Automate VCF Host Commission (ESXi)

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) simplifies the deployment and management of a Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) by integrating computing, storage, networking, and cloud management services. One crucial aspect of managing a VCF environment is commissioning hosts, which involves preparing physical servers to become part of the VCF SDDC. This article will explore how to automate the host commissioning process using VMware ESXi.

What is Host Commissioning?

Host commissioning is the process of preparing physical servers to become part of a VMware Cloud Foundation environment. This process involves several steps, including configuring the BIOS, firmware, and network settings, as well as installing the ESXi hypervisor.

Automated Host Commissioning with ESXi

Automating the host commissioning process can significantly reduce the time and effort required to add hosts to a VMware Cloud Foundation environment. VMware provides several tools and methods to automate this process, including:

1. VMware Auto Deploy: Auto Deploy is a feature of vSphere that allows you to automate the deployment of ESXi hosts. It uses rules and profiles to define the configuration of hosts, making it ideal for large-scale deployments.
2. PowerCLI: VMware PowerCLI is a command-line interface for managing VMware environments. You can use PowerCLI scripts to automate various tasks, including host commissioning.
3. Ansible: Ansible is a powerful automation tool that can be used to automate the deployment and configuration of ESXi hosts. Ansible playbooks can define the desired state of hosts and ensure that they are configured correctly.

Steps to Automate Host Commissioning

1. Prepare the ESXi Image: Create a custom ESXi image with the required drivers and settings for your hardware. You can use the VMware Image Builder PowerCLI cmdlets to create custom images.
2. Configure Auto Deploy: Set up the Auto Deploy server and create rules and profiles to define how hosts should be configured. You can use PowerCLI to automate this process.
3. Deploy ESXi Hosts: Boot the physical servers using the Auto Deploy infrastructure. The hosts will be automatically provisioned with the custom ESXi image and configured according to the rules and profiles.
4. Verify Host Commissioning: Once the hosts are deployed, verify that they have been successfully commissioned and are ready to be added to the VMware Cloud Foundation environment.

Benefits of Automated Host Commissioning

• Efficiency: Automation reduces the time and effort required to commission hosts, allowing you to scale your VMware Cloud Foundation environment more easily.
• Consistency: Automation ensures that hosts are configured consistently, reducing the risk of configuration errors and improving overall reliability.
• Scalability: Automated commissioning allows you to quickly add new hosts to your environment, enabling you to scale your infrastructure as needed.

Example VCF Commission REST API

To automate the commissioning of hosts in a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) environment using the REST API, you can follow these steps. Note that this example assumes you have already set up your VCF environment and have a basic understanding of REST APIs and programming.

Step 1. Authenticate with the VCF API

First, you need to authenticate with the VCF API to obtain an authentication token.

import requests

vcf_api_url = 'https://vcf-api-url.com'
username = 'your_username'
password = 'your_password'

auth_response = requests.post(f'{vcf_api_url}/v1/tokens', json={'username': username, 'password': password})
auth_token = auth_response.json()['token']

Step 2. Get the Host ID for the Commissioning

Next, you need to get the host ID for the host you want to commission. You can do this by querying the VCF API.

host_name = 'your_host_name'
headers = {'Authorization': f'Bearer {auth_token}'}

host_response = requests.get(f'{vcf_api_url}/v1/hosts?name={host_name}', headers=headers)
host_id = host_response.json()[0]['id']

Step 3. Commission the Host

Once you have the host ID, you can commission the host using the following API call.

commission_response = requests.post(f'{vcf_api_url}/v1/hosts/{host_id}/commission', headers=headers)
if commission_response.status_code == 200:
    print('Host commissioned successfully.')
else:
    print('Failed to commission host.')

Step 4. Verify the Commissioning

You can verify that the host has been successfully commissioned by checking its status.

status_response = requests.get(f'{vcf_api_url}/v1/hosts/{host_id}', headers=headers)
host_status = status_response.json()['status']

if host_status == 'COMMISSIONED':
    print('Host commissioning verified.')
else:
    print('Host commissioning failed.')

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) environment using PowerShell

To automate the commissioning of hosts in a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) environment using PowerShell, you can use PowerCLI, which is a PowerShell interface for managing VMware environments. Below is an example script that demonstrates how to commission a host using ESXi in a VCF environment.

# Connect to the VCF environment
Connect-CisServer -Server <VCF_Management_IP> -User <username> -Password <password>

# Get the host to be commissioned
$hostName = "ESXi_host_name"
$host = Get-CisTask -Name $hostName

# Commission the host
$task = $host.ExtensionData.Commission()
$task | Wait-CisTask

# Check the status of the commissioning task
if ($task.ExtensionData.State -eq "SUCCESS") {
    Write-Host "Host commissioning successful."
} else {
    Write-Host "Host commissioning failed. Error: $($task.ExtensionData.Error.Message)"
}

# Disconnect from the VCF environment
Disconnect-CisServer -Server <VCF_Management_IP> -Confirm:$false

Make sure to replace <VCF_Management_IP>, <username>, <password>, and ESXi_host_name with your actual VCF management IP address, username, password, and the name of the ESXi host you want to commission, respectively.

This script connects to the VCF environment using the Connect-CisServer cmdlet, commissions the specified host using the Commission() method and then checks the status of the commissioning task. If the commissioning is successful, it prints a success message; otherwise, it prints an error message.

Please note that you need to have the VMware PowerCLI module installed and configured to run this script.

Conclusion

Automating the host commissioning process using VMware ESXi can greatly simplify the deployment and management of a VMware Cloud Foundation environment. By leveraging tools like Auto Deploy, PowerCLI, and Ansible, you can streamline the process of adding hosts to your SDDC and ensure that they are configured correctly and consistently.