#Creating Clusters on Huawei Cloud Stack

This document provides instructions for creating Kubernetes clusters on the Huawei Cloud Stack platform. YAML-based cluster creation is available through Cluster API manifests on any supported provider version. If Fleet Essentials 1.0.2 or later is installed and the Alauda Container Platform HCS Infrastructure Provider is v1.0.3 or later, you can also create clusters through a guided web UI.

#Prerequisites

Before creating clusters, ensure all of the following prerequisites are met:

#1. Required Plugin Installation

Install the following plugins on the 's global cluster:

• Alauda Container Platform Kubeadm Provider
• Alauda Container Platform HCS Infrastructure Provider

For detailed installation instructions, refer to the Installation Guide.

#2. HCS Infrastructure Input Preparation

Prepare all HCS-specific inputs before writing any YAML in this document:

• HCS credential Secret values
• Provider-recognized compute values such as imageName, flavorName, and availabilityZone
• Cluster network inventory, including the subnets and free IP ranges used by the cluster
• Control plane ELB address planning, including vipAddress, vipSubnetName, and fixed L4 and L7 IPs
• Static IP pool planning for control plane and worker nodes

See Infrastructure Resources for Huawei Cloud Stack for the complete checklist, source information, and constraints.

#Using the Web UI

Version requirement: This workflow requires Fleet Essentials 1.0.2 or later and the Alauda Container Platform HCS Infrastructure Provider v1.0.3 or later. If the provider version is earlier than v1.0.3, create clusters with the YAML manifests described in Using YAML.

The web UI loads VPCs, subnets, security groups, flavors, and assignable IP addresses from the HCS platform using the Infrastructure Credential you select. Make sure the prerequisites above are met before you start, and that an HCS credential Secret exists in the cpaas-system namespace.

#Creation Workflow

The cluster creation follows a 6-step wizard:

Step 1: Basic Info
  ↓
Step 2: Networking
  ↓
Step 3: Infrastructure
  ↓
Step 4: Control Plane Node Pool
  ↓
Step 5: Worker Node Pools
  ↓
Step 6: Review

Navigation: Clusters → Clusters → Create Cluster → Select Huawei Cloud Stack

#Step 1: Basic Info

#Step 2: Networking

#Step 3: Infrastructure

This step has two parts: the HCS infrastructure resources and the control plane load balancer.

Infrastructure resources:

Control Plane Load Balancer: The HCS provider creates an Elastic Load Balance (ELB) for the Kubernetes API server and owns its VIP. Hybrid Load Balancing requires fixed L4 and L7 virtual subnet IPs.

#Step 4: Control Plane Node Pool

The control plane node pool is fixed at 3 replicas for high availability.

#Machine Config entry

Each entry in Machine Configs describes one node:

• Hostname (required): Lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens, and dots, up to 253 characters (for example, master-1 or master-1.example.org). For how a dotted hostname affects the node, see Hostname behavior on the node.
• Networks (required): One row per NIC. Each row has an IP Address picker and a Subnet Name. Add rows for multi-NIC nodes.
• Persistent Disks: The platform-required /var/cpaas disk is pre-filled; its size is adjustable but the row cannot be removed. Add rows only for extra host-bound data that must survive node rebuild.

#Step 5: Worker Node Pools

Click Add Worker Node Pool to open the pool dialog. You can add multiple pools.

#Step 6: Review

Review the Basic Info, Infrastructure, Control Plane Load Balancer, Control Plane Node Pool, Worker Node Pools, and Networking sections. Click View YAML to inspect the exact resources that will be created. Click Create to start the cluster creation process.

#Using YAML

#Cluster Creation Overview

At a high level, you'll create the following Cluster API resources in the 's global cluster to provision infrastructure and bootstrap a functional Kubernetes cluster.

Before you write any YAML in this page, complete the preparation checklist in Infrastructure Resources for Huawei Cloud Stack. This checklist covers the values that the provider expects, where to get them, and which values must be planned before you fill the manifests.

The cluster creation process follows this order:

1. Configure HCS authentication (Secret)
2. Create machine configuration pool (HCSMachineConfigPool)
3. Configure machine template (HCSMachineTemplate)
4. Configure KubeadmControlPlane
5. Configure HCSCluster
6. Create the Cluster

#Control Plane Configuration

The control plane manages cluster state, scheduling, and the Kubernetes API. This section shows how to configure a highly available control plane.

#Configure HCS Authentication

HCS authentication information is stored in a Secret resource.

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: <credential-secret-name>
  namespace: cpaas-system
type: Opaque
data:
  accessKey: <base64-encoded-access-key>
  secretKey: <base64-encoded-secret-key>
  projectID: <base64-encoded-project-id>
  region: <base64-encoded-region>
  externalGlobalDomain: <base64-encoded-domain>
  schema: <base64-encoded-schema>

Existing credential Secrets created without schema continue to work unchanged. Only set schema if your HCS IAM endpoint uses http instead of the default https.

You can reuse an existing HCS credential Secret. Its name does not need to match the cluster name, but HCSCluster.spec.identityRef.name must reference this Secret.

#Configure Machine Configuration Pool

The HCSMachineConfigPool defines pre-configured hostnames, static IP addresses, and any pool-managed persistent disks for VMs.

Use one subnet selector per networks[] entry. For new manifests, set either subnetName or subnetId, but not both. Existing manifests may keep the deprecated subenetName field; if you also add subnetName while updating that manifest, its value must exactly match subenetName. Do not supply conflicting values across subenetName, subnetName, and subnetId.

If you use subnetName in the machine configuration pool, include the same subnet name in HCSCluster.spec.network.subnets.

For the initial cluster create flow, listing an existing subnet by name is enough because the controller resolves subnet metadata before the cluster becomes Ready. If you later add another subnet to an existing Ready HCSCluster, do not append only name. Patch the parent HCSCluster.spec.network.subnets entry with the full subnet object so later machine or ELB operations can reuse the resolved subnet metadata.

apiVersion: infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HCSMachineConfigPool
metadata:
  name: <cluster-name>-cp-pool
  namespace: cpaas-system
  labels:
    cluster.x-k8s.io/cluster-name: <cluster-name>
spec:
  configs:
    - hostname: master-1
      networks:
        - subnetName: <subnet-name>
          ipAddress: 192.168.1.11
      persistentDisks:
        - slot: 0
          size: 100
          type: SSD
          mountPath: /var/cpaas
          format: xfs
    - hostname: master-2
      networks:
        - subnetName: <subnet-name>
          ipAddress: 192.168.1.12
      persistentDisks:
        - slot: 0
          size: 100
          type: SSD
          mountPath: /var/cpaas
          format: xfs
    - hostname: master-3
      networks:
        - subnetName: <subnet-name>
          ipAddress: 192.168.1.13
      persistentDisks:
        - slot: 0
          size: 100
          type: SSD
          mountPath: /var/cpaas
          format: xfs

*For new manifests, set either subnetName or subnetId. Existing manifests may continue to use subenetName, and may add subnetName only if both fields use the same value. Do not provide conflicting subnet selector values.

Persistent disk fields are required when persistentDisks is specified.

Use persistentDisks[] for node-local state that must survive VM replacement. Do not declare the same mount path in HCSMachineTemplate.spec.template.spec.dataVolumes[].

Note: The CRD schema lists subnetName, subenetName, and subnetId as optional fields and does not express their allowed combinations. Follow the provider-level rules above when writing manifests.

Note: To attach multiple NICs to one node, add multiple networks[] entries. The provider only uses these entries to attach NICs and assign subnet selectors plus static IPs. It does not support declaring per-NIC roles, default gateways, static routes, or per-NIC DNS settings.

#Hostname behavior on the node

The provider derives the node's POSIX hostname and FQDN from hostname as follows:

The dotted form is the path to set up applications that depend on FQDN resolution (hostname -f, certificates with SAN entries, log labels). The provider sets prefer_fqdn_over_hostname: false and enables cloud-init manage_etc_hosts only when a dotted hostname is supplied, so POSIX tools continue to see the short name and hostname -f returns the full FQDN.

Invalid hostnames (leading dot, trailing dot, all-dot strings, uppercase letters, or anything that violates the field constraint) are rejected before the VM boots. The error is set on the owning Machine.status and surfaced on the Cluster.status.conditions so it shows up under kubectl describe cluster <name> and kubectl get machines -n cpaas-system -o wide.

#Configure Machine Template

The HCSMachineTemplate defines the VM specifications for control plane nodes.

apiVersion: infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HCSMachineTemplate
metadata:
  name: <cluster-name>-control-plane
  namespace: cpaas-system
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      imageName: <vm-image-name>
      flavorName: <instance-flavor>
      availabilityZone: <availability-zone>
      rootVolume:
        type: SSD
        size: 100
      configPoolRef:
        name: <cluster-name>-cp-pool
      dataVolumes:
        - size: 10
          type: SSD
          mountPath: /var/lib/etcd
          format: xfs
        - size: 100
          type: SSD
          mountPath: /var/lib/kubelet
          format: xfs
        - size: 100
          type: SSD
          mountPath: /var/lib/containerd
          format: xfs

*Required when dataVolumes is specified.

dataVolumes[] are recreated with the ECS. Do not use them for /var/cpaas or any other path that must survive rolling replacement. Put those paths in HCSMachineConfigPool.spec.configs[].persistentDisks[].

Note: Do not set runtime identity fields such as providerID or serverId in HCSMachineTemplate manifests. The provider assigns these values when it creates HCS instances.

Note: Tenant administrators cannot retrieve the provider-recognized flavorName and availabilityZone values from the HCS UI. Get the exact values from the HCS administrator before you apply the manifest.

#Configure KubeadmControlPlane

The KubeadmControlPlane defines the Kubernetes control plane configuration.

apiVersion: controlplane.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: KubeadmControlPlane
metadata:
  name: <cluster-name>-kcp
  namespace: cpaas-system
spec:
  replicas: 3
  version: <kubernetes-version>
  rolloutStrategy:
    type: RollingUpdate
    rollingUpdate:
      maxSurge: 0
  kubeadmConfigSpec:
    files:
      - path: /etc/kubernetes/admission/psa-config.yaml
        owner: root:root
        permissions: "0644"
        content: |
          apiVersion: apiserver.config.k8s.io/v1
          kind: AdmissionConfiguration
          plugins:
          - name: PodSecurity
            configuration:
              apiVersion: pod-security.admission.config.k8s.io/v1
              kind: PodSecurityConfiguration
              defaults:
                enforce: "privileged"
                enforce-version: "latest"
                audit: "baseline"
                audit-version: "latest"
                warn: "baseline"
                warn-version: "latest"
              exemptions:
                usernames: []
                runtimeClasses: []
                namespaces:
                - kube-system
                - cpaas-system
      - path: /etc/kubernetes/patches/kubeletconfiguration0+strategic.json
        owner: root:root
        permissions: "0644"
        content: |
          {
            "apiVersion": "kubelet.config.k8s.io/v1beta1",
            "kind": "KubeletConfiguration",
            "protectKernelDefaults": true,
            "tlsCertFile": "/etc/kubernetes/pki/kubelet.crt",
            "tlsPrivateKeyFile": "/etc/kubernetes/pki/kubelet.key",
            "streamingConnectionIdleTimeout": "5m",
            "clientCAFile": "/etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt"
          }
      - path: /etc/kubernetes/encryption-provider.conf
        owner: root:root
        permissions: "0600"
        content: |
          apiVersion: apiserver.config.k8s.io/v1
          kind: EncryptionConfiguration
          resources:
          - resources:
            - secrets
            providers:
            - aescbc:
                keys:
                - name: key1
                  secret: bootstrap-placeholder
      - path: /etc/kubernetes/audit/policy.yaml
        owner: root:root
        permissions: "0644"
        content: |
          apiVersion: audit.k8s.io/v1
          kind: Policy
          rules:
          - level: Metadata
    clusterConfiguration:
      imageRepository: <image-repository>
      dns:
        imageTag: <dns-image-tag>
      etcd:
        local:
          imageTag: <etcd-image-tag>
          extraArgs:
            tls-min-version: TLS1.2
            cipher-suites: "TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384"
      apiServer:
        extraArgs:
          audit-log-format: json
          audit-log-mode: batch
          audit-log-path: /etc/kubernetes/audit/audit.log
          audit-policy-file: /etc/kubernetes/audit/policy.yaml
          admission-control-config-file: /etc/kubernetes/admission/psa-config.yaml
          encryption-provider-config: /etc/kubernetes/encryption-provider.conf
          kubelet-certificate-authority: /etc/kubernetes/pki/ca.crt
          profiling: "false"
          tls-min-version: VersionTLS12
          tls-cipher-suites: "TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384"
        extraVolumes:
          - name: vol-dir-0
            hostPath: /etc/kubernetes
            mountPath: /etc/kubernetes
            pathType: Directory
      controllerManager:
        extraArgs:
          bind-address: "::"
          flex-volume-plugin-dir: "/opt/libexec/kubernetes/kubelet-plugins/volume/exec/"
          profiling: "false"
          tls-min-version: VersionTLS12
          tls-cipher-suites: "TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384"
      scheduler:
        extraArgs:
          bind-address: "::"
          profiling: "false"
          tls-min-version: VersionTLS12
          tls-cipher-suites: "TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384"
    postKubeadmCommands:
      - chmod 600 /var/lib/kubelet/config.yaml
    initConfiguration:
      patches:
        directory: /etc/kubernetes/patches
      nodeRegistration:
        kubeletExtraArgs:
          node-labels: "kube-ovn/role=master"
          protect-kernel-defaults: "true"
          tls-min-version: VersionTLS12
          tls-cipher-suites: "TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384"
          volume-plugin-dir: "/opt/libexec/kubernetes/kubelet-plugins/volume/exec/"
    joinConfiguration:
      patches:
        directory: /etc/kubernetes/patches
      nodeRegistration:
        kubeletExtraArgs:
          node-labels: "kube-ovn/role=master"
          tls-min-version: VersionTLS12
          tls-cipher-suites: "TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384"
          volume-plugin-dir: "/opt/libexec/kubernetes/kubelet-plugins/volume/exec/"
  machineTemplate:
    nodeDrainTimeout: 1m
    nodeDeletionTimeout: 5m
    infrastructureRef:
      apiVersion: infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
      kind: HCSMachineTemplate
      name: <cluster-name>-control-plane

The HCS controller also injects files while resolving cloud-init data. It writes /etc/kubernetes/pki/kubelet.crt, /etc/kubernetes/pki/kubelet.key, and /etc/kubernetes/encryption-provider.conf for control plane machines. For the first control plane machine, the controller generates the encryption provider configuration. After the control plane is initialized, it tries to reuse the existing kube-apiserver encryption provider configuration. If you include a bootstrap file at /etc/kubernetes/encryption-provider.conf, treat it as a placeholder because the controller-generated or synchronized file takes precedence.

Note: Configure apiServer.extraArgs and apiServer.extraVolumes together. If the volume is not mounted, kube-apiserver cannot read the files written under /etc/kubernetes.

Note: The rolloutStrategy.rollingUpdate.maxSurge: 0 example above is for highly available static-IP control planes. Keep this setting for fixed-size control plane pools with at least three replicas so replacements happen in a scale-down-then-scale-up order. If you create a single-control-plane HCS cluster (spec.replicas: 1), do not copy the rolloutStrategy block into the create manifest. KubeadmControlPlane validation rejects that scale-in style rollout configuration for a single replica.

Note: HCS also supports creating a single-control-plane cluster by setting spec.replicas: 1 and preparing one control plane config entry in the referenced HCSMachineConfigPool. Treat this as a creation-only topology, and leave the rollout strategy unset in that create manifest. The upgrade flow in this documentation does not support single-control-plane HCS clusters.

Use the OS Support Matrix only for the component versions it explicitly lists, such as coredns and etcd image tags for supported Alauda OS images. It is not a complete source for all HCS manifest values. Before you apply this YAML, also use the approved release baseline for values such as imageRepository, DNS image repository, Kube-OVN version, Kube-OVN join CIDR, Pod CIDR, and Service CIDR.

#Configure HCSCluster

The HCSCluster resource defines the HCS infrastructure configuration.

The HCS provider creates an Elastic Load Balance (ELB) on the HCS platform for the Kubernetes API server. This ELB must keep Hybrid Load Balancing enabled so cluster nodes can also reach the API server through the ELB address.

For the documented HCS workflow, provide vipAddress, elbVirsubnetL4Ips, and elbVirsubnetL7Ips. Each elbVirsubnetL4Ips[].ips and elbVirsubnetL7Ips[].ips entry must contain two IPs.

If you set vipDomainName, configure HCS Cloud DNS Private Zones so that the domain resolves to vipAddress.

List every cluster subnet in spec.network.subnets before you reference it anywhere else. vipSubnetName, elbVirsubnetL4Ips[].subnetName, elbVirsubnetL7Ips[].subnetName, and the subnetName values used by HCSMachineConfigPool must all exist in spec.network.subnets.

For the initial cluster create flow, the controller can resolve existing subnet metadata from name. For an existing Ready cluster, append a full subnet object instead of only name. Include id, and include neutronSubnetId for any subnet that the control plane ELB will use. Keep cidr, gatewayIp, primaryDNS, and secondaryDNS in the subnet inventory as well.

Do not disable Hybrid Load Balancing on the provider-created ELB after the cluster is created. The cluster depends on that ELB mode so nodes can reach the API server through the ELB address.

apiVersion: infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: HCSCluster
metadata:
  name: <cluster-name>
  namespace: cpaas-system
spec:
  # Optional. Include only when you want provider-managed control-plane ECS placement.
  controlPlaneHA:
    enabled: true
    policy: soft-anti-affinity
  controlPlaneLoadBalancer:
    vipAddress: <control-plane-vip-address>
    vipSubnetName: <vip-subnet-name>
    vipDomainName: <control-plane-vip-domain-name>
    elbVirsubnetL4Ips:
      - subnetName: <subnet-name>
        ips:
          - <l4-ip-1>
          - <l4-ip-2>
    elbVirsubnetL7Ips:
      - subnetName: <subnet-name>
        ips:
          - <l7-ip-1>
          - <l7-ip-2>
  networkType: kube-ovn
  network:
    vpc:
      name: <vpc-name>
    subnets:
      - name: <subnet-name>
    securityGroup:
      name: <security-group-name>
  identityRef:
    name: <credential-secret-name>

Do not include spec.controlPlaneEndpoint in the create manifest. In the HCS create flow, the controller derives and populates this field from spec.controlPlaneLoadBalancer after the HCSCluster is created. Do not set controlPlaneEndpoint manually, and do not add an empty controlPlaneEndpoint object. If controlPlaneEndpoint is explicitly present in the manifest, it must include both host and port.

controlPlaneHA is optional. When you include it, both enabled and policy are required. Use anti-affinity for strict host separation. Use soft-anti-affinity when you prefer host spread but do not want ECS creation to fail only because HCS cannot satisfy the hard placement rule. For planning guidance, including the rolling replacement requirement when enabling the feature on an existing cluster, see Control Plane HA Placement Plan.

#Configure Cluster

The Cluster resource in Cluster API declares the cluster and references the control plane and infrastructure resources.

apiVersion: cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
kind: Cluster
metadata:
  name: <cluster-name>
  namespace: cpaas-system
  annotations:
    cpaas.io/sentry-deploy-type: Baremetal
    cpaas.io/alb-address-type: ClusterAddress
    capi.cpaas.io/resource-group-version: infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
    capi.cpaas.io/resource-kind: HCSCluster
    cpaas.io/kube-ovn-join-cidr: <kube-ovn-join-cidr>
    cpaas.io/kube-ovn-version: <kube-ovn-version>
  labels:
    cluster-type: HCS
spec:
  clusterNetwork:
    pods:
      cidrBlocks:
        - <pods-cidr>
    services:
      cidrBlocks:
        - <services-cidr>
  controlPlaneRef:
    apiVersion: controlplane.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
    kind: KubeadmControlPlane
    name: <cluster-name>-kcp
  infrastructureRef:
    apiVersion: infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io/v1beta1
    kind: HCSCluster
    name: <cluster-name>

#Cluster Verification

After deploying all cluster resources, verify that the cluster has been created successfully.

#Using kubectl

# Check cluster status
kubectl get cluster -n cpaas-system <cluster-name>

# Verify control plane nodes
kubectl get kubeadmcontrolplane -n cpaas-system <cluster-name>-kcp

# Check machine status
kubectl get machines -n cpaas-system

# Verify cluster deployment status
kubectl get clustermodule <cluster-name> -o jsonpath='{.status.base.deployStatus}'

#Verify Control Plane HA

If you enabled HCSCluster.spec.controlPlaneHA, inspect the HCSCluster condition first:

kubectl get hcscluster <cluster-name> -n cpaas-system \
  -o jsonpath='{range .status.conditions[?(@.type=="ControlPlaneHAReady")]}{.status}{" "}{.reason}{" "}{.message}{"\n"}{end}'

Interpret the condition as follows:

Inspect the observed server group and membership snapshot:

kubectl get hcscluster <cluster-name> -n cpaas-system \
  -o jsonpath='serverGroup={.status.controlPlaneHA.name}{" id="}{.status.controlPlaneHA.id}{" policy="}{.status.controlPlaneHA.policy}{"\n"}{range .status.controlPlaneHA.members[*]}{.machineName}{" "}{.serverID}{"\n"}{end}'

For anti-affinity, HCS treats the server group policy as a hard scheduling constraint. If capacity is insufficient, ECS creation can fail and the condition message should be used as the first diagnostic signal. For soft-anti-affinity, HCS tries to spread members but may still place multiple ECS instances on the same host.

#Expected Results

A successfully created cluster should show:

• Cluster status: Running or Provisioned
• All control plane machines: Running
• Kubernetes nodes: Ready
• Cluster Module Status: Completed

#Adding Worker Nodes

For instructions on adding worker nodes to the cluster, refer to Managing Nodes.

#Upgrading Clusters

For instructions on upgrading cluster components, refer to Upgrading Clusters.

#Troubleshooting

If the cluster reaches Provisioned but never becomes Ready — for example, workload nodes stay NotReady because the CNI is not deployed — start with the provider-agnostic Troubleshoot a Workload Cluster Stuck in Provisioned.

For HCS-specific failure patterns (for example, kubeadm init never completes because a dotted HCSMachineConfigPool hostname produced a POSIX hostname containing dots), see Troubleshoot Huawei Cloud Stack Workload Clusters.