Chapter 3. Working with Requests

3.1. Provisioning Request Approval Methods

In this chapter, you will learn about the different approval methods. The request can be approved manually in the Red Hat CloudForms console, set for automatic approval by setting options in the Automate Explorer, or by using an external method. 2348 When using an external method, the approval actually takes place on the external system and is sent directly for execution. This chapter discusses how to view and edit requests in the Red Hat CloudForms Console, how to approve a request, and how to set automatic approval parameters.

3.2. Working with Provisioning Requests

After a provisioning request is sent, if you have proper authority, you can copy, edit, delete, approve, or deny a request.

After submission, the appliance assigns each provision request a Request ID. If an error occurs during the approval or provisioning process, use this ID to locate the request in the appliance logs. The Request ID consists of the region associated with the request followed by the request number. As regions define a range of one trillion database IDs, this number can be several digits long.

Request ID Format

Request 99 in region 123 results in Request ID 123000000000099.

3.2.1. Reloading the Status of Provisioning Requests

  1. Navigate to Services → Requests.
  2. Click 2106 (Reload the current display).

3.2.2. Approving a Provisioning Request

After a user creates provisioning request, administrators have the ability to approve the request and allow Red Hat CloudForms to complete virtual machine or instance creation.

  1. Navigate to Services → Requests.
  2. Click on the request you want to approve.
  3. Type in a Reason for the approval.
  4. Click 1852 (Approve this request).

3.2.3. Denying a Provisioning Request

  1. Navigate to Services → Requests.
  2. Click on the request you want to deny.
  3. Type in a Reason for the denial.
  4. Click 2009 (Deny this request).

3.2.4. Copying a Provisioning Request

  1. Navigate to Services → Requests.
  2. Click on the request you want to copy.
  3. Click 1859 (Copy original provision request).
  4. Make changes to the request.
  5. Click Submit.

If the logged in user is not same as the requester or the request has been already approved or denied, you cannot edit or delete the request.

3.2.5. Editing a Provisioning Request

  1. Navigate to Services → Requests.
  2. Click on the request you want to edit.
  3. Click 1851 (Edit the original provision request).
  4. Make changes to the request.
  5. Click Submit.

3.2.6. Deleting a Provisioning Request

  1. Navigate to Services → Requests.
  2. Click on the request you want to delete.
  3. Click 1861 (Delete this request).
  4. Click OK to confirm.

3.2.7. Automatically Approving Requests

You can set thresholds for automatic approval of provisioning requests and, therefore, remove the requirement to manually approve the request. You can do this either as a global default or on a per template basis.

3.2.7.1. Enabling Global Defaults for Automatic Approval

To enable a global set of default approval values, edit the defaults instance by navigating to Automate → Explorer, then DOMAIN → Cloud|Infrastructure → VM → Provisioning → StateMachines → ProvisionRequestApproval in the accordion menu. The parameters in this instance are used by the methods in that same class. By default, the maximum number of virtual machines or instances that can be automatically approved for provisioning is 1. To skip the check for the maximum number of virtual machines, set this field to 0. Set this field to -1 to force manual approval. At a minimum, you must change this parameter for all others to be validated.

  1. Navigate to Automate → Explorer,.

  2. From the tree in the accordion menu, select DOMAIN → Cloud → VM → Provisioning → StateMachines → ProvisionRequestApproval Class.

    Note

    DOMAIN must be a user-defined Domain and not the locked ManageIQ Domain. If necessary, you can copy the class from the ManageIQ domain into a custom domain.

    This example uses the Cloud Namespace but can also use the Infrastructure namespace.

  3. Click 1847 (Configuration), then 1851 (Edit this instance). 6280

    Note

    Do not change any values other than those listed below. Doing so may prevent the automatic approval process from running.

    • Use max_cpus to set the number of CPUs allowed to approve automatically the provisioning request.
    • Use max_vms to set the maximum number of virtual machines or instances that are allowed to be provisioned automatically approve the request. If this is set to blank, no requests will be automatically approved.
    • Use max_memory to set the maximum memory allowed to approve automatically the provisioning request.
    • Use max_retirement_days to set the maximum number of days until the virtual machine or instance is retired to automatically approve this request.
    • If a value is blank or 0, the parameter is ignored.
  4. Click Save.

The thresholds for automatic approval are set. The next time a provision request is created these thresholds will be checked. If the requirements are met, the provisioning request will be approved with no user intervention.

3.2.7.2. Template Specific Approval Defaults

Red Hat CloudForms provides tags that can be used to set default automatic approval values on a per template or image basis. These values supersede those in the Automate model. Use these tags to eliminate the need for manual approval for all provisioning requests. To enable automatic approval, assign the tags directly to templates or images.

Category Display Name (Name)Use (Sample values)

Auto Approve Max CPU (prov_max_cpus)

Sets the maximum number of CPUs that can be automatically approved in a single provisioning request. (Sample Values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Auto Approve Max Memory (prov_max_memory)

Sets the maximum number of memory that can be automatically approved in a single provisioning request. Sample Values: 1, 2, 4, 8 (in GB)

Auto Approve Max Retirement Days (prov_max_retirement_days)

Sets the maximum number of days until retirement that can be automatically approved in a single provisioning request. Sample Values: 30, 60, 90, 180 (in days)

Auto Approve Max VM (prov_max_vms)

Sets the maximum number of virtual machines or instances that can be automatically approved in a single provisioning request. Sample Values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

3.2.7.3. Assigning Tags to a Template for Auto Approval

  1. Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Virtual Machines.
  2. Click the Templates accordion, and select the templates that you want to tag.
  3. Click 1941 (Policy), and then 1851 (Edit Tags).
  4. Select a customer tag from the first dropdown, and then a value for the tag.

The thresholds for automatic approval for a specific template are set. The next time a provision request is created for this template these thresholds will be checked. If the requirements are met, the provisioning request will be approved with no user intervention.

3.2.7.4. Setting Provisioning Notification Email Addresses

Red Hat CloudForms contains a set of Automate instances for provisioning. These Automate instances also include email fields to set the sender and recipient of provisioning notifications, such as requests. These fields are set to evmadmin@company.com as a default.

  1. Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

  2. Choose the following Namespace: DOMAIN → Cloud → VM → Provisioning → Email.

    Note

    DOMAIN must be a user-defined Domain and not the locked ManageIQ Domain. If necessary, you can copy the class from the ManageIQ domain into a custom domain.

    This example uses the Cloud Namespace, but can also use the Infrastructure namespace.

  3. Select an instance within the chosen class.
  4. Click 1847 (Configuration), then 1851 (Edit this instance).
  5. Type the desired email addresses in the to_email_address and from_email_address fields.

  6. Click Save.

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