Document versions

Prerequisites

• Install Docker
• Verify your vCenter version
  • The collector is only compatible for vCenter version v7.0U3 and v8.0U3
    • To verify the version, log into the ESXi Host Client, and in Help > About, check the ESXi version, it should be 7.0.3 or 8.0.3
  • It has been tested and developed using vsphere-automation-api v8.0U3
  • vCenter reached end of general support for version 6.7 (las of 6.X) vCenter October 15, 2022. Sopht is unable to develop nor support versions not maintained by editor, not sold anymore and without proper installation documentation available.
• For proper operation, the collector requires two network accesses:

  • Connect to the vCenter administration API via HTTPS, usually on port 443 of the machine on which vCenter is installed. This is by default the same port as the administration console.

    <aside> ☝

    The collector must have the access rights on the hypervisor in the API to collect the hardware details, on top of the virtual machines.

    </aside>

  • The container also needs to push data to the following endpoints on our side:

    • https://s3.eu-west-3.amazonaws.com port 443
    • https://backbone.sopht.com port 443

Actions guide

Step 1. Create a VMware vCenter “Sopht” user

VMware vCenter must have a configured user with the new role “Sopht”, with no specific privileges: read-only for the user/role.

Step 2. Setup the Collector’s configuration

The collector settings are provided through environment variables defined in the collector’s configuration. The variables are as follows:

<aside> <img src="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" alt="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" width="40px" />

SOPHT_BACKBONE_BASEURL

• v1 parameter named BACKBONE_BASEURL
• Definition: Sopht's Backbone API URL
• Info: same value as the former parameter
• Value: https://backbone.sopht.com, without any ‘/’ at the end </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" alt="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" width="40px" />

SOPHT_BACKBONE_APIKEY

• v1 parameter named BACKBONE_APIKEY
• Definition: API key provided by Sopht for collector authentication to Backbone
• Info: same value as the former parameter </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" alt="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" width="40px" />

SOPHT_VCENTER_BASEURL

• v1 parameter named VCENTER_BASEURL
• Definition: Base URL for accessing your VMware vCenter server
• Value: https://{your-*vCenter-url*}, without any ‘/’ at the end, example: https://62.210.221.22 </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" alt="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" width="40px" />

SOPHT_VCENTER_USER

• v1 parameter named VCENTER_USER
• Definition: Authorized vCenter user identifier </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" alt="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" width="40px" />

SOPHT_VCENTER_PASSWORD

• v1 parameter named VCENTER_PASSWORD
• Definition: Authorized vCenter user password </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" alt="/icons/playback-play_gray.svg" width="40px" />

SOPHT_VCENTER_TRUSTUNSAFE (optional)

• v1 parameter named VCENTER_UNSAFE_SSL
• Definition: Self-signed certificates optional parameter
• Possible values:
  • true to automatically validate self-signed certificates
  • false otherwise and by default </aside>

Step 3. Retrieve the container image