Azure Arc VMware: Simplifying Hybrid Cloud Management

Azure Arc VMware is a game-changer for hybrid cloud management. It allows you to manage your on-premises VMware environments alongside your Azure resources, creating a seamless and consistent experience.

This means you can use a single interface to manage your entire hybrid cloud infrastructure, reducing complexity and increasing efficiency. With Azure Arc VMware, you can also take advantage of Azure's advanced security features and scalability.

By extending Azure services to your on-premises environment, Azure Arc VMware eliminates the need for separate management tools and processes. This enables you to have a more unified view of your entire IT infrastructure.

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To deploy Azure Arc for your VMware environment, you'll need to follow these steps.

First, sign in to the Management VM and extract the contents from the compressed file from the specified location. This will give you the scripts to install the software.

Next, open the 'config_avs.json' file and populate all the variables, including subscriptionId, resourceGroup, privateCloud, and more. You can find a JSON example in the article that shows what this file should look like.

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To run the installation scripts, you'll need to bypass Execution Policy in PowerShell. This can be done by running the command Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy ByPass. Then, run the command .\run.ps1 -Operation onboard -FilePath {config-json-path}.

Alternatively, if you're using a Linux-based jump box/VM, you can run the command $ chmod +x run.sh and then $ sudo bash run.sh onboard {config-json-path}.

After running the script, you'll see that more Azure resources are created in your resource group.

To verify if your private cloud is Arc-enabled, check the Azure Arc state in the Operations section of the Azure portal. If it shows as Configured, then you're good to go!

Here's a summary of the steps:

Before diving into the world of Azure Arc VMware, it's essential to prepare your environment. To start, you'll need to ensure your vCenter Server version is 7.0 or higher, as Azure Arc-enabled VMware vSphere only works with vCenter Server version 6.7 or 7.

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You'll also need to validate if the vSphere account(s) you want to use for the deployment and ongoing operations have the appropriate permissions, specifically "Read all inventory" and "Deploy and update VMs to all the resource pools, networks, and VM templates". A resource pool with at least 4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, and 100 GB of free disk space is also required.

To streamline the onboarding process, it's recommended to register the required Microsoft.ConnectedVMwarevSphere resource and other Azure Arc required resource providers in advance. You can do this by running the following cmdlets in Azure Cloud Shell or through Windows Terminal.

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To prepare for the onboarding process, you'll need to ensure you have the right prerequisites in place. You can't create resources in a separate resource group, so make sure to use the same resource group where your Azure VMware Solution private cloud was created.

To start, you'll need to validate regional support before beginning the onboarding process. Arc for Azure VMware Solution is supported in all regions where Arc for VMware vSphere on-premises is supported.

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You'll also need a management VM with internet access that has a direct line of sight to the vCenter Server. Additionally, from the management VM, verify you have access to vCenter Server and NSX Manager portals.

To create the necessary resources, you'll need a resource group in the subscription where you have an owner or contributor role. You'll also need an unused, NSX network segment that is a static network segment used for deploying the Arc for Azure VMware Solution OVA.

Here are the specific requirements for the NSX network segment:

You'll also need to verify your vCenter Server version is 7.0 or higher. A resource pool or a cluster with a minimum capacity of 16 GB of RAM and four vCPUs is also required. Finally, you'll need a datastore with a minimum of 100 GB of free disk space available through the resource pool or cluster.

As you prepare for the transition, it's essential to understand the difference between cloud and servers. Azure Arc-enabled servers interact on the guest operating system level, with no awareness of the underlying infrastructure fabric and the virtualization platform.

One of the key differences is that Azure Arc-enabled servers don't require a host hypervisor, whereas Azure Arc-enabled VMware vSphere does. This means that Azure Arc-enabled servers can manage bare-metal machines, but Azure Arc-enabled VMware vSphere is limited to virtual machines.

Azure Arc-enabled servers and VMware vSphere have different management capabilities. Azure Arc-enabled servers only manage the guest operating system, whereas Azure Arc-enabled VMware vSphere extends management capabilities to the VM itself.

You can start with either option without disruption, and incorporate the other one later. Both options provide a consistent experience, with the same lifecycle management capabilities exposed in the Azure portal.

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You can view the status of your Azure Arc deployment from within your private cloud by navigating to Operations > Azure Arc in the left navigation.

This is where you'll see the progress of your deployment, and you can monitor its status.

To view your VMware vSphere infrastructure resources, go to Private cloud > Azure Arc vCenter Server resources.

Here, you'll find a list of your resources, including virtual machines, networks, templates, resource pools, and data-stores.

You can discover your VMware vSphere infrastructure resources and project them to Azure by navigating to Private cloud > Arc vCenter Server resources > Virtual Machines.

This is where you'll see a list of your virtual machines, and you can enable them in Azure.

You can also enable networks, templates, resource pools, and data-stores in Azure by following the same steps as virtual machines.

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You can manage your virtual infrastructure in Azure VMware Solution by enabling Azure Arc on your VMware vSphere resources.

This process creates representative objects in Azure for your VMware vSphere resources, allowing you to manage access through Role-based access control.

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To enable Azure Arc on a resource, locate the vCenter Server Inventory in the Azure portal and select the resources you want to enable.

Select Enable in Azure, then choose your Azure Subscription and Resource Group, and finally select Enable.

This action starts a deployment and creates a resource in Azure.

You can repeat this process for one or more virtual machine, network, resource pool, and VM template resources.

For virtual machines, you'll also need to enable guest management to facilitate Azure extensions.

This involves selecting Enable guest management, choosing a Connectivity Method for the Arc agent, and providing an Administrator/Root access username and password for the VM.

Here are the steps to enable Azure Arc on a VMware vSphere resource:

To enable guest management on your VMware VM, you need to follow a few simple steps. Navigate to the Azure portal and locate the vCenter Server Inventory in the left navigation.

Select Virtual Machines to view the list of VMs, then choose the VM you want to install the guest management agent on. Next, select Enable guest management and provide the administrator username and password to enable guest management.

You'll also need to select Apply to complete the process. To verify that guest management is enabled, locate the VMware vSphere VM you want to check and select its name. Then, select Configuration from the left navigation.

Finally, verify that Enable guest management is now checked.

Integration is a crucial part of Azure Arc VMware, and it's essential to understand the different methods available.

To manually integrate an Arc-enabled VM into Azure VMware Solutions, you can follow two steps: navigating to the vCenter Server inventory and Virtual Machines section within the portal, or running the az connectedvmware vm create Azure CLI command on the VM in Azure VMware Solution.

If the option to enable the VM in Azure is grayed out, you'll need to remove it from Azure first and then proceed to enable it.

Here are the two ways to refresh the integration:

With Azure Arc-enabled VMware vSphere, you can extend governance and management capabilities to your VMware vSphere infrastructure, allowing you to view and manage your VMware virtual machines, templates, networks, and storage from a single pane of glass.

Onboarding your VMware vSphere estate to Azure Arc is a crucial step in unlocking its full potential. This can be done via Arc-enabled VMware vSphere's capabilities to discover your VMware estate and install the Arc agent at scale.

To simplify onboarding, you can use Azure services such as Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Monitor, Azure Update Manager, and Azure Policy. These services provide a rich set of capabilities to secure, monitor, patch, and govern off-Azure resources via Arc.

There are several approaches to onboarding your VMware vSphere estate, including using the Azure portal, a helper script, or an out-of-band approach. Approach A involves installing agents for multiple machines from the Azure portal if they share the same administrator credentials.

Here are the steps for Approach A:

Alternatively, you can use Approach C, which involves using a helper script to automate the installation of Arc agents. This script can enable and install Arc agents on up to 200 VMs in a single ARM deployment.

For Approach D, you can install Arc agents directly on machines without relying on VMware tools or APIs. This out-of-band approach involves onboarding the machines as Arc-enabled Server resources and then linking them to vCenter.