vCenter Deployment Mode Impact on NSX - SSO Integration

Integrating the single sign on (SSO) service with NSX improves the security of user authentication for vCenter users and enables NSX to authenticate users from other identity services such as AD, NIS, and LDAP.

With SSO, NSX supports authentication using authenticated Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) tokens from a trusted source via REST API calls. NSX Manager can also acquire authentication SAML tokens for use with other VMware solutions.

Prerequisites

■	SSO service must be installed on the vCenter Server.
■	NTP server must be specified so that the SSO server time and NSX Manager time is in sync.

Procedure

1	Log in to the NSX Manager virtual appliance.
2	Under Appliance Management, click Manage Settings.
3	Click NSX Management Service.
4	Click Edit next to Lookup Service.
5	Type the name or IP address of the host that has the lookup service.
6	Change the port number if required. The default port is 7444. The Lookup Service URL is displayed based on the specified host and port.
7	Type the vCenter administrator user name and password (for example, administrator@vsphere.local). This enables NSX Manager to register itself with the Security Token Service server.
8	Click OK. Confirm that the Lookup Service status is Connected.

What is the Impact of NSX-SSO Integration when vCenter is Using Embedded PSC? SSO Users or SSO Integrated Domain Users cannot access NSX Manager through REST API Calls or vSphere Web Client when vCenter is not available as PSC too will not be available in this case.   What is the Impact of NSX-SSO Integration when vCenter is Using External PSC? SSO Users or SSO Integrated Domain Users can still access NSX Manager through REST API Calls when vCenter is not available but PSC is available and they cannot access it through vSphere Web Client as this client resides in vCenter Server too.

Failed to Complete Sync. Please Check Safeguards - vRealize Automation 7.3 Error

Today when i was trying to sync active directory accounts in vRA, I was getting the following error:
Failed to Complete Sync. Please Check Safeguards

Solution:-
1. Open Directory that you have added or where are you facing error
2. Click on Sync Settings

3.  Click on Sync Now > Select the Checkbox "Ignore Safeguards" > Click on Sync Directory

How to change the Safeguard Settings
1. Open Directory that you have added or where are you facing error
2. Click on Sync Settings

 3. Click on the Safeguard Tab. Configure the Settings
You can set these safeguards, that will prevent the removing and adding of too many users and groups/users during the sync operation, if needed.

Creating VM fails with error: "No VASA Provider for schema namespace (VSAN) found" (52286)

Symptoms

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• Unable to create new virtual machine
• In the vSphere Web client, you will not see any vSAN storage provider.
• You will see an error similar to:

A general system error occurred: PBM error occurred during PreCreateCheckCallback: pbm.fault;

No VASA Provider for schema namespace (VSAN) found

Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

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Cause

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This issue occurs because vCenter Server can not detect any vSAN storage provider.

There is no way to detect vSAN storage provider if no hosts are available when vCenter Server starts.

Note: vSAN storage provider cannot be recognized automtically even after host start working properly.

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Resolution

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This is a known issue affecting vCenter Server.

Currently there is no resolution.

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Workaround

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To workaround this issue, you have following options.

• Initiate synchronizing vSAN storage provider by clicking icon for syncronization in the page:

vCenter Server > Configure > Storage Providers

• Make sure at least one host is working when starting vCenter Server.

In My Enviornment I have resolved it by Rebooting vCenter Server

Disable All Default Dashboards for vROPS Non-Admins Users

One of my customer query was to "Disable All Default Dashboards for vROPS Non-Admins Users (like Application Admins) and providing them access of dashboards those are related to their applications. To know how can you provide the same solution in your environment too, check the video given below:

To Check More Videos:-
www.youtube.com/c/virtualization24x7

Supported Operating Systems for the End Point Operations Management Agent in vROPS 6.6 and vROPS 6.7

Operating System	Processor Architecture	JVM
RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.x, 6.x, 7.x	x86_64, x86_32	Oracle Java SE8
CentOS 5.x, 6.x, 7.x	x86_64, x86_32	Oracle Java SE8
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES) 11.x, 12.x	x86_64	Oracle Java SE8
Windows 2008 Server, 2008 Server R2	x86_64, x86_32	Oracle Java SE8
Windows 2012 Server, 2012 Server R2	x86_64	Oracle Java SE8
Windows Server 2016	x86_64	Oracle Java SE8
Solaris 10, 11	x86_64, SPARC	Oracle Java SE7
AIX 6.1, 7.1	Power PC	IBM Java SE7
VMware Photon Linux 1. 0	x86_64	Open JDK 1.8.0_72-BLFS
Oracle Linux versions 5, 6, 7 Refer this Link for Latest Info	x86_64, x86_32	Open JDK Runtime Environment 1.7

Disable vCenter Users Login in vROPS 6.6

VC Shared Option in vROPS 6.6 Dashboard

To share a dashboard drag the dashboard to one of the groups on the left, such as the Everyone group to share it with everyone.  That should change the shared icon. 
The VC Shared checkbox will share the dashboard with users logging in through vCenter as an authentication source in vrops. 
If you're using another authentication source like Active Directory you can import users and assign them to custom groups in vROps.  vCenter users aren't imported like other authentication sources, so if you've shared a dashboard with a specific group and also want vCenter users to see it you can check that box.

Functionality Updates for the vSphere Client (HTML 5 Based) - As of May 2018

Check this Article:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.5/rn/vsphere-client-65-html5-functionality-support.html

Forcefully Promoting Master Replica Node as Master Node in VMware vRealize Operations Manager cluster

When Master Node is failed, automatically master replica node is promoted as master node. If old master is online again the it will become master replica node. If you want to forcefully promote Master Replica as an new Master, Then follow the steps given below:

1. Log in to the Admin UI on the Master Replica node using the URL:

    https://<IP_or_FQDN>/admin

2. Select the current Master node and click Take Node Offline/Online.
Enter a reason in the Take Node Offline/Online dialogue box and then click OK.

Note: Wait for a few minutes for the change to take effect. The Cluster Role value for the Master Replica node changes to Master. The previous Master node may still be listed as having the Master role. You may see two Master nodes listed.

How to Generate vRA7.x Support Bundle?

You can create a vRealize Automation support bundle using the vRealize Automation appliance management interface. Support bundles gather logs, and help you or VMware technical support to troubleshoot vRealize Automation problems.

Procedure
1. Open a Web browser to the vRealize Automation appliance management interface URL.
https://vrealize-automation-appliance-FQDN:5480

2. Log in as root, and click vRA Settings > Cluster.
3. Click Create Support Bundle.
4. Click Download and save the support bundle file on your system.

Results
Support bundles include information from the vRealize Automation appliance and IaaS Windows servers

Actions Available for vROPS 6.6 Alerts

Video Related to Topic:

Geo-Location Dashboard in vROPS 6.6

What's New in vSAN 6.7