VMware vCenter

VMware vCenter Server is an on-premises centralized management platform for VMware vSphere environments. It streamlines virtual infrastructure management, automates provisioning, and enhances monitoring. With robust access control, scalability, and integration capabilities, vCenter simplifies operations, improves resource utilization, and ensures high availability for enterprise-grade virtualization.

Integration Method: Data Collector (API Ingest)

Tables: Device Inventory Info (5001)

This integration supports the following events.

This integration supports the following versions.

Prerequisites

• The user should have access to login into the VMware vCenter environment.

• The user should have a compatible version of the system in which we can configure the data collector.

• The user should have access to the DataBee console.

Configuration Overview

1. Configure the Data Collector on DataBee console.

2. Install the Data Collector VM on the network.

3. Add the VMware vCenter data feed in the DataBee console with the below parameters.

   DataBee Parameter	VMware vCenter Parameter
   Username	Username
   Password	Password
   Base URL	https://<host_ip> (IP of the vSphere client)

Data Collector Setup

To receive logs from VMware vCenter, a Data Collector must be installed and configured. The data collector will receive logs from VMware vCenter and send it to DataBee encrypted. For more information refer to the DataBee article on the data collector.

This section describes the steps needed for getting parameters for the data collector installation.

1. Login to the DataBee UI, click on settings icon at the top right corner of the UI. From the dropdown menu, select System.
    

2. From the left sidebar, select Data Collectors. The page will display all the data collectors configured until now. 

3. To create a new data collector, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Add Data Collector.
    

4. Fill in the required fields to add data collector:

   • Collector Name: enter the name of your Data Collector.

   • OS: select Linux option.
     Click Next to proceed to the next step.
      

5. Copy the following details using Copy to Clipboard for later use, then click on Close.

   • Install Script

   • Tenant ID

   • Receiver URL

   • Collector ID

   • API Key (Click Show API Key to view it)
      

VMware vCenter Configuration

1. Logon to VMware vCenter.

2. Navigate to Administration section.
    

3. Navigate to Single Sign On > Users and Groups.
    

4. Select vsphere.local as a ‘Domain’ value.
    

5. Enter the user information and click on the ADD button.
    

Assign Role to User

1. Navigate to Permissions tab and click on add icon.
    

2. Search for the user created previously.
    

3. Assign Read-only role to the user and click on OK.
    

Data Collector Installation

This section walks through the steps needed to install the data collector on a Linux machine that can communicate with vCenter.

1. On the Linux machine, open a terminal as an Administrator .

2. Run the install script command.
    

3. Enter the collector configuration details copied in the previous steps.
    

4. On successful installation, you will see the following message on the terminal: Installation completed successfully.
    

DataBee Configuration

1. Login to the DataBee UI, navigate to Data > Data Feeds and click the Add New Data Feed button.
    

2. Search for the VMware vCenter and click it as shown below.

    

3. Click on the Data Collector option for the collection method.
    

4. Click on the API Ingest option for the polling mechanism.
    

5. Enter feed contact information, select the collector which we’ve created previously and click Next.
    

6. In the configuration page, confirm the following:

   • Base URL: paste the Base URL which would be the Ip address of vSphere client.

   • Request Count: set to 8.

   • Interval: set to 60 seconds.

   • Event Types: preselected for all the event types that integration pulls.

    

7. In the configure authentication page, confirm the following:

   • Authorization Method: TokenURLAuth

   • Token URL: replace the vSphere client Ip Address with the <instance>.

   • Username: paste the username.

   • Password: paste the password.

   • Enable TLS: select the Enable TLS option.

8. Root CAS File Path: enter the path where the VMware certificate is located; it should be present on the machine where the data collector is installed. The certificate can be obtained during VMware setup.
   

   Note:

   Only .crt and .pem certificate files are supported.

   
   

9. Click Submit.

   
   

Troubleshooting Tips

• Ensure that the server is reachable by opening the terminal on the receiver machine and running the ping <server_ip> command.
   

• If you encounter any issues regarding log forwarding, refer to the DataBee troubleshooting document for detailed guidance.