (`rancheros-vmware.iso`).
+
+ 
+
+8. Optionally, provide a set of **[Configuration Parameters](#instance-options)** for the VMs.
+9. Under **Scheduling** enter the name/path of the **Data Center** to instantiate the VMs in, the name of the **VM Network** to attach to and the name/path of the **Datastore** in which to store the disks.
+
+ 
+
+10. Optionally, assign labels to the VMs that can be used as a base for scheduling rules in the cluster.
+11. Optionally, customize the configuration of the Docker daemon on the VMs that will be created.
+
+10. Assign a descriptive **Name** for this template and click **Create**.
+
+___
+
+### Create a cluster
1. From the **Clusters** page, click **Add Cluster**.
-
2. Choose **vSphere**.
-
3. Enter a **Cluster Name**.
-
4. {{< step_create-cluster_member-roles >}}
-
5. {{< step_create-cluster_cluster-options >}}
-
6. {{< step_create-cluster_node-pools >}}
- 1. Click **Add Node Template**.
+ 
- 2. Use the **vSphere Options** to authenticate with vSphere and provision your cluster.
+7. Review your configuration, then click **Create**.
- - **Account Access** holds the host name for your vCenter host and your credentials for authentication.
-
- - **Instance Options** are used to provision your cluster's VMs.
-
- - **Scheduling** is used to choose the hypervisor your virtual machines will be scheduled to.
-
- 3. {{< step_rancher-template >}}
-
- 4. Click **Create**.
-
- 5. **Optional:** Add additional node pools.
-
-
-7. Review your options to confirm they're correct. Then click **Create**.
+> **Note:**
+>
+> If you have a cluster with DRS enabled, it's recommended that you setup [VM-VM Affinity Rules](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/com.vmware.vsphere.resmgmt.doc/GUID-7297C302-378F-4AF2-9BD6-6EDB1E0A850A.html) to run VMs within the node pools assigned the etcd and control-plane roles on seperate ESXi hosts. This ensures that the failure of a single physical machine does not affect the availability of those planes.
{{< result_create-cluster >}}
+
+## Annex - Node Template Configuration Reference
+
+Below tables describe the configuration options available in the vSphere node template.
+
+### Account Access
+
+| Parameter | Required | Description |
+|:------------------------:|:--------:|:------------------------------------------------------------:|
+| vCenter or ESXi Server | * | IP or FQDN of the vCenter or ESXi server used for managing VMs. |
+| Port | * | Port to use to connect to the server. Defaults to 443. |
+| Username | * | vCenter/ESXi user to authenticate with the server. |
+| Password | * | User's password. |
+
+___
+
+### Instance Options
+
+| 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 VM |
+| Cloud Init | | URL of a [RancherOS cloud-config]({{< baseurl >}}/os/v1.x/en/installation/configuration/) file to provision VMs with. This allows further customization of the RancherOS operating system, such as network configuration, DNS servers or system daemons.|
+| OS ISO URL | * | URL of a RancherOS vSphere ISO file to boot the VMs from. You can find URLs for specfic versions [here](https://github.com/rancher/os). |
+| Configuration Parameters | | 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]({{< baseurl >}}/os/v1.x/en/installation/running-rancheros/cloud/vmware-esxi/#vmware-guestinfo) parameters or enabling disk UUIDs for the VMs (`disk.EnableUUID=TRUE`). |
+
+___
+
+### Scheduling Options
+
+| Parameter | Required | Description |
+|:------------------------:|:--------:|:------------------------------------------------------------:|
+| Data Center | * | Name/path of the datacenter to create VMs in. |
+| Pool | | Name/path of the resource pool to schedule the VMs in. If not specified, the default resource pool is used. |
+| Host | | Name/path of the host system to schedule VMs in. If specified, the host system's pool will be used and the *Pool* parameter will be ignored. |
+| Network | * | Name of the VM network to attach VMs to. |
+| Data Store | * | Datastore to store the VM disks. |
+| Folder | | Folder to create the VMs in. |
+
+___
+
+## Annex - vSphere permissions
+
+The following table lists the permissions required for the vSphere user account configured in the node templates:
+
+| Privilege Group | Operations |
+|:----------------------|:-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
+| Datastore | AllocateSpace Browse DeleteFile FileManagement UpdateVirtualMachineFiles UpdateVirtualMachineMetadata |
+| Folder | Create Delete |
+| Network | AssignNetwork |
+| Resource | AssignVMToPool |
+| System ? | Anonymous Read View |
+| Virtual Machine | Config (All) GuestOperations (All) Interact (All) Inventory (All) Provisioning (All) |
diff --git a/layouts/shortcodes/step_create-cluster_node-pools.html b/layouts/shortcodes/step_create-cluster_node-pools.html
index 984765e6f5d..158eaf7f1f3 100644
--- a/layouts/shortcodes/step_create-cluster_node-pools.html
+++ b/layouts/shortcodes/step_create-cluster_node-pools.html
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
-Add one or more Node Pools to your cluster.
A Node Pool is a collection of nodes based on a Node Template. A Node Template defines the configuration of a Node, like what Operating System image, number of CPUs and amount of RAM. Each Node Pool can have one or more Nodes Roles associated with it.
+Add one or more node pools to your cluster.
A node pool is a collection of nodes based on a node template. A node Template defines the configuration of a node, like what Operating System to use, number of CPUs and amount of memory. Each node pool must have one or more nodes roles assigned.
Notes:
- - After you create a Node Template, it will be saved and you will be able to re-use it in additional Node Pools.
- - Each Node Role (i.e.
etcd, Control Plane, and Worker) must be fulfilled. Although it is possible to apply multiple Node Roles to a Node Pool, this is not recommended.
- - The recommended setup is to have a Node Pool with the
etcd Node Role and a count of three, a Node Pool with the Control Plane Node Role and a count of at least two, and a Node Pool with the Worker Node Role and a count of at least two. Regarding the etcd Node Role, refer to the etcd Admin Guide.
+ - Each node role (i.e.
etcd, Control Plane, and Worker) should be assigned to a distinct node pool. Although it is possible to assign multiple node roles to a node pool, this should not be done for production clusters.
+ - The recommended setup is to have a node pool with the
etcd node role and a count of three, a node pool with the Control Plane node role and a count of at least two, and a node pool with the Worker node role and a count of at least two. Regarding the etcd node role, refer to the etcd Admin Guide.
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