During bring-up, the management domain is created on the ESXi hosts specified in the deployment configuration spreadsheet. The VMware Cloud Foundation software components are automatically deployed, configured, and licensed using the information provided.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the VMware Cloud Builder appliance with your admin credentials by navigating to https://Cloud_Builder_VM_IP.
  2. Verify that the criteria mentioned in the bring-up checklist have been met. Select Check All and click Next.
  3. Read the End-User License Agreement and accept it. Click Next.
  4. You can download the deployment parameter sheet. The deployment parameter spreadsheet provides a mechanism to specify the required deployment information specific to your environment. This includes information about your networks, hosts, license keys, and other information. The spreadsheet is downloaded from the VMware Cloud Builder appliance. The completed spreadsheet is then converted to a JSON file. The deployment parameter spreadsheet can be reused to deploy multiple Cloud Foundation instances of the same version. Click Download Deployment Parameter Sheet. Complete the worksheet.
    Note: Ensure that you enter a complete cluster name or the corresponding prefix as in the vCenter Server. Regular expression is not supported for the cluster name parameter.
  5. To upload the config file, click Upload . You can choose the .xlsx or .json file for updating the configuration. Ensure that all the IP addresses are reserved in the DNS. Select the completed parameter sheet and click Upload.
  6. After the file is uploaded, click Validate to validate the uploaded file.
    The following audit tasks are performed and validation results are displayed on the UI.
    • JSON specifications validation: Validates the completeness and correctness of the specifications of JSON.
    • Well-Formed JSON File: Validates JSON correctness, syntax, null values, and missing fields or components.
    • Password validation

      Validates specified passwords. Checks for minimum length, invalid characters, and format.

    • ESXi host version validation

      Validates ESXi version installed on the hosts and compares against the VCF-EMS manifest located in /opt/evosddc/bundle/scripts/manifest.json on the Cloud Foundation Builder VM.

    • Cloud Builder Readiness: Validates whether the requirements to run the Cloud Foundation Builder VM are met.
    • License key format

      Validates format, validity, and expiry for ESX, vSAN, vCenter Server, NSX, and Log Insight license keys.

    • ESXi Host Readiness
    • Network configuration: Validates CIDR to IP address validity, IP addresses in use, gateways, invalid or missing VLANs, invalid or missing MTU, and network spec availability for all components.
    • Time Synchronization: Validates the time on the components is synchronized with the NTP server in the SDDC Manager.
    • Host and IP DNS records: Validates SSH access and policy, NTP configuration and policy, DNS configuration, VMNIC availability, vSwitch availability, VM network portgroup , and VLAN check on each host.

    To access the bring-up log file, SSH to the VMware Cloud Builder appliance as root and open the /opt/vmware/bringup/logs/vcf-bringup-debug.log file.

    If there is an error during the validation and the Next button is grayed out, you can either make corrections to the environment or edit the JSON file and upload it again. Then click Re-Try to perform the validation again.

    If any warnings are displayed and you want to proceed, click Acknowledge and then click Next.

  7. Click Begin Bring-Up.
    During the bring-up process, the following tasks are completed.
    • The second PSC controller, SDDC Manager, NSX components, and vRealize Log Insight are deployed.
    • The management domain is created, which contains the management components - SDDC Manager, vCenter Server, and NSX Managers and Controllers.
    • The VxRail Manager version is fetched.
    The status of the bring-up tasks is displayed in the UI. You can download the list of tasks by clicking Download.
    After bring-up is completed, a green bar is displayed indicating that bring-up was successful. A link to the SDDC Manager UI is also displayed.

    If there are errors during the bring-up, see Troubleshooting Cloud Foundation Deployment for guidance on how to proceed.

  8. Navigate to the SDDC Manager Dashboard by clicking the link displayed on the UI.
  9. Verify the following:
    • View the management domain details.
    • Log in to vCenter Server and verify the management cluster, vSAN cluster, and deployed VMs.
  10. Power off the VMware Cloud Builder appliance.
    If you no longer need the Cloud Foundation Builder VM, you can delete it. If you delete it now, you can always redeploy it later.