Cluster Autoscaler PackageInstall Reconciliation Conflicts in TMC Self-Managed

Products

• VMware Tanzu Platform - Kubernetes

Issue/Introduction

Following an upgrade of Tanzu Mission Control (TMC) Self-Managed from v1.4.2 to v1.4.4—which includes the Tanzu Standard Package upgrade from 2025.6.18 to 2026.1.21—the cluster-autoscaler package in guest clusters fails to reconcile. You may observe:

• The PackageInstall (pkgi) status for cluster-autoscaler remains in a Reconcile failed or toggling state.
• Other standard packages reconcile successfully.
• Version selection constraints in the PackageInstall resource do not match the available versions in the target Tanzu standard package repository (e.g., still referencing 1.33.0+vmware.1-tkg.2 instead of the expected 1.33.0+vmware.2-vks.1).

 

Cause

The issue is caused by a reconciliation conflict between Tanzu Mission Control Self-Managed and the native vSphere Kubernetes Service (VKS) Add-on Manager. During the upgrade to the 2026.1.21 package repository, both management controllers attempt to update the same PackageInstall custom resource simultaneously, leading to configuration drift and ownership deadlocks.

Resolution

The cluster-autoscaler must be managed exclusively by Tanzu Mission Control Self-Managed. You must uninstall the existing VKS-managed instance by marking it as unmanaged.

1. Locate the Target Cluster
   1. Log in to the Supervisor Cluster context.
   2. Identify the target VKS workload cluster where the conflict is occurring.
2. Modify the cluster label to prevent the VKS Add-on Manager from attempting to reconcile the package. This command will make changes to your system. Review it carefully before running.
   • kubectl label cluster addon.addons.kubernetes.vmware.com/cluster-autoscaler=unmanaged
3. Once the VKS management is removed, Tanzu Mission Control Self-Managed will assume sole ownership. Monitor the PackageInstall status in the guest cluster:
   • kubectl get packageinstall <cluster>-cluster-autoscaler -n vmware-system-tkg

Additional Information

Known issue: Potential Cluster Autoscaler PackageInstall reconciliation conflicts between Tanzu Mission Control Self-Managed and VKS Add-on Manager

This affects all versions where auto-scaler is supported.