On RHEL 8 VMs... For RKE2, looking at this document, https://docs.rke2.io/install/configuration

Method of installation to use. Default is on RPM-based systems

rpm

, all else

tar

And, with Rancher 2.7.1.... Does it make sense to create RKE2 cluster then import into Rancher or create RKE2 cluster from Rancher? Is one method better over other?

Either way should work fine! RKE2 standalone install is probably a little bit simpler, as it can be run via

curl -sfL <https://get.rke2.io> | sudo INSTALL_RKE2_VERSION=v1.24.11+rke2r1 sh -

for example to use the latest v1.24 version. If creating via Rancher, I’d recommend going the “Custom Cluster” approach so that you can ensure the VM you use has all the necessary RPMs and workarounds already installed. Rancher provisioning will use the

tar

install method of rke2 for all OSes, so you won’t get the default

rpm

installation that you’d expect. If you wanted to use Node Driver, then just make sure your machine image has all the appropriate RPMs installed ahead of time 👍

Thanks @gray-lawyer-73831! Yes, planning to create as "Custom Cluster" then copy/paste registration URL... So, not using node driver method

Perfect! You should be fine then! Just beware to have RPMs and any funky networkmanager stuff configured ahead of time

Oh and looking ahead a bit... if I create RKE2 cluster from Rancher UI then I can also upgrade kubernetes version from Rancher UI, correct? So, for example, future version of Rancher supports RKE2 1.25, can I upgrade to that version from UI or would that have any issue?

Yep that should all work fine! 1.25 just as a note is tricky — especially when upgrading from a previous minor due to the removal of PSPs. So just keep that in mind with your 1.24 cluster. If you want to get ahead of it you’ll want to make sure you’re using PSS now instead of PSPs

thank you for your help and support!