In the vSphere Client, you can deploy each VMware Cloud Director Availability appliance role from a single .ova file.

Prerequisites

  • Download the VMware-Cloud-Director-Availability-Provider-release.number.xxxxxxx-build_sha_OVF10.ova file, containing the binaries for the VMware Cloud Director Availability cloud appliances.
  • If using a version of vSphere earlier than 6.5, install the Client Integration Plug-in to use the Deploy OVF Template option in the vSphere Web Client.

Procedure

  1. Log in to vCenter Server by using the vSphere Client.
  2. Navigate to a target object where you want to deploy the VMware Cloud Director Availability services.
    As a target object you can use a data center, a folder, a cluster, a resource pool, or a host.
  3. Right-click the target object and from the drop-down menu select Deploy OVF Template.
    The Deploy OVF Template wizard opens.
  4. On the Select an OVF template page, browse to the .ova file location and click Next.
  5. On the Select a name and folder page, enter a name for the appliance, select a deployment location, and click Next.
  6. On the Select a compute resource page, select a host, or cluster as a compute resource to run the appliance on, and click Next.
  7. On the Review details page, verify the OVF template details and click Next.
  8. On the License agreements page, select the I accept all license agreements check box and click Next.
  9. On the Configuration page, select the appliance deployment type configuration and click Next.
  10. On the Select storage page, select the virtual disk format and the storage policy for the appliance and click Next.
  11. On the Select networks page, optionally configure the network settings of the appliance and click Next.
    For more information about configuring the network settings after the deployment is complete, see the Network settings configuration chapter in the Administration Guide document.
  12. On the Customize template page, customize the deployment properties of the appliance and click Next.
    Option Description
    Root Password Enter and confirm the initial password for the appliance root user.

    Later, when logging in for the first time as the root user, the appliance requires changing this initial password.

    NTP Server Enter an NTP server hostname or IP address.
    Important: In the disaster recovery environment, ensure that both vCenter Server instances in the source and in the destination, the ESXi hosts, and the VMware Cloud Director Availability appliances all use the same NTP server.
    Hostname Enter the appliance hostname. Leave blank if DHCP is desired.
    Address Enter the IP address of the appliance. Leave blank if DHCP is desired.

    Ensure that the IP is in the CIDR notation, for example, enter 192.168.0.222/24. Otherwise, the boot-up sequence shows an error and 127.0.0.1 as the IP address.

    Gateway Enter the gateway of the appliance network. Leave blank if DHCP is desired.
    MTU Enter the maximum transmission unit of the network. Leave blank if DHCP is desired.
    DNS servers Enter DNS servers for the appliance network. Leave blank if DHCP is desired.
    Search domains Enter the search domains for the appliance network. Leave blank if DHCP is desired.
  13. On the Ready to complete page, review the settings, optionally select Power on after deployment and to begin the .ova installation process, click Finish.

Results

The Recent Tasks pane shows a new task for initializing the .ova deployment. After the task is complete, the new appliance is created on the selected resource.

What to do next

Repeat this procedure as needed for deploying the remaining appliances.