Tuesday, March 4, 2014

My first experience with VMware vCHS - Part 2 - vCloud Connector

This is the 2nd in a vCHS series. You can find the previous entry HERE.

OnPrem - vCloud Connector (general label for a collection of systems and configuration)


If you don't know what vCloud is or about the vConnector, right now all you need to know is that you can't do actual migrations (it creates vApp templates from powered down VMs) and the only other thing is really useful for are stretch migrations (a vShield networking trick that are only useful in some very rare situations.

VCC does NOT allow you to use the vSphere client to manage vCHS any more than you can do on the web (for the most part, it just gives you a window to the web interface and does some back-end management that you can also initiate from the web).
  • vCloud Connector Server - Provided as a zip containing an OVF that can be easily added to any host onPrem. Once you've installed, visit https://assignedip:5480/ (port 5480 is a theme so learn it). Once you've configured networking, set the time-zone and changed the password, contine to the Node which is the same process.
  • vCloud Connector Node- Provided as a zip containing an OVF that can be easily added to any host onPrem. Once you've installed, visit https://assignedip:5480/
    • Once you've installed the node and done the same basic config (IP/Time-zone/Password), you need to go to the Node/Cloud menu and register your vCenter to the node (the node manages vCenter and the VCCS manages the node).
    • Next you can go back to the VCCS and "register the node".
    • Now we want to register the vCHS node to your VCCS.
      • This is what allows you to use your vCenter to manage onPrem and vCHS together (and any other nodes you register). This is where I hit some frustrating resistance.
      • To register vCHS node you need the Node URL (given to me in my onboarding email), VCD Org Name (not given to me and I had to deduce that it was provided in vCHS vCloud Director. It is the unique ID at the very top of the page, next to the navigation arrows. For me it was MXXXXXXX-XXX. You also need a username and password which you might think should be the same you log into the vCHS portal with but it apparently is not.
      • After a few failed attempts, I was able to navigate to the vCloud Director, My Cloud, Logs, Events and see the failed attempts. Despite multiple emails and a phone call to vCHS support, I presently do not have the credentials I need so I'm stuck with the connector for now. More to come.....
      • UPDATE: After speaking with vCHS support, it sounds like my credentials are out of sync in one of their DBs and I was doing everything right. Now I wait for them to tell me it's fixed.
      • The solution came fairly quickly (less than 2 hours) and I had my vCHS node registered with VCCS.
If you have questions, please feel free to ask in comments. This was someone brief but it's because once it's working, it's really very straight-forward until/unless you try a stretch deploy (which I haven't).


Next will be an entry on vCHS networking.

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