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Setup custom login banner when logging into a vSphere with Kubernetes Cluster

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While working on my PowerCLI module for enabling workload management for a vSphere with Kubernetes (K8s) Cluster, I came to discover a pretty cool feature that is only available when using the vSphere with K8s API to enable Workload Management on a vSphere Cluster.

As part of the enablement spec, there is a new property called login_banner. Taking a closer look, this property allows you to specify a custom message that would be displayed as part of the initial login to your vSphere with K8s Cluster using the vSphere kubectl plugin. This is similar to an SSH login banner which can be used to provide internal disclaimers and/or additional instructions for your end users.

Here is an example of what the login banner can look like. Yup, vSphere with K8s supports emojis or rather the terminal you are using to login can potentially render emojis 😀


The good news is that I have already added this feature into the new New-WorkloadManagement function and you can specify a message by adding the -LoginBanner parameter.

For those interested in rendering emojis within their banner, you can take a look at the following example and you can find the complete list of emoji unicodes here.

$LoginBanner = "

" + [char]::ConvertFromUtf32(0x1F973) + "vSphere with Kubernetes Cluster enabled by virtuallyGhetto " + [char]::ConvertFromUtf32(0x1F973) + "

"

Workload Management PowerCLI Module for automating vSphere with Kubernetes

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One of the last things on my to-do list after creating my Automated vSphere 7 and vSphere with Kubernetes Lab Deployment Script which is still the quickest and most reliable way to have a fully deployed and configured environment to try out vSphere with Kubernetes using Nested ESXi, was to also automate the enablement of Workload Management for a given vSphere Cluster.

There are two new vCenter Server REST APIs to be aware of as it pertains to vSphere with Kubernetes:

  • namespaces = Manages the lifecycle and access control to a vSphere Namespace
  • namespace-management = Despite the name, this refers to lifecycle and management of a Workload Management Cluster

I also have to mention that Vikas Shitole, who works on vCenter Server, has fantastic blog series covering various parts of the new vSphere with Kubernetes API along with Python examples if you want to dive further. Since Vikas has done a great job covering Python, I figure I will demonstrate how to consume these new vSphere with Kubernetes API using PowerCLI, which many of our customers use to automate.

I have created a new WorkloadManagement.psm1 PowerCLI module which includes following functions:

  • Get-WorkloadManagement
  • New-WorkloadManagement
  • Remove-WorkloadManagement

Below are the two steps required to get started with the Workload Management PowerCLI Module.

Step 1 - Install the WorkloadManagement PowerCLI Module by running the following command:

Install-Module VMware.WorkloadManagement.psm1

Step 2 - A connection to the vCenter REST API endpoint using the Connect-CisServer cmdlet is required for enabling and disabling Workload Management Cluster

Connect-CisServer -Server pacific-vcsa-2.cpbu.corp -User *protected email* -Password VMware1!

A connection to vCenter Server using Connect-VIServer cmdlet is only required if you wish to retrieve information about an existing Workload Management Cluster

Connect-VIServer -Server pacific-vcsa-2.cpbu.corp -User *protected email* -Password VMware1!

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Guest Customization support for Instant Clone in vSphere 7

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vSphere Instant Clone was re-architected back in vSphere 6.7 and has been enhanced to be made more powerful and flexible. These enhancements not only power solutions like VMware Horizon but it also unlocks new customer use cases including things like Instant Cloning of Nested ESXi and Apple MacOS Guests.

Although the possibilities are truly endless with Instant Clone, this also means that any customization including basic guest identity such as hostname and networking must now use an alternative workflow. For application-level customization, it is expected that customers will create and manage these custom scripts but for basic networking configuration, it would be ideal to leverage the existing and well known vSphere Guest Customization Engine.

While downloading a file from MyVmware the other day, I came across an interesting set of packages called Guest Customization Engine for Instant Clone. Upon further investigation, I came to learn that these guest packages actually enable support for native vSphere Guest Customization for Instant Clone in vSphere 7 for the following Linux guest OSes:

  • CentOS 7.4 or higher
  • RHEL 6.8 or higher
  • RHEL 7.4 or higher
  • Ubuntu 16.04
  • SUSE 11SP4
  • SUSE 12SP3 or higher

In addition, there is also new set of vSphere (SOAP) APIs that you will need to interact with to use the new Instant Clone Guest Customization feature. The GuestCustomizationManager is a new vSphere 7.0 API which includes the following three API methods:

  • AbortCustomization_Task
  • CustomizeGuest_Task
  • StartGuestNetwork_Task

If you are interested in taking advantage of the new Instant Clone Guest Customization in vSphere 7, you can refer to the official VMware documentation which has step by step instructions.