Deploy a VCH to a Basic vCenter Server Cluster

This topic provides instructions for deploying a virtual container host (VCH) in a very basic vCenter Server environment. This basic deployment allows you to test vSphere Integrated Containers Engine with vCenter Server before attempting a more complex deployment that corresponds to your real vSphere environment.

The vCenter Server instance to which you deploy the VCH must match the specifications listed in the prerequisites. This example deploys a VCH by using the minimum vic-machine create options possible, for demonstration purposes.

Prerequisites

• Deploy the vSphere Integrated Containers appliance. For information about deploying the appliance, see Deploy the vSphere Integrated Containers Appliance.
• In a Web browser, go to http://vic_appliance_address, scroll down to Infrastructure Deployment Tools, click the link to download the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine bundle, and unpack it on your working machine.
• Create or obtain a vCenter Server instance with the following configuration:
  • One datacenter
  • One cluster with two ESXi hosts and DRS enabled. You can use nested ESXi hosts for this example.
  • A shared datastore, that is accessible by both of the ESXi hosts.
  • The VM Network is present
  • One distributed virtual switch with one port group named vic-bridge
• Verify that your vCenter Server instance and both of the ESXi hosts in the cluster meet the requirements in Environment Prerequisites for VCH Deployment.
• Make sure that the correct firewall ports are open on the ESXi hosts. For information about how to open ports on ESXi hosts, see Open the Required Ports on ESXi Hosts.
• Obtain the vCenter Server certificate thumbprint. For information about how to obtain the certificate thumbprint, see Obtain vSphere Certificate Thumbprints.
• Familiarize yourself with the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine binaries, as described in Contents of the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine Binaries.
• Familiarize yourself with the basic options of the vic-machine create command described in VCH Placement.
• Familiarize yourself with the bridge network and image store, as described in Configure Bridge Networks and Specify the Image Store.

Procedure

1. Open a terminal on the system on which you downloaded and unpacked the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine binary bundle.
2. Navigate to the directory that contains the vic-machine utility:

3. Run the vic-machine create command.

   In these examples, the user name is wrapped in quotes because it contains @.

   • Linux OS:

     $ vic-machine-linux create
     --target vcenter_server_address
     --user 'Administrator@vsphere.local'
     --password vcenter_server_password
     --bridge-network vic-bridge
     --image-store shared_datastore_name
     --no-tlsverify
     --thumbprint vcenter_server_certificate_thumbprint
     

   • Windows:

     $ vic-machine-windows create
     --target vcenter_server_address
     --user "Administrator@vsphere.local"
     --password vcenter_server_password
     --bridge-network vic-bridge
     --image-store shared_datastore_name
     --no-tlsverify
     --thumbprint vcenter_server_certificate_thumbprint
     

   • Mac OS:

     $ vic-machine-darwin create
     --target vcenter_server_address
     --user 'Administrator@vsphere.local'
     --password vcenter_server_password
     --bridge-network vic-bridge
     --image-store shared_datastore_name
     --no-tlsverify
     --thumbprint vcenter_server_certificate_thumbprint
     

The vic-machine create command in this example specifies the minimum information required to deploy a VCH to vCenter Server:

• The address of the vCenter Server instance on which to deploy the VCH, in the --target option.
• A vCenter Single Sign-On user and password for a vSphere administrator account, in the --user and --password options.
• The port group named vic-bridge, for use as the container bridge network.
• The name of the shared datastore to use as the image store, in which to store container images.
• Disables the verification of clients that connect to this VCH by specifying the --no-tlsverify option.
• Specifies the thumbprint of the vCenter Server host certificate by specifying the --thumbprint option.

Because the vCenter Server instance only has one datacenter and one cluster, and uses the VM Network network, vic-machine create automatically detects and uses these resources.

This example deploys a VCH with the default name virtual-container-host.

Result

At the end of a successful deployment, vic-machine displays information about the new VCH:

Initialization of appliance successful
VCH Admin Portal:
https://vch_address:2378
Published ports can be reached at:
vch_address
Docker environment variables:
DOCKER_HOST=vch_address:2376
Environment saved in virtual-container-host/virtual-container-host.env
Connect to docker:
docker -H vch_address:2376 --tls info
Installer completed successfully

What to Do Next

To test your VCH, see Verify the Deployment of a VCH.