How To Install vCloud Automation Center (vCAC) 6.0 - Part 6 - Create and Publish Blueprints

We are almost done with the initial setup to get to a point where we can start provisioning. In this scenario we are going to use a normal clone functionality that is a similar process across vSphere, Hyper-V (SCVMM), and KVM (RHEV). If you want to know about all the provisioning scenarios such as Linked Clones read Choosing a Provisioning Scenario.

At this point you should have finished the previous 5 steps:

Part 1: Deploy and Configure the Identity Appliance

Part 2: Deploy and Configure the vCloud Automation Center Appliance

Part 3: Installing IaaS Components

Part 4: Tenant Configuration

Part 5: Agent, Endpoint, and Group Configuration

after this step

Part 7 - Setup vCO, Endpoints, and Advanced Services

Create Clone Blueprint Information

1. Navigate to Infrastructure -> Blueprints -> Blueprints. On the far right hand, Click New -> Virtual -> vSphere

2. Configure the Blueprint

a. Give it a name that identifies it

b. its your call to keep the next 3 boxes checked or not. each one makes sense to what it actually does. The display location will make a user choose a datacenter instance of where to deploy the application instead of letting vCAC choose for you.

c. accept the group default for the machine pre-fix

d. setting a number for the max provisioning amount will only allow a single user to provision a set amount of this blueprint

e. specify the number of days to archive machines provisioned from this blueprint, just keep it at 0 for now.

f. add in any additional costs for chargeback purposes. These costs will be ADDED to anything that is set in a cost profile. so you can add in a OS licensing cost or specific application cost for this VM

g. click on the 'build information' tab

h. select clone from the action menu

i. make sure Clone Workflow is selected.

j. click on the '...' button to browse your vSphere and environment and find your template

k. if you have a customization specification, type it in here. from the documentation "A customization specification is required only if you are cloning with static IP addresses. However, you cannot perform any customizations of Windows machines without a customization specification object. For Linux clone machines, you can use a customization specification, an external script, or both to perform customizations"

l. it's optional but you can specify maximum amounts of vCPU, RAM, and HDD space that can be assigned to this blue print. Gives a user the ability to customize to their specific application

m. on the actions tab, we can remove anything that we don't want Users to do. we can leave this at default for now.

n. Click OK.

Publish Your Blueprint

1. We're in the home stretch. Navigate to Infrastructure -> Blueprints -> Blueprints. Highlight your new blueprint and click on publish

2. click on OK

Create a Service as the Tenant Administrator

1. We are going to take this blueprint and create a serviceable catalog item for it. Go to Administration -> Catalog Management -> Services. Click on the green "+" sign to add a new service.

2. Give the service a name. Here i'm choosing to call it Windows 2012. Feel free to add in a logo or add any other information for your specific service. Mark the service as Active so we can use it in our entitlement. Click Add

3. On the far right hand side, hover over the Edit button for the new Service item and click on Manage Catalog Items

4. Click on the green "+" to add a catalog item

5. add our new catalog item (Only catalog items not associated with a service are available). Click Add

6. Click Close

Create an Entitlement

1. Go to Administration -> Catalog Management -> Entitlements and click on the green "+" mark

2. Configure the entitlement

a. Give the entitlement a name for the group of users who will have access

b. Change the status to active which makes it active... draft mode will not make it available to users

c. since we only have 1 business group, we don't need to change anything

d. add in users or groups that will have access to this entitlement

e. Click next

f. Add our entitled service, add our catalog items, add any rights to this group. since this guy can do it all, I gave him access to everything. Click Add