VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.5 Stage 2 configuration

The following post is going to be a demo of the VCSA 6.5 Stage 2 configuration. To complete the installation of a fully deployed VCSA complete the steps below:

Step #1 - Open an Internet browser of your choice and browse to the IP address that you assigned to the appliance during stage #1 follow by the :5480 port number. Example: 10.10.10.120:5480.

Step #2 - As per the image above once you browse over to the IP address assigned to the appliance during stage 1, you will be presented with a window in which you will be given the option to Setup the vCenter Server Appliance, Upgrade a vCenter Server Appliance, Migrate over from a Windows version or Restore from Backup. For the purpose of this demo we will select the first option. After selecting the first option, you will be presented with the below window:

Step #3 - Click on Stage 2 at the Window above and then click on the Next Button to continue with the setup process.

Step #4 - At the Window below review your Appliance IP setting to make sure that they are correct. select the option to enable SSH access and select the option to Synchronize the appliance time settings with the ESXi server. By selecting the appliance to synchronize its time with the ESXi server allows you to prevent configuration errors. This setting can be changed once the setup is completed.

Step #5 - By clicking on the Next button located on image above, you will be presented with a window in which you need to populate the password for administrator account in your SSO domain. At the same time you can rename the site name to anything appropriate to your deployment. In this case I have rename it to SPLAB. Once complete click on the Next button to continue with the configuration.

Step #6 - After clicking on the Next button in the image above, the next window that will be presented is the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP). In this window you can select if you will like to join or not in the program. For the purpose of this demo I will not join the program and click on the Next button to continue forward.  

Step #7 - The next window that will be displayed will be a summary of the configuration information you have entered in the stage 2 process. After reviewing the information and making sure that everything looks correct, click on the Finish button to launch the configuration procedure.

As per the image below the Stage 2 procedure will launch the configuration of the appliance using the information populated above.

Once the procedure completes successfully, you will be presented with a window displaying the procedure completion and the URLs you can use to login into the new vCenter server.

Thank you!

vSphere vCenter Virtual Appliance (VCSA) 6.5 Installation

As many of you may already know VMware has made general available their new version of their flagship hypervisor ESXi and vCenter server 6.5. In the following blog post I will demostrate the necessary steps to carry the initial installation of vCenter server 6.5 in the appliance version.

Step #1 - Download the vCenter Server ISO from the VMware website and mount it on your computer. Once the ISO file is mounted click on the install icon as presented in the image below.

Step #2 - After doing a click on the install button you will be presented with the Stage #1 - Deploy appliance window as per the image below. Click on deploy appliance to initiate the process.

Step #3 - Click on the Check box to accept the EULA and click on the next button to continue the installation.

Step #4 - After clicking on the Next button you will be presented with the select deployment type window. at this window you can select which type of deployment you will like to perform. There are 2 types: 1- Deployment with an Embedded Platform Service Controller and 2- Deployment with an external Platform Service Controller. For the purpose of this demo I will select the first option which contains an Embedded Platform Service Controller (PSC) 

Step #5 - Once your selection is made, click on the Next button to continue the appliance deployment target. As per the image below, at this window you will populate the IP address and credentials of the ESXi host where you are going to be deploying the appliance. Right after the information has been entered, click on the Next button to continue with the process. 

Step #6 - After clicking on the Next button, a connection to the target ESXi server will be made, you will be prompted to trust the ESXi server certificate as per the image below. To continue forward please click on the Yes button to accept the certificate.

Step #7 - You will be presented with the Setup Appliance VM window. At this window, you will need to populate the VM name and the Root password ("need to be enter twice") corresponding to this virtual machine. Click on the Next button to continue forward.

Step #8 - At the next window you will be prompted to select the deployment size of the VCSA appliance, depending on the implementation the VCSA can be deployed on different sizes according to the image below. It is good to take in consideration that depending on the size selected, there will be more resources required than in others.

Step #9 - After selecting the deployment size, click on the Next button to continue with the setup process. At the next window you will be prompted to select the datastore where you will like to store the virtual appliance. Depending on your environment select a datastore that contains the necessary available space for this deployment. Once selected, Click on the Next button to continue.

Step #10 - At the next window you will be requested to populate the network settings of your VCSA virtual appliance. According to your network settings, you can use a static IPV4 or IPV6 IP address. For the purpose of this demo, I will be using a private class C IP address to complete the setup. Click on the Next button to continue forward.

Step #11 - Right after you click on the Next button, you will be presented with screen displaying a summary of your configuration. If all the setting appear to be correct as you intended, click on the Finish button to complete the Stage 1 procedure.

In the next blog post I will continue with a demo of how to configure Stage #2 of a VCSA deployment.

Thank you!