You can set up VMware Aria Operations for Networks collector by importing OVA to your VMware vCenter server.

To add a Collector VM, you must do the following:
  1. Download the Collector VM OVA.
  2. Generate a Shared Secret.
  3. Deploy the data collector VM OVA using vSphere web client or vSphere windows native client.
Note: Before you add a Collector VM, ensure that you review and meet Recommendation for the Collector Deployment for optimum performance. To know about the Collector deployment requirement, see the System Recommendations and Requirements topic.

Generate a Shared Secret

You can generate and import the VMware Aria Operations for Networks collector virtual appliance.

Generate a shared secret and import the VMware Aria Operations for Networks collector virtual appliance:

Procedure

  1. Log into the VMware Aria Operations for Networks UI.
  2. Click one of the following accounts:
    • VMware vCenter
    • VMware Cloud (VMC)
    • VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud
    Note: You do not have to add any collector for public cloud accounts such as Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure.
  3. Click ADD COLLECTOR VM.
  4. Click DOWNLOAD if you haven’t already downloaded the Collector.
  5. Click COPY to copy the shared secret, and click CLOSE.
    You need this shared secret during the deployment of VMware Aria Operations for Networks Collector OVA.

Deployment Using vSphere Web Client

You can import the VMware Aria Operations for Networks Collector OVA using vSphere Web Client.

Procedure

  1. Right-click the Datacenter where you want to install the appliance and select Deploy OVF Template.
  2. Enter the URL to download and install the OVA package from the internet. Or, browse your computer to select the source location of the OVA package.
  3. Provide a name and specify a location where you want to save the deployed template. Click Next.
  4. Select a resource (host or a cluster) where you want to run the deployed template. Click Next.
  5. Verify all the details of the template. Click Next.
  6. Read the End-User License Agreement and click Accept. Click Next.
  7. Select a deployment configuration. Click Next.
  8. Select the location where you want to store the files for the deployed template.
    1. Select Thin Provision as the virtual disk format.
    2. Specify the format in which you want to store the virtual disks.
    3. Select the datastore in which you want to install the files.
    4. Click Next.
  9. Specify the destination network for the source network. Click Next.
  10. Customize the template for the deployment. Provide the shared secret that is generated on the UI. You will have to manually configure the appliance using the VM console. Click Next.
  11. Verify all the configuration data. Click Finish.
  12. Once the Collector OVA is installed, start the VM and launch the console.
  13. Log in with the console credential that you see on the screen and run the setup command.
  14. Create the password for the support login and change the password for the consoleuser.
    Note:
    • Your password must contain a minimum of 6 characters. A single quote (') is not allowed.
    • You must change the support and consoleuser password periodically to comply with your organization policy.
  15. Network Configuration: Enter the IP family to be associated with the network.
    • Enter ipv4 to configure your network with IPv4 capabilities.
    • Enter ipv6 to configure your network with IPv6 capabilities.
    • Enter dual-stack to configure your network with both IPv4 and IPv6 capabilities.
  16. Based on your choice in Step 15, enter the details of the IP family.
    Action Procedure
    ipv4

    Enter IPv4 network configuration details such as:

    1. IP_Address: Second reserved static IPv4 address.
    2. Netmask: Subnet mask for the static IPv4 address.
    3. Default_Gateway: Default gateway of your network.
    4. DNS : DNS server of your environment. To enter multiple DNS servers, use space.
    5. Domain _Search : The domain that must be appended for DNS lookups.
    6. Enter y to save the configuration.
    ipv6

    Enter IPv6 network configuration details such as:

    1. IPv6_Address: Second reserved static IPv6 address.
    2. IPv6_Netmask: Subnet mask for the static IPv6 address.
    3. IPv6_Default Gateway: Default gateway of your network.
    4. IPv6_DNS : DNS server of your environment. To enter multiple DNS servers, use space.
    5. Domain_Search: The domain that must be appended for DNS lookups.
    6. Enter y to save the configuration.
    dual-stack Enter both IPv4 and IPv6 network configuration details.
  17. Network Time Server Configuration: Configure NTP or secure NTP servers.
    • Enter y if network time security is supported for the NTP server. Network time security is supported only in secure NTP servers.
    • Enter n if network time security is not supported for the NTP server.
  18. Based on your choice in step 16, enter the IP address or FQDN details of a NTP or secure NTP server. Ensure that the VMs can reach these servers. If the NTP time is out of sync, the services will fail to start.
    To enter multiple servers, use commas.
  19. (Optional) To configure web proxy:
    1. Enter y.
    2. Provide the web proxy details.
  20. A check is made to see if the shared secret key has been configured. The collector is paired with the corresponding platform. This may take few minutes.
  21. All the services are verified.
  22. Click Finish, when you see the Proxy Detected! message displayed on the onboarding page. You will be redirected to the Login page.

Collector Recommendation and Other Requirements

For optimum performance, you must match the minimum recommendations for the deployment.

Recommendation for the Collector Deployment

Table 1. Specifications for Collector Brick Size

Brick Size

Cores required for 2.1 GHz CPU

Cores required for 2.3 GHz CPU

Cores required for 2.6 GHz CPU

RAM

Disk

Medium

5

5

4

12 GB

200 GB

Large

10

9

8

16 GB

200 GB

Extra Large

10

9

8

24 GB

200 GB

2X Large

20

18

16

48 GB

300 GB
Note:

The reservation for the CPU speed and RAM for each node must be 100% of the value specified above.

Table 2. Collector Deployment - Maximum Capacity

Collector Size

Number of VMs

(K = Thousand)

Flows per Day

(M = Million)

Flow count in 4 days

(M = Million)

Number of Edges for VMware SD-WAN

(K = Thousand)

Medium

4K

2.5M

3.25M

4K

Large

10K

5M

6.5M

6K

Extra Large

35K

10M

13M

10K

2X Large

45K

17M

22M

10K
Note:

  • The count of VMs and edges mentioned in the table is the maximum individual limit for a single deployment. So, if you have edges in your setup, you might have to reduce the VM count.

  • The count of VMs includes the templates on the VMware vCenter as well.

  • For a single deployment with more than one collector, the limitation on the total flows across collectors is based on the capacity of the platform.

Other Requirements and Considerations

  • The availability of the NTP service is critical to system operations. Ensure that you do not reboot the platform node or the collector node when the NTP service is not available.

  • The recommended network latency between platform and collector VMs for optimal performance is up to 150ms. The system performance might degrade beyond this limit.

  • For Network Map, the maximum supported firewall rules per VMware NSX-T Manager (including of DFW and edge rules) is 5000.

Supported Web Browser

  • Google Chrome: The latest two versions.

  • Mozilla Firefox: The latest two versions.

Recommendations to Support High Availability for Collector

You can customize vSphere HA options to enable vSphere high availability for the Collector.

  • Host Failure - Restart VMs

  • Host Isolation- Deactivated

  • Guest not heartbeating- Deactivated