vcenter-mcp by davlloyd - MCP Server

vCenter MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for VMware vCenter that provides read-only access to vCenter resources including clusters, resource pools, and virtual machines.

Features

Read-only access to vCenter resources
Cloud Foundry deployment support for Tanzu Cloud Foundry
Flexible credential management via environment variables or Cloud Foundry service bindings
vCenter REST API integration for all operations
FastMCP framework for MCP protocol support
MVC architecture following software design best practices
Comprehensive testing with pytest
Type hints throughout the codebase

Supported Operations

List all clusters - Get all clusters in vCenter
List VMs in cluster - Get all virtual machines in a specific cluster
List resource pools - Get all resource pools in a specific cluster
List VMs in resource pool - Get all virtual machines in a specific resource pool
Get vCenter status - Get connection status and basic statistics

Project Structure (MVC Architecture)

vcenter-mcp/
├── main/                           # Main application package
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── __main__.py                 # Application entry point
│   ├── server_factory.py           # Server creation and MVC initialization
│   ├── models/                     # Data models (M in MVC)
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── vcenter_config.py       # Configuration and data models
│   ├── views/                      # Presentation layer (V in MVC)
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── mcp_tools.py            # MCP tools and formatting
│   ├── controllers/                # Business logic (C in MVC)
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── vcenter_controller.py   # Main controller
│   ├── services/                   # Service layer
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── vcenter_service.py      # vCenter API service
│   └── config/                     # Configuration management
│       ├── __init__.py
│       └── config_manager.py       # Configuration and credentials
├── tests/                          # Test suite
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── test_config.py              # Configuration tests
│   └── test_mvc_structure.py       # MVC structure tests
├── app.py                          # Legacy entry point
├── test_connection.py              # Connection testing utility
├── config.env.example              # Environment configuration template
├── setup_env.py                    # Environment setup script
├── requirements.txt                # Python dependencies
├── setup.py                        # Package setup
├── pyproject.toml                  # Modern Python packaging
├── manifest.yml                    # Cloud Foundry manifest
├── Procfile                        # Cloud Foundry process
├── runtime.txt                     # Python runtime version
└── README.md                       # This file

Architecture Overview

MVC Pattern Implementation

Models (main/models/): Data structures and configuration models
- VCenterConfig: Configuration for vCenter connection
- Cluster, ResourcePool, VirtualMachine: Data models for vCenter resources
Views (main/views/): Presentation layer for MCP tools
- MCPToolsView: Handles MCP tool registration and data formatting
- Formats data for display to MCP clients
Controllers (main/controllers/): Business logic and coordination
- VCenterController: Main controller that coordinates between models and views
- Handles data transformation and business rules
Services (main/services/): Data access layer
- VCenterService: Handles vCenter REST API interactions
- Manages HTTP requests and responses
Config (main/config/): Configuration management
- ConfigManager: Handles credentials and environment configuration
- Supports Cloud Foundry service bindings
Server Factory (main/server_factory.py): Application initialization
- create_mcp_server(): Creates and configures the MCP server
- Handles proper MVC component initialization
- Resolves circular import issues

Prerequisites

Python 3.12+ (Required - tested with Python 3.12.3, Cloud Foundry uses python-3.12.*)
VMware vCenter server with REST API access
vCenter credentials (username/password)

Installation

Development Installation

Clone this repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd vcenter-mcp

Create a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

Install in development mode:

pip install -e .

Install development dependencies:

pip install -e ".[dev]"

Production Installation

pip install vcenter-mcp

Configuration

Environment Setup

The easiest way to set up your environment is using the provided setup script:

# Interactive setup
python setup_env.py

# View current configuration (passwords are masked)
python setup_env.py show

Manual Environment Variables

Alternatively, you can manually set the following environment variables for vCenter access:

export VCENTER_HOST="https://your-vcenter-server.com"
export VCENTER_USERNAME="your-username"
export VCENTER_PASSWORD="your-password"

# Optional configuration
export VCENTER_VERIFY_SSL="true"  # Default: true
export VCENTER_TIMEOUT="30"       # Default: 30 seconds
export LOG_LEVEL="INFO"           # Default: INFO

Using .env File

Create a .env file in the project root with the following content:

# Copy from config.env.example and update with your values
VCENTER_HOST=https://your-vcenter-server.com
VCENTER_USERNAME=your-username
VCENTER_PASSWORD=your-password
VCENTER_VERIFY_SSL=true
VCENTER_TIMEOUT=30
LOG_LEVEL=INFO

Cloud Foundry Service Binding

Alternatively, you can bind to a vCenter service in Cloud Foundry. The service should provide credentials in the following format:

{
  "host": "https://your-vcenter-server.com",
  "username": "your-username",
  "password": "your-password"
}

Usage

Command Line

Run the MCP server:

# Using the package
python -m main

# Using the console script (if installed)
vcenter-mcp

# Using the legacy entry point
python app.py

Programmatic Usage

from main.config.config_manager import ConfigManager
from main.controllers.vcenter_controller import VCenterController

# Get configuration
config_manager = ConfigManager()
config = config_manager.get_vcenter_config()

# Create controller and run MCP server
controller = VCenterController(config)
app = controller.create_mcp_server()
app.run()

Testing Configuration

After setting up your environment, test your vCenter connection:

# Test connection and basic API calls
python test_connection.py

# View current configuration (passwords are masked)
python setup_env.py show

Cloud Foundry Deployment

The application is configured for Cloud Foundry with flexible Python versioning:

Runtime: python-3.12.* (allows automatic updates to any 3.12.x version)
Buildpack: python_buildpack
Memory: 256M
Disk: 512M
Transport: HTTP using FastMCP's async http transport (compatible with Spring AI WebMVC)
Health Check: HTTP endpoint at /health

Deploy to Tanzu Cloud Foundry

cf login -a https://api.your-cf-instance.com

Set the target organization and space:

cf target -o your-org -s your-space

Deploy the application:

cf push

Environment Variables in Cloud Foundry

Set environment variables for vCenter access:

cf set-env vcenter-mcp-server VCENTER_HOST "https://your-vcenter-server.com"
cf set-env vcenter-mcp-server VCENTER_USERNAME "your-username"
cf set-env vcenter-mcp-server VCENTER_PASSWORD "your-password"

Optional: Bind to vCenter Service

If you have a vCenter service available in your Cloud Foundry marketplace:

cf create-service vcenter-service standard vcenter-service
cf bind-service vcenter-mcp-server vcenter-service

MCP Tools

The MCP server provides the following tools with proper names and descriptions for better discovery:

1. List Clusters (`list_clusters`)

Description: List all clusters in vCenter. Returns a formatted list of all available clusters with their names and IDs.

Usage:

list_clusters()

2. List VMs in Cluster (`list_vms_in_cluster`)

Description: List all virtual machines in a specific cluster. Requires the cluster name as input and returns a formatted list of VMs with their names and power states.

Usage:

list_vms_in_cluster(cluster_name: str)

3. List Resource Pools (`list_resource_pools`)

Description: List all resource pools in a specific cluster. Requires the cluster name as input and returns a formatted list of resource pools with their names and IDs.

Usage:

list_resource_pools(cluster_name: str)

4. List VMs in Resource Pool (`list_vms_in_resource_pool`)

Description: List all virtual machines in a specific resource pool. Requires the resource pool name as input and returns a formatted list of VMs with their names and power states.

Usage:

list_vms_in_resource_pool(resource_pool_name: str)

5. Get vCenter Status (`get_vcenter_status`)

Description: Get vCenter connection status and basic information. Returns connection status, host information, and counts of clusters, resource pools, and virtual machines.

Usage:

get_vcenter_status()

MCP Client Connection

Cloud Foundry Deployment

When deployed to Cloud Foundry, the MCP server is accessible via HTTPS transport:

URL: https://vcenter-mcp-server.apps.tas.tanzu.rocks (port 443)
Transport: http (async)
Protocol: MCP over HTTPS

Local Development

For local development, the server runs on:

Host: 0.0.0.0 (default, configurable via HOST environment variable)
Port: 8080 (default, configurable via PORT environment variable)
Transport: http (async)

Note: Cloud Foundry sets the PORT environment variable for health checks, while external access is routed through HTTPS on port 443. The application must use the PORT environment variable to ensure health checks work correctly. The server defaults to port 8080 but can be overridden with the PORT environment variable.

Development

Python Version

This project requires Python 3.12+ and has been tested with Python 3.12.3. For Cloud Foundry deployment, the runtime is set to python-3.12.* to allow automatic minor version updates.

Running Tests

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=main

# Run specific test file
pytest tests/test_mvc_structure.py

Code Quality

# Format code
black main/ tests/

# Lint code
flake8 main/ tests/

# Type checking
mypy main/

Building the Package

# Build wheel
python -m build

# Install from wheel
pip install dist/vcenter_mcp-*.whl

API Endpoints

Health Check Endpoint

GET /health - Application health status (returns JSON with status information)

MCP Protocol Endpoint

The server uses FastMCP's async http transport for MCP protocol communication over HTTP, compatible with Spring AI WebMVC MCP servers.

vCenter REST API Endpoints

The server uses the vCenter REST API with the following endpoints:

GET /rest/vcenter/cluster - List clusters
GET /rest/vcenter/resource-pool - List resource pools
GET /rest/vcenter/vm - List virtual machines

Security Considerations

The server operates in read-only mode
Credentials are stored securely in environment variables or service bindings
SSL verification is enabled by default
No persistent storage of sensitive data
All API requests are logged for debugging

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Connection failed: Verify vCenter host URL and credentials
SSL certificate errors: Ensure vCenter has valid SSL certificates
Authentication failed: Check username and password
API access denied: Verify user has appropriate permissions
MCP client timeout: Ensure the client is configured to use http transport (compatible with Spring AI WebMVC)
Cloud Foundry deployment issues: Check that the app is running and accessible via HTTPS on port 443

Logs

Check application logs for detailed error information:

# Local development
python -m main

# Cloud Foundry
cf logs vcenter-mcp-server --recent

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging:

export LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
python -m main

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes following the MVC pattern
Add tests for new functionality
Run the test suite
Submit a pull request

Development Setup

# Clone and setup
git clone <your-fork-url>
cd vcenter-mcp
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest

# Format code
black main/ tests/

Adding New Features

When adding new features, follow the MVC pattern:

Models: Add new data models in main/models/
Services: Add API interactions in main/services/
Controllers: Add business logic in main/controllers/
Views: Add presentation logic in main/views/
Tests: Add corresponding tests in tests/

License

[Add your license information here]

Changelog

1.0.0

Initial release
MVC architecture implementation
Comprehensive testing
Cloud Foundry deployment support
FastMCP integration

davlloyd/vcenter-mcp

vCenter MCP Server

Features

Supported Operations

Project Structure (MVC Architecture)

Architecture Overview

MVC Pattern Implementation

Prerequisites

Installation

Development Installation

Production Installation

Configuration

Environment Setup

Manual Environment Variables

Using .env File

Cloud Foundry Service Binding

Usage

Command Line

Programmatic Usage

Testing Configuration

Cloud Foundry Deployment

Deploy to Tanzu Cloud Foundry

Environment Variables in Cloud Foundry

Optional: Bind to vCenter Service

MCP Tools

1. List Clusters (list_clusters)

2. List VMs in Cluster (list_vms_in_cluster)

3. List Resource Pools (list_resource_pools)

4. List VMs in Resource Pool (list_vms_in_resource_pool)

5. Get vCenter Status (get_vcenter_status)

MCP Client Connection

Cloud Foundry Deployment

Local Development

Development

Python Version

Running Tests

Code Quality

Building the Package

API Endpoints

Health Check Endpoint

MCP Protocol Endpoint

vCenter REST API Endpoints

Security Considerations

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Logs

Debug Mode

Contributing

Development Setup

Adding New Features

License

Changelog

1.0.0

1. List Clusters (`list_clusters`)

2. List VMs in Cluster (`list_vms_in_cluster`)

3. List Resource Pools (`list_resource_pools`)

4. List VMs in Resource Pool (`list_vms_in_resource_pool`)

5. Get vCenter Status (`get_vcenter_status`)