Tag: Home Lab

在VMware Workstation上部署vCenter Server VCSA

网上有很多关于如何在VMware Workstation上部署vCenter Server VCSA的文章，但根据这些文章在部署过程中总是会遇到各种各样。以下是几点我总结出来的要点，仅供参考。

我假设你的实验环境里没有DNS或者域服务器，只是简单的使用VMware Workstation的DHCP服务，虚拟机的网卡选择的是“host-only”。以下步骤仅用于做一些快速测试时使用。

  1. vCenter Server安装好后第一次启动的时候会检测FQDN。如果你没有DNS服务器，FQDN检测会失败。所以在安装vCenter Server时要确保“Host Network Identity”输入的是IP地址。
  2. OVA文件导入后虚拟机会立刻自动启动，有时候虚拟机的网卡可能会是断开状态的。要确保网卡是连接状态。
  3. 第一次启动耗时大约15至20分钟，在没有完全启动完毕前虚拟机的控制台界面是不现实IP地址的。另外一个vCenter Server准备就绪的表现是IP地址ping得通了。
  4. vCenter Server第一次启动后，需要打开 https://vcenter_ip:5480 继续完成vCenter Server的配置。
  5. Administrator@vsphere.local 的密码就是你在OVA导入界面里输入的密码。

2018 5月28日更新：

在以上步骤的第四步中，你可能无法登陆root，提示验证失败。这是由于root锁死造成的，需要按照以下步骤解锁：

  1. 重启vCenter Server虚拟机。
  2. 在Photon启动界面按“e”键。
  3. 在第二行结尾加入”rw init=/bin/bash“。具体参考这里。
  4. 当你看到#提示符时，运行命令”passwd“更改root密码。
  5. 运行命令”pam_tally2 –user root“检查root密码输入错了多少次。
  6. 如果输入错误次数大于1，运行命令 “pam_tally2 –user root –reset” 解锁root账号。
  7. 重启虚拟机，现在应该可以登录了。

2018 5月31日更新：

在以上步骤的第四步中，登陆后你应该会看到vCenter Server安装向导。如果你的vCenter Server只想用IP地址，请确保“System name”项填写的是IP地址。

Deploye vCenter Server Virtual Appliance on VMware Workstation

There are a lot of articles introduce how to deploy vCenter Server virtual appliance on VMware Workstation. I tried but somehow it’s failed. Following are some notes for your reference if you want to deploy vCenter Server virtual appliance on VMware Workstation real quick.

I assume you don’t have DNS or domain servers. Native DHCP services of VMware Workstation is used. You just want to use vCenter Server for some quick testings purpose, and “host-only” NIC you want to select.

  1. vCenter Server installer validates FQDN when it’s first boot up. The process fails if FQDN doesn’t work. So please make sure “Host Network Identity” is IP address of the VM when you set the OVA options.
  2. The VM is immediately booted up after importing the OVA file. But VM NIC is “disconnected” status sometimes. You have to enable the NIC in VM properties real quick.
  3. You have to wait for about 15 – 20 minutes after first boot. Console screen doesn’t show IP address before it’s fully ready. The indicator of readiness is the IP address of the VM is responding to ping.
  4. Login https://vcenter_ip:5480 to continue vCenter Server installation after the first boot is ready.
  5. The password of Administrator@vsphere.local is same as you set during importing the OVA.

Updates 28th May 2018:

Root authentication on step 4 above maybe failed. It’s caused by root account locking. Please follow the procedures below:

  1. Reboot vCenter VM.
  2. Press “e” when you see the Photon booting screen.
  3. Add “rw init=/bin/bash” to the end of the 2nd line. Refer here for detail.
  4. Run “passwd” to change root password when you see # prompt.
  5. Run “pam_tally2 –user root” to check how many failures root hits.
  6. Run “pam_tally2 –user root –reset” to unlock root if you see more than 1 in step 5.
  7. Reboot. You should be able to login root now.

Updates 31st May 2018:

You should see the installation wizard in step 4. Please make sure “System name” field is IP address if you only want to use IP for vCenter Server.

Updates 5th Sep 2018:

You may see the following error during installation.

Could not connect to VMware Directory Service via LDAP

It indicates vCenter Server FQDN doesn’t work. If you’re a home lab, you may want to add the DNS entries in the hosts file.