Testing

Title

ESXi AD Group Configuration Automation using Aria Orchestrator

Name of the Service

ESXi Local AD Group Configuration Automation

Date Onboarded

July 2026

Person Responsible

Ajay Kumar Mundra

Team Responsible

HCL – VCF / VMware Automation Team

Automation Benefits

Eliminates manual SSH login to ESXi hosts.

Supports execution on both a single ESXi host and an entire cluster.

Automatically validates host/cluster existence before execution.

Executes predefined ESXCLI commands consistently across all selected hosts.

Generates execution summary reports for cluster-based operations.

Reduces manual effort and minimizes configuration errors.

Centralized automation through VMware Aria Orchestrator.

Before (Manual)

Engineer manually identifies the target ESXi host(s).

SSH is enabled manually on each ESXi host.

Administrator logs in using root credentials.

ESXCLI commands are executed individually on every ESXi host.

SSH service is disabled manually after completion.

No centralized execution status or reporting.

High effort and increased possibility of manual errors when processing multiple hosts.

After (Automation)

User selects Host or Cluster as the execution target.

Workflow validates the selected host or cluster from the vCenter inventory.

For cluster execution, all ESXi hosts are automatically discovered.

SSH credentials are retrieved automatically from the configured Resource Element.

Workflow enables SSH service on each ESXi host.

Predefined ESXCLI commands are executed automatically.

SSH service is disabled after successful execution.

Cluster executions generate a consolidated success/failure report.

Entire activity is completed from a single vRO workflow execution.

Other Benefits

Standardized ESXi configuration across environments.

Reduced operational risk through automation.

Eliminates repetitive manual administration tasks.

Faster execution for bulk ESXi configuration.

Complete execution logging for troubleshooting.

Easy to extend for future ESXCLI-based automation.

Improves operational consistency and compliance.

Nordea Approval By

(To be updated after business approval.)

How much Manual Run Time does this process save?

Activity

Time Taken (Manual)

Execution/Day

Execution/Month

Time Saved/Year

Configure AD Group on ESXi

15 mins / Host

Variable

~100 Hosts

Significant reduction in administrative effort

Example Calculation

Assuming:

100 ESXi hosts

15 minutes per host manually

Manual effort:

100 × 15 mins = 1500 mins

= 25 Hours

Automation:

Single workflow execution

≈ 20–30 minutes for entire cluster

Annual Savings (Example)

If performed monthly:

25 Hours × 12

= 300 Hours/year

Star Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 / 5 – Excellent

Reasons

Fully automated

Repeatable

Error handling included

Cluster support

Centralized reporting

Reusable workflow design

Minimal manual intervention

Hi Team,

This is a friendly reminder to please complete any pending mandatory training (both HCL and Nordea) at the earliest.

Also, ensure you submit your timesheet today before the end of the day.

Thank you!

Hi Rafal,

Thanks for the clarification and for sharing the details.

Please go ahead with the rollback for now so that the existing automation can continue to function.

In parallel, we will start exploring the Infoblox API-based approach and initiate the required requests for API access/permissions and AD group membership as mentioned below.

One additional question: Will the same change also be applicable to the Production DHCP environment? Are there plans to migrate the Production DHCP scopes from Microsoft DHCP to Infoblox as well?

This will help us understand whether we should consider the Infoblox API integration as a common solution for both PreProd and Production while redesigning the automation.

Thanks for your support.

The approach I followed was to first analyze the incident data and shortlist use cases with a high incident volume—primarily those with more than 50 incidents per month. That gives us a good starting point for identifying automation opportunities.

The next step is to validate these use cases from an operations perspective. For that, I need support from a delivery focal or coordinator who can work with the respective SMEs or assignment group leads. They can help answer key questions such as: Is there an SOP available? Can the issue be resolved without manual intervention? Are there dependencies on other teams or approvals that limit automation?

Once the automation feasibility is understood, the SMEs can provide the current manual effort involved in handling these incidents. Using that information, we can estimate the potential effort savings and calculate the ROI for each automation use case."