Technical Note: [FortiSOAR / Cybersponse Tricks'n'Tips] OVA Deployment on ESX through CyOPs

OVA Deployment on ESX through CyOPs

Challenge

In a corporate world, to import an OVA / or to deploy a VM on ESXi server, the requestor has to first create the Ticket and then need to assign to the IT Team.
IT Team will work on the ticket and then will Response to the Ticket, create VM manually. Then once VM is launched, they will log in and extract VM details like  IP address and provide back to the requestor.

This arises a  need for an automated way to launch a  VM using OVA, based on authentication and authorization of requestor.

Solution :

Playbook

This playbook follows certain actions to import the OVA on ESXi, the playbook has SSH connector as a step to Execute the commands.

OVF tool is used to import the OVA, the VMware OVF Tool is a command-line utility that allows administrators to import and export Open Virtualization Format (OVF) packages to and from VMware products.

Once the VM get Imported to ESXi, then Executing command through SSH connector VM gets Power On and Fetches the IP of the Imported VM.

Prerequisite

1.SSH connector should be installed

2.IP address of ESXI along with credentials

3.OVA file location ( OVA file on EXSI).

4.OVF Open source Tool should be installed at your machine. link https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/details?downloadGroup=OVFTOOL430&productId=742

Configuration Inputs

Edit the VM Configuration playbook step

1.Vmware_Host :  Enter the ESXi host IP Address

2.VM_Name_On_Exsi : Enter the name of VM that is going to create on ESXi

3.Ova_File_Location : Location of OVA file present

4.Credentials_Exsi_VMware : credentials of ESXi, format vi://username:password

How to Execute the playbook

1. Import the Attached playbook (Import OVA on ESXi)

2. Enter the configuration details

3 Save the playbook

4.Triggered the playbook from Alerts module

5 Check the playbook Running logs