vCloud Automation Center- vCAC 5.1 – What to know before you install!

Caution: Articles written for technical not grammatical accuracy, If poor grammar offends you proceed with caution ;-)

Before you proceed to run the vCAC installation there are a few things you need to know for a smooth and successful install. vCAC has a number of prerequisites that need to be in place. Below is a list of what’s needed and then I’ll elaborate where needed:

• Must be installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 needs to be installed
• Windows PowerShell Version 2.0
• Server “should” be joined to a domain to allow for use of active directory users
• SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 Server or Express (Server recommended unless just doing testing)
• IIS Server Role Must be installed with the following Role Services:

• — Static Content
• — HTTP Redirection
• — ASP.NET
• — .NET Extensibility
• — ASP
• — Server Side Includes
• — Windows Authentication
• — Static Content Compression
• — Dynamic Content Compression
• — IIS 6 Management Compatibility

Next you will need to do some configuration within IIS. Open IIS, go to the “Default Web Site” and do the following:

1. Disable “Anonymous Authentication“
2. Enable “Windows Authentication“
3. Highlight “Windows Authentication” and click on “Providers” on the right hand side
4. Remove “Negotiate” from the “Enabled Providers” list and then add it back making sure it is the first provider in the list. (This is necessary due to a bug in IIS)
5. Next open “Advanced Settings“(above Providers) and in the drop down box for “Extended Protection” change it to “Accept” and then back to “Off” and click ok. (This is necessary due to a bug in IIS)

Next disable the windows firewall on the server. If you are die hard and need to run windows firewall I would recommend that you disable until after the installation. (I will be doing an article on how to configure Windows Firewall with vCAC later in this series.)

Now we need to add a few features from within “Server manager” open “Server Manager” and enable the following features:

• Under “Windows Process Activation Service” check “Process Model“, “.NET Environment“, and “Configuration APIs“
• Under “.NET Framework 3.5.1 Features” Select both “.Net FrameWork 3.5.1” and “WCF Activation“.

Almost there. We now need to open “Services.msc” and start the “Secondary Logon” service. (This only needs to be running during the installation process.)

Now let’s talk about Microsoft SQL Server. You have two options:

1. Install Microsoft SQL 2008 R2 Express on the vCAC server
2. Use a remote Microsoft SQL 2008 R2 Server

If you choose to use SQL Express 2008 R2 then you just need to download and install it. I highly recommend installing the SQL Express 2008 R2 Management Tools as well. If you choose to use a remote database then you have to do a little more configuration.

If using a remote Microsoft SQL 2008 R2 Server you need to perform the following MSDTC configuration on both the vCAC server and the SQL Server.

1. Open “Component Services” from “Administrative Tools“
2. Expand “Component Services“, “Computers“, “My Computer“, and “Distributed Transaction Coordinator“
3. Right click on “Local DTC” and select “Properties“
4. Select the “Security” tab
5. Select “Network DTC Access“, “Allow Remote Clients“, “Allow Remote Administration“, “Allow InBound”, and “Allow OutBound” (Leave everything else as is)
6. Select “OK“
7. Perform this for both the “vCAC” and “Remote SQL Server“.

As part of the vCAC download that is available on the VMware Download site there is a utility call the “Pre Req Checker” it is under the tools folder and is named “DCACPrereqCheckerInstaller“. Install and run this utility before performing the installation. If you have properly performed the above steps you will have “green” check marks for every item in the list. If you are using a local SQL Express installtion you will see “yellow” triangles next to the MSDTC configuration. This is also acceptable in this case.

You are now prepared to install VMware Cloud Automation Center. Stay tuned for my next port “vCloud Automation Center – Installation Overview” and “vCloud Automation Center – Automated Installation”

The VMware vCould Automation Center 5.1 Support Matrix can provide you with specific versions of supported OS, Database, and other components that can be used.