How do I deploy a Virtual Canary on VMware vSphere?

How to deploy a Virtual Canary on VMware vSphere to monitor your virtual infrastructure, guiding you through downloading the OVA, importing it into vSphere, configuring the VM, and connecting it to your Canary Console for active threat detection.

Canaries aren't just Hardware devices. You can run Canaries inside your virtualised infrastructure, using the same Console as always.

Requirements

All that's needed for a fully functioning bird:

• Disk space larger than 10GB
• 2GB memory
• Single CPU core

Step 1: Sign in to your Console

You can log in to your Console.

Step 2: Start adding a new Canary

Click the + Add button and select Add Canary.

Step 3: Select VMware Canary

Click Add VMware Canary.

Step 4: Download the OVA file

Click Download and then select OVA to begin the download.

Step 5: Confirm OVA download completion

The OVA file has now been successfully downloaded.

Step 6: Deploy OVF template in vSphere

On vSphere, click Actions and then Deploy OVF Template from the drop-down list.

Step 7: Choose the OVA file to import

Click Choose Files and select the file from the location you downloaded it to, and click Next.

Step 8: Name the Virtual machine and select the datacenter

Give your Virtual machine an identity.

1. Name your Virtual machine. (We used CPT-SQL-Prod)
2. Select the datacenter the Canary will live in. (We selected 192.168.8.201 — Datacenter1)
3. Click Next.

Step 9: Select compute resource/host

Select the compute resource/host the Canary will live in and click Next.
We selected Datacenter1 — 192.168.8.30

Step 10: Review template details

Review the template details and click Next.

Step 11: Configure storage settings

1. Select Thin Provision on the Select Virtual disk format drop-down.
2. Select the VM Storage Policy from the drop-down list. (We chose Datastore Default)
3. Click Next.

Step 12: Select the VM network

Select the VM Network from the drop-down list and click Next.

Step 13: Review and finish import

Review the details and click Finish to begin the import.

Step 14: Power on the Canary VM

Once the import has finished, power on the Canary:

1. Select the Canary. (We used CPT-SQL-Prod)
2. Select Actions.
3. Select Power from the drop-down list and then Power On.

Step 15: Confirm the new Canary in your Console

On your Console, you should see a pop-up to confirm your new Canary.

Click Add Canary.

Step 16: Manage your Canary

Your Virtual Canary will boot and connect back to your Console.

You can set up your Virtual Canary from within your Console using the remote management guide found here.