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VMware vSphere Requirements

This page is the VMware vSphere onboarding checklist for StackConsole / CMP. Complete the common prerequisites and confirm hosting topology as well.

Supported VMware version

StackConsole / CMP supports VMware vSphere 8.0.1.0 and above (vSphere 8+).

Older versions are not supported. Confirm your vCenter / ESXi build before integration.

For how CMP uses vSphere after connection, see VMware vSphere setup.

Bare minimum

Items in the checklist must be ready before setup can start. Without those prerequisites, installation cannot proceed.

1. Access for StackConsole Team​

To access the vCenter UI, use one of:

Option A — VPN access (preferred)

NameEmail
Satish Londhesatish.londhe@stackconsole.io
Ganesh Kanadeganesh.kanade@stackconsole.io

Option B — IP whitelist

If VPN is not feasible, whitelist the StackConsole jump server:

14.192.19.227

vCenter credentials (assessment)​

Provide vCenter credentials for the initial assessment. Read-only credentials are sufficient for this step.

FieldValue
vCenter URL
vCenter Username
vCenter Password

2. CMP VM → vCenter connectivity​

From all CMP VMs, access to vCenter is required. Private access is recommended for production.

Communication between the CMP VM and vCenter must be allowed on the configured API ports (typically TCP 443).

3. CMP VM configuration, domain, SSL, SMTP, and logos​

Shared install inputs:

4. Initial vCenter structure (required immediately)​

CMP uses the vCenter API for VM operations and requires a specific folder structure before configuration begins.

4.1 Datacenter and folder structure​

Create a CMP Root Folder of type "VM and Template Folder" at the Datacenter level:

  • Folder name: CMP-ROOT-FOLDER (or any agreed name — share the exact name with the StackConsole team)
  • CMP creates per-customer subfolders inside this root folder at onboarding time

4.2 Host cluster​

  • A Host Cluster is required for VM deployment
  • Multiple clusters are supported — each can be mapped to a CMP compute category
  • DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler) must be enabled on all host clusters used by CMP

4.3 Datastore cluster / datastore pod​

  • A Datastore Cluster is required for VM storage
  • Multiple clusters are supported — each can be mapped to a CMP storage category
  • Storage DRS must be enabled on all datastore clusters used by CMP

4.4 VM template folder​

  • All VM templates must be stored in a dedicated folder in vCenter
  • Share the template folder path with the StackConsole team

5. API user roles and permissions​

To configure CMP with vCenter, provide API user credentials with the roles and permissions below.

CMP typically needs:

UserPurposeAccess level
Dashboard / assessment userUI access for StackConsole during setupRead-only (minimum) — see Access for StackConsole Team
API userUsed by CMP for VM operationsCustom role with the minimum permissions below

API user credentials to provide​

FieldValue
vCenter URL
vCenter Username
vCenter Password
Custom role recommended

Create a custom role in vCenter with the permissions below and assign it to the user account used by CMP. This keeps security tight while enabling required functionality. Do not use a full Administrator account for the CMP API user unless agreed with StackConsole.

Reference: VMware Privileges Documentation (vSphere 8.0)

Minimum required vCenter permissions​

#Permission
1Datacenter.View
2Folder.Browse
3Folder.Inventory
4Folder.View
5Folder.Create
6System.Read
7System.View
8Datastore.FileManagement
9Datastore.Browse
10VirtualMachine.Inventory.Create
11VirtualMachine.Interact.PowerOn
12VirtualMachine.Interact.PowerOff
13VirtualMachine.Interact.ConsoleInteract
14VirtualMachine.Config.AddRemoveDevice
15VirtualMachine.Config.CPUCount
16VirtualMachine.Config.Memory
17VirtualMachine.Config.Rename
18VirtualMachine.State.CreateSnapshot
19VirtualMachine.State.RemoveSnapshot
20VirtualMachine.State.RevertToSnapshot
21VirtualMachine.Config.RemoveDisk
22VirtualMachine.Config.AddExistingDisk
23VirtualMachine.Config.AddNewDisk
24VirtualMachine.Config.DiskExtend
25VirtualMachine.Config.ResetGuestInfo
26Performance.View
27Performance.Manage
28Network.View
29Task.List
30Task.Read
note

VirtualMachine.Config.AddRemoveDevice is listed once; grant it as part of the custom role (it covers add/remove device operations used by CMP).

6. VM console access setup requirements​

As part of remote console access to VMware ESXi from CMP, confirm the network configuration for the HTML console for virtual machines.

vCenter returns direct URLs to the ESXi host for console sessions (not proxied only through vCenter). The CMP backend server must reach each ESXi host used for customer VMs.

Ports to open (CMP server ↔ ESXi hosts)​

Port / protocolPurpose
ICMP (ping)Basic connectivity checks
Port 80 (TCP)HTTP traffic
Port 443 (TCP)Secure HTTPS traffic
Port 902 (TCP and UDP)Required for VMware console traffic
Port 903 (TCP)Additional VMware console port

Access method​

Provide access from the CMP server to ESXi hosts using one of:

  • VPN access to the ESXi hosts from the CMP server, or
  • Whitelisting the CMP server’s IP address for direct access

These ports and access methods are required for the VM console to work smoothly. With this network path in place, no application-code changes are required for console access.

Confirm when ready

Confirm with StackConsole once these configurations are applied, or ask if anything is unclear before go-live.

References:

7. VM templates​

To provision VMs from CMP, OS templates must meet CMP guest-customization requirements (password, SSH where applicable, cloud-init / cloudbase-init as agreed).

Key points:

  • Templates must be stored in the dedicated VM Template Folder (see section 4.4)
  • Templates must support password reset and SSH key injection where those features are offered
  • Templates should be cloud-init compatible for Linux where applicable

Confirm the full template checklist with the StackConsole team during onboarding. See also VMware setup.

8. Supported features​

CMP supports the following VMware vCenter operations (subject to permissions and network access above):

VM lifecycle​

  • Create, Start, Stop, Reboot, Reset VM
  • VM Console Access (HTML5)
  • Change VM Name
  • Reset VM Username & Password

Resource management​

  • Upgrade CPU, Memory, and Storage

Snapshot management​

  • Create, Revert, Delete Snapshots

Disk management​

  • Create new disk
  • Attach / Detach disk
  • Extend disk size
  • Delete disk

Network and IP management​

  • VLAN management (CMP tracks and manages VLANs per customer)
  • Private IP pool management (automatic allocation/release)

Import​

  • Import existing VMware VMs into CMP for centralized management

9. VMware checklist​

Items needed to begin setup (without these, setup cannot proceed):

Access and vCenter​

  • vSphere / vCenter is 8.0.1.0+ (supported by StackConsole)
  • VPN access granted or jump server IP whitelisted
  • Read-only (or equivalent) vCenter credentials provided — URL, username, password
  • API user created with all required permissions (custom role recommended)
  • API user credentials provided — URL, username, password
  • CMP-ROOT-FOLDER (or agreed root folder) created in vCenter
  • At least one Host Cluster with DRS enabled
  • At least one Datastore Cluster with Storage DRS enabled
  • VM Template Folder path confirmed
  • OS templates prepared as agreed with StackConsole
  • ESXi ports ICMP, 80, 443, 902 (TCP/UDP), 903 (TCP) reachable from the CMP backend
  • VPN to ESXi or CMP server IP whitelisted for console access

Staging / production CMP install inputs​