Use the CLI installer to silent install, upgrade or migrate a vCenter Server. In this example we use the CLI installer for installing a new VCSA using a Windows Operating system. The CLI installer use a JSON file for the deployment information of the VCSA install.
The CLI installer for Windows requires a Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable version 14.0. This can be checked with the following command:
\vcsa-cli-installer\win32\check_windows_vc_redist.bat
The first step is to mount the VCSA 6.7 ISO and navigate to:
\vcsa-cli-installer\win32\vcsa-deploy.exe
For more information about the syntax and parameters help can used:
vcsa-deploy.exe install --help
vcsa-deploy install --template-help
JSON Templates can be found:
\vcsa-cli-installer\templates\install
The following templates are available:
embedded_vCSA_on_*.json: Platform Services Controller (PSC) and vCSA
together on one system
PSC_on_*.json: Only a PSC
vCSA_on_*.json: Only a vCSA
*_on_ESXi.json: Install onto the ESXi host specified in the JSON
file
*_on_VC.json: Install onto a host managed by the vCenter
instance specified in the JSON file
Use one of these JSON templates as starting point or use the embedded_vcsa_on_esxi.json example file. I created this example for an embedded VCSA deployment directly on my ESXi host in my lab environment.
Customize the JSON file in a text editor and save the file to a folder on you're desktop. Refer the the JSON when deploying the new VCSA.
Note: Make sure the FQDN for the vCSA is resolvable by a DNS server and check if the reverse lookup works.
Perform a template verification without installing:
vcsa-deploy install --accept-eula --verify-template-only <JSON file path>
Deploy an embedded VCSA on a ESXi host using a JSON template:
vcsa-deploy.exe install --accept-eula --acknowledge-ceip --terse --no-ssl-certificate-verification <JSON file path>
Options:
--accept-eula Accept the End-user license agreement
--acknowledge-ceip Confirm the VMware Customer Experience Program
--terse Only warning and error information will be displayed
--no-ssl-certificate-verification Skip SSL certificate verification for all server connections
Information about deployment sizes:
vcsa-deploy.exe --supported-deployment-sizes
| Options | vCPUs | Memory(GB) | Storage(GB) | Hosts(up to) | VMs(up to) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tiny | 2 | 10 | 300 | 10 | 100 |
| tiny-lstorage | 2 | 10 | 825 | 10 | 100 |
| tiny-xlstorage | 2 | 10 | 1700 | 10 | 100 |
| small | 4 | 16 | 340 | 100 | 1000 |
| small-lstorage | 4 | 16 | 870 | 100 | 1000 |
| small-xlstorage | 4 | 16 | 1750 | 100 | 1000 |
| medium | 8 | 24 | 525 | 400 | 4000 |
| medium-lstorage | 8 | 24 | 1025 | 400 | 4000 |
| medium-xlstorage | 8 | 24 | 1905 | 400 | 4000 |
| large | 16 | 32 | 740 | 1000 | 10000 |
| large-lstorage | 16 | 32 | 1090 | 1000 | 10000 |
| large-xlstorage | 16 | 32 | 1970 | 1000 | 10000 |
| xlarge | 24 | 48 | 1180 | 2000 | 35000 |
| xlarge-lstorage | 24 | 48 | 1230 | 2000 | 35000 |
| xlarge-xlstorage | 24 | 48 | 2110 | 2000 | 35000 |
| management-tiny | 2 | 10 | 300 | 10 | 100 |
| management-tiny-lstorage | 2 | 10 | 825 | 10 | 100 |
| management-tiny-xlstorage | 2 | 10 | 1700 | 10 | 100 |
| management-small | 4 | 16 | 340 | 100 | 1000 |
| management-small-lstorage | 4 | 16 | 870 | 100 | 1000 |
| management-small-xlstorage | 4 | 16 | 1750 | 100 | 1000 |
| management-medium | 8 | 24 | 525 | 400 | 4000 |
| management-medium-lstorage | 8 | 24 | 1025 | 400 | 4000 |
| management-medium-xlstorage | 8 | 24 | 1905 | 400 | 4000 |
| management-large | 16 | 32 | 740 | 1000 | 10000 |
| management-large-lstorage | 16 | 32 | 1090 | 1000 | 10000 |
| management-large-xlstorage | 16 | 32 | 1970 | 1000 | 10000 |
| management-xlarge | 24 | 48 | 1180 | 2000 | 35000 |
| management-xlarge-lstorage | 24 | 48 | 1230 | 2000 | 35000 |
| management-xlarge-xlstorage | 24 | 48 | 2110 | 2000 | 35000 |
| infrastructure | 2 | 4 | 60 | None | None |