Deploy CT Connectors on VMware

This topic lists the steps to deploy CT Connectors in on-premises data centers in VMware virtual machines.

Prerequisites

  • Virtual machine instances with the following minimum sizing - 2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM, 50 GB disk space (Thick provision lazy zeroed), and 1 Gbps throughput.

  • VM instances used to deploy CT Connectors must have connectivity with the internal DNS servers. This is needed for CT Connectors to establish connectivity with the Xshield instance to which the Connectors must be registered. 

  • Downloaded OVA image of the CT Connector. You can download the OVA image here.

Deploy CT Connector

The steps and images listed here may vary slightly depending on the vCloud or Center version.

  1. Log in to the vCloud portal.

  2. Right-click a Data Center and click Deploy OVF Template.

  3. Paste https://colortokens.com/ctconnector.ova or browse to the location of the OVA.

  4. Enter a name for the Connector and click Next. 

  5. Select a Compute Instance and click Next.

  6. See the details and click Next. 

  7. Select I accept all license agreements and click Next.

  8. Select Thick Provisioned Lazy Zeroed as the virtual disk format and click Next. 

  9. Select a suitable VM network and click Next.

  10. Click FINISH.

Copy the UUID of the Connector

  • Copy the UUID of the Connector instance from the client's Dashboard.

Add/register CT Connector to the Xshied instance

Use the UUID of the VM instance where you deployed the CT Connector to add/register the Connector with the Xshield instance. CT Connectors obtain the details of the instance for registration after you input the UUID of the instances to add them to the instance.

If you are registering the first CT Connector for the instance, go to the Xaccess tab on Xshield and initiate Xaccess Onboarding.

  1. Go to Xaccess > Connectors.

  2. Click Add Connector.

  3. In the Instance ID text box, paste the UUID of the Connector instance.

  4. Click Save.

You may need to wait for a few seconds for Xshield to verify the validity of the Connector with the app instance. Upon successful verification, the CT Connector is registered with the instance.

Successfully deployed

CT Connectors are deployed successfully if they are registered successfully with the instance. Connectors deployed successfully are listed on the Connectors page (Status = Online and State = Enabled).

At this stage, the CT Connectors are only added to the instance. To enable the CT Connectors to discover applications and services, you must specify the IP subnets and domains of the applications. 

Deployment failed

Some of the causes of failed deployments are incorrect instance IDs or lack of connectivity with the CT Connectors. Connectors are not displayed on the Connectors page until they are not registered with the instance.

On bare-metal servers

The sizing for a bare-metal server is identical to that for a VMware virtual machine. Also, the server must be dedicated for the CT Connector. The software image for a bare-metal server is private. Contact ColorTokens Customer Support to obtain the image.

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