An administrator would like to use vRealize Operations Cloud to monitor an on-premises deployment.

According to the vRealize Operations Cloud Getting Started guide1, the initial step that the administrator must take to use vRealize Operations Cloud to monitor an on-premises deployment is to deploy a Cloud Proxy on-premises, and pair it with vRealize Operations Cloud. A Cloud Proxy is a virtual appliance that acts as a bridge between the on-premises vCenter instance and the vRealize Operations Cloud instance. It collects data from the vCenter instance and sends it securely to the vRealize Operations Cloud instance. It also enables actions and remote console access from the vRealize Operations Cloud instance to the on-premises vCenter instance. The guide provides the steps to download, deploy, and configure the Cloud Proxy using the vRealize Operations Cloud user interface1. The other options are not correct because:

Initiating a Cloud Proxy deployment on the cloud console, and pairing it with vRealize Operations Cloud is not a valid step, as there is no such option in the vRealize Operations Cloud user interface. The Cloud Proxy must be deployed on-premises, not on the cloud console1.

Opening firewall ports to vRealize Operations Cloud from the on-premises vCenter, and then adding the on-premises deployment is not a sufficient step, as it does not establish a secure and reliable connection between the on-premises vCenter instance and the vRealize Operations Cloud instance. The Cloud Proxy is required to facilitate the data collection and communication between the two instances1.

Deploying a vRealize Operations node on-premises, and pairing it with vRealize Operations Cloud is not a recommended step, as it will introduce additional complexity and overhead in managing the on-premises vRealize Operations node. The Cloud Proxy is a lightweightand easy-to-deploy appliance that does not require any additional licenses or configuration1. References: 1: vRealize Operations Cloud Getting Started guide, pages 9-13.