Overview

Integrating VMware vCenter with Active Directory (AD) provides centralized identity and access management. By joining vCenter to an AD domain, administrators can leverage existing user accounts, groups, and organizational units in Active Directory for role-based access control (RBAC) in vSphere.

This eliminates the need for separate credentials for vCenter, improving security, simplifying management, and ensuring consistency across IT environments.

Reasons for Joining vCenter to Active Directory

  • Centralized Authentication and Authorization.

    • Utilize existing AD user accounts and groups for vCenter login.
    • Enforce consistent security policies across your infrastructure.

  • Simplified Access Management

    • Easily manage permissions and roles using familiar AD tools.
    • Avoid maintaining a separate set of credentials for vCenter access.

  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

    • Assign granular permissions to users or groups based on roles defined in AD.
    • Minimize the risk of unauthorized access by granting the least privilege necessary.

  • Improved Security

    • Reduce potential vulnerabilities by relying on a single, secure authentication source.
    • Use AD features like multi-factor authentication (MFA) and account lockout policies.

  • Streamlined Operations

    • Enable seamless integration with other AD-dependent applications or systems.
    • Simplify audits and compliance reporting by consolidating access logs.

  • Enhanced Scalability

    • Easily manage access for large teams or organizations through AD groups.
    • Adapt to organizational changes by updating permissions in AD without modifying vCenter configurations.

Steps to Join vCenter to Active Directory.

Step 1 - Verify Prerequisites

  • Ensure the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) and the AD domain controller have network connectivity.
  • Ensure VCSA can resolve the AD domain using ping or nslookup.
  • Verify that the DNS settings on the VCSA are configured correctly to resolve the AD domain name.
  • Ensure the VCSA and AD servers are synchronized using an NTP server.
  • Check that the time on the VCSA and the AD server is synchronized to avoid “time drift” errors.
  • Verify that ports required for AD communication (e.g., 389 for LDAP, 88 for Kerberos) are open.

Step 2 - Join vCenter to the Domain

  • Open a web browser and access the vSphere Client: https://<vCenter-IP>/ui.
  • Navigate to Menu > Administration.
  • Select Deployment > System Configuration.
  • Under Single Sign-On (SSO), click Configuration.
  • Under Identity Provider select Active Directory Domain

If the server hasn’t already joined to the domain, you will see Join AD link is active.

  • Click Join AD
  • Enter the required details, such as:
    • Domain name: The FQDN of your AD domain.
    • Organizational unit (OU): Optional, if you want to place the vCenter in a specific OU.
    • Username and Password: Credentials of a user with permissions to join computers to the domain.
  • Click OK to proceed.

Step 3 - Reboot the vCenter.

  • Go to Administration > System Configuration
  • Select your vCenter node, and click Reboot node.

Step 4 - Configure Identity Sources:

After successfully joined the domain, and rebooted the vCenter, you can proceed to add the AD as identity sources:

  • Re-open a web browser and access the vSphere Client: https:///ui.

  • Log in with your vCenter administrative credentials.

  • Navigate to Menu > Administration.

  • Under Single Sign-On (SSO), click Configuration.

  • Select the Identity Sources tab. Click Add and choose one of the following:Active Directory (Integrated Windows Authentication)

  • Enter the required details, such as:

    • Domain name: The FQDN of your AD domain.
    • User Machine Account: If you want to use Machine Account
    • Service principal name (SPN): If you want to useService principal name .

Assign AD Permissions to Global Permission

  • Navigate to Menu > Administration > Access Control > Global Permissions.
  • Add AD groups such as: Domain Admin or users and assign appropriate roles such as: Administrator role
  • Navigate to Inventory.
  • on the Permission Section, add the domain group as well.
  • Enable Propagate to children, if you want to propagate the permission to all child object.