Deploy a Virtual Container Host to an ESXi Host with No vCenter Server

This topic provides instruction for using vic-machine to deploy a virtual container host (VCH) to an ESXi host that is not managed by vCenter Server. This is the most straightforward way to deploy a VCH, and is ideal for testing.

The ESXi host to which you deploy the VCH must match the specifications listed in the prerequisites. This example vic-machine create command 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.
• Download the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine bundle from the appliance and unpack it on your usual working machine. For information about how to download the bundle, see Download the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine Bundle.
• Create or obtain an ESXi host with the following configuration:
  • One datastore
  • The VM Network is present
  • You can use a nested ESXi host for this example

• Verify that the ESXi host meets the requirements in Environment Prerequisites for VCH Deployment.

  IMPORTANT: Pay particular attention to the Networking Requirements for VCH Deployment.

• Make sure that the correct firewall port is open on the ESXi host. For information about how to open ports on ESXi hosts, see Open the Required Ports on ESXi Hosts.
• Obtain the ESXi host 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 Download the vSphere Integrated Containers Engine Bundle.
• Familiarize yourself with the basic options of the vic-machine create command described in Using the vic-machine CLI Utility.

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 password is wrapped in quotes because it contains @.

   • Linux OS:

     $ vic-machine-linux create
     --target esxi_host_address
     --user root
     --password 'esxi_host_p@ssword'
     --no-tlsverify
     --thumbprint esxi_certificate_thumbprint
     

   • Windows:

     $ vic-machine-windows create
     --target esxi_host_address
     --user root
     --password "esxi_host_p@ssword"
     --no-tlsverify
     --thumbprint esxi_certificate_thumbprint
     

   • Mac OS:

     $ vic-machine-darwin create
     --target esxi_host_address
     --user root
     --password 'esxi_host_p@ssword'
     --no-tlsverify
     --thumbprint esxi_certificate_thumbprint
     

The vic-machine create command in this example specifies the minimum information required to deploy a VCH to an ESXi host:

• The address of the ESXi host on which to deploy the VCH, in the --target option.
• The ESXi host root user and password in the --user and --password options.
• For simplicity, disables the verification of client certificates by specifying the --no-tlsverify option.
• Specifies the thumbprint of the ESXi host certificate by specifying the --thumbprint option.

Because the ESXi host only has only one datastore and uses the VM Network network, vic-machine create automatically detects and uses those resources.

When deploying to an ESXi host, vic-machine create creates a standard virtual switch and a port group for use as the container bridge network, so you do not need to specify any network options if you do not have specific network requirements.

This example vic-machine create command 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.