VM Setup

Add WinServer 2019 iso to the isos folder on your datastore. It will be located on the Cyber Share X Drive.

Create a VM from the new iso

• 8GB RAM

• 2 CPUs

• 80GB storage (thin)

Don't forget to add the iso as disk drive

Run the installation normally

make sure to select standard, desktop experience

Download updates

Installing SSH

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gmcyber/480share/master/ssh-prep.ps1

Unblock-File .\windows-prep.ps1

.\windows-prep.ps1

Install VMWare Tools

Once you do this, turn the system off and change the network adapter to 350-internal, and start back up

Take a new snapshot called "Base"

IP settings:

Setting hostname:

Installing Active Directory and setting up forest:

New Named Domain Admin

DNS

Setting up records

Deliverable 1: Testing from mgmt1

Success!

VCenter Installation

Change mgmt1's DNS to 10.0.17.4 (DC1)

Add search domain too.

And add a DN

Mount the VSCA ISO as MGMT1's optical drive

Navigate to and run the installer

IMPORTANT: Enable Thin Disk Mode

IP Settings:

Let it load. will take some time.

Once again, it will take some loading.

After logging in, create new data center

Now add a host to the datacenter

Wait for it to turn on and the list will populate

Licensing

SSO Integration

We are going to join the AD Domain

Note: I had a LOT of difficulty with this stage. If you get errors...

-Make sure the timing is synced up on DC, EXSI, and vcenter

-Add a DNS Record to vcenter

Now reboot vcenter

It will be inaccessible for a bit

Add Domain Admins from the AD Domain as Administrators

You should now be able to log in as named domain admin.

Deliverables

Deliverable 1: SSH session from mgmt1 to yourname-adm@[email protected]. With your session show the logged in user, their primary ad groups, and the A records for your primary zone

Deliverable 2: Provide Screenshots that show:

Your current vCenter version

Valid vCenter license (have not been provided licenses yet.)

Valid vsphere license

Deliverable 3: Provide a screenshot showing your named domain administrator login in the upper right of the vCenter UI.

Reflection

This lab was a real challenge. A misconfiguration of my DNS kept causing me issues with vcenter and I eventually just had to rewrite all of my DNS record, and wipe and reinstall vcenter. DNS and Active Directory are already things I tend to have trouble with, but it was ultimately a learning experience. I also had a really hard time joining vcenter to the AD Domain. Getting their clocks to sync up was a real challenge. Even after getting the clocks fully sync'ed, for some reason it still would not join. The only way I could solve it in the end was by adding a DNS suffix to vcenter remotely. But in the end, I got everything working properly which is what matters.