GOSS architecture#
The following sections describe the systems used with Guest OS Services (GOSS) for Rackspace Private Cloud powered by VMware (RPC-VMware). Components are described in the following section.
Automation interactions#
All automated processes access RPC-VMware management services and Virtual Machines (VMs) through your hosted firewall. An automated system is registered with the vCenter Server in order to receive vCenter event notifications. These notifications are used to determine when new Virtual Machines are created in RPC-VMware in order to make them available for GOSS enrollment.
MyRackspace Portal#
In the MyRackspace portal under "Devices" is a list of your Virtual Machines for RPC-VMware. Using the "Create Ticket" function, select the ticket template "Enroll VM in Guest OS Services" to start the enrollment process.
OS access and network proxy server#
During the enrollment process and at various times after enrollment, the OS of enrolled VMs is be accessed by Rackspace System Administrators and/or Automation Systems to perform actions within the guest operating system. A network access proxy is also deployed as a RPC-VMware management service device to provide local, routed network access to your enrolled VMs. The primary network access method for enrolled VMs uses dedicated individual public IP addresses added to the public interface of your hosted firewall. The public IP is NAT'd to the local IP address of the enrolled VM operating system.
Ansible#
During the automated enrollment process, an Ansible system is used to execute specific OS actions to perform the required operating system modifications.
vSphere Guest APIs#
Initial OS access during the enrollment process makes use of the vSphere APIs for guest actions which requires VMware Tools to be installed and running within the guest OS. This is used to validate the OS credentials provided with the enrollment and to ensure that the OS meets the requirements for enrollment.