VMware vCSA Command Line Interface Installer Version 6.7.0 2019 ---------------------------------------------------------- Contents: ---------------------------------------------------------- I. Overview II. Changes Since 6.5.0 III. Brief Description of Options IV. JSON Template Files V. Help ---------------------------------------------------------- I. Overview ---------------------------------------------------------- This utility provides a command line interface for the following: 1. Installation of vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) 6.7. 2. Upgrade of vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) 6.0 and 6.5 to 6.7. 3. Migration of Windows vCenter installations 6.0 and 6.5 to vCSA 6.7. ---------------------------------------------------------- II. Changes Since vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. Linking embedded VC nodes is now supported in vCenter. The installer supports this new configuration. 2. Multiple vCenter instances may be installed or upgraded at the same time. This feature is only supported for vCSA installation and upgrade; Windows to vCSA migration is not supported. Any primary PSC, or embedded VC node acting as a first-instance (primary) PSC for linking to another embedded VC node, must have a static IP address. 3. The installer generates status files during the installation/upgrade/ migration process. This allows external tools to launch the command line installer and monitor/report its progress. 4. New requirement for running on Windows: The Visual C++ Redistributable version 14.0 or newer needs to be installed to run this utility on versions of Windows older than Windows 10. If Windows displays an error message similar to this message: "The Program can’t start because MSVCR110.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem." or if vcsa-deploy.exe simply will not run, you can run the diagnostic batch file vcsa/ovftool/win32/check_windows_vc_redist.bat to find out if the required Visual C++ Redistributable is installed in your Windows system. Note that only 32-bit (x86) Visual C++ Redistributable package is required for this utility, for both 32-bit (x86) Windows and 64-bit (x64) Windows. It is recommended that you download and install the latest Visual C++ Redistributable packages directly from Microsoft. If an Internet connection is not available, you can locate the installer for the 32-bit (x86) package from the vcsa/ovftool/win32/vcredist directory. 5. Keys in the JSON file have had periods changed to underscores. For easy conversion from the old format, see the section "JSON Template Files" below. 6. When a connection is to be established using SSL/TLS from the installer to a server, the server's security certificate will be verified. This involves some new behavior and options. See the section "JSON Template Files" for below for details. ---------------------------------------------------------- III. Running the Installer ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. The command line tool is located in the vcsa-cli-installer directory. Paths in this document are relative to this directory. The executables are in the following locations: Linux, 64-bit: lin64/vcsa-deploy Mac OS X: mac/vcsa-deploy Windows: win32/vcsa-deploy.exe The win32 executable runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows installations. 2. High level options include: -h, --help: Show help --version: Show the version --supported-deployment-sizes: Display all of the supported deployment options from the OVA in the default location. If the OVA package is not found, default values are displayed 3. To do more than view the help or version, issue a sub-command on the command line. Sub-commands include: install: Deploy vCSA to a remote host. upgrade: Upgrade an existing vCSA. migrate: Migrate an existing Windows installation of vCenter Server to a vCSA. 4. To install, upgrade, or migrate, include a sub-command, desired options, and the path to a JSON template file which you have edited to contain detailed settings. (A discussion of the JSON file may be found in the next section.) ---------------------------------------------------------- IV. Sample Installation Commands ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. To view the installation help: lin64/vcsa-deploy install --help 2. To view the installation JSON template help: lin64/vcsa-deploy install --template-help 3. To perform a basic template verification without installing: lin64/vcsa-deploy install --accept-eula --verify-template-only ---------------------------------------------------------- V. Sample Upgrade Help Commands ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. To view the upgrade help: lin64/vcsa-deploy upgrade --help 2. To view the upgrade JSON template help: lin64/vcsa-deploy upgrade --template-help 3. To perform a basic template verification without upgrading: lin64/vcsa-deploy upgrade --accept-eula --verify-template-only ---------------------------------------------------------- VI. Sample Windows vCenter to vCSA Migration Help Commands ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. To view the upgrade help: lin64/vcsa-deploy migrate --help 2. To view the upgrade JSON template help: lin64/vcsa-deploy migrate --template-help 3. To perform a basic template verification without upgrading: lin64/vcsa-deploy migrate --accept-eula --verify-template-only ---------------------------------------------------------- VII. JSON Template Files ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. Most of the parameters related to install, upgrade, and migrate are conveyed to the installer via a JSON file. Sample JSON template files have been included with this release. These sample templates only contain what are anticipated to be the most frequent options; a full list of the template options, including descriptions, may be seen by running a sub-command with the --template-help option. For example: lin64/vcsa-deploy install --template-help 2. Sample JSON template files are located in the templates directory. They are organized into install, migrate, and upgrade subdirectories. Migration and upgrade templates are further organized according to the release of the system which is being upgraded or migrated: templates/ install/ Use these templates to install a vCSA/PSC instance. embedded_vCSA_on_*.json: Platform Services Controller (PSC) and vCSA together on one system PSC_on_*.json: Only a PSC vCSA_on_*.json: Only a vCSA *_on_ESXi.json: Install onto the ESXi host specified in the JSON file *_on_VC.json: Install onto a host managed by the vCenter instance specified in the JSON file migrate/ winvc6.0/ Use these templates to migrate a 6.0 Windows VC/PSC to a new release of vCSA/PSC. embedded_win_vc_to_embedded_vCSA_on_*.json: Migrate a Windows VC to Platform Services Controller (PSC) and vCSA together on one system win_psc_to_lin_PSC_on_*.json: Migrate a Windows PSC to Linux PSC win_vc_to_vCSA_on_*.json: Migrate a Windows VC to a vCSA *_on_ESXi.json: The migrated system will be on an ESXi host which is not being managed by vCenter *_on_VC.json: The migrated system will be on an ESXi host which is being managed by vCenter winvc6.5/ Use these templates to migrate a 6.5 Windows VC/PSC to a new release of vCSA/PSC. embedded_win_vc_to_embedded_vCSA_on_*.json: Migrate a Windows VC to Platform Services Controller (PSC) and vCSA together on one system win_psc_to_lin_PSC_on_*.json: Migrate a Windows PSC to Linux PSC win_vc_to_vCSA_on_*.json: Migrate a Windows VC to a vCSA *_on_ESXi.json: The migrated system will be on an ESXi host which is not being managed by vCenter *_on_VC.json: The migrated system will be on an ESXi host which is being managed by vCenter upgrade/ vcsa6.0/ Use these templates to upgrade a 6.0 vCSA/PSC to a new vSphere release. embedded_vCSA_on_*.json: Upgrade Platform Services Controller (PSC) and vCSA nodes together on one system PSC_on_*.json: Upgrade a PSC vCSA_on_*.json: Upgrade a vCSA *_on_ESXi.json: The upgraded system will be on an ESXi host which is not being managed by vCenter *_on_VC.json: The upgraded system will be on an ESXi host which is being managed by vCenter vcsa6.5/ Use these templates to upgrade a 6.5 vCSA/PSC to a new vSphere release. embedded_vCSA_on_*.json: Upgrade Platform Services Controller (PSC) and vCSA together on one system PSC_on_*.json: Upgrade a PSC vCSA_on_*.json: Upgrade a vCSA *_on_ESXi.json: The upgraded system will be on an ESXi host which is not being managed by vCenter *_on_VC.json: The upgraded system will be on an ESXi host which is being managed by vCenter 3. Multiple JSON files may be read and processed by the installer at the same time. To do this, pass in the directory path containing the JSON files instead of a path to a single JSON file. For example, one might create the directory /home//installer_files and add the JSON files to that directory: /home//installer_files/ install_vc_1.json install_vc_2.json install_vc_3.json Then, the installer would be run with the command: vcsa-deploy install /home//installer_files --accept-eula ... 4. JSON configuration files must be saved in UTF-8 format. 5. To ensure the correct syntax of your JSON configuration file, use a JSON editor. 6. Note that PSC ("Single Sign-On") nodes must be upgraded before the vCenter nodes which point to them. 7. If a password property in the JSON file is not present, or if the password content is an empty string, the installer will present a prompt to enter the password on the command line. 8. In this release, keys in the JSON file have had periods changed to underscores. For easy conversion from the old format, you may pass a JSON file using the old format to the installer with the --verify-template-only option. For example: vcsa-deploy install /home//installer_files/change_my_format.json --verify-template-only Output will include text such as: Your template version '2.3.0' is out-of-date. The latest version has been generated for you using your current template's data, and is located at '/tmp/.../generated_templates/generated_change_my_format.json'. The file generated_* will contain your information in the new format, with passwords masked. 9. When a connection is to be established using SSL/TLS from the installer to a server, such as from the installer to an ESXi, vCenter, or PSC, the installer will verify the server's security certificate. If the certificate is not signed by a known Certificate Authority (CA) (being self-signed, for instance), the installer will display the certificate's thumbprint (fingerprint) in the command console, and will prompt you to whether accept or reject the thumbprint. Accepting the thumbprint means you authorize the installer to proceed with the connection. Rejecting the thumbprint means the installer will terminate the entire operation workflow. You must do this if the thumbprint of the server's certificate differs from that which the installer displays. The installer asks you to accept or reject each server's certificate thumbprint only once during the entire session. You can avoid the thumbprint verification prompt two ways: 1. Use the "--no-ssl-certificate-verification" option on the installer's command line. 2. Specify the certificate thumbprint or disable the certificate verification for individual servers in the JSON file. For details, search for "ssl_certificate_verification" when running the installer with --template-help. ---------------------------------------------------------- VIII. Help ---------------------------------------------------------- https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere.html