Deploying an Agent VM

Deploying the Agent VM installs and configures a VMware Data Services Manager agent in a vSphere cluster or VMC cluster.

You will perform the following procedure to install and deploy the Agent VM:

Step 1: Satisfy the Prerequisites
Step 2: Identify the Agent .ova download URL, or optionally download the Agent .ova package
Step 3: Install the Agent .ova on vCenter from the Provider console or from the vCenter console Step 4: Power On the Agent VM

Audience

The procedures in this topic are performed by a VMware Data Services Manager user in the Provider Administrator or Organization Administrator role.

Step 1: Prerequisites

Before you begin deploying the Agent VM, your vCenter must be configured. Ensure that you have on hand and can identify:

The IP address or fully-qualified distinguished name for your vCenter server instance.
Your vCenter administrator credentials.
The vSphere Cluster, VMC cluster, or ESXi host on which you want to install and deploy the VM.
The network or distributed port group that will host the Control Plane Network (eth0) for the Agent VM. This network must be able to access the Control Plane Network (eth1) configured for the Provider VM.
The network information for the Agent VM if you plan to assign it a static IP address, including the IP address, netmask, gateway, and domain information.
If you want to install the Agent VM through the Provider console:
- The Provider Status in the Environments pane must be Ready to Onboard.
- The vCenter where you want install the Agent VM must be accessible from the Provider VM.
- If you want to upload the .ova file of the Agent VM through the Provider repository, create an agent-ova directory in the Provider repository, and then upload the .ova file to the agent-ova directory in the Provider repository.

Step 2: Downloading the Agent .ova

The VMware Data Services Manager Agent .ova is available as a separate download from VMware Tanzu Network and VMware Customer Connect.

Perform these steps to download the Agent .ova:

Navigate to VMware Data Services Manager on VMware Tanzu Network or VMware Customer Connect, locate and select Agent Virtual Appliance, and download the file.

The format of the Agent virtual appliance download file name is:
```
dms-agent-va-<version>-<build>.ova
```
For example:
```
dms-agent-va-1.0.0.1011-18119822.ova
```
Make note of the directory to which the file was downloaded.

Step 3: Installing the Agent .ova on vCenter

With VMware Data Services Manager provides you the option of installing Agent .ova on vCenter either through the Provider console of VMware Data Services Manager or through the vCenter console.

If you want to install the Agent .ova on vCenter through Provider console:

Open a browser window, and enter the Provider VM IP address.
Provide your credentials to log in to the VMware Data Services Manager console.
Select Environments from the left navigation pane.

This action displays the *Environments view.
Click DEPLOY NEW AGENT at the right side of the Available Agent VMs section.

This action displays the Deploy New Agent dialog box.

Set the following in the vCenter Authentication tab, and then click CONNECT:

Property Name	Value
vCenter IP/FQDN	Enter the IP address or FQDN of the vCenter where you want to install the Agent VM.
Username	Enter the username of the vCenter administrator for authentication.
Password	Enter the password of the vCenter administrator for authentication.

The vCenter authentication is processed.

Note: If you are authenticating the vCenter for the first time, examine the VCENTER thumbprint displayed and click ACCEPT if you trust the host. Else, you can click DECLINE, and then make changes in the properties, as required, and then click ACCEPT in the thumbprint.

Click NEXT.
In the Select OVA Template tab, either select URL and enter an HTTP or HTTPS URL to download the Agent OVA file, or select OVA from Provider Repository and select the OVA file from the Provider repository, and then click NEXT.

Note: If you enter an HTTPS URL, examine the URL thumbprint displayed and click ACCEPT if you trust the host. Else, you can click DECLINE, and then make changes in the properties, as required, and then click ACCEPT in the thumbprint.

In the Placement Configuration tab, set the following, and then click NEXT.

Property Name	Value
Virtual Machine Name	Enter the name of the Agent VM.
Datacenter	Select the datacenter for the Agent VM from the drop-down list.
Cluster	Select the vsphere or VMC cluster for the Agent VM from the drop-down list.
Resource Pool/Host (Optional)	Select the resource pool or host for the Agent VM from the drop-down list.
VM Folder	Select the VM folder for the Agent VM from the drop-down list.

In the Select Storage tab, set the following, and then click NEXT.

Property Name	Value
Select Virtual Disk Format	Select the virtual disk format of the Agent VM as either Thick Provisioned Lazy Zeroed, Thick Provisioned Easy Zeroed, or Thin Provisioned from the drop-down list.
Select VM Storage Policy	Select the VM storage for the Agent VM from the drop-down list.

In the Select Network tab, select the control plane network of the Agent VM from the Destination Network drop-down list, and then click NEXT.

In the Customize VM Template tab, set the following in the Application Settings section:

Property Name	Value
Agent VM Password	Enter the Agent VM password.
Confirm Agent VM Password	Re-enter the Agent VM password.
VI Admin Password	Enter the VI Admin password.
Confirm VI Admin Password	Re-enter the VI Admin password.
NTP Server	Enter the address of the NTP server.

In the Customize VM Template tab, set the following in the Network Properties section, and then click NEXT:

Property Name	Value
Default Gateway	Enter the IP address of the default gateway of the Agent VM.
Domain Name (Optional)	Enter the domain name of the Agent VM. Note: Each Agent must be assigned a unique domain name. If the DNS server specified during agent installation is not able to resolve the IP address of the vCenter, check whether the `/etc/hosts` file on the Agent VM has the ip-fqdn entry of the vCenter. If the `/etc/hosts` file in the Agent VM does not have ip-fqdn entry of the vCenter, you need to add the entry.
Domain Search Path (Optional)	Enter the domain search path of the Agent VM.
Domain Name Servers	Enter the IP address of the domain name servers of the Agent VM.
Control Plane IP Address	Enter the IP address of the control plane of the Agent VM.
Control Plane Network Netmask	Enter the IP address of the control plane network's netmask.

Note: If there are multiple Domain Name Server entries, separate them by a space and not a comma.

In the Customize VM Template tab, click DEPLOY.

If you want to install the Agent .ova on vCenter through vCenter console:

Open a web browser window, and log in to your vCenter server instance:
```
https://vcenter_server_ip_or_fqdn
```
Locate the datacenter and cluster.
Right click on a cluster or ESXi host, or another inventory object, and then select Deploy OVF Template.

The Select an OVF Template form displays.
Deploy the OVA template at the desired location.
On the Select a compute resource form, select the cluster or ESXi host on which to install the Agent VM. Click NEXT after vCenter successfully completes compatibility checks on the selected object.

After resource validation on the selected deployment target completes, the Review details form displays.
Examine the template details for the Agent VM, taking note of the Size on disk values. This information may help inform your selection of storage configuration for the Agent VM in an upcoming step.
Click NEXT.

The Select storage form displays.

Specify the disk format and the data store for the virtual machine files and virtual disks:

Property Name	Value
Encrypt this virtual machine	This option is currently deactivated.
Select virtual disk format	Select the format of the virtual disk from the drop-down menu. Choices are `Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed` (recommended for production environments), `Thin Provision`, or `Thick Provision Eager Zeroed`. Note that thick formats improve performance, while thin formats save storage space. Storage Provisioning and Space Reclamation in the VMware vSphere documentation provides more information about these settings.
VM Storage Policy	Retain the `Datastore Default` policy or select a preconfigured policy from the dropdown list.
Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine	When you check this setting, vSphere cannot move the VM to a different datastore.
Disk	Choose the destination storage disk and select the associated table row.

Wait for the compatibility checks for your selections to succeed, and then click NEXT.

The Select networks form displays.
Use the Destination Network drop-down menu to select the Control Plane Network for the Agent VM.
Review the IP Allocation Settings, and then click NEXT to complete the network configuration.

The Agent Customize template form appears.

If you want to onboard an Agent only through the Agent console, use the Customize template to configure these Agent Application properties:

Property Name	Value
Agent VM Root Password	The password for the `root` user on the Agent VM.
VM Admin Password	The password for the `admin` user on the Agent VM.
NTP Server	The NTP server URL. The Provider, Agent, and database VMs must all use the same NTP Server.

(Optional) If you want to onboard an Agent through the Agent console or the Provider console of VMware Data Services Manager, use the Customize template to configure these Agent Application and Provider authentication properties:

Property Name	Value
Agent VM Root Password	The password for the `root` user on the Agent VM.
VM Admin Password	The password for the `admin` user on the Agent VM.
NTP Server	The NTP server URL. The Provider, Agent, and database VMs must all use the same NTP Server.
Provider IP	The management network's IP address of the Provider VM.
Provider Username	The login username of the Provider VM.
Provider Password	The login password of the Provider VM.
Provider API Certificate	The API certificate to trust the Provider host. Though providing value for this property is optional, it is recommended to support enhanced security. The certificate can be retrieved by using the API `/appliance/provider/get-provider-api-certificate`. If you do not provide the certificate as an input, VMware Data Services Manager implicitly gets the certificate from the Provider VM during agent appliance startup, and then trusts the Provider.

Note: You cannot perform the Agent recovery process through the Provider console. Therefore, do not enter the parameters, Provider IP, Provider Username, Provider Password, and the Provider API Certificate when you install the Agent .ova file to perform the Agent recovery process.

Configure the Networking Properties of the Agent VM. Agent recovery requires that the VM have a static IP address assigned to it. Specify values for the following properties:

Property Name	Value
Default Gateway	The IP address of the default gateway for the Agent VM.
Domain Name	The DNS search domain. Note: Each Agent must be assigned a unique domain name. If the DNS server specified during agent installation is not able to resolve the IP address of the vCenter, check whether the `/etc/hosts` file on the Agent VM has the ip-fqdn entry of the vCenter. If the `/etc/hosts` file in the Agent VM does not have ip-fqdn entry of the vCenter, you need to add the entry.
Domain Name Servers	The IP address of the domain name server for the Agent VM. Note: If there are multiple Domain Name Server entries, separate them by a space and not a comma.
Control Plane Network IP Address	The IP address for the Agent VM on the Control Plane Network.
Control Plane Network Netmask	The netmask or prefix for the Agent VM on the Control Plane Network.

Click NEXT.
Examine the Agent VM configuration displayed on the Ready to complete form, and click FINISH.

Note: It may take some time to deploy the Agent VM. Monitor the Recent Operations table at the bottom of the vCenter UI to follow the progress of the operation.

Step 4: Powering On the Agent VM

If the Agent .ova is installed through Provider console, you can ignore this step because the Agent VM is powwered on already. If the Agent .ova is installed through vCenter console, use the following steps to power on the Agent VM after it successfully deploys:

Return to the vCenter UI.
Locate the cluster in which you deployed the VM, recall the name of the VM, and select it from the left navigation pane.
Click the green Play icon at the top of the main pane, or click Actions and select Power->Power On from the pop up menu.

Note: Powering on and initializing the VM may take some time. Monitor the appliance startup messages to observe the progress of the power on operation.

Next Steps

You successfully installed and deployed the Agent VM. Next, you perform certain tasks as you prepare to onboard the Agent VM.