VLAB - Virtual Lab Management System

VLAB is a virtualization lab management system built with Express.js, designed to simplify the management, cloning, and access control of virtual machines in VMware environments, providing convenience for educational scenarios. The system offers a web interface that allows instructors to easily create and manage lab environments, and provides students with convenient access.

Features

• User Management: Supports multi-level user permissions (admin, advanced user, regular user)
• Lab Management: Create and configure different types of lab environments
• VM Management: Automatically clone and assign virtual machines to users or groups
• VMware API Integration: Integrate with vCenter server for automated operations
• Session Management: Use Redis to store user sessions, supporting cluster deployment
• Reverse Proxy: Integrated WebSocket proxy, supports direct access to ESXi hosts
• Secure Access: HTTPS support and user authentication

System Architecture

VLAB adopts a multi-layer architecture:

1. Frontend: Web interface rendered by EJS templates and tailwindcss
2. Application Layer: Node.js Express server
3. Cache Layer: Redis for session storage and caching
4. Storage Layer: PostgreSQL database
5. Proxy Layer: Nginx/Node.js reverse proxy
6. Virtualization Layer: VMware vCenter and ESXi

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+
• Redis 7+
• PostgreSQL 12+
• Tailwindcss 4+
• VMware vCenter server 7.0+

Environment Variable Configuration

Create a .envrc file (refer to .envrc.example):

# VMware vCenter configuration
export VCENTER_BASE_URL="https://vcenter.example.com"
export VCENTER_USERNAME="administrator@vsphere.local"
export VCENTER_PASSWORD="your-password"

# Database configuration
export DB_HOST="localhost"
export DB_USER="admin"
export DB_PASSWORD="your-db-password"
export DB_PORT=5432
export DB_NAME="vlab"

# Session configuration
export SESSION_SECRET="your-session-secret"

# Redis configuration
export REDIS_HOST="localhost"
export REDIS_PORT=6379
export REDIS_PASSWORD="your-redis-password"

# Proxy configuration
export PROXY_HOST="vlab.sample.com:8843"

Standard Installation

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Create database (if using PostgreSQL)
psql -U postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE vlab;"
# For table creation, see the three init scripts in the db folder

# Start the application
npm run dev
npm run rproxy
# See depoyment_note.txt for details

Docker Installation

Docker configuration files are provided for simplified deployment. Database and nginx can use official docker images directly:

# postgresql: main database (required)
docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.pg.yml up -d

# For expressjs session storage (optional)
docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.redis.yml up -d

# nginx: replaces rproxy.js as the proxy server in production (optional, do not run with rproxy at the same time)
docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.nginx.yml up -d

# Start the application with PM2
npm install pm2 -g
pm2 start ecosystem.config.cjs

User Guide

User Operations

1. Login: Log in with assigned credentials

2. Access Labs and VMs: Connect to virtual machines via the web interface

Admin Operations

1. User Management: Create users and groups, set permissions

2. Lab Configuration: Set up lab templates and VM assignment

3. Schedules and Tasks: Set shutdown schedules for lab VMs

System Monitoring

The system provides a monitoring interface to display resource usage and user activity:

Developer Guide

Project Structure

├── cert/               # SSL certificates
├── config.js           # Application config
├── crontask/           # Scheduled tasks
├── db/                 # Database scripts
├── docker/             # Docker configs
├── docs/               # Documentation and screenshots
├── middleware/         # Express middleware
├── public/             # Static assets
├── routes/             # Route definitions
├── server.js           # App entry point
├── server-with-redis.js # Server with Redis support
├── rproxy.js           # Reverse proxy server
└── views/              # EJS templates

Extension Guide

To add new features, follow these steps:

1. Create new routes in the routes/ directory
2. Add necessary views to the views/ directory
3. Update config files to support new features
4. Rebuild the frontend with React/Vue for a more modern UI
5. Adapting CSS for mobile devices

Performance Optimization

• For production, use PM2 for cluster deployment
• Use Nginx as a frontend proxy for static assets and load balancing
• Configure proper caching and connection pooling for Redis and PostgreSQL

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions:

• Connection issues: Ensure vCenter and ESXi hosts allow API access
• Session issues: Check Redis connection and configuration
• Proxy errors: Verify Nginx configuration and SSL certificates