ESXi OVA Deployment Using vCenter

If you are using your system’s docker0 interface as the Ethernet bridge, ensure that you enter the bridge’s IP address and netmask in the Docker daemon configuration section when you deploy hosts using the OVA template. Note that the 172.17.0.0/24 network is assigned to docker0 by default.

To deploy hosts in VMware vCenter, complete the following.

1. Log in to the Cloud Services Portal.
2. Go to Administration > Downloads.
3. On the Downloads page, click Download Package for OVA in the On-Prem Hosts section.
4. Choose an applicable package from the drop-down menu. Note that if you are deploying the Data Connector host, choose the high-capacity 750 GB OVA package.
5. Click Download Package for VM, and then save the package on your system.
6. Launch vCenter on your Linux or Windows server.
7. Navigate to File > Deploy OVF Template to start the Deploy OVF Template wizard.
8. In the Select template section, complete the following:
   • Deploy from a file or URL: Enter the path of the OVA file for the host, and then click Next, as illustrated below.

9.  In the Select name and location section, complete the following:

• Name: Enter a unique name for the host. This name must be unique within the location you select.
• Inventory Location: Select the location in the inventory folder in which the host will reside.

10. In the Select a resource section, select the host or cluster on which you want to deploy the OVF template.
11. In the Specify a Specific Host section, select a specific host within the cluster, and then click Next, as illustrated below.

12. In the Review details section, verify the OVF template details, and then click Next, as illustrated below.

13. In the Select storage section, complete the following:

• Select virtual disk format: Select the disk format type. Thick Provisioned = Allocate all storage immediately. Thin Provisioned = Allocate the storage on demand as data is written to the virtual disks.
• VM storage policy: Select the VM datastore you want to store the host. Ensure that you select a datastore that is large enough to accommodate the VM and all of its virtual disk files.

14. In the Select Networks section, complete the following:

• Source Network: Select the source network from the table.
• Destination Network: From the drop-down menu, select the destination network.

15. In the Customize template section, complete the following:

In the Cloud Credentials section, complete the following:

• Join Token (required): This is the join token that you created and copied from the Cloud Services Portal. You must log in to the Cloud Services Portal to create the join token. In the Cloud Services Portal, go to Manage > Host > Join Tokens. After you create a new join token, you will see the token string in the Copy Token dialog. Copy the token string and enter it here (note that the token appears only once). If you already have an existing join token you want to use for this deployment, enter the token string here.
• HTTPS Proxy: Enter the URL for the HTTPS proxy in this format: http://[user:passwd@]<Proxy>:<Proxy_Port>
  
  

16. In the IPv4 Network Settings section, complete the following:

• IPv4 Mode: Select one of the following for your IPv4 network:
  • DHCP: If your network contains a DHCP server, select DHCP to automatically receive a dynamic IPv4 address for the host.
  • Static: If you want to assign a specific IPv4 address to your host, select Static to manually configure the IPv4 address, netmask or CIDR, and the default gateway for the host.
• IPv4 address, IPv4 Netmask, IPv4 Gateway: Enter the IPv4 address, netmask, and gateway for the network to which the host connects.
• Disable Path MTU Discovery: Select this check box if you want to disable path MTU discovery in your network path. This check box is deselected by default, which means path MTU discovery is enabled by default. Path MTU discovery is used to determine the MTU size to avoid IP fragmentation.
• IPv4 MTU: Enter the maximum transmission unit, which is the size of the largest protocol data unit that can be communicated in a single network layer transaction. Valid values are from 576 to 9000. The default value is 1500.
  
  

17. Optionally, in the IPv6 Network Settings, complete the following if you are not using the DHCP service:

• IPv6 Mode: Select one of the following for your IPv6 network:
  • DHCP:  If your network contains a DHCP server, select DHCP to automatically receive a dynamic IPv6 address for the host.
  • RA: Select this to use router advertisements in your IPv6 network. The host auto-generates a link-local address to communicate with other hosts or neighbors on the same network.
  • Auto Select: Select this to allow the system to select the best way to obtain an IPv6 address for the host.
  • Static: If you want to assign a specific IPv6 address to your host, select Static to manually configure the IPv6 address, CIDR, and the default gateway for the host.
• IPv6 address, CIDR, IPv6 Gateway: Optionally, you can enter the IPv6 address, CIDR, and gateway for the network to which the host connects.
• IPv6 MTU: Enter the maximum transmission unit, which is the size of the largest protocol data unit that can be communicated in a single network layer transaction. Valid values are from 1280 to 9000. The default value is 1500.

18. In the DNS resolver and NTP configuration section, complete the following:

• NameServer(s) (required): Enter the IP addresses of the DNS resolvers here.
• NTP server(s): Enter the FQDN, IPv4 or IPv6 address of the NTP servers with which you plan to synchronize time.

In the Docker daemon configuration section, complete the following:

• Bridge IP address and netmask: Specify the IP address and netmask for the docker0 interface. You can use the standard CIDR notation if desired.

19. In the Ready to complete screen, review and verify the configuration, and then click Finish. The following is an example with sample data:

20. To configure multiple network interfaces for your host, select the VM from Inventory, and then right-click the VM and select Edit Settings. For information about multiple interfaces, see Multiple Network Interfaces for Hosts.

• On the Edit Settings screen, click Add New Device > Network Adapter, as illustrated below:

• Use the Browse function to locate the new network, as illustrated below:

• Click OK to save the new network interface.

24. You have now successfully deployed the host. It might take a few minutes for the host to connect. Once connected, the host starts collecting information from your on-premises devices and transmits the data to BloxOne DDI.

25. For DNS to function properly in OVA deployments on ESXi servers, ensure that you enable the Synchronize guest time with host option during the deployment and that your ESXi host is synchronized with the NTP server. If you do not select the Synchronize guest time with host option (or if this option is disabled), the host synchronizes with the Ubuntu NTP servers: ntp.ubuntu.com and ubuntu.pool.ntp.org. When you disable this option, ensure that you open the UDP 123 port for time synchronization with the Ubuntu NTP servers. For more information, see Synchronizing Time on the ESXi Servers.

26. To check the current status of the proxy, you can go to Manage > Hosts in the Cloud Services Portal. For more information about the host status, see Viewing Host Status.