In part 1 of this short series, I set the scene for a blueprint VM requiring a DNS record to be created in AWS Route53. I documented the vRO resource and configuration elements that would be needed, along with a handful of actions. In the final part, we tackle the main workflow plus Continue reading
VMware
Modifying AWS Route53 Records in vRealize Automation – Part 1
I recently built a vRealize Automation blueprint in the lab that provisions a vSphere machine into the DMZ which could be accessed externally. For users to be able to connect to this machine it will need a DNS record to be created in my external DNS domain, which is hosted with Amazon Web Services. Continue reading
Custom Naming in vRealize Automation 7.x
When adding extensibility to your vRealize Automation platform, it’s important to get the basics right first. All too often it’s tempting to rush off and build complex blueprints whilst forgetting about the building blocks of good infrastructure, like naming and IPAM. Here I’m going to demonstrate how I do custom naming for workloads in my environment. Continue reading
Using GitLab CI/CD Pipelines to Automate your HashiCorp Packer Builds
A long time ago I decided I was done with manual builds, and that my desktop images had to be automated. I had a lot of success with that solution, and wrote about it here.
Recently I made the decision to automate my server builds too, also using HashiCorp Packer. Whilst I used VMware Code Stream to Continue reading
Setting the vRA Software Agent to run as a different user
I’m currently working on a lab project which enables cloud consumers to request a full VMware Horizon environment straight from my vRealize Automation catalog. This will provision Connection Servers, a Composer server, UAGs – all load-balanced using VMware NSX. Exciting, but not without its challenges. The first being… Horizon wouldn’t install. Continue reading
Documenting vRealize Orchestrator Code with JSDoc and Confluence
Recently I’ve been working on improving HobbitCloud’s DevOps practices, specifically around committing code to version control and documenting it. Once a developer checks code in, this should compile, and if successful be deployed to the test environment. Once here it will undergo automated testing before progressing to staging for unit and integration tests. Continue reading
Securing VMware Horizon UAGs with Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates
Securing your Horizon Universal Access Gateway (UAG) with a genuine SSL certificate from a recognised vendor is an important process. It enables your users to be sure they’re connecting to the correct VDI infrastructure, and that the communications between their endpoint and remote desktop are secure. Continue reading
How not to lock yourself out of your Ubuntu 18.04 VDI desktop
Those that follow my adventures with EUC will probably be aware that I’m a huge fan of Linux on the VDI desktop. The cost benefits are self-evident for task and knowledge-based workers; and for power users like developers, the platform can provide an easier route to a lot of their applications. Continue reading
Automating VDI Template Creation with VMware Code Stream and HashiCorp Packer – Part 3: Automating the Solution
In part 2 we automated the installation of our VMware Horizon agents, including AppVolumes and Dynamic Environment Manager. We also patched our template and applied optimization settings using the VMware OSOT fling. In this final part, we automate the entire solution from end-to-end using VMware CI/CD tool, Code Stream. In the end, with one-click, we will generate our template ready for use. Continue reading
Automating VDI Template Creation with VMware Code Stream and HashiCorp Packer – Part 2: Installing the VDI Agents
In part 1 of this series, we built a Windows 10 desktop using HashiCorp Packer. Now we will script the installation of the VDI agents needed for our VMware Horizon environment. After this, we will patch the box with the latest updates, before applying the VMware OS Optimization Tool to produce a lean and clean image. In the last part, we will automate the solution using VMware Code Stream.
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