Forward Avamar Proxy log files to Log Insight

This post covers how to configure integration between Avamar Proxy Servers and VMware Log Insight.

VVD on VxRail: Deployment Options

VMware Validated Design (VVD) on VxRail was recently announced and has been attracting great interest. This post provides a high level overview of the available deployment options.

Configure vRB Remote Data Collector

When using remote vCenter endpoints with vRealize Automation, it is important to configure a vRealize Business for Cloud Remote Data Collector (or two) local to the remote endpoint.

vRB for Cloud Management Pack for vROps

Just noticed that vROps v6.6 now comes with an adapter for vRealize Business for Cloud, so obviously felt the need to configure it and see what it provides.

vRB for Cloud and vROps Integration

As of vRB for Cloud v7.1, the integration between vRB and vRealize Operations Manager has changed to what the official documents describe as ‘seamless integration’.

Upgrade vRB v6.2.3 to v7.1

We wanted to upgrade our EHC lab instance of vRealize Business Standard (v6.2.3) to vRealize Business for Cloud (v7.1.0). Using vRB v7.x has been a common request for some of our Financial customers who required vRB to support the Swiss Franc.

So after a quick glance at the vRB 7.x Install Guide, we realised that this is a migration, not an upgrade.

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Monitor RP4VM with vROps

The recent release of EMC Storage Analytics (ESA) for vRealize Operations Manager provides the ability to discover and monitor EMC RP4VM (RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines).

This post will walk through the installation and configuration of the RP4VM adapter in vROps and show some of the available dashboards.

Updating Certificates for vROps

Going through a process of converting all self-signed certificates in our EHC environment to CA-signed certs. First we converted all of the vCenter Server certificates, available here, but then we were faced with updating the certificates used by the various other vRealize Suite components that integrate with vCenter.

vRealize Operations Manager was the first on the list of those components.

Converting vCenter Self-signed Certs to CA-signed Certs

This post provides some high-level detail on what was required for us to migrate to CA-signed certificates on an existing vCenter Server  installation. Our overall plan was to upgrade versions of the EHC solution (EHC v3.1 to EHC v3.5) which meant that we needed to upgrade from vSphere v5, using SSO, to vSphere 6, using the new PSC (Platform Services Controller).

Monitor EMC Avamar with vROps

The latest release of EMC Storage Analytics (ESA) for VMware vRealize Operations Manager went GA May 2nd 2016, and among the many new features and supported objects is EMC Avamar.

This post will walk through the installation and configuration of the Avamar Adapter in vROps and show some of the available Avamar dashboards.

EHC – Backup as a Service: Automated VM Protection

The Enterprise Hybrid Cloud solution provides fully automated data protection backup and restore services for virtual machines, with EHC Backup as a Service (BaaS).

Enterprise Hybrid Cloud: Creating a Backup Service Level

One of the services provided by the Enterprise Hybrid Cloud Solution (EHC) is Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS), which enables cloud users to manage and consume data protection backup services through a single user portal. The EHC solution leverages service levels throughout the solution, using policies to control resources such as compute, storage, network, and data protection.

EMC Storage Analytics & vROps

The EMC Storage Analytics (ESA) management pack integrates the features and functionality of vRealize Operations Manager with a wide range of EMC products. The ESA delivers custom analytics and visualisations that provide detailed visibility into the EMC infrastructure, enhancing troubleshooting and proactively identifying storage performance and capacity issues for remediation.

vRealize Integrations – vRA and vROps

vRealize Automation integrates with vRealize Operations Manager in a couple of ways, and it may not immediately be apparent which integration point is responsible for what functionality.

vRealize Integrations – Log Insight

The Enterprise Hybrid Cloud solution uses VMware vRealize Log Insight for centralised and automated log management, analysing log events from any component that supports syslog forwarding, providing system analytics, aggregation and search capabilities.

vRealize Integrations – EMC ViPR & vROps

EMC ViPR provides a Management Pack for VMware vRealize Operations Manager. This is one of the many EMC-VMware integrations included in the Enterprise Hybrid Cloud solution.

vRealize Integrations – vRealize Business Management

One new configuration requirement that I have come across recently working with vRealize Automation is the increased integration and permissions between vRealize Business Standard, vCenter and vRealize Operations Manager.