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VPN Configuration to VMware Cloud on AWS using pfSense

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Provisioning a new SDDC on VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC) is not an operation that I perform on a regular basis. Usually, one of the first tasks after a new SDDC deployment is setting up a VPN connection between your on-premises datacenter and your VMC environment. Given this is not a frequent activity, I always forget the specific configurations required for my particular VPN solution and figure I would document this for myself in the future as well as anyone else who might also have a simliar setup.

Since the VMC Gateways are just NSX-v Edges, any VPN solution that supports the NSX-v configurations will also work with VMC. In my environment, I am using pfSense which is a popular and free security Virtual Appliance that many folks run in their VMware home lab. Before getting started, it is also important to note that there are two gateway endpoints that you can setup separate VPN connections to. The first is the Management Gateway which provides access to the management infrastructure such vCenter Server, NSX and ESXi hosts and the second is the Compute Gateway which provide access to the VM workloads running within VMC. Since the instructions are exactly the same for setting up the VPN for either gateways, I am just going over the Management Gateway configuration and where applicable, I will note the minor differences.

Step 1 - Login to the VMC Portal (vmc.vmware.com) and select one of your deployed SDDCs. Click on the Network tab and you should be taken to a page like the one shown in the screenshot below. Here is where you will be applying your VPN configuration from the VMC side. Start off by making a note of the public IP Address for the Management Gateway (highlighted in yellow), this will needed when configuring the VPN configuration on the on-prem side. It is probably a good idea to also note down the Compute Gateway IP Address if you plan on configuring that as well.


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VMworld Hackathon Hardware/Software BOM

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I know many of you have been asking about the hardware setup that we had used in this years VMworld Hackathon. I finally got a chance to document the details and you can find the complete hardware and software BOM below. For VMworld US, we had two different HW configurations, one for the primary Hackathon which was also re-used for VMworld Europe but we also had another configuration for the Hackathon Training sessions which was new this year. For VMworld Europe, we re-used the primary Hackathon hardware, but we also had the opportunity to take advantage of the new VMware Cloud on AWS offering and built a similiar configuration that teams could also remotely connect to as well. The only difference between the on-premises hardware and VMWonAWS, is the latter required users to RDP to a Windows jump host. Both options were provided and teams could select either environment to use.

Note: Internally, CDW is one of our vendors for purchasing hardware/software and that is why there are links directly to their site. However, you may find better pricing by looking online, especially Amazon which majority of the components are cheaper except for the server which you can get an exclusive vGhetto Discount at MITXPC. I have added links to both CDW/Amazon where applicable and I recommend doing research to find the best pricing if you are on a budget.

Here is a picture of the setup at VMworld US:


Here is a picture of the setup at VMworld EU:

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