In VMware Aria Automation, to ensure that all VMs' computer accounts for HR associates are created in a specified Organizational Unit (OU) within Active Directory, the native integration with Active Directory can be leveraged. This integration allows the administrator to configure and automate the placement of computer accounts into specific OUs during the provisioning process. This ensures compliance with organizational policies and simplifies the management of computer accounts within the Active Directory.

References

VMware Aria Automation AD Integration

VMware Aria Automation Assembler is the service within VMware Aria Automation that allows an administrator to import released cloud templates and Amazon Web Services (AWS) CloudFormation templates for deployment. This service provides a central point for designing, creating, and managing cloud templates and blueprints, facilitating a streamlined process for deploying cloud resources across different environments.

By using Aria Automation Assembler, administrators can leverage pre-built templates, customize them as needed, and ensure that users can deploy consistent and compliant resources.

References

VMware Aria Automation Assembler Documentation

Importing Templates in VMware Aria Automation

VMware Aria Operations is the product within the VMware Aria Suite that assists administrators in understanding the monetary impact of deployments and managing costs in VMware Aria Automation. This product offers robust capabilities for capacity and cost management, performance monitoring, and optimization across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

VMware Aria Operations provides detailed insights into cloud costs through features such as cost dashboards, reporting, and capacity management. These tools help administrators track and analyze infrastructure consumption, optimize resource usage, and perform chargeback and showback for different departments or projects. This enables better financial control and ensures that cloud resources are used efficiently and cost-effectively.

References:

VMware Aria Suite Editions and Products

VMware Aria Operations: Journey To Success

In VMware Aria Automation, Kubernetes Zones allow administrators to define policy-based placement of Kubernetes clusters, namespaces, and supervisor namespaces. This feature helps ensure that Kubernetes resources are deployed in accordance with organizational policies andgovernance requirements, facilitating efficient and compliant resource management within the cloud infrastructure.

References:

VMware Aria Automation Documentation

Using capability tags in Automation Assembler

When synchronizing a new VMware Aria Automation template from a GitHub repository to a project in VMware Aria Automation, it's essential that the template includes specific metadata within its YAML code. The necessary metadata includes:

Name: This identifies the template uniquely within the system.

Version: This specifies the version of the template, allowing for version control and updates.

Without this metadata, the system cannot correctly identify and import the template, which results in the synchronization process failing to recognize the new template. By ensuring the YAML code of the template includes both the name and version, the administrator can successfully synchronize the template into the App-Dev project.

References

VMware Aria Automation Template Synchronization Documentation

Role-based access control (RBAC) is a crucial aspect of managing security and permissions within an organization. Two components that can be used for robust RBAC are:

VMware Aria Automation (A): This component allows administrators to define roles and permissions for different users and groups, ensuring that only authorized individuals can perform specific actions within the automation environment.

VMware Workspace ONE Access (D): This solution provides comprehensive identity and access management, enabling administrators to create detailed RBAC policies that control user access to applications and resources based on their role within the organization.

These components together help in managing and securing access to various resources and ensuring compliance with organizational policies.

References

VMware Aria Automation Documentation

VMware Workspace ONE Access Documentation

VMware Technical Support routinely requests diagnostic information when you submit a support request. This diagnostic information contains product-specific logs and configuration files from the host on which the product runs.

Automation Orchestrator Appliance logs are stored in the /data/vco/usr/lib/vco/app-server/logs/ directory. You export the logs of your Automation Orchestrator Appliance deployment by logging in to the appliance command line and running the vracli log-bundle command. The generated log bundle is saved on the root folder of your Automation Orchestrator Appliance.

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Aria-Automation/8.17/Installing-Configuring-Automation-Orchestrator/GUID-0BA1B08B-7A94-45AD-ADFF-3440529E5F59.html#:~:text=Automation%20Orchestrator%20Appliance%20logs%20are,%2Dserver%2Flogs%2F%20directory .

For a clustered deployment of VMware Aria Automation, several key ports are essential for ensuring proper communication between its components. The required ports are:

443 (HTTPS): This port is used for secure web traffic and is necessary for communication between various components such as the VMware Identity Manager, VMware Aria Automation Appliance, and VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle Appliance.

22 (SSH): This port is used for secure shell access, which is necessary for administrative tasks and inter-node communication within the cluster.

8008 (Health Monitor): This port is used for health monitoring purposes to ensure the components within the cluster are functioning correctly.

These ports are crucial for the proper functioning and management of the VMware Aria Automation components in a clustered setup.

References

VMware Aria Automation Port Requirements

VMware Aria Automation 8.x Reference Architecture

Installing and Configuring VMware Aria Automation

The VMware Aria Suite Easy Installer is a tool designed to streamline the installation process for several VMware products, including VMware Aria Automation. Among its functions, it provides the capability to register VMware Aria Automation with vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO). This integration is essential for enabling centralized authentication and ensuring seamless interaction between VMware Aria Automation and other VMware components within the vCenter infrastructure. The Easy Installer automates and simplifies this registration process, reducing the manual steps required and minimizing the risk of configuration errors.

References:

Installing VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle with Easy Installer for VMware Aria Automation and Workspace ONE Access

Install VMware Aria Automation by using VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle Easy Installer

When usingcloudConfigin YAML for VMware Aria Automation, it is essential to properly format and align the configuration. ThecloudConfigsection should be aligned with other parts of the machine properties, such asimage,flavor, andnetworks. This ensures that the YAML syntax is correct and that the configuration is applied appropriately during the deployment process.

Proper alignment and indentation are critical in YAML files as they define the structure and hierarchy of the data, which must be correctly interpreted by the automation tools.

References:

Kubernetes Configuration Best Practices

VMware Aria Automation Configuration Guide

VMware Aria Automation 8.10 supports IP address assignment in network profiles for specific cloud accounts, enabling automated and efficient network management across various cloud environments. Among the cloud accounts that support this functionality are:

Microsoft Azure:VMware Aria Automation integrates with Azure to enable various network and IP management features. With this integration, users can automate the assignment of IP addresses to their resources within their Azure environment, leveraging the comprehensive network management capabilities provided by Azure.

Amazon Web Services (AWS):Similarly, AWS is another major cloud provider supported by VMware Aria Automation for IP address management. This allows users to manage their AWS resources' networking configurations, including the automatic assignment of IP addresses within their defined network profiles.

The inclusion of these two cloud platforms highlights VMware Aria Automation's capability to manage multi-cloud environments effectively, ensuring that network configurations are handled consistently across different cloud infrastructures.

References:

VMware Aria Automation Documentation​ (VMware Docs)​.

VMware Aria Automation November (8.10.2) Launch Update​ (VMware Blogs)​.

For the VMware Aria Automation onboarding plan to run successfully, two critical pre-requisites must be met:

Add the cloud account and create cloud zones for compute resources where machines to be onboarded are located:This ensures that the necessary cloud infrastructure is available and properly configured for onboarding. Cloud zones represent specific regions or sets of resources within the cloud provider that will host the onboarded machines.

Create a project with at least one user and give the project access to the cloud zones:Projects in VMware Aria Automation define boundaries for resource usage, permissions, and policies. By assigning at least one user to the project and ensuring the project has access to the relevant cloud zones, the onboarding process can allocate and manage resources as needed within the defined scope.

These steps ensure that the infrastructure and permissions are correctly set up to support the onboarding of virtual machines, providing a smooth and controlled process for integrating existing resources into VMware Aria Automation.

References:

VMware Aria Automation Documentation

VMware Aria Suite Overview

For a highly available VMware Aria Automation solution, the recommended deployment architecture is Clustered. This architecture involves multiple nodes working together to ensure high availability and redundancy, minimizing downtime and ensuring continuous operation of the automation services.

The purpose of using a custom form in VMware Aria Automation is to customize the input parameters and enhance a request form. This allows administrators to tailor the user interface andinput fields according to specific requirements, improving the user experience and ensuring that all necessary information is collected efficiently during the request process.