VMware Inc. is tightening its embrace of the Kubernetes orchestrator for software containers today with the release of the Virtual Machine Service for its VMware vSphere 7 virtualization platform, which also incorporates its Tanzu application modernization portfolio.

The feature is intended to make it easier for application developers working with software containers to provision their own VM infrastructure and create their own namespaces Kubernetes commands rather than having to request and wait for access from information technology administrators. Previously, containers and virtual machines were functionally separate.

Despite the soaring popularity of software containers, which are portable operating environments that include an application and its dependent components, many older applications require VMs, said Sheldon D’Paiva, director of product marketing in the cloud platform business unit at VMware.

“These applications have outside dependencies on VMs for databases and as-a-service offerings, for example,” he said. “Some require custom operating systems, kernel tuning or accelerator hardware, which are things that containers can’t deliver today.”

The new feature increases developer autonomy through greater self-service and improved automation within the Kubernetes control plane without sacrificing governance, security and policies set by the IT organization, VMware said. Administrators can create VM classes that limit the amount of resources developers can use, restrict the open virtual appliance images developer can use and regulate the use of storage and compute resources with Tanzu’s built-in namespace feature.

“Developers and other Kubernetes users will have the ability to integrate VM provisioning into their continuous integration and development pipelines, all the while making sure they stay within their allocated limits via the vSphere Namespaces feature,” D’Paiva said.

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