How to Deploy VMware vRealize Suite in one day using vRLCM Part (4) Deploy VRA

vRealize Automation can be deployed in a single node or in a three-nodes cluster, the best thing about vRLCM is depending on your requirements you can deploy either option.

Preparing prerequisites of deployment

First, we create some prerequisites like Binaries, DNS, certificate, and user. luckily the binaries already copied inside vRLCM while the easy install wizard installation process

1- Check binaries in vRLCM

*VIDM and VRA ova already in Lifecycle Operation > settings > Binary Mapping*

2- Create DNS record

3- Create CSR and import vRA certificate

Next, we create vIDM certificate to use a certificate signed by your CA. to do so we need to shift to Locker service

*Open vRLCM Locker > certificates > generate CSR*

*Add FQDN in CN and the rest of the certificate information*

After completing CSR request a certificate file (*.pem) will be created, the file contains both CSR request and private key.

Next we need to open CA web enrollment interface to request a public certificate using CSR

Enter the CSR from .pem file generated by vRLCM
Use Web Server template

*Download certificate in base 64 encoded along with certificate chain*

*Open vRLCM Locker > certificates > Import*

Now we go back to vRLCM > Locker to import the certificate as follows

Name: name in certificate store
Private key: generated while creating CSR
Certificate Chain: public certificate followed by CA chain ( all intimidate and root CA)

4- create a password to be used for vRA root and admin user

Create vIDM environment

With all prerequisites in hand we can start deploying single node VRA

Lifecycle Operation > Create Environment
Select product type, version, and deployment type (single node or three-node cluster)

*Select license from linked My VMware account or add it manually*

*Select the vCenter, cluster, and destination datastore vRA appliance*

*VM name, FQDN, and IP address for each appliance for me I had only one*

Before clicking submit you can export the configuration as json file (for future reference or if creation failed and you need to run the wizard again without filling all parameters for the sound time)

*Installation failed after some time with a network error., found an old VMware community post with the same error.*

This error was related to an old PTR record I had in DNS. so deleted that record and retry the operation.

*Created new environment using JSON file extracted from the first time*

The second time around got a new error that failed to connect after first boot, tried SSH with the password I have set in VRA environment creation but access was denied.

Stumbled into this KB https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/83767 about a known issue of default password, this made a lot of sense as I’ve deployed this at customer exactly 1 year ago where 8.2 was the latest and didn’t have any problem or error at that time.

The issue as explained in KB, root user default password get expired after 1 year from release day, so now LCM can not login with the default password and update the password.

so the workaround was to open VM console and manually login > update password with the same in VRA environment parameter