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The VMware Cloud Builder is a virtual appliance with a UI that guides the user through the VCF installation using the vcf-ems-deployment-parameter.xls spreadsheet which VMware terms the Planning and Preparation Workbook. The appliance is best deployed on an existing ESXi host or vCenter with access to the networking of the VCF environment. Once deployed, log in as the admin user. The screen in Figure 11 appears, providing the user with two options for a VCF installation: standard or VxRail. As this setup includes independent servers, leave the default radio button selected.
Note: While the VMware Cloud Builder is the preferred method for a VCF installation, there is a VCF CLI which can be used. The major difference between the UI and CLI is the ability to highly customize a CLI installation. Environments with unique networking requirements, for example, may require the use of the CLI.
In the next page, shown in Figure 12, VMware lists all the prerequisites for a VCF installation. Although this information is available in the standard documentation, it is scattered there and not presented in as clear a manner as here. Dell recommends using the available DOWNLOAD or PRINT options in the upper right corner to save a copy of this and review it prior to checking the box and proceeding. The Cloud Builder will not validate every prerequisite prior to installing, so failure to complete them can result in installation failure. Although the installer can be retried at the point of failure after fixing the issue, there is no guarantee that it will succeed. Manually cleaning up a failed install is a time-consuming, and error-prone task so it should be avoided.
Once the prerequisites are user-validated, there are three steps the UI walks the user through:
These three steps are shown completed in Figure 13.
If the user selects NEXT, VMware will then attempt to validate the workbook against the environment as shown in Figure 14. As previously mentioned, it will not validate all prerequisites, though it endeavors to cover most. When failures occur, they must be rectified and the validation retried. For example, the vSAN configuration is a common problem area and may need a manual resolution as explained in the section titled vSAN. Note that VMware will not prevent installation for warnings. In a lab setup, warnings may be acceptable, but should not be present for a production installation.
With validation complete, a final warning is given as in Figure 15. Before proceeding, ensure that all prerequisites are complete in addition to the validation. Although the dialog box indicates that only SDDC is being installed, it does include all the VCF components.
The deployment time varies according to the environment and is measured in hours. Any errors during installation must be resolved, and the deployment retried. There is no cleanup or reset.
The UI will time out during deployment, but logging back in will always return the user to the current status. A completed installation is seen in Figure 16. Selecting FINISH brings up the SDDC Deployment Complete dialog box where SDDC Manager can be launched.
The SDDC Manager Dashboard appears as in Figure 17. From here, the workload domain can be deployed. This will be covered in the subsequent sections.