You can select and deploy pre-packaged solutions from VMware Marketplace in your Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) on VMware Cloud on AWS. Let us say you want to use WordPress to create a blog and start using it right away. This section explains how to deploy a Bitnami WordPress OVA template on VMware Cloud on AWS and start a virtual machine from the template.

VMware Cloud on AWS allows you to create vSphere data centers on Amazon Web Services. These vSphere data centers include vCenter Server for managing your data center. By using Hybrid Linked Mode, you can connect an on-premises data center to your cloud SDDC and manage both from a single vSphere Client interface.

Subscribe to a solution

As a VMware Marketplace consumer, your first step is to select a pre-packaged solution and subscribe to it. By subscribing to a solution, you configure it for deployment on your target VMware endpoint, which in this case, is VMware Cloud on AWS. In this task, you subscribe to the WordPress Virtual Appliance solution by Bitnami and deploy it as a virtual machine template to a VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC.

Prerequisites:
  • VMware Marketplace account.
  • Access to VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC.
  • You must have a cloud SDDC associated with your VMware Cloud services organization that uses the VMware Marketplace service.
To subscribe to the WordPress Virtual Appliance solution on VMware Marketplace:
  1. Log in to VMware Marketplace.
  2. Search and locate the WordPress Virtual Appliance by Bitnami and click its tile to open the application page.
  3. On the Summary page, click SUBSCRIBE.

    This initiates the subscription and configuration process for the WordPress Virtual Appliance by Bitnami and the Subscribe wizard appears.

  4. On the SETTINGS tab, enter the WordPress Virtual Appliance settings:
    1. Select VMC as the target deployment platform for the WordPress Virtual Appliance.
    2. Select the version and click NEXT to proceed to the platform configuration step.
  5. On the SDDC tab, select the SDDC, enter the vCenter server administrator credentials, and then click NEXT.

    The SDDC associated with the VMware Cloud services organization that uses the VMware Marketplace service is automatically displayed.

  6. On the CONFIGURATION tab of the wizard, define the vSphere resources to be used by the deployment of the WordPress Virtual Appliance.
  7. On the SUMMARY tab, review the configuration settings that you entered, and then click NEXT.
  8. Read and accept the EULA, and then click FINISH.
  9. Click Check Subscription.

    The application page appears.

    Verify if the status is subscribed. You can also check the WordPress Virtual Appliance subscription status anytime by clicking Manage > Subscription on the VMware Marketplace main page.

The WordPress Virtual Appliance is deployed as a virtual machine template in the associated cloud SDDC.

Deploy a virtual machine from the subscribed template

You subscribed to the WordPress Virtual Appliance solution in VMware Marketplace and configured it for deployment in VMware Cloud on AWS. Your subscribed content now becomes available as a virtual machine template in your target cloud SDDC. As a VMware Cloud on AWS user, you can access and manage subscribed content for your SDDC from the vSphere Client. The solutions you subscribed in VMware Marketplace are stored in a Content Library as OVA templates. In this task, you use the vSphere Client to create a virtual machine from the WordPress Virtual Appliance template:

  1. Open vSphere Client and login to your VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC.
  2. Click Menu > Content Libraries, and click the VMware Marketplace WordPress tab.
  3. Click the Templates tab and then the OVA & OVA Templates tab.

    You see a list of the OVA templates for all applications you subscribed to in VMware Marketplace.

  4. Click the subscribed WordPress template image.

    The details for the selected template are displayed.

  5. On the OVF template page, from the Actions drop-down menu, select New VM from This Template.

    The New Virtual Machine wizard opens.

  6. Follow the on-screen instructions, and define the target SDDC, compute resource, storage capacity, and destination network for the new WordPress virtual machine.
  7. Accept the license agreements when prompted.
  8. On the Customize template tab of the wizard, define and copy the SSH public key. You need the SSH public key to connect to the server to which you deployed the virtual machine.
  9. On the Ready to complete tab, review the settings, and click FINISH.

You created a new WordPress virtual machine from the subscribed template. It appears in the list of available virtual machines in your SDDC.

The new virtual machine is powered OFF by default. You must power it ON before proceeding with the final step of this scenario.

Start using the WordPress virtual machine

To start using the WordPress Virtual Appliance, you must obtain the WordPress credentials and get the virtual machine IP address.

Verify that the new WordPress virtual machine you deployed is powered ON.

  1. In vSphere Client, navigate to the WordPress virtual machine.
  2. On the Summary tab, click Launch Web Console.

    The virtual machine console displays the login credentials for the application and the current IP address of the virtual machine.

  3. Note down the login credentials and the IP address.
  4. Open a web browser and enter the IP address of the virtual machine.
  5. Log into the virtual machine using the login credentials that you have noted down.

    The front page of your WordPress blog displays in the web browser window. You are now ready to blog.