VMware vSphere

Manager | Partner

Virtualization platform developed by VMware. It enables organizations to create and manage virtualized IT environments, including virtual machines (VMs), on a large scale. It also provides features such as virtualization of compute, storage, and networking resources.

Requirements for VMware vSphere

To successfully establish a connection between your Taikun and WMware vSphere accounts:

The most important information you need to find:

Username
Password
API URL

You need to prepare your vSphere Cloud Settings

Datacenter
Resource Pool
Datastore
Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)
Hypervisors (ESXi Hosts)
VM Templates

Also your Public Network and Private Network

Network name
Network address
Gateway
Allocation Range

Connecting vSphere to Taikun

Switch to the Cloud credentials in Taikun.
Hit the Add Cloud Credentials button in the top-right corner.
Select the vSphere option.
Specify the parameters:

Cloud Settings

Cloud Name – choose a name with 3-30 alphanumeric characters.
Region – select your region (grouping of resources within a data center or across multiple data centers).

vSphere Credentials

Username – fill in your username to authenticate and allow access to the vSphere environment.
Password – fill in your vSphere password.
API URL – fill in API URL, endpoint URL used to interact with the vSphere API.

vSphere Cloud Settings

Datacenter

A Datacenter in vSphere is a logical container for all managed ESXi hosts, clusters, VMs, networks, and storage.

Taikun Integration Considerations:

Ensure that the vSphere datacenter is properly configured in vCenter. Verify network connectivity between Taikun and vSphere (e.g., ensure vCenter API access is available). Check for sufficient resources (CPU, memory, and storage) to support workloads deployed through Taikun. Role-based Access Control (RBAC): Ensure that the correct user permissions are set for Taikun to interact with vCenter.

Resource Pool

A Resource Pool groups CPU and memory resources across multiple ESXi hosts, allowing workload balancing.

Taikun Integration Considerations: Create a dedicated resource pool in vSphere for workloads managed by Taikun. Configure limits, reservations, and shares to avoid resource contention between workloads. Use DRS affinity/anti-affinity rules if certain workloads should run together or be separated. Monitor resource pool utilization to prevent performance degradation.

Datastore

A Datastore is where VM files (VMDK, snapshots, ISOs) are stored.

Taikun Integration Considerations: Select an appropriate datastore type (SAN, NAS, vSAN, or local storage) based on performance needs. Ensure redundancy and scalability to prevent storage bottlenecks (RAID, vSAN policies, or shared storage). Enable Storage DRS (SDRS) for automatic load balancing across datastores. Regularly monitor datastore health and performance using vSphere alerts or vRealize Operations. Consider Thin Provisioning to optimize storage usage.

Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)

DRS dynamically balances CPU and memory loads across multiple ESXi hosts in a cluster.

Taikun Integration Considerations: Ensure that DRS is enabled in the vSphere cluster. Configure DRS policies based on workload requirements (fully automated, partially automated, or manual). Test DRS behavior by simulating workload spikes and ensuring VMs migrate as expected. Use Predictive DRS (if available) to anticipate and resolve resource bottlenecks proactively. Ensure vMotion is configured properly for seamless VM migration.

Hypervisors (ESXi Hosts)

vSphere runs on ESXi hosts, which abstract and allocate compute resources.

Taikun Integration Considerations:

Ensure all ESXi hosts are updated to a Taikun-compatible version. Check that hypervisor settings are optimized for performance (e.g., CPU power management, NUMA node awareness). Configure VM creation policies to match the workload requirements deployed via Taikun. Use host profiles to enforce consistency across ESXi hosts. Verify network settings (vSwitch, vDS) and NIC teaming for redundancy and performance.

VM Templates

A VM Template is a pre-configured image used for deploying new VMs quickly.

Taikun Integration Considerations:

Create optimized VM templates with pre-installed OS and necessary applications. Maintain security best practices (disable unnecessary services, install security patches). Use sysprep (Windows) or cloud-init (Linux) for automated configuration upon deployment. Regularly update and test templates to avoid compatibility issues. Store templates in a vSphere Content Library for centralized management and easier access by Taikun.

Additional Recommendations for Taikun-vSphere Integration

Networking: Ensure proper VLANs, firewall rules, and Taikun connectivity to vSphere. vSphere HA (High Availability): Consider enabling HA to reduce downtime in case of host failures. Backup & Disaster Recovery: Integrate with vSphere Replication or Veeam to ensure VM backups. Performance Monitoring: Use vRealize Operations or vSphere Alarms to track resource usage and potential issues. Security & Compliance: Ensure RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) is correctly set up for Taikun access.

Public Network

Network Name – name assigned to a specific network.
Network Address/Mask – defines the network and range of IP addresses.
Gateway – IP address of the router connecting to external networks.
Allocation Range – defines the range of usable IP addresses.

Info

A public network is accessible from outside the vSphere environment, such as the internet or an external corporate network.

Private Network

Network Name – name assigned to a specific network.
Network Address/Mask – defines the network and range of IP addresses.
Gateway – IP address of the router connecting to external networks.
Allocation Range – defines the range of usable IP addresses.

Info

A private network is isolated and accessible only within the vSphere environment itself.

5. Click Add Cloud Credentials.

Note

To prevent IP collisions, ensure that the allocation ranges do not include the IP addresses of the hypervisors (10.3.1.11 and 10.3.1.12). It’s recommended to start the allocation range for the network 10.3.1.0 from 10.3.1.20.