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The Google Distributed Cloud documentation provides aninitial
installation journeythat makes several choices to keep the experience easy and straightforward.
When you complete the initial installation journey, you have an admin cluster
and a small user cluster.
This section of the documentation has a collection of advanced topics related to
setting up your vSphere environment and installing Google Distributed Cloud.
For example, in the initial installation journey, you create a user cluster that
has three nodes. Given that the cluster has only three nodes, the documentation
can list simple CPU, RAM, and storage requirements for your vSphere environment.
Going forward, you might want to create a user cluster that has more than three
nodes. In that case, you should readCPU, RAM, and storage
requirements,
which gives detailed instructions on how to calculate your resource requirements
depending on your cluster size and the types of workloads you intend to run.
The initial installation journey used the F5 BIG-IP load balancer along with
integrated load balancing mode. For an overview of load balancing modes and
instructions on how to manually configure some alternatives to F5 BIG-IP, seeSetting up your load
balancer.
Use the following topics to learn how to configure and install
Google Distributed Cloud with all options, including how to configure a
private Docker registry:
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe initial installation of Google Distributed Cloud provides a simplified setup with an admin cluster and a small, three-node user cluster.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAdvanced users can customize their installations, including creating user clusters with more than three nodes, requiring detailed resource calculation based on cluster size and workloads.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers can explore alternative load balancing options beyond the default F5 BIG-IP setup, and manually configure these options as needed.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe documentation provides guides on authenticating cluster clients with OpenID Connect (OIDC) for enhanced security.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eInstructions are available for setting up Google Distributed Cloud using either static IP addresses or DHCP, offering flexibility for different network environments.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Overview of advanced installation topics\n\nThe Google Distributed Cloud documentation provides an [initial\ninstallation journey](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/install-overview-basic)\nthat makes several choices to keep the experience easy and straightforward.\nWhen you complete the initial installation journey, you have an admin cluster\nand a small user cluster.\n\nThis section of the documentation has a collection of advanced topics related to\nsetting up your vSphere environment and installing Google Distributed Cloud.\n\nFor example, in the initial installation journey, you create a user cluster that\nhas three nodes. Given that the cluster has only three nodes, the documentation\ncan list simple CPU, RAM, and storage requirements for your vSphere environment.\nGoing forward, you might want to create a user cluster that has more than three\nnodes. In that case, you should read [CPU, RAM, and storage\nrequirements](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/cpu-ram-storage),\nwhich gives detailed instructions on how to calculate your resource requirements\ndepending on your cluster size and the types of workloads you intend to run.\n\nThe initial installation journey used the F5 BIG-IP load balancer along with\nintegrated load balancing mode. For an overview of load balancing modes and\ninstructions on how to manually configure some alternatives to F5 BIG-IP, see\n[Setting up your load\nbalancer](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/setup-load-balance).\n\nFor information on how to use\n[OpenID Connect](https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/OpenIDConnect)\nfor authenticating clients of your user clusters, see\n[Authenticating with OIDC](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/oidc).\n\nUse the following topics to learn how to configure and install\nGoogle Distributed Cloud with all options, including how to configure a\nprivate Docker registry:\n\n- Static IPs:\n - [Creating an admin workstation with a static IP\n address](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/admin-workstation-static-ip)\n - [Installing using static IP\n addresses](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/install-static-ips)\n- DHCP:\n - [Creating an admin workstation using\n DHCP](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/admin-workstation-dhcp)\n - [Installing using DHCP](/anthos/clusters/docs/on-prem/1.8/how-to/install-dhcp)"]]
