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Deploy the ExtraHop Command Appliance with VMware

The ExtraHop Command appliance (ECA) is a virtual appliance that provides centralized management and reporting across multiple ExtraHop appliances distributed across data centers, branch offices, and the public cloud. For most large ExtraHop deployments, a dedicated ECA is the most efficient way to manage and report across the remote nodes.

The following procedures explain how to deploy an ExtraHop Command appliance with the vSphere client running on a Windows machine. You must have experience administering your VMware ESX and ESXi environments to complete these procedures.

Virtual machine requirements

You must have an existing installation of VMware ESX/ESXi server version 5.5 or later capable of hosting the Command virtual appliance. In addition, you need a vSphere client to deploy the OVF file and to manage the virtual machine.

The Command appliance is distributed as an OVA package that includes a preconfigured virtual machine (VM) with a 64-bit, Linux-based OS that is optimized to work with VMware ESX and ESXi version 5.5 and later.

The following ESX/ESXi server hardware is required:

Processor
Four or more Intel processing cores with hyper-threading support, VT-x or AMD-V technology, Supplemental Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 (SSSE3) support, and a processing speed of 2.5 GHz or higher
Memory
4 GB
Disk
44 GB or higher
Network
One 1 Gbps Ethernet network port
Place in network
Near one of the managed ExtraHop appliances, but accessible on port 443 to all managed ExtraHop appliances

Performance guidelines

The following table provides guidelines that can help you optimize the performance of the Command appliance. These guidelines are minimum requirements that you might need to adjust based on the size and needs of your environment.

Scalability Connected ExtraHop Appliances 1-8 9-24 25-64
Provisioning Requirements CPU Cores 4 8 16
RAM 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
Boot Disk 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB
Datastore and Utility Disk 40 GB 48 GB 64 GB
Disk Total 44 GB 52 GB 68 GB

Deploy the Command appliance

Before you begin

If you have not already done so, download the ExtraHop Command appliance virtual machine package for VMware from the ExtraHop Customer Portal.
Note:If you must migrate the VM to a different host after deployment, shut down the virtual appliance first and then migrate with a tool such as VMware VMotion. Live migration is not supported.
  1. Start the VMware vSphere client and connect to your ESX server.
  2. Go to the File menu and select Deploy OVF Template.
  3. Follow the Virtual Machine wizard prompts to deploy the virtual machine. For most deployments, the default settings are sufficient.
    1. Browse to the location of the downloaded OVA file, select the file, and then click Next.
    2. Review and verify the OVF template details and click Next.
    3. Type the VM name and location. Give the VM a unique and specific name for the ESX Inventory and then click Next.
    4. For Disk Format, select Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed and then click Next.
    5. Map the OVF-configured network interface labels with the correct ESX-configured interface labels and then click Next.
    6. Verify the configuration, select the Power on after deployment checkbox, and then click Finish to begin the deployment.
      When the deployment is complete, you can see the unique name you assigned to the ExtraHop VM instance in the inventory tree for the ESX server to which it was deployed.
  4. The Command appliance contains a preconfigured bridged virtual interface with the network label, VM Network. If your ESX has a different interface label, you must reconfigure the network adapter on the Command virtual appliance before starting the appliance.
    1. Select the Summary tab.
    2. Click Edit Settings, select Network adapter 1, select the correct network label from the Network label drop-down list, and then click OK.
  5. Click the Command virtual appliance in the ESX Inventory and then select the Console tab.
  6. Click the console window and then press ENTER to display the login prompt.
  7. Log in with the shell user account and the password default.
  8. Run the show ipaddr command to display the IP address of the ECA.
    Note:If you need to manually configure an IP address, see the Configure a static IP address section.
  9. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to exit the window.

Configure a static IP address through the CLI

The ExtraHop system is delivered with DHCP enabled. If your network does not support DHCP, no IP address is acquired, and you must configure a static address manually.

Important:For deployments that include a Discover appliance that is connected to a Command appliance, we strongly recommend configuring a unique hostname. If the IP address on the sensor is changed, the Command appliance can re-establish connection easily to the sensor by hostname.
  1. Establish a console connection to the ExtraHop system.
  2. At the login prompt, type shell and then press ENTER.
  3. At the password prompt, type default, and then press ENTER.
  4. To configure the static IP address, run the following commands:
    1. Enable privileged commands: 
      enable
    2. At the password prompt, type default, and then press ENTER.
    3. Enter configuration mode: 
      configure
    4. Enter the interface configuration mode: 
      interface
    5. Run the ip command and specify the IP address and DNS settings in the following format: ip ipaddr <ip_address> <netmask> <gateway> <dns_server>
      For example:
      ip ipaddr 10.10.2.14 255.255.0.0 10.10.1.253 10.10.1.254
    6. Leave the interface configuration section: 
      exit
    7. Save the running config file: 
      running_config save
    8. Type y and then press ENTER.

Post-deployment actions

Open a web browser and type the IP address of the Command appliance in the address bar and then press ENTER. Accept the EULA and enter the product key to license the appliance.

Log in to the ExtraHop system with the setup user account and type default for the password.

Published 2023-05-30