1 Introduction

VMware, Inc. provide cloud and virtualization software and services. Platform Services Controller (PSC) is a component of the VMware Cloud Infrastructure Suite. PSC deals with identity management for administrators and applications that interact with the vSphere platform.

PSC provides one appliance- or Windows-based virtual machine platform to systems administrators for centralized management of these common infrastructure services. It is a distributed service that automatically replicates information such as licenses, permissions and roles to other PSC instances. The maximum number of PSCs per vSphere domain is set at eight. High-availability for PSCs is achieved through local load-balancing technologies, though only four PSCs can reside behind a load balancer. PSCs are also latency sensitive and can only tolerate up to five minutes of time skew between PSC nodes.

In vSphere 6, the following components are installed in PSC:

    VMware Appliance Management Service (only in appliance-based PSC)

    VMware License Service

    VMware Component Manager

    VMware Identity Management Service

    VMware HTTP Reverse Proxy

    VMware Service Control Agent

    VMware Security Token Service

    VMware Common Logging Service

    VMware Syslog Health Service

    VMware Authentication Framework

    VMware Certificate Service

    VMware Directory Service

1.1 Document Purpose

The purpose of this document is to explain how to configure the LoadMaster to optimize PSC.

1.2 Intended Audience

This document is intended to be read by anyone who is interested in configuring the LoadMaster to optimize the new features in PSC 6.0.

2 PSC Template

Kemp has developed a template containing our recommended settings for PSC. You can install this template on the LoadMaster and use it when creating Virtual Services. Using a template automatically populates the settings in the Virtual Services, which is quicker and easier than manually configuring each Virtual Service. If needed, you can make changes to any of the Virtual Service settings after using the template.

Download released templates from the following page: LoadMaster Templates.

For more information and steps on how to import and use templates, refer to the Virtual Services and Templates, Feature Description.

For steps on how to manually add and configure each of the Virtual Services, refer to Section Configure the LoadMaster of this document.

3 Architecture

4 Configure the LoadMaster

The deployed VMware Systems environment determines which of the following setups is used.

4.1 Enable Subnet Originating Requests Globally

It is best practice to enable the Subnet Originating Requests option globally.

In a one-armed setup (where the Virtual Service and Real Servers are on the same network/subnet), Subnet Originating Requests is usually not needed. However, enabling Subnet Originating Requests should not affect the routing in a one-armed setup.

In a two-armed setup where the Virtual Service is on network/subnet A, for example, and the Real Servers are on network B - Subnet Originating Requests should be enabled on LoadMasters with firmware version 7.1-16 and above.

When Subnet Originating Requests is enabled, the LoadMaster routes traffic so that the Real Server sees traffic arriving from the LoadMaster interface that is in that network/subnet.

When Subnet Originating Requests is enabled globally, it is automatically enabled on all Virtual Services. If the Subnet Originating Requests option is disabled globally, you can select whether or not to enable Subnet Originating Requests on a per-Virtual Service basis.

To enable Subnet Originating Requests globally, follow the steps below:

1. In the main menu of the LoadMaster WUI, go to System Configuration > Miscellaneous Options > Network Options.

2. Select the Subnet Originating Requests check box.

4.2 Enable Check Persist Globally

It is recommended that you change the Always Check Persist option to Yes - Accept Changes. Use the following steps:

1. Go to System Configuration > Miscellaneous Options > L7 Configuration.

2. Click the Always Check Persist dropdown arrow and select Yes - Accept Changes.

4.3 Create the Virtual Services

4.3.1 Create a vSphere PSC SSL Reencrypt Virtual Service

The following are the steps involved and the recommended settings to configure the vSphere PSC Systems SSL Reencrypt Service:

1. In the main menu of the LoadMaster Web User Interface (WUI), go to Virtual Services > Add New.

2. Enter a valid Virtual Address.

3. Enter 443 as the Port.

4. Enter a recognizable Service Name, such as vSphere Platform Service Controllers Reencrypt Virtual Service.

5. Click Add this Virtual Service.

6. Configure the settings as recommended in the following table:

Section	Option	Value	Comment
Standard Options	Persistence Mode	Source IP Address
	Timeout	8 Hours
	Scheduling Method	least connection
	Idle Connection Timeout	28800	Click Set Idle Timeout.
SSL Properties	SSL Acceleration	Enabled
	Reencrypt	Enabled
	Cipher Set	Best Practices
Real Servers	URL	/websso	Click Set URL.

7. Add the Real Servers:

1. Click Add New.

2. Enter the address of the vSphere PSC Medical Systems HTTP Server.

3. Complete the other fields as required.

4. Click Add this Real Server then click OK to the pop-up message.

5. Repeat the steps above to add more Real Servers as needed, based on your environment.

4.3.2 Create a vSphere PSC 2012 Virtual Service

The following are the steps involved and the recommended settings to configure the vSphere PSC Systems 2012 Virtual Service:

1. In the main menu of the LoadMaster Web User Interface (WUI), go to Virtual Services > Add New.

2. Enter a valid Virtual Address.

3. Enter 2012 as the Port.

4. Enter a recognizable Service Name, such as vSphere PSC 2012.

5. Click Add this Virtual Service.

6. Configure the settings as recommended in the following table:

Section	Option	Value	Comment
Standard Options	Persistence Mode	Source IP Address
	Timeout	8 Hours
	Scheduling Method	least connection
	Idle Connection Timeout	28800	Click Set Idle Timeout.
Real Servers	Checked Port	2012

7. Add the Real Servers:

1. Click Add New.
2. Enter the address of the vSphere PSC 2012 Server.
3. Complete the other fields as required.
4. Click Add this Real Server then click OK to the pop-up message.
5. Repeat the steps above to add more Real Servers as needed, based on your environment.

4.3.3 Create a vSphere PSC 2014 Virtual Service

The following are the steps involved and the recommended settings to configure the vSphere PSC 2014 Virtual Service:

1. In the main menu of the LoadMaster Web User Interface (WUI), go to Virtual Services > Add New.

2. Enter a valid Virtual Address.

3. Enter 2014 as the Port.

4. Enter a recognizable Service Name, such as vSphere PSC 2014.

5. Click Add this Virtual Service.

6. Configure the settings as recommended in the following table:

Section	Option	Value	Comment
Standard Options	Persistence Mode	Source IP Address
	Timeout	8 Hours
	Scheduling Method	least connection
	Idle Connection Timeout	28800	Click Set Idle Timeout.
Real Servers	Checked Port	2014

7. Add the Real Servers:

1. Click Add New.

2. Enter the address of the vSphere PSC 2014 Server.

3. Complete the other fields as required.

4. Click Add this Real Server then click OK to the pop-up message.

5. Repeat the steps above to add more Real Servers as needed, based on your environment.

4.3.4 Create a vSphere PSC 2020 Virtual Service

The following are the steps involved and the recommended settings to configure the vSphere PSC 2020 Virtual Service:

1. In the main menu of the LoadMaster Web User Interface (WUI), go to Virtual Services > Add New.

2. Enter a valid Virtual Address.

3. Enter 2020 as the Port.

4. Enter a recognizable Service Name, such as vSphere Platform Service Controllers 2020.

5. Click Add this Virtual Service.

6. Configure the settings as recommended in the following table:

Section	Option	Value	Comment
Standard Options	Persistence Mode	Source IP Address
	Timeout	8 Hours
	Scheduling Method	least connection
	Idle Connection Timeout	28800	Click Set Idle Timeout.
Real Servers	Checked Port	2020

7. Add the Real Servers:

1. Click Add New.

2. Enter the address of the vSphere PSC 2020 Server.

3. Complete the other fields as required.

4. Click Add this Real Server then click OK to the pop-up message.

5. Repeat the steps above to add more Real Servers as needed, based on your environment.

4.3.5 Create a vSphere PSC LDAP Virtual Service

The following are the steps involved and the recommended settings to configure the VSphere PSC Systems LDAP Virtual Service:

1. In the main menu of the LoadMaster Web User Interface (WUI), go to Virtual Services > Add New.

2. Enter a valid Virtual Address.

3. Enter 389 as the Port.

4. Enter a recognizable Service Name, such as vSphere Platform Service Controller LDAP.

5. Click Add this Virtual Service.

6. Configure the settings as recommended in the following table:

Section	Option	Value	Comment
Standard Options	Persistence Mode	Source IP Address
	Timeout	8 Hours
	Scheduling Method	least connection
	Idle Connection Timeout	28800	Click Set Idle Timeout.
Real Servers	Checked Port	389

7. Add the Real Servers:

1. Click Add New.

2. Enter the address of the vSphere PSC LDAP Server.

3. Click Add this Real Server then click OK to the pop-up message.

4. Repeat the steps above to add more Real Servers as needed, based on the environment.

4.3.6 Create a vSphere PSC LDAPS Virtual Service

The following are the steps involved and the recommended settings to configure the vSphere PSC Systems LDAPS Virtual Service:

1. In the main menu of the LoadMaster Web User Interface (WUI), go to Virtual Services > Add New.

2. Enter a valid Virtual Address.

3. Enter 636 as the Port.

4. Enter a Service Name, for example vSphere PSC LDAPS.

5. Click Add this Virtual Service.

6. Configure the settings as recommended in the following table:

Section	Option	Value
Standard Options	Persistence Mode	Source IP Address
	Timeout	8 Hours
	Scheduling Method	least connection
	Idle Connection Timeout	28800
Real Servers	Checked Port	636

7. Add the Real Servers:

1. Click Add New.

2. Enter the address of the vSphere LDAPS Server.

3. Click Add this Real Server then click OK to the pop-up message.

4. Repeat the steps above to add more Real Servers as needed, based on the environment.

 

References

Unless otherwise specified, the following documents can be found at http://kemptechnologies.com/documentation.

Virtual Services and Templates, Feature Description

Last Updated Date

This document was last updated on 21 June 2022.