Oracle Cloud VMware Solution provides a native VMware-based cloud environment running on high performance hardware. VMware Solution can be easily integrated to other Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) services. In a real scenario, you can run your application on a VMWare virtual machine (VM) accessing OCI services. In this blog, we discuss how a VMware Solution virtual machine can access another OCI service, such as an Oracle autonomous database.

This blog covers connectivity of two types of autonomous databases access to VMware Solution virtual machines: Secure access from everywhere and private endpoint access only.

Overview

The following diagram depicts the design for a VMware Solution VM accessing OCI Autonomous Database service.


Figure 1: Architecture overview for VMware Solution VM accessing Oracle Autonomous Database

We cover the creation of all components from the beginning. Parts 1 and 2 of the blog cover the preparations steps, and in part 3, we establish the connectivity between the VMware Solution VM and the two access types of autonomous databases.

Part 1: Create a Linux VM on a VMware Solution cluster

  1. Access VMware Solution cluster vCenter.

  2. Upload the Oracle ISO into the VMWare datastore.

  3. Create an Oracle Linux VM on a VMware Solution cluster.

Part 2: Create autonomous databases, copy autonomous database wallet, and install Oracle client on the VMware Solution virtual machine

  1. Create an Oracle autonomous database (js-VMware Solutionvcn-Autonomous Database) with access to a private endpoint.

  2. Create an Oracle autonomous database (js-srv-gtw-Autonomous Database) with secure access from everywhere using the service gateway.

  3. Copy the Autonomous Database wallets and install the Oracle client on the VMware Solution VM.

Part 3: Establish connectivity between the VMware Solution VM and Autonomous Database

  1. Enable DNS resolution for VMware Solution VMs for OCI services (in this case, Autonomous Database) using NSX.

  2. Establish the network connectivity between the VMware Solution VM and the autonomous databases and test connectivity.

Prerequesites

  • A VMware Solution software-defined data center (SDDC) cluster provisioned in your tenancy

  • Compute instance running Windows 2016 created in the public subnet for a jump host

Step 1: Access VMware Solution vCenter

Log in to the OCI Console. Enter your cloud account name (tenant name). Enter your credential details and click Sign In.

Navigate to the region that the VMware Solution cluster has been created. In the menu under Hybrid, select VMWare Solution.

A screenshot of the OCI Console dashboard.

Navigate to the created compartment where the VMware Solution cluster resides and click the name of the SDDC cluster.

A screenshot of the software-defined data centers in the OCVS compartment (outlined in red) with the name OCVS-Demo outlined in red.

The SDDC page shows the vCenter information.

A screenshot of the SDDC Details page, showing the vCenter Information, outlined in red.

Copy the vCenter details (URL, username, and password). Log in to your JumpBox. Access the vCenter URL and click Launch vSphere Client.

A screenshot of the VMware page, showing the Launch vSphere Client button.

Enter the vCenter username and password.

A screenshot of the selection page in the vSphere Client.

You have now reached the main page of the vCenter.

Step 2: Upload the ISO into the cluster

On the vCenter page, click the storage icon.

A screenshot of the summary table for the SDDC in the vSphere Client.

Navigate to the data store and click New Folder.

A screenshot of the Files tab of the vsanDatastore with the New Folder button outlined in red.

Enter the folder name “ISOs.”

A screenshot of the Create New Folder window with the name filled in.

Download the latest Oracle Linux 8 ISO file, or choose any other ISO file you want to upload. In this example, I downloaded the Oracle Linux 8 ISO file to my Downloads directory:

A screenshot of the Oracle Linux Installation Media page with the latest full ISO outlined in red.

Navigate to the VMware Solution data store (vsanDatastore).

A screenshot of the vsanDatastore page in the vSphere Client with the name in the sidebar outlined in red.

Navigate to the folder storing new ISO files and click Upload Files.

A screenshot of the Files tab of the vsanDatastore the ISOs selected in the sidebar and outlined in red and the Upload Files button outlined in red.

Navigate to the directory where the ISO file has been saved and click Open.

A screenshot of the finder window with the ISO file highlighted.

Click Upload.

A screenshot of the Upload VMDK to vSan Datastore window.

The following screen loads. Click the red status icon.

A screenshot of the vsanDatastore page with the red status icon outlined in red.

When the operation failure message appears, click the ESXi URL.

A screenshot of the operation failure window with the ESXi URL outlined in red.

Go back to the vCenter and upload the ISO file again.

A screenshot of the VMware ESXi login screen.

Repeat the steps from last file upload. This time, the upload works. Check the status bar for the percentage file upload and wait until the file has fully uploaded.

A screenshot of the ISOs page in the vsanDatastore page with the name and upload bar of the iso outlined in red.

Step 3: Create the Oracle Linux VM

From the vCenter, click the menu and select Host and Clusters.

A screenshot of the vSphere Client with menu, outlined in red, expanded and Hosts and Cluster highlighted and outlined in red.

In the Actions menu, select New Virtual Machine.

A screenshot of the expanded actions menu with the option for New Virtual Machine highlighted and outlined in red.

Choose Create a new virtual machine.

A screenshot of the New Virtual Machine screen on the Creation Type tab with the option to create a new virtual machine highlighted and outlined in red.

Enter the virtual machine name. Our example uses “my-vm-01.”

A screenshot of the second tab, Select a name and folder, with the example name outlined in red and folder highlighted.

Select a Compute cluster.

A screenshot of the third tab, Select a compute resource, with the destination compute resource highlighted and outlined in red.

Select DataStore.

A screenshot of the fourth tab, Select storage, with the vsanDatastore highlighted and outlined in red.

Select the ESXi node compatible with your new host.

A screenshot of the fifth tab, Select compatibility, with the menu and choice for compatibility outlined in red.

Choose your guest OS.

A screenshot of the sixth tab, Select a guest OS, with the guest OS family and version selected and outlined in red.

Under New CD/DVD Drive, select “Datastore ISO file.”

A screenshot of the seventh tab, Customize hardware, with the network and new drive sections outlined in red.

Navigate to the folder where the ISO file has been uploaded and click OK.

A screenshot of the Select File window with the ISO file highlighted and outlined in red.

Click the Connect check box to ensure that the new virtual machine reboots with this ISO file. Then click Next.

A screenshot of the seventh tab with the Connect check box selected and outlined in red.

Navigate to the new VM. Right-click the virtual machine, select Power, and then select Power On.

A screenshot of the uploaded virtual machine with the power menu expanded and the option for Power On highlighted and outlined in red.

Connect to the new virtual machine by clicking Launch Web Console.

A screenshot of the summary page of the virtual machine with the Launch Web Console button outlined in red.

Click Install Oracle Linux 8.4.0 and select your language.

A screenshot of the Oracle Linux installation page with the language options expanded.

Update the installation destination.

A screenshot of the Installation Summary page with the system and user settings outlined in red.

For this example, I chose the default of automatic storage configuration. Then click Done.

A screenshot of the Installation Destination window with the Done button outlined in red.

I also entered the root password. Click Done and then click Begin Installation.

A screenshot of the installation summary with the Begin Installation button outlined in red.

When installation is complete, click Reboot System.

A screenshot of the complete Installation Progress screen with the Reboot System button outlined in red.

When the system has restarted, click Licensing Information.

A screenshot of the Oracle Linux Initial Setup page with the License Information button highlighted and outlined in red.

Select the accept checkbox and then click Done.

A screenshot of the License Agree page with the checkbox for “I agree the license agreement” and the Done button outlined in red.

Click Finish Configuration.

A screenshot of the Initial Setup page with the Finish Configuration button outlined in red.

On the Welcome page, click Next.

A screenshot of the Welcome page with the Next button outlined in red.

Choose the status for Location Services and click Next.

A screenshot of the Privacy page with the toggle for Location Services set to On with the Next button outlined in red..

Select the online accounts to connect or click Skip.

A screenshot of the Online Accounts page with options for Google, Nextcloud, Microsoft, and Facebook with the Skip button outlined in red.

Enter your user details and select Next.

A screenshot of the About You page with the full name and username filled in and outlined in red.

Then click Start Using Oracle Linux Server.

A screenshot of the Ready to Go page with the Start Using Oracle Linux Server button outlined in red.

Go to the Activities menu and select the terminal icon.

A screenshot of the server dashboard with the Activities menu and button for the terminal outlined in red.

A terminal session is now open.

A screenshot of the new terminal window.

Conclusion

Now, we have created an Oracle Linux VM on VMware Solution. In the next part of this blog, we create two types Autonomous Database instances, copy the Autonomous Database wallets to the VMware Solution virtual machine, and install Oracle client on the virtual machine.

Want to learn more about VMware Solution and Autonomous Database? See the following resources: