deployment-setup

name	deployment-setup
description	Guide for deploying, configuring, and managing the Redfish-VMware bridge server. Use when the user wants to install, configure, deploy, manage the systemd service, set up SSL, or configure the application.

Deployment and Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• Access to VMware vCenter
• Network connectivity between server and vCenter
• Linux with systemd (RHEL/Fedora/CentOS recommended)

Quick Start (Development)

# 1. Install dependencies
pip3 install -r requirements.txt

# 2. Create config from template
cp config/config.json.example config/config.json
# Edit config/config.json with your vCenter and VM details

# 3. Run
python3 src/redfish_server.py --config config/config.json

# 4. With debug
REDFISH_DEBUG=true python3 src/redfish_server.py --config config/config.json

Production Installation

Use setup.sh — it configures Python env, systemd, firewall, and validates VMware connectivity:

sudo ./setup.sh              # Full automated setup
sudo ./setup.sh --config-only  # Skip systemd and firewall
sudo ./setup.sh --test-only    # Test VMware connectivity only

Ensure config/config.json contains top-level redfish_port (or set REDFISH_PORT in the systemd unit).

Configuration (config/config.json)

{
  "vmware": {
    "host": "vcenter.example.com",
    "user": "[e-mail]",
    "password": "your-password",
    "port": 443,
    "disable_ssl": true
  },
  "vms": [
    {
      "name": "vm-master-0",
      "vcenter_host": "vcenter.example.com",
      "vcenter_user": "[e-mail]",
      "vcenter_password": "your-password",
      "redfish_user": "admin",
      "redfish_password": "password"
    }
  ],
  "datacenter_folders": [
    {
      "datacenter": "Datacenter1",
      "folder_path": "vm/prod/kubernetes"
    }
  ],
  "redfish_port": 8443,
  "disable_ssl": true,
  "datacenter_folder_refresh_interval_seconds": 300,
  "virtual_media_datastore": "DatastoreName",
  "delete_on_eject": false,
  "ssl": {
    "cert_path": "/etc/letsencrypt/live/host.example.com/fullchain.pem",
    "key_path": "/etc/letsencrypt/live/host.example.com/privkey.pem"
  }
}

Key Config Rules

• Single server port: top-level redfish_port (default 8443) — NOT per-VM ports
• Config must contain vms and/or datacenter_folders (or both)
• name must match the VM name in vCenter exactly
• disable_ssl: true → HTTP mode (recommended for dev and Metal3)
• datacenter_folders enables auto-discovery; refresh interval defaults to 300 seconds
• virtual_media_datastore — datastore for ISO uploads during InsertMedia
• delete_on_eject: false — set true to auto-delete ISO from datastore on eject
• Per-VM redfish_user/redfish_password supported; legacy admin:password always accepted
• Never commit config.json to git (contains credentials)

Datacenter Folder Discovery

Folder path format (case-sensitive):

• vm — all VMs in datacenter root
• vm/prod — VMs in prod subfolder
• vm/prod/kubernetes — nested folder (recursive)

Discovered VMs get "discovered": true metadata and default credentials. Stale VMs are pruned on refresh.

systemd Service Management

sudo systemctl start redfish-vmware-server
sudo systemctl status redfish-vmware-server
sudo journalctl -u redfish-vmware-server -f

# Debug via environment override
sudo systemctl edit redfish-vmware-server
# [Service]
# Environment=REDFISH_DEBUG=true
# Environment=REDFISH_PORT=8443

Environment Variables

Production default: all debug flags off. Enable only while troubleshooting.

Variable	Default	Description
REDFISH_DEBUG	false	Full debug / access logging
REDFISH_PERF_DEBUG	false	Performance metrics
REDFISH_VMWARE_DEBUG	false	VMware operation details
REDFISH_PORT	from config	Override server port
REDFISH_LOG_DIR	/var/log	Log file directory

Podman example for temporary debug:

podman run ... -e REDFISH_DEBUG=true localhost/redfish-vmware:latest

Firewall Configuration

Only one port needed (the top-level redfish_port):

# firewalld
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=8443/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

# ufw
sudo ufw allow 8443/tcp

SSL/TLS Setup

• Production: Let's Encrypt certs from /etc/letsencrypt/live/<hostname>/
• Auto-generation: missing cert paths trigger self-signed RSA 2048 cert (365 days, SANs for localhost/127.0.0.1/hostname)
• SSL wrapping applied in RedfishHTTPServer.server_bind() BEFORE super().server_bind()
• Development: "disable_ssl": true for HTTP-only

BMH address format:

• HTTP: http://host:8443/redfish/v1/Systems/vm-name
• HTTPS: redfish://host:8443/redfish/v1/Systems/vm-name

Always use HTTP for Metal3 to avoid certificate issues.

Adding a New VM

Manual: add entry to vms array in config/config.json, restart service.

Auto-discovery: add VM to a configured datacenter_folders path in vCenter; it will appear on next refresh (default 5 min) or restart.

sudo systemctl restart redfish-vmware-server
curl http://localhost:8443/redfish/v1/Systems/new-vm-name

Uninstall

sudo ./uninstall.sh          # Interactive
sudo ./uninstall.sh --force  # Non-interactive