Monthly Archives: November 2015

Platform Service Controller Replication

Platform Service Controller replication can be setup in multiple ways, when I ran through a test configuration of 4 sites, each with a single PSC. I was wondering how replication would be automatically configured out of the box. When I installed the PSCs I used the previously configured PSC to configure the newly built PSC:

PSC1 (Built First) <—- PSC2 (built second) <—- PSC3 (built third) <—- PSC4 (built fourth)

The following commands allowed me to view the replication configuration and then setup a topology of my choice:

vdcrepadmin -f showservers -h FQDN_of_Local_PSC -u administrator -w password

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Platform Service Controller

What is Platform Services Controller 6.0 (PSC)?
The Platform Services Controller (PSC) is a component of the vSphere Suite. The PSC deals with identity management for administrators and applications that interact with the vSphere platform.
What are the key capabilities of PSC 6.0?
  • PSC 6.0 remains a multi-master model, as was introduced in vSphere 5.5 in the form of vCenter Single Sign-On.
  • It can be deployed either in an Appliance-based or Windows-based flavor, both able to participate in multi-master replication also both Appliance-based or Windows-based PSCs can interoperate with Appliance-based or Windows-based vCenter Servers.
  • It can handle the storing and generation of the SSL certificates within your vSphere environment.
  • It handles the storing and replication of your VMware License Keys
  • It handles the storing and replication of your permissions via the Global Permissions layer.
  • It handles the storing and replication of your Tags and Categories.
  • It has a built-in feature for automatic replication between different, logical SSO sites.
  • There is only one single default domain for the identity sources.
What are the components that are installed with Platform Services Controller 6.0?

Components that are installed with PSC 6.0 include:

  • 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