Reset vCenter Orchestrator Appliance Configuration Password

I have multiple instance of vCenter Orchestrators running in my vCAC setup as endpoints including the default one.  During first time configuration I created different passwords due to the fact that the default vCO (which comes with vCAC) password requires at least one uppercase and this restriction isn't there with the vCO Appliance. So, I had two different passwords for my two vCO's and after couple of days I messed up with my passwords and ended up locking both the vCO configuration logins.

Later on, I started getting the below error even after entering correct password. Tried on different browsers and multiple sessions.

Login failed: User/password mismatch or account temporarily blocked after too many unsuccessful attempts

Issue: After entering wrong password for multiple times on vCenter Server Orchestrator Configuration login page, the login is blocked for uncertain time interval and you receive the below error.

Resolution:

1. Login to the vCO appliance with the root password. I usually take a putty session as it is more quick and easy to use.

2. Type: # cd /etc/vco/configuration/ and hit enter.
   

3. List the directory by typing "ls" and backup the file "passwd.properties". I used below command

cp passwd.properties passwd.properties.oldpass

4. Type " vi passwd.properties" (Press Insert) and clear everything, in my case the line starting from "vmware=SHA…… .. .. \=\=" which was my old password.
   

5. Now type the default password by adding the below line without any changes and save the file. (Press ESC and :wq to save)

vmware=92963abd36c896b93a36b8e296ff3387

6. Restart the vCO configuration services by typing the below command

service vco-configurator restart

7. After couple of minutes this should take effect and you should be able to login with the default username and password for configuration login which is

Username: vmware

Password: vmware

8. After successful login, you are prompted to create a new password with at least one upper-case alphabet (if vCAC 's default vCO).
   

The above steps should work but sometimes it might take a long time to take effect after resetting the password. Here is what I did for immediate login, even you may try only if you remember your old password and if you can't wait

Follow the steps from 1-6 and again rename the file "passwd.properties.oldpass" as "passwd.properties" and restart the vCO configurator service. You are making the old password file active and don’t forget to rename the file created for default password.

I hope the above information is helpful.

Associate a vCenter Orchestrator Endpoint with a Blueprint in vCAC 6.1

vCAC uses vCO Endpoints to run workflows. We can configure multiple vCO Endpoints and configure priority on it, where 1 is the highest priority. While executing the vCO workflows, vCAC connects to the highest priority vCO Endpoint and if it is not available then it goes to the  next priority vCO endpoint. We can also associate particular vCO endpoint with a blueprint, so that whenever any VM is provisioned through that Blueprint, it will always use the associated vCO Endpoint. 

I have 2 vCO Endpoints added to the vCAC, vCO is the default one and vCO01 is external.

This post will demonstrate how to associate an existing Blueprint with vCO Endpoint.

1. Login to vCAC as Tenant Administrator or Business Group Manager.

2. Go to Infrastructure >> Blueprints >> Blueprints.
   

3. I would be editing the existing Blueprint, the steps remain same if creating a new Blueprint. I am using the Blueprint created for Provisioning Linked Clone  VMs.

4. Click on Properties Tab and click on New Property.
   

5. Type VMware.VCenterOrchestrator.EndpointName in the Name text box.

6. Type the name of  vCO Endpoint in the Value text box. In my case vCO01 is set to Priority 2.
   

7. Click on Green Check mark and click on OK.

Installing vCenter Orchestrator Plugin (EMC ViPR)

Plug-ins helps to connect vCenter Orchestrator to the external technologies and applications. It lets you automate the access, control and management. There are lots of plug-ins which comes along with the vCenter Orchestrator Appliance and 3rd-Party plug-ins could be installed to work with vCO. 

You may see those plugin by going to below address and click on plug-ins tab

https://vCO_ip/fqdn:8283

You may add third party plugins from the same console. For example, when you have vCenter Operations Manager or Vmware Horizon Suite 6 in your environment and if you wish to automate and manage those products using vCenter Orchestrator then you just need to download the respective vCO plugin and update it. Those plugins comes with many default workflows to manage & automate several tasks. Also you may use the default workflows to further customize as per your requirement or create a completely new workflow. For more vCO plugin from different vendors like EMC, F5 Networks, Avenet, NetApp etc visit the below link and click on "vCO Plug-ins" tab

https://solutionexchange.vmware.com/store

In this post I will show you how to install new plug-in in vCenter Orchestrator. I will download the EMC ViPR plugin from the above website. First step is to register yourself on this website with your company email

1. Click on the "Try" button to download the plug-in. It will download the file with .dar extension (EMC-ViPR-vCO-Plugin-2.0.0.0.12.dar).
   
2. Now login to the vCenter Orchestrator configuration page by typing -

            https://vCO-ip/fqdn:8283

3. Now Click on "Plugins" tab and click on browse icon to locate the downloaded plugin and then click on "Upload and Install".
   
4. It might take couple of minutes to upload, wait till you get the "plug-in installed".
   
   It will show "will perform installation at next server startup".
   
5. Click on"Startup Options" tab and restart the vCO server service.
   

6. Now connect to your vCO using vCO client and click on Workflow Tab. You would see new EMC ViPR workflow library added with so many default workflows.
   

Similarly you may install any third party plug-ins to expand the capabilities of vCenter Orchestrator. I hope this post was help. 

Installing and Configuring vCenter Orchestrator Appliance 5.5

The Orchestrator Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine optimized for running vCenter Orchestrator.

The Orchestrator Appliance package contains the following software:

1. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware, 64-bit edition

2. PostgreSQL

3. OpenLDAP

4. Orchestrator 5.5

As we know vCenter Orchestrator installs silently with the vCenter Server installation in Windows Machine, this is just an alternative for that and could be deployed separately. There is no change in features or configuration maximums. The bundled database PostgreSQL and directory services OpenLDAP is very much suitable for small to medium environments and for bigger environments external database and supported directory services could be configured.   This appliance comes with 90 days evaluation license, which starts when you power on the appliance for the first time, later just import the vCenter Server license to continue using it. Below is the step by step demonstration to install and configure vCenter Server Orchestrator Appliance:

1. Download VCO appliance and login to the vCenter server.

2. Click on file and point the VCO applinace.

3. Confirm OVF details and accept the  license agreement.

4. Give a name and select the cluster and host.
5. Select the appropriate Datastore.

6. Setup the Password (root and configuration) and configure static network setting or leave blank if using DHCP.
   

7. Confirm the settings and click on finish to start the deployment.
8. After successful deployment, appliance shows this:
   
9.  The default appliance user name is "root" and Password is "vmware".
10. Open browser and enter the vCO IP or FQDN name and select the Orchestrator Configuration.
11. Enter username "vmware" and password "configuration password" created during deploying in step# 6.
    
12. Import vCenter Server SSL Certificate, Click on Network>>SSL Trust Manager, enter vCenter Server IP or FQDN and click on import.
    
13. Similarly vCenter Server license could be imported by going to the "Licenses" tab. In my case I would continue using the evaluation license.
14. Click on Plug-ins tab and select the Plug-ins which you need and click on "Apply Changes". Any new plug-in can be installed from the same location.
    
15. Now click on Authentication tab, you may continue using LDAP or select "SSO Authentication" from the dropdown menu and enter the vCenter Server SSO details. For this SSO SSL needs to be imported, which can be done as mentioned in step # 12 by adding port number 7444, i.e., SSO_ip/FQDN:7444. After the successful configuration select "vsphere.local Administrators" for "vCO Admin - domain and group".
    

Important: If you want to use vCenter Orchestrator through the vSphere Web Client for managing vSphere inventory objects, you must configure Orchestrator to authenticate through vCenter Single Sign On.

16. Click on the "vCenter Server" tab and enter the vCenter Server details to register.

This concludes the configuration of vCenter Orchestrator Appliance and for the rest of the configuration like external Database, customer SSL certification please  refer the below guide

 http://goo.gl/gyDkhl 

Now, you can download the vCenter Orchestrator Client or connect directly by going to the IP address of Orchestrator Appliance. The default username is "vcoadmin" and password is "vcoadmin". Hope this post was helpful.

Configuring vCenter Server Orchestrator 5.5

VMware vCenter Server Orchestrator comes along with the vCenter Server Suite and gets installed silently. It's an automation tools with lots of built-in workflows. These built-in workflows could be edited to fulfill any specific requirement. If you have some Java scripting skills then you could create workflows to automate complex tasks. Additional workflows can be added by installing the plugin for products like vCloud Director, vCAC etc. vCenter Server Orchestrator gets installed along with the vCenter Server, but the services aren't  running. To configure vCenter Orchestrator, follow the below simple steps

1. Go the "Services" window on the machine where you have installed vCenter Server.
2. There are 2 services, vmware vcenter server orchestrator configuration and vmware vcenter server orchestrator server in "Manual" start-up type.
   
3. Start both services and set the start-up type to "Automatic".
4. Select vCenter Server Orchestrator Home Page from the programs list or type "IP/fqdn of vcenter:8281" in the browser. Select the Orchestrator Configuration (on port 8283).
   
5. The default username and password is "vmware", after the first login it prompts to set the new password.
   
6. Add the vCenter Server and the green dot on left indicates the respective configuration is good. Error is indicated by red dot and changes could be made under respective tabs. Similarly Database needs to updates, as I'm using bundled DB, selected the "embedded option. Multiple vCenter Server could be added.
   
   
7. Now click on "Start Orchestrator Client" from the home page. Use the vCenter Server admin credentials to login.
   
8. The default logged-in page, lets you run any workflow against any vCenter Server object.
   
9. To create a new workflow, the select the option "Design" from the top drop-down list. The below snapshot shows the vCenter Inventory and the green play button on top runs the  workflow against selected object.
   

Even only vCenter Server Orchestrator can be installed, the setup is located in the vCenter Server setup. Explore the setup and select vCenter Server >> vCO. While installing it gives option to install only Client or only Server or Server + Client. Orchestrator Server requires at least Windows Server 2008.

This type of automation and orchestration can be used by normal users who are not coming from scripting background. I hope this was informative and I would share some working workflows for demonstration in the future posts.