Manually install the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent on a VMware Aria Operations Cloud Proxy

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

This article provides instructions to manually install the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent on a VMware Aria Operations Cloud Proxy to provide logs from that Cloud Proxy to VMware Aria Operations for Logs. For data nodes, the agent is typically installed and configured by default when enabling Log Forwarding within Aria Operations 8.x product UI.

 

Environment

VMware Aria Operations 8.x

Resolution

Follow the steps below to download and install the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent on a VMware Aria Operations Cloud Proxy.

1. Log into the VMware Aria Operations for Logs and navigate to Management > Agents and download the Linux RPM (32-bit/64-bit) agent.
   
   Note: In newer versions such as 8.18.3, this is located in Log Sources > Agents
   
   
2. Copy the downloaded RPM agent to the VMware Aria Operations Cloud Proxy's /tmp folder using an SCP utility or command.

Example: scp Path_To_File/VMware-Log-Insight-Agent-8.18.3-24507632.noarch_###.###.##.###.rpm root@Cloud-Proxy-IP:/tmp/VMware-Log-Insight-Agent-8.18.3-24507632.noarch_###.###.##.###.rpm

Note: Replace Path_To_File and Cloud-Proxy-IP with the appropriate values.

3. Log into the VMware Aria Operations Cloud Proxy as root via SSH or Console.
   
   Note: You may need to enable SSH if disabled. See Enabling SSH access in Aria Operations
   
   
4. Run the following command to install of the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent:

rpm -i /tmp/VMware-Log-Insight-Agent-*.rpm

5. Verify that the liagent.service is up and running by running the following command:

service liagentd status

Note: If the service is not running, run this command to start it: systemctl start liagentd

6. Ensure the liagent.service service is in the startup list by running this command:

systemctl enable liagentd.service

7. Configure the agent by editing the /etc/liagent.ini file:

vi /etc/liagent.ini

8. For a basic configuration, edit the following values by pressing i to enter insert mode and add the values accordingly:

• hostname
• proto
• port
• ssl

Note: Remove the ; before the settings to enable it.

Example configuration:
[server]
hostname=[VMware_Aria_Operations_for_Logs_IP_or_FQDN]
proto=cfapi
port=9543
ssl=yes
central_config=yes

[update]
package_type=rpm

9. Between the [storage] and [update] sections, add the files and folders you want to monitor.  See Configuring VMware Aria Operations for Logs Agents for more information.  The recommended files and folders that need to be collected and monitored are:

/var/log/firstboot/
/var/log/vmware/vcops/
/data/vcops/log
/storage/log/vmware-vrops-cprc
/storage/log/vcops/log/casa/
/storage/log/vcops/log/pakManager
/usr/lib/vmware-vcops/user/log

 

 

Example:

 

 

 

10. Save and close the file by typing the following:

:wq

In the VMware Aria Operations for Logs UI, verify that the agent is forwarding events to the server by navigating to Management > Agents and validate that the agent IP address is present and is receiving events. If the Cloud Proxy is not listed, check the /etc/liagent.ini file configuration and your environment for the required port and SSL settings to use. It may be that you need to use port 9000 instead of 9543 and set ssl=no.

Additional Information

Configuration is preserved in the Cloud Proxy and preserved after reboots and upgrading.
There is no need to re-install the VMware Aria Operations for Logs Agent or re-apply configuration.

Note: The certification of the described configuration is done using a Cloud Proxy without the use of any type of network proxy to communicate to VMware Aria Operations for Logs.
In case of unexpected behavior and/or connection issues when using a network proxy, user should enable direct access from the Cloud Proxy to VMware Aria Operations for Logs.