VMware vCenter Integration and Configuration

This article discusses the integration of CloudShell with vCenter to allow CloudShell to spin up and manage the lifecycle of VMs hosted on vCenter Server. vCenter integration is provided out of the box starting with CloudShell version 7.0 and includes the following:

• VM lifecycle management (Deploy App, Power On, Refresh IP, Power Off and Delete)
• Connectivity with other VMs and physical resources, including static VMs. Connectivity is based on vCenter dvSwitch.
• Snapshot management (Save Snapshot, Restore Snapshot, and Get Snapshots)

CloudShell supports two integration modes with vCenter, where Quali Server is installed internally on a vCenter VM or externally.

CloudShell App deployment flow on vCenter

During the deployment of vCenter Apps in a CloudShell sandbox, CloudShell accesses the vCenter Server defined in the cloud provider resource, and does the following:

1. Creates the VM on the ESXi host or host cluster.
2. Creates connectivity. Allocates VLAN ID for each required VLAN network, according to VLAN allocation policy defined in the sandbox (VLAN services), and adds the VM's NIC(s) to the network(s).
3. Powers on the VM and refreshes the VM's IP.
4. Runs configuration management on the VM (if defined).

Basic Requirements

The following VMware vSphere components are required for CloudShell integration with vCenter (supported version is listed in vCenter Integration Architecture and Prerequisites):

• vSphere® Standard™ / Enterprise Plus™/ with Operations Management™ / Platinum™

  Note: CloudShell connectivity requires vSphere® Enterprise Plus™ and above.

  • vSphere Client

  • vCenter server

  • ESXi server

  • dvSwitch that is capable of creating and configuring port groups

Note that for additional capabilities or to integrate with other VMware vSphere components such as vSphere Client, you will need to implement a custom cloud provider that supports these options. For details, see Getting Started with Cloud Providers.

vCenter integration workflow

For each vCenter Server you want to integrate with CloudShell, perform the following steps: