Using the Autolab 2.6 Config
Head on over the Labguides.com and check out autolab. I wanted a quick start, but didn’t want all the fun to be automated out of my hands. So I will give a quick tour of how I got my basic lab up and going. Part 2 I will add a VSAN cluster so I can catch up there too.
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/using-the-autolab-26-config.png)
The auto-builds of Windows worked great. The domain controller auto setup with DHCP, Active Directory and the fun bits to get PXE working the the ESXi install. This is stuff I didn’t want to waste time on.
I had to re-kick off the vCenter build to get Powershell and PowerCLI up and going. I had to manually install vCenter 6 and the vCenter Appliance doesn’t play nice with Autolab. Ok for me because I actually wanted to run through the install to check the options and see if things like SSO setup got any better.
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/4f1bda83-9cad-4875-9588-8d34aab92daf.png)
Letting the hosts PXE boot for vSphere 6 install.
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/letting-the-hosts-pxe-boot-for-vsphere-6-install.png)
ESXi Install finished
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/esxi-install-finished.png)
Installing vCenter 6.0
Deploying vCenter was actually pretty smooth. Small lab so I am using the Embedded Deployment.
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/installing-vcenter-60.png)
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/f484415c-30eb-41ec-bb1c-dec01c2b73a4.png)
Adding Hosts
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/adding-hosts.png)
Troubleshooting HA Issues
Just like old times the HA agents didn’t install correctly the first time. The more things change…
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/troubleshooting-ha-issues.png)
Great stuff from Ravello
Very thankful for the vExpert Lab space Ravello provided. If you are considering a home lab but don’t want to buy servers and switches and even storage this can be a good way to play with vSphere. I also spun up Photon and Openstack. Although I want to walk through the Openstack install from start to finish.
One of my hosts did this on boot but a quick restart and it was fine. Next step is to add some VSAN hosts which I will show next time.
![](http://54.88.246.86/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/great-stuff-from-ravello.png)
Links:
Use Ravello Repo to get the autolab config, openstack (which I am also playing with), and some other blueprints for labs.
https://www.ravellosystems.com/repo/
Some help from this post from William Lam
http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2015/04/running-nested-esxi-vsan-home-lab-on-ravello.html