You can deploy the VMware Cloud Director appliance as an OVF template by using the VMware OVF Tool.

You must deploy the first member of a VMware Cloud Director server group as a primary cell. You can deploy a subsequent member of a VMware Cloud Director server group as a standby or VMware Cloud Director application cell. See Appliance Deployments and Database High Availability Configuration.

For information about installing OVF Tool, see the VMware OVF Tool Release Notes document.

For information about using OVF Tool, see the OVF Tool User's Guide.

Important:

Mixed VMware Cloud Director installations on Linux and VMware Cloud Director appliance deployments in one server group are unsupported.

When adding additional or replacement appliances to a database cluster, the vCPU and RAM must match those of the existing primary and standby cells in the cluster.

The OVA version of the newly deployed standby must be the same as the existing appliances in the cluster. To view the version of the running appliances, see the About information in the appliance management UI. The appliance is distributed with a name of the form VMware Cloud Director-v.v.v.v-nnnnnn_OVF10.ova, where v.v.v.v represents the product version and nnnnnn the build number. For example: VMware Cloud Director-10.2.0.0-9229800_OVA10.ova.

For information about deploying OVF templates in vSphere, see vSphere Virtual Machine Administration.

As an alternative, you can deploy the appliance using the vSphere Client. See Deploy the VMware Cloud Director Appliance by Using the vSphere Client.

Before running the deployment command, see Prerequisites for Deploying the VMware Cloud Director Appliance.

Starting with VMware Cloud Director 10.2, you must include the --X:enableHiddenProperties parameter to deploy the VMware Cloud Director appliance.

Note:

You can choose whether to specify the optional OVF configuration options during the primary appliance deployment, or to run the appliance management user interface to finish the configuration after the deployment.

ovftool Command Options and Properties for Deploying the VMware Cloud Director Appliance

Option Value Description
--noSSLVerify n/a Skips SSL verification for vSphere connections.
--acceptAllEulas n/a Accepts all end-user licenses agreements (EULAs).
--X:enableHiddenProperties n/a Makes visible all the properties for the configuration of the appliance.
--datastore target_vc_datastore The target datastore name on which to store the virtual machine configuration files and virtual disks.
--allowAllExtraConfig n/a Converts all extra configuration options to the VMX format.
--net:"eth0 Network" portgroup_on_vc_for_eth0 The destination network for the appliance eth0 network.
Important: Must be different from the eth1 destination network.
--net:"eth1 Network" portgroup_on_vc_for_eth1 The destination network for the appliance eth1 network.
Important: Must be different from the eth0 destination network.
--name vm_name_on_vc The virtual machine name for the appliance.
--diskMode thin or thick The disk format for the virtual machine configuration files and virtual disks.
--prop:"vami.ip0.VMware_vCloud_Director" eth0_ip_address IP address of eth0. Used for the UI and API access. On this address, the DNS reverse lookup determines and sets the hostname of the appliance.
--prop:"vami.ip1.VMware_vCloud_Director" eth1_ip_address IP address of eth1. Used for accessing internal services including the embedded PostreSQL database service.
--prop:"vami.DNS.VMware_vCloud_Director" dns_ip_address The IP address of the domain name server for the appliance.
--prop:"vami.domain.VMware_vCloud_Director" domain_name The DNS search domain. Appears as the first element in the search path.
--prop:"vami.gateway.VMware_vCloud_Director" gateway_ip_address The IP address of the default gateway for the appliance.
--prop:"vami.netmask0.VMware_vCloud_Director" netmask The netmask or prefix for the eth0 interface.
--prop:"vami.netmask1.VMware_vCloud_Director" netmask The netmask or prefix for the eth1 interface.
--prop:"vami.searchpath.VMware_vCloud_Director" a_list_of_domain_names The domain search path of the appliance.

A comma or space-separated list of domain names.

--prop:"vcloudconf.ceip_enabled.VMware_vCloud_Director true or false Activates or deactivates the participation in the VMware Customer Experience Improvement Program. The default is true.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudapp.enable_ssh.VMware_vCloud_Director" true or false Activates or deactivates the SSH root access to the appliance.
--prop:"vcloudapp.expire_root_password.VMware_vCloud_Director" true or false Determines whether to continue or not using the initial password after the first login.
--prop:"vcloudapp.nfs_mount.VMware_vCloud_Director" nfs_ip_address:nfs_mount_path The IP address and export path of the external NFS server.

Used only for a primary cell.

--prop:"vcloudapp.ntp-server.VMware_vCloud_Director" ntp_server_ip_address The IP address of the time server.
--prop:"vcloudapp.varoot-password.VMware_vCloud_Director" ova_root_password The initial root password for the appliance. Must contain at least eight characters, one uppercase character, one lowercase character, one numeric digit, and one special character.
Important: The initial root password becomes the private key password. The cluster deployment requires all the cells to have the same root password during the initial deployment. After the boot process finishes, you can change the root password on any desired cell.
--prop:"vcloudconf.db_pwd.VMware_vCloud_Director" db_password The database password of the vcloud user.

Used only for a primary cell.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_email.VMware_vCloud_Director" vcd_admin_email_address The email address of the system administrator account.

Used only for a primary cell.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_fname.VMware_vCloud_Director" Admin_vcd_name The name for the system administrator account.

Used only for a primary cell.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_pwd.VMware_vCloud_Director" vcd_admin_password The password for the system administrator account.

Used only for a primary cell.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_uname.VMware_vCloud_Director" vcd_admin_username The user name for the system administrator account.

Used only for a primary cell.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudconf.inst_id.VMware_vCloud_Director" vcd_install_ID The VMware Cloud Director installation ID.

Used only for a primary cell.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudconf.sys_name.VMware_vCloud_Director" ova_system_name The name for the vCenter Server folder to create for this VMware Cloud Director installation.

Optional if you plan to run the appliance management user interface to finish the primary appliance configuration after the deployment.

--prop:"vcloudnet.routes0.VMware_vCloud_Director" ip_address1 cidr, ip_address2, ... Optional. Static routes for the eth0 interface. Must be a comma-separated list of route specifications. A route specification must consist of a gateway IP address and, optionally, Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) network specification (prefix/bits). For example, 172.16.100.253 172.16.100/19, 172.16.200.253.
--prop:"vcloudnet.routes1.VMware_vCloud_Director" ip_address1 cidr, ip_address2, ... Optional. Static routes for the eth1 interface. Must be a comma-separated list of route specifications. A route specification must consist of a gateway IP address and, optionally, Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) network specification (prefix/bits). For example, 172.16.100.253 172.16.100/19, 172.16.200.253.
--deploymentOption primary-small, primary-medium, primary-large, primary-extralarge, standby-small, standby-medium, standby-large, standby-extralarge, or cell The appliance type and size that you want to deploy.

The primary-small and standby-small VMware Cloud Director appliance sizes are suitable for lab or test systems. The primary-large and standby-large sizes meet the minimum sizing requirements for production systems. Depending on the workload, you might need to add additional resources.

  • primary-small deploys the appliance with 12 GB of RAM and 2 vCPUs as the first member in a VMware Cloud Director server group. The embedded database in the primary cell is configured as the VMware Cloud Director database. The database name is vcloud, and the database user is vcloud.
  • primary-medium deploys the appliance with 16 GB of RAM and 8 vCPUs as the first member in a VMware Cloud Director server group. The embedded database in the primary cell is configured as the VMware Cloud Director database. The database name is vcloud, and the database user is vcloud.
  • primary-large deploys the appliance with 24 GB of RAM and 16 vCPUs as the first member in a VMware Cloud Director server group. The embedded database in the primary cell is configured as the VMware Cloud Director database. The database name is vcloud, and the database user is vcloud.
  • primary-extralarge deploys the appliance with 32 GB of RAM and 24 vCPUs as the first member in a VMware Cloud Director server group. The embedded database in the primary cell is configured as the VMware Cloud Director database. The database name is vcloud, and the database user is vcloud.
  • standby-small deploys the appliance with 12 GB of RAM and 2 vCPUs as the second or the third member in a VMware Cloud Director server group with a database high availability configuration. The embedded database in a standby cell is configured in a replication mode with the primary database.
  • standby-medium deploys the appliance with 16 GB of RAM and 8 vCPUs as the second or the third member in a VMware Cloud Director server group with a database high availability configuration. The embedded database in a standby cell is configured in a replication mode with the primary database.
  • standby-large deploys the appliance with 24 GB of RAM and 16 vCPUs as the second or the third member in a VMware Cloud Director server group with a database high availability configuration. The embedded database in a standby cell is configured in a replication mode with the primary database.
  • standby-extralarge deploys the appliance with 32 GB of RAM and 24 vCPUs as the second or the third member in a VMware Cloud Director server group with a database high availability configuration. The embedded database in a standby cell is configured in a replication mode with the primary database.
  • cell deploys the appliance with 8 GB of RAM and 8 vCPUs as a subsequent member in a VMware Cloud Director server group. The embedded database in a vCD application cell is not used. The vCD application cell connects to the primary database.
Important: The primary and the standby cells in a VMware Cloud Director server group must be of the same size. A database HA cluster can consist of one primary-small and two standby-small cells, one primary-medium and two standby-medium cells, and so on.

After the deployment, you can reconfigure the size of the appliance.

--powerOn path_to_ova Powers on the virtual machine after the deployment.

An Example Command for Deploying a Production Primary VMware Cloud Director Appliance

Important: Before running the VMware OVF Tool command, replace the vcloudapp.varoot-passwordVMware_vCloud_Director, vcloudconf.db_pwdVMware_vCloud_Director, and vcloudconf.admin_pwd.VMware_vCloud_Director passwords with your own secure passwords.
ovftool\ 
--noSSLVerify \ 
--acceptAllEulas \ 
--X:enableHiddenProperties \ 
--datastore='datastore6' \ 
--allowAllExtraConfig \ 
--net:"eth0 Network"="My_UI_API_Network" \ 
--net:"eth1 Network"="My_Internal_DB_Services_Network" \ 
--name=MyAppliance \ 
--diskMode=thick \ 
--prop:"vami.ip0.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.142" \ 
--prop:"vami.ip1.VMware_vCloud_Director"="172.18.41.24" \ 
--prop:"vami.DNS.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.2" \ 
--prop:"vami.domain.VMware_vCloud_Director"="mycompany.com" \ 
--prop:"vami.gateway.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.1" \ 
--prop:"vami.netmask0.VMware_vCloud_Director"="255.255.0.0" \ 
--prop:"vami.netmask1.VMware_vCloud_Director"="255.255.224.0" \ 
--prop:"vami.searchpath.VMware_vCloud_Director"="eng.mycompany.com" \ 
--prop:"vcloudapp.enable_ssh.VMware_vCloud_Director"="False" \ 
--prop:"vcloudapp.expire_root_password.VMware_vCloud_Director"="True" \ 
--prop:"vcloudapp.nfs_mount.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.96:/data/transfer" \ 
--prop:"vcloudapp.ntp-server.VMware_vCloud_Director"="time.mycompany.com" \ 
--prop:"vcloudapp.varoot-password.VMware_vCloud_Director"="place-secure-password-here" \ 
--prop:"vcloudconf.db_pwd.VMware_vCloud_Director"="place-secure-password-here" \ 
--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_email.VMware_vCloud_Director"="[email protected]" \ 
--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_fname.VMware_vCloud_Director"="vcdadmin" \ 
--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_pwd.VMware_vCloud_Director"="place-secure-password-here" \ 
--prop:"vcloudconf.admin_uname.VMware_vCloud_Director"="administrator" \ 
--prop:"vcloudconf.inst_id.VMware_vCloud_Director"="59" \ 
--prop:"vcloudconf.sys_name.VMware_vCloud_Director"="MyAppliance" \ 
--deploymentOption="primary-large" \ 
--powerOn "/MyPath/VMware_vCloud_Director-version_number_OVF10.ova" \ 
vi://vc_user_name:vc_password@vc_hostname_or_ip_address/vc_dataceter_name/host/vc_cluster_name

An Example Command for Deploying a Production Standby VMware Cloud Director Appliance

Important: Before running the VMware OVF Tool command, replace the vcloudapp.varoot-password.VMware_vCloud_Director password with your own secure password.
ovftool \
--noSSLVerify \
--acceptAllEulas \
--X:enableHiddenProperties \
--datastore='datastore6' \
--allowAllExtraConfig  \
--net:"eth0 Network"="My_UI_API_Network" \
--net:"eth1 Network"="My_Internal_DB_Services_Network" \
--name=MySecondAppliance \
--diskMode=thick \
--prop:"vami.ip0.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.143" \
--prop:"vami.ip1.VMware_vCloud_Director"="172.18.41.25" \
--prop:"vami.DNS.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.2" \
--prop:"vami.domain.VMware_vCloud_Director"="mycompany.com" \
--prop:"vami.gateway.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.1" \
--prop:"vami.netmask0.VMware_vCloud_Director"="255.255.0.0" \
--prop:"vami.netmask1.VMware_vCloud_Director"="255.255.224.0" \
--prop:"vami.searchpath.VMware_vCloud_Director"="eng.mycompany.com" \
--prop:"vcloudapp.enable_ssh.VMware_vCloud_Director"="False" \
--prop:"vcloudapp.expire_root_password.VMware_vCloud_Director"="True" \
--prop:"vcloudapp.nfs_mount.VMware_vCloud_Director"="10.0.0.96:/data/transfer" \
--prop:"vcloudapp.ntp-server.VMware_vCloud_Director"="time.mycompany.com" \
--prop:"vcloudapp.varoot-password.VMware_vCloud_Director"="place-secure-password-here" \
--prop:"vcloudconf.sys_name.VMware_vCloud_Director"="MySecondAppliance" \
--deploymentOption="standby-large" \
--powerOn "/MyPath/VMware_vCloud_Director-version_number_OVF10.ova" \
vi://vc_user_name:vc_password@vc_hostname_or_ip_address/vc_dataceter_name/host/vc_cluster_name

After you deploy the VMware Cloud Director appliance

After you deploy the appliance, view the firstboot log file for warning error messages. See Examine the Log Files in the VMware Cloud Director Appliance.

Use the appliance management user interface to configure the primary appliance. See Configure the VMware Cloud Director Primary Appliance.

Use the appliance management user interface to configure the standby and application cells. See Configure the VMware Cloud Director Standby and Application Cells.