CSE Server Configuration File

The CSE server installation as well runtime is controlled by a yaml configuration file that must be filled out prior to installation. You can generate a skeleton file as follows.

cse sample -o config.yaml

The output of the command varies slightly depending on the target VCD server api version that CSE will be using to talk to VCD (controlled by the flag -v). Only supported message bus type for api version 33.0 and 34.0 is AMQP. For api version 35.0, the default message bus type is MQTT, but AMQP is supported too.

Edit this file to add values from your vCloud Director installation. The following example shows a file with sample values filled out.

# Only one of the amqp or mqtt sections should be present.

#amqp:
#  exchange: cse-ext
#  host: amqp.vmware.com
#  password: guest
#  port: 5672
#  prefix: vcd
#  routing_key: cse
#  ssl: false
#  ssl_accept_all: false
#  username: guest
#  vhost: /

mqtt:
  verify_ssl: true

vcd:
  api_version: '35.0'
  host: vcd.vmware.com
  log: true
  password: my_secret_password
  port: 443
  username: administrator
  verify: true

vcs:
- name: vc1
  password: my_secret_password
  username: cse_user@vsphere.local
  verify: true
- name: vc2
  password: my_secret_password
  username: cse_user@vsphere.local
  verify: true

service:
  enforce_authorization: false
  processors : 15
  # listeners: 10
  log_wire: false
  telemetry:
    enable: true

broker:
  catalog: cse
  default_template_name: my_template
  default_template_revision: 0
  ip_allocation_mode: pool
  network: mynetwork
  org: myorg
  remote_template_cookbook_url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vmware/container-service-extension-templates/master/template.yaml
  storage_profile: '*'
  vdc: myorgvdc

# [Optional] Template rule section
# Rules can be defined to override template definitions as defined by remote
# template cookbook.
# Any rule defined in this section can match exactly one template.
# Template name and revision must be provided for the rule to be processed.
# Templates will still have the default attributes that were defined during template creation.
# These newly defined attributes only affect new cluster deployments from templates.
# Template rules can override the following attributes:
# * compute_policy
# * cpu
# * memory

# Example 'template_rules' section:

#template_rules:
#- name: Rule1
#  target:
#    name: photon-v2_k8-1.12_weave-2.3.0
#    revision: 1
#  action:
#    compute_policy: "sample policy"
#    cpu: 4
#    mem: 512
#- name: Rule2
#  target:
#    name: my_template
#    revision: 2
#  action:
#    cpu: 2
#    mem: 1024

The config file has 5 mandatory sections ( [amqp | mqtt], vcd, vcs, service, and, broker) and 1 optional section(template_rules). The following sub-sections explain the configuration properties for each section as well as how they are used.

`amqp` Section

During CSE Server installation, CSE will set up AMQP to ensure communication between VCD and the running CSE server. The amqp section controls the AMQP communication parameters. The following properties will need to be set for all deployments.

Property	Value
exchange	Exchange name unique to CSE (CSE will create and use this exchange to communicate with VCD)
host	IP or hostname of the vCloud Director AMQP server (may be different from the VCD cell hosts)
username	AMQP username
password	AMQP password

Other properties may be left as is or edited to match site conventions.

For more information on AMQP settings, see the VCD API documentation on AMQP.

`mqtt` Section

Starting CSE 3.0.1, CSE will support MQTT message buses for communication with vCD. The minimum VCD api version required is 35.0. During CSE installation phase, CSE will setup the MQTT exchange. During CSE upgrades, CSE can switch over from AMQP to MQTT, however the reverse is not permitted.

Property	Value
verify_ssl	verify ssl certificates while communicating with the MQTT exchange

`vcs` Section

Properties in this section supply credentials necessary for the following operations:

Guest Operation Program Execution
Guest Operation Modifications
Guest Operation Queries

Each vc under the vcs section has the following properties:

Property	Value
name	Name of the vCenter as registered in VCD
username	User name of the vCenter service account with at least guest-operation privileges
password	Password of the vCenter service account

Note : All VCs registered in VCD must be listed here, otherwise CSE server installation will fail during pre-check phase.

`service` Section

The service section contains properties that define CSE server behavior.

Property	Value
listeners	Number of threads that CSE server should use to communicate with AMQP bus and process requests (Removed in CSE 3.0.1)
processors	Number of threads that CSE server should use for processing requests (Added in CSE 3.0.1)
enforce_authorization	If True, CSE server will use role-based access control, where users without the correct CSE right will not be able to deploy clusters (Added in CSE 1.2.6)
log_wire	If True, will log all REST calls initiated by CSE to VCD. (Added in CSE 2.5.0)
telemetry	If enabled, will send back anonymized usage data back to VMware (Added in CSE 2.6.0)

Note: Starting CSE 3.0.1, the listeners field has been renamed to processors.

`broker` Section

The broker section contains properties to define resources used by the CSE server including org and VDC as well as template repository location. The following table summarizes key parameters.

Property	Value
catalog	Publicly shared catalog within `org` where K8s templates will be stored
default_template_name	Name of the default template to use if one is not specified during cluster and node operations. CSE server won’t start up if this value is invalid. (Added in CSE 2.5.0)
default_template_revision	Revision of the default template to use if one is not is specified during cluster and node operations. CSE server won’t start up if this value is invalid. (Added in CSE 2.5.0)
ip_allocation_mode	IP allocation mode to be used during the install process to build the template. Possible values are `dhcp` or `pool`. During creation of clusters for tenants, `pool` IP allocation mode is always used
network	Org Network within `vdc` that will be used during the install process to build the template. It should have outbound access to the public Internet. The `CSE` appliance doesn’t need to be connected to this network
org	VCD organization that contains the shared catalog where the K8s templates will be stored
remote_template_cookbook_url	URL of the template repository where all template definitions and associated script files are hosted. (Added in CSE 2.5.0)
storage_profile	Name of the storage profile to use when creating the temporary vApp used to build the template
vdc	Virtual data-center within `org` that will be used during the install process to build the template

`template_rules` Section

Note that template_rules section is not applicable when CSE 3.0 is configured with vCD 10.2. Refer Template management for CSE 3.0

(Added in CSE 2.5.0, Deprecated in CSE 3.0.0)

Rules can be created to override some of the default attributes of templates defined by the remote template repository.

This section can contain zero or more such rules, each rule matches exactly one template. Matching is driven by name and revision of the template. If only name is specified without the revision or vice versa, the rule will not be processed.

Each rule comprises of the following attributes

Property	Value
name	Name of the rule
target	Name and revision of the template on which the rule will be applied
action	Template properties that will be overridden. Only supported properties are `compute_policy`, `cpu`, and `memory`

Please refer to Restricting Kubernetes templates for further details on compute policies.

Enterprise PKS Configuration File for CSE

Sample Enterprise PKS configuration file for CSE can be generated via the following command

cse sample --pks-config -o pks.yaml

Edit this file to add values from your Enterprise PKS installation. The following example shows a file with sample values filled out.

# Enterprise PKS config file to enable Enterprise PKS functionality on CSE
# Please fill out the following four sections:
#   1. pks_api_servers:
#       a. Each entry in the list represents a Enterprise PKS api server
#          that is part of the deployment.
#       b. The field 'name' in each entry should be unique. The value of
#          the field has no bearing on the real world Enterprise PKS api
#          server, it's used to tie in various segments of the config file
#          together.
#       c. The field 'vc' represents the name with which the Enterprise PKS
#          vCenter is registered in VCD.
#       d. The field 'cpi' needs to be retrieved by executing
#          'bosh cpi-config' on Enterprise PKS set up.
#   2. pks_accounts:
#       a. Each entry in the list represents a Enterprise PKS account that
#          can be used talk to a certain Enterprise PKS api server.
#       b. The field 'name' in each entry should be unique. The value of
#          the field has no bearing on the real world Enterprise PKS
#          accounts, it's used to tie in various segments of the config
#          file together.
#       c. The field 'pks_api_server' is a reference to the Enterprise PKS
#          api server which owns this account. It's value should be equal to
#          value of the field 'name' of the corresponding Enterprise PKS api
#          server.
#   3. pvdcs:
#       a. Each entry in the list represents a Provider VDC in VCD that is
#          backed by a cluster of the Enterprise PKS managed vCenter server.
#       b. The field 'name' in each entry should be the name of the
#          Provider VDC as it appears in VCD.
#       c. The field 'pks_api_server' is a reference to the Enterprise PKS
#          api server which owns this account. Its value should be equal to
#          value of the field 'name' of the corresponding Enterprise PKS api
#          server.
#   4. nsxt_servers:
#       a. Each entry in the list represents a NSX-T server that has been
#          alongside an Enterprise PKS server to manage its networking. CSE
#          needs these details to enforce network isolation of clusters.
#       b. The field 'name' in each entry should be unique. The value of
#          the field has no bearing on the real world NSX-T server, it's
#          used to tie in various segments of the config file together.
#       c. The field 'pks_api_server' is a reference to the Enterprise PKS
#          api server which owns this account. Its value should be equal to
#          value of the field 'name' of the corresponding Enterprise PKS api
#          server.
#       d. The field 'distributed_firewall_section_anchor_id' should be
#          populated with id of a Distributed Firewall Section e.g. it can
#          be the id of the section called 'Default Layer3 Section' which
#          Enterprise PKS creates on installation.
# For more information, please refer to CSE documentation page:
# https://vmware.github.io/container-service-extension/INSTALLATION.html

pks_api_servers:
- clusters:
  - vsphere-cluster-1
  - vsphere-cluster-2
  - vsphere-cluster-3
  cpi: cpi1
  datacenter: pks-s1-dc
  host: pks-api-server-1.pks.local
  name: pks-api-server-1
  port: '9021'
  uaac_port: '8443'
  vc: vc1
  verify: true
- clusters:
  - vSphereCluster-1
  - vSphereCluster-2
  - vSphereCluster-3
  cpi: cpi2
  datacenter: pks-s2-dc
  host: pks-api-server-2.pks.local
  name: pks-api-server-2
  port: '9021'
  uaac_port: '8443'
  vc: vc2
  verify: true

pks_accounts:
- name: Org1ServiceAccount1
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-1
  secret: secret
  username: org1Admin
- name: Org1ServiceAccount2
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-2
  secret: secret
  username: org1Admin
- name: Org2ServiceAccount
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-2
  secret: secret
  username: org2Admin

pvdcs:
- cluster: vsphere-cluster-1
  name: pvdc1
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-1
- cluster: vsphere-cluster-1
  name: pvdc2
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-2
- cluster: vsphere-cluster-4
  name: pvdc3
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-1

nsxt_servers:
- distributed_firewall_section_anchor_id: id
  host: nsxt1.domain.local
  name: nsxt-server-1
  nodes_ip_block_ids:
  - id1
  - id2
  password: my_secret_password
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-1
  pods_ip_block_ids:
  - id1
  - id2
  username: admin
  verify: true
- distributed_firewall_section_anchor_id: id
  host: nsxt2.domain.local
  name: nsxt-server-2
  nodes_ip_block_ids:
  - id1
  - id2
  password: my_secret_password
  pks_api_server: pks-api-server-2
  pods_ip_block_ids:
  - id1
  - id2
  username: admin
  verify: true

Encryption and Decryption of the Configuration Files

Starting with CSE 2.6.0, CSE server commands will accept only encrypted configuration files by default. As of now, these are CSE configuration file and Enterprise PKS configuration file. CSE exposes two server CLI commands to help CSE server administrators encrypt and decrypt the configuration files.

cse encrypt config.yaml --output encrypted-config.yaml
cse decrypt encrypted-config.yaml -o decrypted-config.yaml

CSE uses industry standard symmetric encryption algorithm Fernet and the encryption is dependent on user provided passwords. It is imperative that CSE server administrators who participate in the encryption process do not lose the password under any circumstances. CSE will not be able to recover the password or permit decryption in such cases. CSE expects all configuration files to be encrypted with the same password.

Whenever an encrypted configuration file is used with CSE server CLI commands, CSE will prompt the user to provide the password to decrypt them. User can also propagate the password to CSE via the environment variable CSE_CONFIG_PASSWORD.

The default behavior can be changed to keep CSE Server accept plain text configuration files using the flag --skip-config-decryption with any CSE command that accepts a configuration file.

Container Service Extension (CSE)

Kubernetes as a Service for VMware vCloud Director.