VCF ADMIN (Chap3 & 4)

Using a Microsoft CA ensures secure communication between SDDC components by providing signed certificates for enhanced security and operational efficiency. This process involves generating a certificate signing request (CSR) through SDDC Manager, requesting a signed certificate from the CA, and then installing the signed certificates on SDDC components.

The Certificate Authority (CA) server needs the "Certificate Authority" and "Certificate Authority Web Enrollment" roles to enable SDDC Manager to generate certificates and request signed certificates from the CA.

Basic authentication allows SDDC Manager to securely access the Microsoft Certificate Authority and manage signed certificates, ensuring seamless integration and certificate management.

A certificate template defines the attributes and specifications for signing certificates for VMware Cloud Foundation components, ensuring consistency and compliance with security requirements.

After creating the certificate template, you need to add it to the certificate templates of the Microsoft Certificate Authority, enabling the CA to use it for signing certificates for VMware Cloud Foundation components.

A restricted Active Directory user account with limited privileges, used to manage certificates in SDDC Manager.

Roles that are necessary for generating certificates, specifically the 'Certification Authority' and 'Certification Authority Web Enrollment' roles.

This role allows SDDC Manager to communicate with the Certificate Authority and request certificates.

A method enabling SDDC Manager to authenticate and access the Certificate Authority for certificate management.

Both the Microsoft Certificate Authority and IIS must be installed on the same server to configure basic authentication.

vCenter Server is a central management platform for VMware vSphere environments. It allows you to manage and monitor virtual machines, hosts, and other components from a single console.

NSX Manager is a software component that provides network virtualization and security services for VMware environments. It allows you to create and manage virtual networks, security policies, and other network-related functions.

VMware Avi Load Balancer (formerly known as NSX Advanced Load Balancer) is a software-defined load balancer that provides high-availability and performance for applications in VMware environments.

SDDC Manager is a tool for managing and orchestrating VMware Cloud Foundation deployments. It provides a unified interface for managing all the components of a software-defined datacenter (SDDC).

VMware Cloud Foundation does not directly manage certificates for ESXi hosts. By default, ESXi hosts use VMCA-signed certificates, which are managed automatically. However, you can use external CA-signed certificates, in which case you are responsible for managing and rotating them.

You need to replace certificates when they expire, are revoked by the issuing CA, or when you want to switch from VMCA-signed to external CA-signed certificates.

You can navigate to Inventory > Workload Domains, select a domain, and then click the Certificates tab. This tab displays details about each certificate, including its status, issuer, and validity period.

Yes, VMware Cloud Foundation can integrate with Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services (Microsoft CA) to manage certificates.

Replacing a certificate outside SDDC Manager will cause an error in the SDDC Manager UI. You need to add the new certificate to the SDDC Manager trust store to fix this.

You can add a trusted certificate to the SDDC Manager trust store using the VMware Cloud Foundation API or the SDDC Manager UI. The UI method adds the certificate for outbound communications.

The error message will be displayed in the Status column when you go to Inventory > Workload Domains, click the workload domain name, and then click the Certificates tab.

You can delete old certificates using the VMware Cloud Foundation API by searching for the alias of the certificate you want to remove and deleting it through the API.

You need to be logged in as a user with the ADMIN role in the SDDC Manager UI to access the API Explorer and delete certificates.

SDDC Manager can be configured to connect to a Microsoft Certification Authority. However, only Microsoft Certification Authorities are supported.

Before you can configure a connection to a Microsoft CA in SDDC Manager, you need to ensure that the CA server has the correct roles installed and is configured for basic authentication. Additionally, ensure that a valid certificate template is available and that time synchronization is in place between the CA server and the SDDC Manager appliance.

The URL used to connect to the Microsoft Certificate Authority should start with "https://" and end with "/certsrv". For example, "https://ca.rainpole.io/certsrv".

When configuring a connection to a Microsoft Certification Authority, you should use a least privileged service account. This type of account restricts access to only what is needed for the connection.

The "Full Control" setting relates to the permissions that SDDC Manager has with the CA. The only possible values are Selected and Deselected. Selected means SDDC Manager has full control, and Deselected means SDDC Manager does not have full control.

This setting determines if SDDC Manager automatically requests a certificate from the CA when needed. Selected means that autoenroll is enabled, while Deselected means that it is disabled.

This setting controls if SDDC Manager has the ability to read certificates from the CA. Selected means that SDDC manager can read certificates, and Deselected means it cannot.

This setting controls if SDDC Manager has the ability to write certificates to the CA. Selected means that SDDC Manager can write certificates, and Deselected means it cannot.

Configuring OpenSSL-signed certificates in SDDC Manager allows you to manage and replace self-signed certificates with more secure certificates issued by SDDC Manager itself.

1. Navigate to Security > Certificate Authority in the SDDC Manager interface. 2. Click Edit. 3. Configure the certificate authority details (like Common Name, Organizational Unit, etc.) and click Save.

The Common Name field is used to specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the SDDC Manager appliance. This name is used in the certificate, ensuring that the certificate is issued for the correct host.

The Organizational Unit field allows you to differentiate between divisions within your organization. This helps to categorize and organize the certificates issued.

The Locality field specifies the city or locality where your company is legally registered. This helps to ensure the certificate details match your company's legal registration.

The Country field specifies the country where your company is registered. This field must use the ISO 3166 country code, ensuring standardization and accuracy.

Installing OpenSSL-signed certificates generated by SDDC Manager replaces the self-signed certificates on VMware Cloud Foundation components, enhancing security and ensuring proper communication.

First, select the check box next to the resource type for which you want to install a signed certificate in the SDDC Manager interface.