Install a vLC in a VMware vSphere environment

You can install an Arctic Wolf® Virtual Log Collector (vLC) in a VMware vSphere® environment.

Requirements

• vSphere with vCenter 6.5 or newer

• These system resources:

  Note: Reducing or limiting resource allocations below the specified requirements impacts vLC performance.

  • 8 vCPUs
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 40 GB storage

Before you begin

• Make sure you have the appropriate Arctic Wolf permissions to install the vLC. Contact your Concierge Security® Team at security@arcticwolf.com to identify who in your organization has these permissions.

• Add all necessary IP addresses, ports, and services to your allowlist for full vLC functionality.

  Tip: To see all the IP addresses that you must allowlist, sign in to the Arctic Wolf Unified Portal, click > Allowlist Requirements, and then view the IP addresses in the section for your product.

• If you rate-limit the vLC with Quality of Service (QoS), remove this for best performance.

• If your firewall provides SSL/TLS inspection, do not do this inspection on the vLC management IP address.

• If you use an application proxy or layer 7 filter on your firewall, allow outbound traffic over OpenVPN for the vLC management IP address. Only management interface traffic over OpenVPN is sent to the proxy server.

Steps

1. Download the vLC image.
2. Deploy the vLC.
3. Verify that the vLC deployed correctly.
4. Configure the vLC.
5. Activate the vLC.

Step 1: Download the vLC image

1. Sign in to the MDR Dashboard.
2. Click Account > Downloads.
3. In the Virtual Network Appliances section, click Download Virtual Network Appliance to start the OVA file download.

   Tip: If your browser downloads the OVA file in .ovf format, rename the file to change the file extension to .ova.

Step 2: Deploy the vLC

1. Sign in to your vSphere client.

2. Right-click your resource pool, and then select Deploy OVF Template.

3. On the Select an OVF template page:

   1. Select Local file.
   2. Click UPLOAD FILES.
   3. Select the downloaded OVA file, and then click Open.
   4. Click Next.

4. On the Select a name and folder page:

   1. In the Virtual machine name field, enter a name for the virtual appliance.
   2. Select the location for the virtual machine, and then click Next.
   3. Click Next.

5. On the Select a compute resource page:

   1. Select a destination compute resource.
   2. Click Next.

6. On the Review details page, click Next.

7. On the Configuration page, select vLC.

8. On the Select storage page:

   1. (Optional) Select Encrypt this virtual machine. See the VMware vSphere product documentation for steps to encrypt an existing virtual machine or virtual disk.

      Tip: While optional, Arctic Wolf recommends that you encrypt the virtual appliance to make sure all data stored and flowing through the appliance has an added layer of protection.

   2. Select the storage location for the configuration and disk files.

   3. Click Next.

9. On the Select networks page:

   1. Select the appropriate Destination Network. Log traffic is sent to the virtual appliance across this network.

   2. Click Next.

10. On the Ready to complete page, click Finish.

    Note: The OVA image can take some time to upload. In the vSphere Client, on the Recent Tasks tab, you can view the progress of the upload.

Step 3: Verify that the vLC deployed correctly

1. If the virtual appliance power is off, right-click your VM in the vSphere Client, and then click Power > Power On.
2. Verify that the virtual appliance VM power is on.
3. Verify that the VM IP address appears in the VM summary.

Step 4: Configure the vLC

1. In the vSphere web UI, right-click your VM, and then click Power > Power On.

2. Right-click your VM, and then click Console > Open Console.

3. When prompted, press Enter three times to initiate the serial console session.

4. At the Select an option to configure your management interface with prompt, select DHCP or enter a static IP address for the virtual appliance management interface.

   Note: If you select DHCP, you must use a DHCP reservation to prevent log collection and connection errors.

5. Click Next.

6. At the Use a proxy? prompt, do one of these actions:

   Note: Only management interface traffic over OpenVPN is sent to the proxy server.

   • If your virtual appliance management traffic goes through a proxy server, select Yes, and then configure these settings:
     • Server IP address — Enter the proxy server IP address for your appliance.
     • Server port — Enter the proxy server port.
   • If your virtual appliance management traffic does not go through a proxy server, select No.

7. Click Next.

8. At the Do you want to verify your network connection? prompt, select one of these options:

   • Yes

     A series of connectivity tests run.

   • No

9. Click Next.

10. At the Tell us about the application you are configuring prompt, configure these settings:

    • In the Shorthand field, enter the shorthand name for the virtual appliance.

    • Select VLC.

11. Click Next.

12. When prompted, do one of these actions to connect the virtual appliance to the Arctic Wolf Platform:

    • On a mobile device — Scan the QR code displayed in the console window, and then follow the on-screen prompts.

      Note: QR codes expire after 15 minutes. A new code appears in the console if the QR code expires.

    • In a web browser — Enter the displayed URL into the URL field, and then follow the on-screen prompts.

    After the virtual appliance successfully connects to the Arctic Wolf Platform, a prompt replaces the QR code, asking you to sign in to the MDR Dashboard, and then click Accounts > Arctic Wolf Appliance Management.

Step 5: Activate the vLC

1. Sign in to the MDR Dashboard.

2. Click Account > Arctic Wolf Appliance Management.

3. Find the appliance that you want to activate.

4. In the Actions column, click Activate <appliance>, and then click Activate <appliance> when prompted.

   The console displays Appliance activation in progress, please wait.

5. When prompted, press Enter three times to activate the console.

See also

• Arctic Wolf vLCs
• Serial Console User Guide