About Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation

The Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution provides information on the use of VMware vRealize^® Automation™ for cloud automation services with the VMware Cloud Foundation™ platform. The solution can be extended to additionally support public cloud automation and covers recommended operational practices and considerations, where applicable.

A VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution is a technical validated implementation that is built and tested by VMware and VMware partners to help customers resolve common business use cases. VMware Cloud Foundation validated solutions are operational, cost-effective, reliable, and secure. Each solution contains a detailed design, implementation, and operational guidance.

Automation for This Design in VMware Cloud Foundation

The implementation tasks for some design decisions are automated by VMware Cloud Foundation™ SDDC Manager™. You must perform the implementation manually for the rest of the design decisions as noted in the design implication.

To provide a fast and efficient path to automating the Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation implementation, this document provides Terraform, Packer, and Microsoft PowerShell procedures using using open-source modules as code-based alternatives to completing certain procedures in each SDDC component's user interface. You can directly reuse these CLI commands by replacing the provided sample values with values from your VMware Cloud Foundation Planning and Preparation Workbook.

Intended Audience

The Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution is intended for cloud architects and administrators who are familiar with and want to implement cloud automation services that can consume VMware Cloud Foundation.

Support Matrix

The Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution is compatible with specific versions of the VMware products that are used for implementing the solution.

Table 1. Software Components in Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation

VMware Cloud Foundation Version	Product Group	Component Versions
4.5.1	Products part of VMware Cloud Foundation	See VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.1 Release Notes.
	Solution-added products	VMware vRealize® Automation™ 8.9.1
		VMware vRealize® Orchestrator™ 8.3+ v1.0 or later vRealize® Log Insight™ Content Pack
4.5.0	Products part of VMware Cloud Foundation	See VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5 Release Notes.
	Solution-added products	vRealize Automation 8.8.2
		vRealize Orchestrator 8.3+ v1.0 or later vRealize Log Insight Content Pack
4.4.1	Products part of VMware Cloud Foundation	See VMware Cloud Foundation 4.4.1 Release Notes.
	Solution-added products	vRealize Automation 8.6.2
		vRealize Orchestrator 8.3+ v1.0 or later vRealize Log Insight Content Pack
4.4.0	Products part of VMware Cloud Foundation	See VMware Cloud Foundation 4.4 Release Notes.
	Solution-added products	vRealize Automation 8.6.2
		vRealize Orchestrator 8.3+ v1.0 or later vRealize Log Insight Content Pack
4.3.1	Products part of VMware Cloud Foundation	See VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3.1 Release Notes.
	Solution-added products	vRealize Automation 8.5
		vRealize Orchestrator 8.3+ v1.0 or later vRealize Log Insight Content Pack
4.3.0	Products part of VMware Cloud Foundation	See VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3 Release Notes.
	Solution-added products	vRealize Automation 8.4.1
		vRealize Orchestrator 8.3+ v1.0 or later vRealize Log Insight Content Pack

Before You Apply This Guidance

To design and implement the Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution, your environment must have a certain configuration.

Table 2. Supported VMware Cloud Foundation Deployment

Workload Domain / Component	Deployment Details
Management domain	Automated deployment using VMware Cloud Builder™. Availability of VMware Cloud Foundation application virtual networks - overlay-backed or VLAN-backed NSX segments in VMware NSX-T™ Data Center, for traffic in the same VMware Cloud Foundation instance and between VMware Cloud Foundation instances. See the following VMware Cloud Foundation Documentation: For information on designing the management domain, see VMware Cloud Foundation Design Guide for the Management Domain. For information on deploying the management domain, see Getting Started with VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation Deployment Guide.
One or more virtual infrastructure (VI) workload domains	Automated deployment by using SDDC Manager See the following VMware Cloud Foundation Documentation: For information on designing a VI workload domain, see VMware Cloud Foundation Design Guide for a Virtual Infrastructure Workload Domain. For information on deploying the VI workload domains, see Getting Started with VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation Operations and Administration Guide.
vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager and clustered Workspace ONE Access	Automated deployment of vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager by using SDDC Manager. Automated deployment of the clustered Workspace ONE Access instance by using vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager. See the following VMware Cloud Foundation Documentation: For information on designing vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager and the clustered Workspace ONE Access instance, see Design for vRealize Suite Lifecycle and Access Management. For information on deploying vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager and the clustered Workspace ONE Access instance, see Getting Started with VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation Operations and Administration Guide.
VMware Cloud Foundation integrated with Active Directory	Manual or PowerShell automated deployment of Standalone Workspace ONE Access. See the Identity and Access Management for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution.

Overview of Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation

By applying the Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution, you implement centralized cloud automation services across the VMware Cloud Foundation instances.

Table 3. Implementation Overview of Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation

Stage	Steps
1. Plan and prepare the VMware Cloud Foundation environment.	Work with the technology team of your organization on configuring the physical servers, network, and storage in the data center. Collect the environment details and write them down in the VMware Cloud Foundation Planning and Preparation Workbook.
2. Configure centralized cloud automation services across VMware Cloud Foundation instances.	Deploy a vRealize Automation cluster with an associated NSX load balancer. Configure the identity and access management. Configure each VI workload domain vCenter Server as a cloud account. Configure each VI workload domain NSX Manager cluster as a cloud account. Configure each VI workload domain vCenter Server as a vRealize Orchestrator endpoint.
3. Configure workload provisioning.	Configure content libraries and customization specifications. Configure image and flavor mappings. Configure storage and network mappings. Configure projects. Configure content sources and items.
4. Activate solution interoperability.	If VMware vRealize® Operations Manager™ is integrated into your VMware Cloud Foundation environment, integrate vRealize Operations Manager with vRealize Automation. If vRealize Log Insight is integrated into your VMware Cloud Foundation environment, integrate vRealize Log Insight with vRealize Automation.

Update History

The Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution is updated when necessary.

Revision	Description
30 MAY 2023	This validated solution now supports VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.1. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 2.3.0.
25 APR 2023	The VMware.PowerCLI PowerShell module is now version 13.0.0. The VMware.vSphere.SsoAdmin PowerShell module is now version 1.3.9. The ImportExcel PowerShell module is now version 7.8.4. The PowerVCF PowerShell module is now version 2.3.0 The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 2.2.0.
28 MAR 2023	The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 2.1.0.
28 FEB 2023	The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 2.0.1.
31 JAN 2023	The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 2.0.0.
29 NOV 2022	The VMware.PowerCLI PowerShell module is now version 12.7.0. The VMware.vSphere.SsoAdmin PowerShell module is now version 1.3.8. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.10.0.
25 OCT 2022	This validated solution now supports VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5.0. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.9.0, adding support for the Install the vRealize Orchestrator Content Pack for vRealize Log Insight for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation procedure.
27 SEP 2022	This validated solution now provides guidance on data protection and disaster recovery. See Disaster Recovery of Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.8.0, adding support for the following implementation procedures. Update Placement Policy for Cloud Zones in vRealize Automation for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Update the vRealize Automation Integration in vRealize Operations Manager for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Verify the Integration of vRealize Operations Manager with vRealize Automation for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Integrate vRealize Automation with vRealize Operations Manager for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation
31 MAY 2022	This validated solution now supports VMware Cloud Foundation 4.4.1. The PowerVCF PowerShell module is now version 2.2.0. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.7.0.
28 APR 2022	The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.6.0.
29 MAR 2022	VMware vRealize Orchestrator 8.3+ v1.0 vRealize Log Insight Content Pack is now listed as a solution-added product for this validated solution. See Software Components in Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.5.0 adding support for the Add a Ping Adapter for the vRealize Automation Cluster Nodes for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation procedure. Added an example persona reference. See Personas in Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation. Added a new design decision to add a ping adapter for the vRealize Automation Cluster Nodes in vRealize Operations. See the new design decision PCA-VRA-MON-005 and the remaining design decisions with updated numbering Monitoring and Alerting for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation. Logging is no longer performed by using the SDDC - Photon OS agent group. You now create a dedicated agent group to include all vRealize Automation cluster nodes. See the updated procedure Logging for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation and the updated design decision Create a vRealize Log Insight Photon OS Agent Group for the vRealize Automation Cluster Nodes for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation.
22 FEB 2022	This validated solution now supports VMware Cloud Foundation 4.4. This validated solution now requires installation of the ImportExcel PowerShell module. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.4.0. The VMware.PowerCLI PowerShell module is now version 12.4.1. Starting with VMware Cloud Foundation 4.4, installation and life cycle management of vRealize Automation is performed by using vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager. The guide is updated accordingly. Required storage for installation of vRealize Automation 8.6.2 is 738 GB compared to 708 GB for vRealize Automation 8.5 and earlier. Added a new design decision and a procedure to install and use the vRealize Orchestrator content pack for vRealize Log Insight as part of the logging section in the solution. The companion GitHub repository is now changed, see Implementation of Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation.
22 JAN 2022	The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.3.0, adding support for the following implementation procedures. Create a Virtual Machine and Template Folder and a Resource Pool for the vRealize Automation-Managed Workloads for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Configure the Organization Name for vRealize Automation for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Add Cloud Accounts for the VI Workload Domains to vRealize Automation for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Configure the Cloud Zones in vRealize Automation for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Import the Trusted Certificates to vRealize Orchestrator for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Restrict the vRealize Automation and vRealize Orchestrator Service Accounts Access to Virtual Machine and Datastore Folders in the VI Workload Domain for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Configure Email Alerts in Service Broker for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Configure Service Account Permissions for the vRealize Automation to NSX-T Integration on the VI Workload Domain NSX Manager Cluster for Private Cloud Automation Add the VI Workload Domain vCenter Server to vRealize Orchestrator for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Assign Organization and Service Roles to the vRealize Operations Manager Service Account in vRealize Automation for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Assign Organization and Service Roles to the Groups for vRealize Automation for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation The VMware.vSphere.SsoAdmin PowerShell module is now version 1.3.7.
30 NOV 2021	The PowerVCF PowerShell module is now version 2.1.7. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.2.0, adding support for the following implementation procedures. Deploy vRealize Automation by Using vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Synchronize the Active Directory Groups for vRealize Automation in Workspace ONE Access for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation The sample project is no longer part of this document. It is now available on GitHub.
26 OCT 2021	This validated solution now supports VxRail. See Design Objectives of Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation. The PowerValidatedSolutions PowerShell module is now version 1.1.0, adding support for the following implementation procedures. Add the vRealize Automation License to vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Add the vRealize Automation Password to vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Add the vRealize Automation Virtual Machines to the First Availability Zone VM Group for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation Restrict the vRealize Automation and vRealize Orchestrator Service Accounts Access to the Management Domain for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation The operational guidance now includes shutdown and startup procedures for the solution components. See Shutdown and Startup of Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation. After running the workflow for adding the VI workload domain vCenter Server to vRealize Orchestrator, you must answer to the workflow waiting for user interaction. See Add the VI Workload Domain vCenter Server to vRealize Orchestrator for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation. The privileges configuration for the vRealize Automation service account in vRealize Operations Manager now includes configuring the ReadOnly role for the vRealize Automation adapter. See Configure Privileges for the vRealize Automation Service Account in vRealize Operations Manager for Private Cloud Automation for VMware Cloud Foundation.
05 OCT 2021	This validated solution now supports VMware Cloud Foundation 4.3.1.
24 AUG 2021	Initial release.