Deploying the Provider VM Using a vSphere Client

When you deploy the Provider VM, you install and configure the service control plane in a Host Cluster, that can be a vSphere cluster or VMC cluster.

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

Step 1: Satisfy the Prerequisites
Step 2: Identify the Provider .ova download URL, or optionally download the Provider .ova package
Step 3: Install the Provider .ova on vCenter
Step 4: Power On the Provider VM
Step 5: Create the first Provider User

Audience

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

Step 1: Prerequisites

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

The IP address or fully-qualified distinguished name of your vCenter server instance.
Your vCenter administrator credentials.
The vCenter Host Cluster or ESXi host on which you plan to install and deploy the VM.
The network or distributed port group that will host the VMware Data Services Manager management application traffic (eth0) for the Provider VM. This Management Network should be configured with either:
- A public IP address.
- A private IP address fronted by a load balancer that has a public IP address.
The default gateway for the Management Network (eth0).

Any external endpoint that the Provider VM connects to (LDAP, S3 local/cloud storage) must be resolvable by the DNS server that you specify during deployment.

Step 2: Downloading the Provider .ova

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

Perform these steps to download the Provider .ova:

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

The format of the Provider virtual appliance download file name is:
```
dms-provider-va-<version>-<build>.ova
```
For example:
```
dms-provider-va-1.0.0.1085-18119820.ova
```
Make note of the directory to which the file was downloaded.

Step 3: Installing the Provider .ova

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 appears.
Deploy the OVF template at the desired location. For example, you may want to deploy the Provider ovf, Agent ovf, and Agent VM in the same location for management purposes or you may want to deploy them separately for segregation purposes.
On the Select an OVF template form, either select URL and enter the URL of the location to dowload the .ova file, or select Local file and browse your local directory to dowload the .ova file. Click NEXT after vCenter successfully completes compatibility checks on the selected object.
Click NEXT.
On the Select a name and folder form, select a location for the Provider VM, and then click NEXT.
On the Select a compute resource form, select the cluster or ESXi host on which to install the Provider 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 appears.
Examine the template details for the Provider VM, taking note of the Size on disk values. This information may help inform your selection of storage configuration for the Provider VM in an upcoming step.
Click NEXT.

The Select storage form appears.

Specify the disk format and the datastore for the virtual machine configuration 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.

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

The Select networks form appears.
Use the Management Network drop-down list to select the network for the VMware Data Services Manager application traffic (eth0).
Review the IP Allocation Settings, and then click NEXT to complete the network configuration.

The Provider Customize template form appears.

Use the Customize template form to configure these Provider Application deployment properties:

Property Name	Value
Password	The password of the Provider VM. Note this password because it will be used for authentication when you create the first Provider user and to login to the Provider console of VMware Data Services Manager.
Confirm Password	Re-enter the password of the Provider user.

Note: You can change the Password of the Provider user later, if required.

(Optional) If you do not want to use DHCP, configure the Networking Properties of the Provider VM in the Customize template form. You may assign a static IP address to the Provider for certain functionality like backup and recovery to work. Specify values for the following properties:

Property Name	Value
Management Network IP Address	The IP address for the Provider VM on the Management Network.
Management Network Netmask	The netmask or prefix for the Provider VM on the Management Network.
Management Network Default Gateway	The IP address of the default gateway for the Provider VM.
Domain Name Servers	The IP address of the domain name server for the Provider VM. Note: If there are multiple Domain Name Server entries, separate them by a space and not a comma.
NTP Server	The NTP server can be list of IP addresses or FQDNs. The Provider, Agent, and databases must use the same NTP server.

By default, the checkbox to confirm your approval for VMware's Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) in the Customize template form is selected. Your approval allows VMware to ingest telemetry data from VMware Data Services Manager interface to VMware Supercollider and provide better customer experience for you. You can deselect the checkbox if you want to opt out of this program.

You can invoke the /appliance/ceip/consent endpoint, to approve CEIP:

PUT https://appliance/ceip/consent

Request parameters:
```
{
 "consent": "true"
}
```
You can invoke the /appliance/ceip/consent endpoint, to disapprove CEIP:

PUT https://appliance/ceip/consent

Request parameters:
```
{
 "consent": "false"
}
```
Note: If you install VMware Data Services Manager in an air-gapped environment, telemetry data is not sent to Supercollider for CEIP.
Click NEXT.
Examine the Provider VM configuration displayed on the Ready to complete form, and click FINISH.

Note: It may take some time to deploy the Provider VM. Monitor the Recent Tasks pane at the bottom of the vSphere UI to follow the progress of the operation.

Step 4: Powering On the Provider VM

Power on the Provider VM after it successfully deploys:

Return to the vSphere 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 window, 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.

Step 5: Creating the first Provider User

Create the first Provider user of the Provider VM:

Open a browser window and enter the URL of the Provider VM.

The landing page of VMware Data Services Manager appears.
Click CREATE NEW PROVIDER ACCOUNT, enter the same Password of the Provider user that you entered during step 16 of the Provider .ova installation, and then click NEXT.

Note: Within a span of 15 minutes, if you enter an incorrect password for five consecutive times, the Provider account is locked. You can again try to enter the correct pasword after 15 minutes of the lockout. If you cannot remember the Provider user password that you used in step 16 of the Provider `.ova` installation, then you will need to install the Provider .ova file again.
Enter the Email of the Provider user, and then click CREATE PROVIDER USER.

Note: You cannot proceed to create a Provider user if you enter an invalid email ID.

You can validate the details of the newly created Provider user in the User pane and Organizations pane.

Next Steps

You successfully installed and deployed the Provider VM. You have also created the first Provider user. Next, you may want to review object storage and organizations and users concepts in preparation to complete the Provider configuration.