Time Zone Configuration in VKS (VMware Kubernetes Service)/TKGS (Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service) Clusters

Products

• VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service

Issue/Introduction

Customers using Broadcom VKS (VMware Kubernetes Service) clusters often configure an NTP server for time synchronization. While the system time synchronizes correctly, the cluster nodes continue to default to the UTC time zone.

Environment

Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service (TKGS)

vSphere with Tanzu

VMware vSphere Kubernetes Service

Cause

Broadcom VKS clusters are designed to standardize node configurations for consistency and reliability.

         1. Cluster nodes default to UTC and do not support native customization of time zones.

         2. This design ensures uniformity across distributed environments and avoids conflicts in time-sensitive operations.

         3. As a result, time zone adjustments must be handled at the workload (Pod) level rather than at the node level.

Resolution

VKS clusters do not support customizing the time zone of cluster nodes. The recommended approach is:

       1. Continue configuring time zones at the Pod level using deployment specifications.

1. • Example: Add environment variables or init containers in your Pod specification to set the desired time zone.
   • This ensures workloads run in the correct local time zone while nodes remain in UTC.

     2. Maintain NTP synchronization at the cluster level.

1. • This guarantees accurate system time across all nodes.
   • Applications can then rely on Pod-level time zone settings for localized operations.

     3. Best Practice:

• • Keep nodes in UTC for consistency.
  • Configure time zones only where application logic requires it (e.g., logging, reporting).