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  • VMware vRealize Orchestrator Cookbook
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VMware vRealize Orchestrator Cookbook

VMware vRealize Orchestrator Cookbook

By : Langenhan
4 (3)
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VMware vRealize Orchestrator Cookbook

VMware vRealize Orchestrator Cookbook

4 (3)
By: Langenhan

Overview of this book

VMware vRealize Orchestrator is a powerful automation tool designed for system administrators and IT operations staff who are planning to streamline their tasks and are waiting to integrate the functions with third-party operations software. This book is an update to VMware vRealize Orchestrator Cookbook and is blend of numerous recipes on vRealize Orchestrator 7. This book starts with installing and configuring vRealize Orchestrator. We will demonstrate how to upgrade from previous versions to vRealize Orchestrator 7. You will be taught all about orchestrator plugins and how to use and develop various plugins that have been enhanced in Orchestrator 7. Throughout this book, you will explore the new features of Orchestrator 7, such as the introduction of the control center, along with its uses. You will also come to understand visual programming, how to integrate base plugins into workflows, and how to automate VMware. You will also get to know how to troubleshoot vRealize Orchestrator. By the end of this book, you will be able to get the most out of your Orchestrator installation, and will be able to develop complex workflows and create your own highly integrated automations of vRealize environments.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)
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Preface
Preface
Changes in this edition
A short history of Orchestrator
Best approaches to reading this book
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Example workflows
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Free Chapter
1
1. Installing and Configuring Orchestrator
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1. Installing and Configuring Orchestrator
Introduction
Deploying the Orchestrator appliance
Important Orchestrator settings
Configuring an external database
Configuring external authentication
Connecting to vCenter
Installing plugins
Updating Orchestrator
Moving from Windows to appliance
Orchestrator Client and 4K display scaling
2
2. Optimizing Orchestrator Configuration
2. Optimizing Orchestrator Configuration
Introduction
Tuning the appliance
Tuning Java
Configuring the Kerberos authentication
Configuring access to the local filesystem
Configuring the Orchestrator service SSL certificate
Orchestrator log files
Redirecting Orchestrator logs to an external server
Backup and recovery
Control Center titbits
3
3. Distributed Design
3. Distributed Design
Introduction
Building an Orchestrator cluster
Load-balancing Orchestrator
Upgrading a cluster
Managing remote Orchestrators
Synchronizing Orchestrator elements between Orchestrator servers
4
4. Programming Skills
4. Programming Skills
Introduction
Version control
Changing elements in a workflow
Importing and exporting Orchestrator elements
Working with packages
Workflow auto documentation
Resuming failed workflows
Using the workflow debugging function
Undelete workflows and actions
Scheduling workflows
Sync presentation settings
Locking elements
5
5. Visual Programming
5. Visual Programming
Introduction
Scripting with logs
Scripting with decisions
Error handling in workflows
Scripting with loops
Workflow presentations
Linking actions in presentations
Changing credentials during runtime
6
6. Advanced Programming
6. Advanced Programming
Introduction
JavaScript complex variables
Working with JSON
JavaScript special statements
Turning strings into objects
Working with the API
Creating actions
Waiting tasks
Sending and waiting for custom events
Using asynchronous workflows
Scripting with workflow tokens
Working with user interactions
7
7. Interacting with Orchestrator
7. Interacting with Orchestrator
Introduction
User management
User preferences
Using Orchestrator though the vSphere Web Client
Accessing Orchestrator REST API
Accessing the Control Center via the REST plugin
Running Orchestrator workflows using PowerShell
Using PHP to access the REST API
8
8. Better Workflows and Optimized Working
8. Better Workflows and Optimized Working
Introduction
Working with resources
Working with configurations
Working with Orchestrator tags
Using the Locking System
Language packs (localization)
Working with policies
9
9. Essential Plugins
9. Essential Plugins
Introduction
Working with e-mail
File operations
Working with SSH
Working with REST
10
10. Built-in Plugins
10. Built-in Plugins
Introduction
Working with XML
Working with SQL (JDBC)
Working with SQL (SQL plugin)
Working with PowerShell
Working with SOAP
Working with Active Directory
Working with SNMP
Working with AMQP
11
11. Additional Plugins
11. Additional Plugins
Introduction
NSX integration
Horizon integration
vSphere Replication
SRM (Site Recovery Manager) integration
vROps (vRealize Operations Manager) integration
12
12. Working with vSphere
12. Working with vSphere
Introduction
Working with the vCenter API (to change a VM's HA settings)
Standard vSwitch and Distributed Switch ports
Getting started with vAPI
Custom Attributes and Tags (vAPI)
Executing a program inside a VM
An approval process for VM provisioning
13
13. Working with vRealize Automation
13. Working with vRealize Automation
Introduction
Working with the vRA-integrated Orchestrator
Automating a vRA instance in Orchestrator
Configuring an external Orchestrator in vRA
Adding Orchestrator as an infrastructure endpoint
Adding an Orchestrator endpoint
Integrating Orchestrator workflows as XaaS Blueprints
Managing AD users with vRA
Using the Event Manager to start workflows

Deploying the Orchestrator appliance

We will now deploy the Orchestrator appliance based on Linux. If you are using the vRA integrated Orchestrator, see the introduction to Chapter 13, Working with vRealize Automation.

Getting ready

We can deploy the Orchestrator appliance on either a vSphere environment or on a VMware workstation (or Fusion if you are a MAC user).

Have a quick look at the requirements in the introduction of this chapter.

How to do it...

In this recipe, we will learn how to download and deploy Orchestrator. We will configure it in a later recipe.

Download

  1. Navigate to http://vmware.com and select Downloads.
  2. Click on Download Product next to VMware vSphere or vRealize Automation.
  3. Look for VMware vRealize Orchestrator Appliance 7.1 and click on Go to Downloads.
  4. Look for the OVA file and click on Download Now.

Deploy

  1. Log into vCenter using the vSphere Web Client.
  2. Right-click on the cluster or ESXi server and select Deploy OVF Template....
  3. The Deploy OVF Template wizard starts. Select the OVA file you have downloaded and click Next.
  4. Accept the EULA and click Next.
  5. Select a name (or accept the default) as well as the vCenter folder for the Orchestrator appliance and click Next.
  6. Select the cluster or ESXi server or a resource pool for the Orchestrator appliance and click Next.
  7. Select the datastore you would like to deploy the Orchestrator appliance on and click Next.
  8. Select a network for the Orchestrator appliance and click Next.
  9. In the Customize template section, set a password for the root user.
  10. Enable SSH if you wish. This can be done later too. See the recipe Tuning the appliance in the next chapter.
  11. If you like, tick to join the Customer Experience Improvement program.
  12. Set a Hostname for the Orchestrator appliance.
  13. If you want to use a fixed IP, expand the Network Properties section, enter all IP related entries, and then click Next. If you want to use DHCP, just click on Next.

    Deploy

  14. Select to power on the VM after deployment and click on Finish.
  15. Wait until the VM has finished deploying and is powered on.
  16. Open the console of the Orchestrator appliance and wait until the install process has completed and the VM console shows the following screenshot:

    Deploy

Log in to the Orchestrator Client

  1. Open a browser and browse to the IP of the Orchestrator appliance (for example, http://192.168.220.12).
  2. Depending on your environment, you might need to accept the SSL certificate. You are now on the Orchestrator home page with several useful links to all important Orchestrator topics:

    Log in to the Orchestrator Client

  3. To open up the Orchestrator Client, click on Start Orchestrator Client.
  4. Enter vcoadmin as user and vcoadmin as the password.

You are now logged into the Orchestrator Client.

Log into Control Center

Some of the next recipes need us to log into Control Center, here is how to do that:

  1. On the Orchestrator Home page click on Orchestrator Control Center.
  2. Enter the user root and the password you assigned during deployment.

    Log into Control Center

How it works...

The Orchestrator appliance is a preconfigured Orchestrator installation that uses the following software:

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 Patch level 3
  • VMware-Postgres 9.4.5.0
  • ApacheDS LDAP 2.4.42

Everything is ready to run; however, no integration with vCenter or any external service is configured. The Orchestrator appliance comes with a 90-day evaluation license installed.

There's more...

If you want to deploy the Orchestrator appliance on VMware Workstation, the process of deploying the Orchestrator appliance differs from the one described in this recipe. Follow these steps instead:

  1. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the downloaded .ova file.
  2. Double-click on the OVA file. VMware workstation opens up.
  3. Select a name and a path for the new VM and click on Import.
  4. Accept the EULA and wait until the VM is deployed.
  5. You might need to select a different network (for example, Host-Only) depending on your lab environment.
  6. Power on the VM and wait until the install pauses at the line indicated in this screenshot:

    There's more...

  7. Enter and confirm a new password for the root account.
  8. The installation will now continue. Wait until it has finished.

The appliance will start with a DHCP address from the workstation. To set a static IP, you will have to access the admin interface of the appliance.

See also

See the recipe Tuning the appliance in Chapter 2, Optimizing Orchestrator Configuration.

End of Section 3
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