ESXi Host Configuration Profiles - Automated Drift Remediation
Infrastructure automation represents the foundation of modern cloud operations, enabling consistent deployment patterns and reducing human error in configuration management. This KB article addresses critical infrastructure components that require automated lifecycle management to maintain operational excellence and security compliance across distributed environments.
Source KB: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/esxi-config-drift
KB Number: esxi-drift
Orchestrator Integration: Automation Workflow
Goal: Automate esxi host configuration profiles - automated drift remediation configuration and validation to reduce manual effort and ensure consistency across environments.
Workflow steps (VMware Aria Orchestrator)
• Create a workflow: 'vLCM Configuration Drift Detection and Remediation'
* Inputs: clusterName (string), remediationMode (string: auto/manual), notificationEmail (string)
* Step 1: Query cluster configuration - retrieve vLCM image specification, host configuration profiles, and desired state definition
* Step 2: Execute drift detection scan across all cluster hosts - compare current host configuration against vLCM image baseline
* Step 3: Analyze drift findings - categorize configuration deltas as: critical (security settings), standard (NTP/DNS), informational (non-impacting)
* Step 4: For each detected drift item:
- Document configuration parameter name, expected value, actual value, drift severity
- Identify if drift is policy violation or potentially intentional customization
- Calculate remediation risk (requires reboot, service restart, or live change)
* Step 5: Generate drift report with visual dashboard showing: hosts in compliance, hosts with drift, drift categories, remediation requirements
* Step 6: If remediationMode = 'auto' and no reboot required, execute automated remediation:
- Place host in maintenance mode if needed
- Apply vLCM desired state configuration via API
- Validate configuration change successful
- Exit maintenance mode and verify host operational
* Step 7: For reboots required or manual mode, create ServiceNow change request with:
- Detailed drift description and remediation steps
- Impact analysis (requires maintenance window)
- vLCM image compliance report attachment
- KB reference for configuration drift handling
* Step 8: Implement continuous drift monitoring - schedule daily drift scans, track drift trends over time, alert on new drift detections
* Step 9: Compliance reporting - generate monthly compliance dashboard showing: drift-free uptime percentage, mean time to remediation, recurring drift patterns
* Step 10: Integration with change management - log all remediation actions to CMDB with before/after configuration state
Expected outcome
Automated configuration drift detection and remediation maintains cluster compliance with vLCM image definitions, reduces manual audit effort by 80%, ensures security policy enforcement across ESXi fleet.
