Deploy the ExtraHop Command Appliance with VMware

The ExtraHop Command appliance (ECA) is a virtual appliance that provides centralized management and reporting across multiple ExtraHop appliances distributed across data centers, branch offices, and the public cloud. For most large ExtraHop deployments, a dedicated ECA is the most efficient way to manage and report across the remote nodes.

The following procedures explain how to deploy an ExtraHop Command appliance with the vSphere client running on a Windows machine. You must have experience administering your VMware ESX and ESXi environments to complete these procedures.

Virtual machine requirements

You must have an existing installation of VMware ESX/ESXi server version 5.5 or later capable of hosting the Command virtual appliance. In addition, you need a vSphere client to deploy the OVF file and to manage the virtual machine.


The following ESX/ESXi server hardware is required:

Four or more Intel processing cores with hyper-threading support, VT-x or AMD-V technology, Supplemental Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 (SSSE3) support, and a processing speed of 2.5 GHz or higher
4 GB
44 GB or higher
One 1 Gbps Ethernet network port
Place in network
Near one of the managed ExtraHop appliances, but accessible on port 443 to all managed ExtraHop appliances

Performance guidelines

The performance of the ExtraHop Command appliance depends on the number of sensors you are deploying in combination with the number of devices you expect the system to discover in your environment. To determine the appropriate sizing, see Command Appliance Performance Guidelines.

Deploy the Command appliance

Before you begin

If you have not already done so, download the ExtraHop Command appliance virtual machine package for VMware from the ExtraHop Customer Portal.
Note:If you must migrate the VM to a different host after deployment, shut down the virtual appliance first and then migrate with a tool such as VMware VMotion. Live migration is not supported.
  3. Follow the Virtual Machine wizard prompts to deploy the virtual machine. For most deployments, the default settings are sufficient.
    1. Browse to the location of the downloaded OVA file, select the file, and then click Next.
    2. Review and verify the OVF template details and click Next.
    3. Type the VM name and location. Give the VM a unique and specific name for the ESX Inventory and then click Next.
    4. For Disk Format, select Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed and then click Next.
    6. Verify the configuration, select the Power on after deployment checkbox, and then click Finish to begin the deployment.
      When the deployment is complete, you can see the unique name you assigned to the ExtraHop VM instance in the inventory tree for the ESX server to which it was deployed.
  4. The Command appliance contains a preconfigured bridged virtual interface with the network label, VM Network. If your ESX has a different interface label, you must reconfigure the network adapter on the Command virtual appliance before starting the appliance.
    1. Select the Summary tab.
    2. Click Edit Settings, select Network adapter 1, select the correct network label from the Network label drop-down list, and then click OK.
  5. Click the Command virtual appliance in the ESX Inventory and then select the Console tab.
  6. Click the console window and then press ENTER to display the login prompt.
  7. Log in with the shell user account and the password default.
  8. Run the show ipaddr command to display the IP address of the ECA.
    Note:If you need to manually configure an IP address, see the Configure a static IP address section.
  9. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to exit the window.

Configure a static IP address through the CLI


Important:For deployments that include a Discover appliance that is connected to a Command appliance, we strongly recommend configuring a unique hostname. If the IP address on the sensor is changed, the Command appliance can re-establish connection easily to the sensor by hostname.
  1. Access the CLI through an SSH connection, by connecting a USB keyboard and SVGA monitor to the appliance, or through an RS-232 serial cable and a terminal emulator program. The terminal emulator must be set to 115200 bps with 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1), and hardware flow control should be disabled.
    1. Enable privileged commands:
    3. Enter configuration mode:
    4. Enter the interface configuration mode:
      For example:
      ip ipaddr
    6. Leave the interface configuration section:
    7. Save the running config file:
      running_config save
    8. Type y and then press ENTER.

Post-deployment actions

Open a web browser and type the IP address of the Command appliance in the address bar and then press ENTER. Accept the EULA and enter the product key to license the appliance.

Log in to the ExtraHop system with the setup user account and type default for the password.

Published 2021-07-26 21:08