VMware vSphere

Deploy the Sophos Remote Testing Appliance (RTA) as a virtual machine on VMware vSphere / ESXi. We provide the appliance as an OVA file — a self-contained image you import directly into vCenter or a standalone ESXi host. The OVA URL or file path is provided by your engagement lead.

How delivery works on VMware vSphere

You receive the following from your engagement lead:

Item	What it is
OVA URL or file	A download URL or a pre-staged file path for the appliance OVA. URLs are time-limited — request a fresh one if it has expired.
Network port group	The port group name on your vSphere environment that provides Layer-2 access to the engagement targets.
Datastore name	The datastore where the VM disk should be placed.

The OVA is customized for your engagement before you receive it. It bundles the appliance's root disk and a small cidata.vmdk seed disk, so its identity and credentials are already provisioned — a single Deploy OVF Template attaches both disks for you. The appliance boots already registered and connects to the Sophos headend automatically over an outbound VPN tunnel; there is no activation step.

The OVA descriptor also sets the VM's firmware and hardware for you: EFI firmware with Secure Boot off, built at VM hardware version 13 (compatible with ESXi 6.5 and later). There are no firmware or boot settings to change after import — deploy the OVA and power on.

What the console shows

Because the appliance comes up pre-registered, its console displays a live status and troubleshooting dashboard (network interface, VPN tunnel, and connectivity health, plus a menu to reconfigure networking or view logs). Open the VM console in vSphere Client if you need to check connectivity or change network settings.

Requirements

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
vCPU	2	4
Memory	4 GB	8 GB or more
Boot disk	40 GB	40 GB
Virtual hardware version	13 (set by the OVA; needs ESXi 6.5+)	—
Networking	Outbound internet; L2 port group to targets	External / non-isolated port group

Choose a deployment method

• Point & Click (GUI)

  vSphere Client wizard: right-click a host or cluster, choose Deploy OVF Template, point to the OVA, and configure settings in the portal.

• Command Line (CLI)

  ovftool end-to-end — deploy the OVA directly to vCenter or a standalone ESXi host from a single command. Optionally use govc for post-deploy configuration.

• PowerShell (PowerCLI)

  VMware PowerCLI — Import-VApp to deploy the OVA, then Start-VM. Good for Windows-centric or scripted, repeatable deployments.