Virtology

  Quick summary Isolate management — separate VLAN/subnet, VPN/jump box, firewall rules. vmware.com +1 Use RBAC: create narrowly scoped custom roles in vCenter, avoid administrator@vsphere.local for day-to-day ops. techdocs.broadcom.com +1 Harden ESXi: enable Lockdown Mode, secure boot/UEFI, enable host firewall, disable unused services. techdocs.broadcom.com +1 Centralize identity + MFA (IDP/SAML/OIDC) for vCenter and require MFA for admin actions. StarWind KMS for VM encryption / vTPM for VMs that need strong protection. vmware.com Logging/monitoring/alerting to external SIEM (you use Graylog) and continuous audit of roles & config. vmware.com 1 — Architecture & network isolation (first, foundational) Actions Put vCenter, ESXi management interfaces (mgmt/vMotion/host management) on a dedicated management VLAN and subnet. Restrict access to that network by firewall to only jump hosts and approved admin IPs. vmware.com Require access to the ma...

  Automating a Kubernetes Cluster on VMware vSphere with Scripts and Terraform (v1.31) Introduction In this post, we’ll walk through how to automate the deployment of a Kubernetes v1.31 cluster in a VMware vSphere environment using scripts, PowerCLI, and Terraform. This approach follows both VMware and Kubernetes best practices—focusing on automation, consistent configuration, and scalability for lab and production environments. Prerequisites Before starting, ensure you have the following: A functioning vSphere environment (vCenter + ESXi) A Linux VM template with VMware Tools installed (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is recommended) Terraform and the vSphere provider configured Access to either PowerCLI or govc for API automation Internet access for your Kubernetes nodes 1. Preparing the VM Template For best results, create a lightweight Ubuntu 22.04 template with cloud-init installed and SSH enabled. sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y cloud-init open-vm-...