VMware Cloud Foundation

VMware Validated Solutions – April 2023 Update

Welcome to the April 2023 update for VMware Validate Solutions. Highlights for this update include:

Cloud-Based Intelligent Logging for VMware Cloud Foundation

A minor design decision updated in the Cloud-Based Intelligent Logging for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution:

Design Decisions on Cloud Proxy Appliance

  • CBL-CDP-CFG-001 – Deploy the Cloud Proxy appliance in the default management vSphere cluster. – Added a new design implication: The Cloud Proxy appliance must not be shared with other Cloud Services, such as vRealize Automation Cloud.

PowerShell Module for VMware Cloud Foundation Password Management

Following all the positive feedback from January’s update where we introduced the Password Policy Configuration covering password expiration, password complexity and account lockout policies across the ESXi, vCenter Server, NSX, SDDC Manager and Workspace ONE Access components we are delighted to announce the introduction of a dedicated open-source PowerShell module VMware.CloudFoundation.PasswordManagement.

NOTE: As part of this work, we have removed the original cmdlets from PowerValidatedSolutions.

If you plan to use VMware.CloudFoundation.PasswordManagement, make sure that you remove all previous versions of PowerValidatedSolutions and install the latest before installing and using this new module to avoid cmdlet name conflicts.

PowerShell Module for VMware Cloud Foundation APIs (PowerVCF)

It’s been almost a year since the last release, but this month sees an update to PowerVCF, a complete list of changes can be found in the CHANGELOG.md within the open-source repository, but here’s a quick summary of updates:

  • Added GitHub Pages Documentation for PowerVCF.
  • Added Get-VCFFipsMode cmdlet to return the status for FIPS mode.
  • Added Get-VCFRelease cmdlet to retrieve details for releases.
  • Added Get-VCFCredentialExpiry cmdlet to retrieve the password expiry details for credentials.
  • Added Get-VCFLicenseMode cmdlet to retrieve the current license mode of the system & each workload domain.
  • Added New-VCFPersonality cmdlet to add a new vSphere Lifecycle Manager personality/image in the SDDC Manager inventory from an existing vLCM image-based cluster.

General Availability of PowerValidatedSolutions v2.2.0

Release of PowerValidatedSolutions v2.2.0, which is a PowerShell module that we have developed to not only accelerate the implementation of Validated Solutions but ensure consistency and robustness. Here’s a list of what’s changed (this and previous updates can be tracked by reading the CHANGELOG.md file stored in the Git Hub repository):

  • Moved all Password Policy Configuration Functions to new VMware.CloudFoundation.PasswordManagement module.
  • Fixed New-vRLIDeployment cmdlet where it failed to find the license alias in some scenarios.
  • Enhanced Test-VCFConnection cmdlet to use Test-NetConnection with ports 443 (HTTPS) and 22 (SSH) instead of ICMP.
  • Enhanced Get-vCenterServerDetail cmdlet with examples and utilizing Test-VCFConnection and Test-VCFAuthentication.
  • Enhanced Get-NsxtServerDetail cmdlet with examples and utilizing Test-VCFConnection and Test-VCFAuthentication.
  • Enhanced Get-vRSLCMServerDetail cmdlet with a synopsis and examples.
  • Enhanced Get-WSAServerDetail cmdlet with a synopsis and examples.
  • Enhanced Get-vRAServerDetail cmdlet with a synopsis and examples.
  • Enhanced Get-vROPsServerDetail cmdlet with a synopsis and examples.
  • Enhanced Get-vRLIServerDetail cmdlet with a synopsis and examples.
  • Added Test-PowerValidatedSolutionsPrereq cmdlet to perform a check for the installation of prerequisite PowerShell modules.
  • Added Show-PowerValidatedSolutionsOutput cmdlet to handle output formatting to the console when PowerVCF is not installed.

Deprecation

  • Removed Get-EsxiPasswordPolicy
  • Removed Set-EsxiPasswordExpirationPeriod
  • Removed Set-EsxiPasswordPolicy
  • Removed Get-VCServerPasswordPolicy
  • Removed Get-SsoPasswordPolicies
  • Removed Get-NsxtManagerAuthenticationPolicy
  • Removed Set-NsxtManagerAuthenticationPolicy
  • Removed Get-NsxtEdgeNodeAuthenticationPolicy
  • Removed Set-NsxtEdgeNodeAuthenticationPolicy
  • Removed Confirm-PSModule