What
When planning a VMware home lab, you’ll face some decisions regarding the configuration to use based on the resources and internal infrastructure you have. One key part of these decisions is how to deploy VMware vCenter (VCSA) in Workstation.
To deploy VCSA in a home lab, you have two options: Deploy the VM appliance directly in VMware Workstation; or deploy a double-nested VM using Workstations and a virtual ESXi host. In this blog post, I use the first option, and I’ll show how to deploy VMware VCSA 6.7 U2 in VMware Workstation.
Needless to say that the idea to carry on the VCSA deployment directly in VMware Workstation is for a home lab, testing, and self-education. In a production environment, you should deploy VMware vCenter (VCSA) in the (usually physical) ESXi hypervisor.
In previous VMware Workstation versions, you needed to hack one of the VCSA installation files in order to proceed with the deployment and set up. This "hack" is no longer a need in VMware Workstation 15 and newer versions; now, you can import the VCSA (.ofv or .ova) file directly into Workstation as you do for any other VM.
How
As you might already know, the network configuration is fundamental when you are deploying a VCSA, since it is susceptible to the use of DNS and FQDN. In a home lab, your network and other testing infrastructure play an essential role in this decision.
For instance, if you don’t have a DNS server, I’ll recommend using DHCP as a deployment option. This option is just for testing purposes due to the recommendation is to use a static IP address. If you don’t set an FQDN, you won’t be able to change the IP address in the future, if it's needed. Now, if you have a DNS service running, better using a static IP address and a proper FQDN.
Note: The latest version of vSphere, 6.7 U3, will allow changing the FQDN. See resources.
Note: I am using Bridged Network (VMnet0) from the Workstation Network editor for this specific configuration.
Note: The above recommendations are based on my current home lab and network configuration. Options widely vary based on your configuration and decisions.
To import a VMware vCenter Server Appliance follow the steps below:
@workstation
- Go to File / Open…
- Search the for VCSA .ovf file. This file is inside <VCSA folder location>/ vcsa. Open the .ovf file.
- The Import Virtual Machine wizard will show up. Accept the license and click Next.
- Name the VCSA, change the storage path if desired and click Next.
- Since the deployment is for a home lab, select the first option, Tiny vCenter Server with Embedded PSC, and click Next.
- On Properties, is where we need to decide what network mode options to use, DHCP or Static.
DHCP Option
- From Networking Configuration, type:
- Host Network IP Address Family: ipv4
- Host Network Mode: dhcp
- The next step is not required (immediately), but I prefer to do it here. From System Configuration input the root password of this VCSA. Other options are not necessary at the moment; click Next.
- The appliance will be imported into the Workstation library.
- You need to wait for a while until the VCSA is fully deployed before procced. From the VCSA tab, pay attention that the FQDN and IP address shows “https” instead “http”; and that is similar to the image below. You will get an IP address based on your home network configuration and the VMnet0 settings.
- From your web browser, type the IP address of your new deployed VCSA and 5480 port. In my case, https://192.168.0.103:5480. Click Advanced and then Proceed to -<P address> (unsafe).
- Click on Set Up to start stage 2, the installation.
- Login with the root password, and proceed with the installation, leave everything as default.
- On SSO configuration add vsphere.local as SSO domain name and create a password. Continue with the installation.
- Review the settings and click Finish.
- The appliance set up will start. If you get an error on this step, it is usually a network issue. If you pass the 2%, you are good. The installation is going to take about 10 min, depending on your PC.
- After the installation is completed, close the windows. Do not click on “https://photon-machine:443” since it is not going to work.
- Access the VCSA via a web browser using the IP address assigned by DHCP. Launch the vSphere client using HTML5.
- Input SSO credentials and log in.
- You can now access the vCenter Server Appliance directly from VMware Workstation.
Static IP Option
Steps are similar to the DHCP option. The import thing here is first to add the VCSA into the DNS records.
- Go to your Active Directory server and from the DNS manager add a new host, the VCSA.
- From Networking Configuration, type:
- Host Network IP Address Family: ipv4
- Host Network Mode: static
- Host Network IP Address: <your static IP address>
- Host Network Prefix: 24 <or the desired>
- Host Network Default Gateway: <your home network DG>
- Host Network DNS Servers: <the IP address of your active directory, and a secondary DNS if you want>
- Host Network Identity: <blank>
Follow the below image as a reference:
- If you want, also add the root password from the System Configuration option.
- When available, access the VCSA using the static IP address configured and 5480 port. In my case, https://192.168.0.155:5480. Click Advanced and then Proceed to <P address> (unsafe).
- Follow the same steps as the DHCP option.
- On the Appliance Configuration option, change the system name to match the DNS record created in the Active Directory. In my case: vcsa.home.lab. Leave all other configurations as default. Click Next and complete the installation.
- With this option, you will be able to change the IP address of the appliance if needed and also accessing the client using the FQDN. Eg. https://vcsa.home.lab:5480