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Technical Note

VMware, Inc. 1

Command-Line Deployment of VMware

vCenter Server Appliance 6.0

This technical note describes the command-line deployment process of the

VMware vCenter Server™ Appliance™.

The vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine that is optimized for running

vCenter Server.

The command-line installer is intended for advanced users who are familiar with vSphere. The main purpose

of the command-line installer is to enable automation, and prevent user input errors.

Overview

The command-line deployment process includes downloading the ISO installer, setting the deployment

templates using the command parameters, and following the procedure described in this technical note.

Software Included in the vCenter Server Appliance Package

The vCenter Server Appliance package contains the following software:

 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Update 3 for VMware, 64-bit edition

 PostgreSQL

 vCenter Server 6.0 and vCenter Server 6.0 components

vCenter Server Appliance Components

The vCenter Server Appliance consists of the following components.

 VMware Platform Services Controller

A group of infrastructure services such as vCenter Single Sign-On, License service, and VMware

Certificate Authority

 vCenter Server

A group of services such as vCenter Server, vSphere Web Client, Inventory Service, vSphere Auto Deploy,

vSphere ESXi Dump Collector, and vSphere Syslog Service for vCenter Server Appliance

vCenter Server Appliance Deployment Models

You can deploy the vCenter Server Appliance in one of the following two deployment models - a

vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller, or a vCenter Server Appliance

with an external Platform Services Controller.

Summary of content (19 pages)

PAGE 1
Technical Note Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 This technical note describes the command-line deployment process of the VMware vCenter Server™ Appliance™. The vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine that is optimized for running vCenter Server. The command-line installer is intended for advanced users who are familiar with vSphere.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Table 1. summarizes the characteristics of the two deployment models. Table 1. vCenter Server Appliance Deployment Models vCenter Server Appliance Deployment Model Description vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller All services bundled with the Platform Services Controller are deployed together with vCenter Server in the same appliance.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 NOTE For instances of vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller, the required memory size and number of CPUs are the sum of the values for the Platform Services Controller and the values for the environment you want to deploy. Storage Requirements The host on which the vCenter Server Appliance is to be deployed must meet minimum storage requirements, depending on the selected deployment model. Table 3.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 To deploy the vCenter Server Appliance from a machine with a Windows OS: 1 At the command prompt, navigate to the vcsa-cli-installer\win32 directory. 2 Deploy the appliance.  Deploy the appliance from the template: vcsa-deploy path-to-templates-directory\name-of-the-template.json  Deploy the appliance from the template by using command-line options: vcsa-deploy Optional_Argument path-to-templates-directory\name-of-the-template.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 ./vcsa-deploy path-to-templates-directory/name-of-the-template.json  Deploy the appliance from the template by using command-line options: vcsa-deploy Optional_Argument path-to-templates-directory/name-of-the-template.json For example, the following command string deploys the appliance as specified in the JSON template.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Preparing the Deployment Templates This section provides details about the vCenter Server Appliance deployment templates. You must prepare the templates to deploy the vCenter Server Appliance. The vCenter Server Appliance ISO installer file contains five JSON templates: Table 5. vCenter Server Appliance Template JSON Files Template JSON File Description full_conf.json The full_conf.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 5 Save and close the file. You can create and save an unlimited number of templates. vCenter Server Appliance Sample Deployment Files The following examples display the sample deployment JSON files included in the vCenter Server Appliance ISO file. Example 1. Content of embedded.example.json Template { "__comments": [ "Sample template to deploy a vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller. Please see full_conf.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Example 2. Content of VC.example.json Template { "__comments": [ "Sample template to deploy a vCenter Server." ], "deployment": { "esx.hostname":"", "esx.datastore":"", "esx.username":"root", "esx.password":"", "deployment.network":"VM Network", "deployment.option":"management-tiny", "appliance.name":"management-node", "appliance.thin.disk.mode":true }, "vcsa": { "system": { "root.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Example 3. Content of PSC.example.json Template { "__comments": [ "Sample template to deploy a platform service controller" ], "deployment": { "esx.hostname":"", "esx.datastore":"", "esx.username":"root", "esx.password":"", "deployment.network":"VM Network", "deployment.option":"infrastructure", "appliance.name":"platform-service-controller", "appliance.thin.disk.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Example 4. Content of PSC_replication.example.json Template { "__comments": [ "Sample template to deploy a Platform Services controller joining an existing Single Sign-On" ], "deployment": { "esx.hostname":"", "esx.datastore":"", "esx.username":"root", "esx.password":"", "deployment.network":"VM Network", "deployment.option":"infrastructure", "appliance.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 vCenter Server Appliance Deployment Parameters Table 6, Table 7, Table 8, Table 9, andTable 10 list the parameters that you can use to set up the deployment templates according to your needs. The information you provide depends on your specific deployment. For example, you must provide database parameters if you want to deploy the appliance with an external database. Table 6. Network Parameters Parameter Default ip.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Table 7. vCenter Single Sign-On Parameters Parameter Default Conditions password None For the first instance of the identity domain, this is the administrator account password. For subsequent instances, this is the administrator account password of the replication partner.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Table 8. System Parameters Parameter Default Conditions root.password None Password of the root user of the Linux operating system of the appliance. If set through the command-line installer, this parameter is ignored. ssh.enable None A Boolean value. If the value is set to TRUE, then SSH-based remote login is enabled. You can change this setting after deployment. time.tools-sync None A Boolean value.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Table 10. Deployment Parameters Parameter Default Conditions esx.host None The IP address or the FQDN of the ESXi host. esx.datastore None The name of a datastore on which the deployed vCenter Serve Appliance resides. The datastore must be accessible from the specified host. esx.username None esx.password None The user name of a user that has administrative, or root, privileges on the ESXi host. The ESXi host user password.
PAGE 15
Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Table 10. Deployment Parameters Parameter Default Conditions appliance.name None The deployed virtual machine or inventory name. The name that is displayed from the client when connected to the vCenter or ESXi host that contains the vCenter Server Appliance. The appliance name must not contain the percent sign (%), the backslash (\), or the forward slash (/). appliance.thin.disk.mode None A Boolean value.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Example 5 displays the content of the first Platform Services Controller template. Example 5. Template for Deployment of the First Platform Services Controller { "__comments": [ "Example- First platform service controller" ], "deployment": { "esx.hostname":"10.100.100.1", "esx.datastore":"datastore1", "esx.username":"root", "esx.password":"P@ss!w0rd", "deployment.network":"VM Network", "deployment.option":"infrastructure", "appliance.
PAGE 17
Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Example 6 displays the content of the second Platform Services Controller template. Example 6. Template for Deployment of the Second Platform Services Controller { "__comments": [ "Example- Second platform service controller" ], "deployment": { "esx.hostname":"10.100.100.1", "esx.datastore":"datastore1", "esx.username":"root", "esx.password":"P@ss!w0rd", "deployment.network":"VM Network", "deployment.option":"infrastructure", "appliance.
PAGE 18
Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Example 7 displays the content of the template for deployment of the first vCenter Server Appliance instance. Example 7. Template for Deployment of the First vCenter Server Appliance Instance { "__comments": [ "Example - First ], Management node" "deployment": { "esx.hostname":"10.100.100.1", "esx.datastore":"datastore1", "esx.username":"root", "esx.password":"P@ss!w0rd", "deployment.network":"VM Network", "deployment.
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Command-Line Deployment of VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 Example 8 displays the content of the template for deployment of the second vCenter Server Appliance instance. Example 8. Template for Deployment of the Second vCenter Server Appliance Instance { "__comments": [ "Example - Second ], Management node" "deployment": { "esx.hostname":"10.100.100.1", "esx.datastore":"datastore1", "esx.username":"root", "esx.password":"P@ss!w0rd", "deployment.network":"VM Network", "deployment.