Chapter 13. Instances and Images
Images are the static templates containing the software configuration from which you provision a running Instance - a virtual machine, with which you can interact - on your cloud provider.
The Instance and Images containers, combined with the ability to analyze information inside each instance or image, provides in-depth information across the cloud environment. This rich set of information enables Red Hat CloudForms users to improve problem resolution times and effectively manage instances and images in their cloud environment.
The Instances and Images pages display all instances and images the server discovered from your cloud providers. The taskbar on each page is a menu driven set of buttons that provide access to functions related to instances and images.
- History button
- Refresh screen button
- Taskbar
- Download buttons
- View buttons
- Name search bar/Advanced Search button
- Sort dropdown
- Navigation bar
- Main area in List View
- Cloud/Filter Navigation
Console uses Virtual Thumbnails to describe instances and images. Each thumbnail contains four quadrants by default. This allows you to glance at an instance or image for a quick view of its contents.
- Top left quadrant: Operating system of the Instance
- Bottom left quadrant: Instance Cloud Provider
- Top right quadrant: Power state of Instance or Status icon
- Bottom right quadrant: Number of Snapshots for this Instance
Icon | Description |
---|---|
| Template: Cloud Image |
| Retired: Instance has been retired |
| Archived: Instance has no provider or availability zone associated with it. |
| Orphaned: Instance has no availability zone but does have a provider associated with it. |
| Disconnected: Instance is disconnected. |
| On: Instance is powered on. |
| Off: Instance is powered off. |
| Suspended: Instance has been suspended. |
The Instances page has four accordions organizing your instances and images in different ways. All of these accordions share a set of common controls:
- Use Instances by Provider and Images by Provider to view your instances and images organized by provider. In addition, you can see archived and orphaned items here.
- Use the Instances to view, apply filters, and collect information about all of your instances.
- Use Images to view, apply filters, and collect information about all of your images.
Through the console, you can view your instances and images in multiple ways:
- Filter instances
- Change views
- Sort
- Create a report
- Search by Tags
- Search by collected data
13.1. Filtering Instances and Images
The Instance Filter accordion is provided so that you can easily navigate through groups of instances. You can use the ones provided or create your own through Advanced Filtering capabilities.
13.1.1. Using an Instance or Image Filter
- Navigate to → → .
- Click on the Instances or Images accordion.
- Click on the desired filter from the left pane.
13.1.2. Creating an Instance or Image Filter
- Navigate to → → .
- Go to the Instances or Images accordion.
-
Click All Instances or All Images, then click
(Advanced Search) to open the expression editor.
Use the expression editor to choose the appropriate options for your criteria. Based on what you choose, different options will show.
- For all of the types of searches, you have the options of creating an alias and requested user input. Select Use Alias to create a user friendly name for the search. If you are requested user input for the search, this text will show in the dialog box where the input is requested.
Click Field to create criteria based on field values.
Click Count of to create criteria based on the count of something, such as the number of snapshots for an instance, or the number of instances on a host.
Click Tag to create criteria based on tags assigned to your virtual infrastructure, such as for power states or production tagging.
Click Find to seek a particular value, and then check a property.
-
Click
(Commit Expression Element Changes) to add the expression.
- Click Save.
- Type in a name for the search expression in Save this Instance search as. To set the filter to show globally, check Global Search.
- Click Save.
The filter is saved and shows in the My Filters area of the Filter accordion. If you checked Global Search, the filter shows there.
13.1.3. Loading a Report Filter or Search Expression
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to search (either Instances or Images).
-
Click
(Advanced Search) to open the expression editor.
- Click Load.
Select either a saved instance search or an instance report filter.
NoteThe set of items to select will depend on the type of resource you are searching.
- Click Load to load the search expression.
If you want to edit the expression, click on it and make any edits for the current expression.
-
Click
(Commit expression element changes) to add the changes.
-
Click
(Undo the previous change) to remove the change you just made.
-
Click
(Redo the previous change) to put the change that you just made back.
-
Click
(AND with a new expression element) to create a logical
AND
with a new expression element. -
Click
(OR with a new expression element) to create a logical
OR
with a new expression element. -
Click
(Wrap this expression element with a NOT) to create a logical NOT on an expression element or to exclude all the items that match the expression.
-
Click
(Remove this expression element) to take out the current expression element.
-
Click
- Click Load.
- Click Apply.
13.2. Changing Views for Instances and Images
While you can set the default view for different pages from the settings menu, then
→ → , the current view can also be controlled from the Instances pages.- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to view.
Click the appropriate button for the desired view.
-
Click
for Grid View.
-
Click
for Tile View.
-
Click
for List View.
-
Click
13.3. Sorting Instances and Images
Virtual machines and images can be sorted by Name, Availability Zone, Flavor, Cloud Provider, Compliant, Last Analysis Time, and Region.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the desired items to sort.
To sort instances or images when in grid or tile view:
- From the Sort by dropdown, click the attribute to sort.
To sort instances or images when in list view:
- Select the List View.
- Click on the Column Name to sort. For example, click on Availability Zone to sort by the name of the availability zone.
13.4. Creating an Instance or Image Report
For a listing of instances and images, you can create a quick report in CSV, TXT, or PDF formats.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the desired items for report creation.
Click
(Download).
-
Click
for a TXT file.
-
Click
for a CSV file.
-
Click
for a PDF file.
-
Click
13.5. Searching for Instances or Images
To the right of the taskbar on the Instances page, you can enter names or parts of names for searching. You can search in the following ways.
-
Type characters that are included in the name. For example, if you type
sp1
, all Instances whose names includesp1
appear, such asWindows2003
andSp1clone
. -
Use
*
at the end of a term to search for names that begin with specific characters. For example, typev*
to find all instances whose names begin with the letterv
. -
Use
*
at the beginning of a term to search for names that end with specific characters. For example, type*\sp2
to find all instances whose names end withsp2
. - Erase all characters from the search box to go back to viewing all instances.
Search for instances and images:
- Navigate to → → .
Click the accordion for the desired items to search.
- In the Name Filter bar in the upper right corner of the window, type your criteria.
-
Click
(Search by Name within results) or press Enter.
- Type in other criteria to filter on what is currently displayed.
-
Click
(Search by Name within results) or press Enter.
13.6. Analyzing Instances and Images with SmartState Analysis
Analyze an instance to collect metadata such as user accounts, applications, software patches, and other internal information. If Red Hat CloudForms is not set up for automatic analysis, perform a manual analysis of an instance. To perform a SmartState Analysis, Red Hat CloudForms requires a running SmartProxy with visibility to the instance’s storage location so that a snapshot can be created.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to analyze.
- Check the instances and images to analyze.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Perform SmartState Analysis) on the taskbar.
- Click OK.
Non-Displayable File Types
- File size bigger than 20k characters
- File with missing name
- Non MIME .conf file, with non ascii characters
- Non MIME .conf file, without content
- MIME .exe binary file
Displayable File Types
- MIME .txt non binary file
- Non MIME .conf ascii file
SmartState Analysis for instances runs as a process independent from providers. For example, a successful SmartState Analysis of a host does not mean SmartState Analysis for instances will be successful. Ensure to enter credentials for the provider that contains the instance for the SmartState Analysis to work.
13.7. Comparing Instances and Images
You can compare multiple instances in Red Hat CloudForms server. This allows you to see how different instances are from their original image. This helps detect missing patches, unmanaged user accounts, or unauthorized services.
Use the comparison feature to:
- Compare multiple instances from different hosts
- Compare multiple instances side-by-side
- Quickly see similarities and differences among multiple instances and a base
- Narrow the comparison display to categories of properties
- Print or export in the comparison results to a PDF or CSV file
Compare instances and images:
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to analyze.
- Click the checkboxes for the items to compare.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Compare Selected items). The comparison displays in a compressed view with a limited set of properties listed.
-
To delete an item from the comparison, click
(Remove this VM from the comparison) at the bottom of the items column.
-
To view many items on one screen, go to a compressed view by clicking
(Compressed View). To return to an expanded view, click
(Expanded View).
To limit the mode of the view, there are two buttons in the task bar.
-
Click
(Details Mode) to see all details for an attribute.
-
Click
(Exists Mode) to limit the view to if an attribute exists compared to the base or not. This only applies to attributes that can have a boolean property. For example, a user account exists or does not exist, or a piece of hardware that does or does not exist.
-
Click
- To change the base instance that all the others are compared to, click its label at the top of its column.
- To go to the summary screen for an instance, click its Virtual Thumbnail or icon.
13.7.1. Creating an Instance Comparison Report
Output a the data from a comparison report in TXT, CSV or PDF formats.
- Create the comparison for the report.
Click
(Download).
-
Click
for a TXT file.
-
Click
for a CSV file.
-
Click
for a PDF file.
-
Click
13.8. Refreshing Instances and Images
Refresh your instances to get the latest data the provider can access. This includes information such as the power state, container, and hardware devices attached to the instance.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the desired items to analyze.
- Click the checkboxes for the items to refresh.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Refresh Relationships and Power States) on the Instance Taskbar.
13.9. Extracting Running Processes from Instances and Images
Red Hat CloudForms can collect processes running on Windows instances. To do this, enter domain credentials for the zone where the instance is located. The instance must be running and must have an IP address in the VMDB, usually obtained from a SmartState Analysis.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the checkboxes for the instances to collect processes.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Extract Running Processes) on the taskbar.
- Click OK.
13.10. Setting Ownership for Instances and Images
You can set the owner of a group of instances and images by either individual user or group. This allows you an additional way to filter and can be used to enforce quotas.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to change.
- Click the checkboxes for the items to set ownership.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Set Ownership) on the Instance Taskbar.
From the Select an Owner dropdown, select a user.
- From the Select a Group dropdown, select a group
- Click Save.
13.11. Removing Instances and Images from the VMDB
If an instance has been decommissioned or you need to perform some troubleshooting, you might need to remove a specific instance from the VMDB. This does not however remove the instance or image from its provider.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to remove.
- Click the checkboxes for the items to remove.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Remove from the VMDB) button.
- Click OK.
13.12. Tagging Instances and Images
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to tag.
- Click the checkboxes for the items to tag.
-
Click
(Policy), and then
(Edit Tags).
Select a customer tag from the first dropdown, and then a value for the tag.
- Click Save.
13.13. Reviewing an Instance or Image
After viewing your list of instances and images, click on a specific item to review a Summary screen of it. The Summary screen provides you with a Virtual Thumbnail and a Taskbar.
- Use the Taskbar to perform actions on the selected item.
- Use Summary Views to change the view type of the summary screen.
- Use Virtual Thumbnails for a quick glance at the item.
- Use the Summary screen to see a quick summary of the attributes of the item.
13.14. Viewing Running Processes after Collection
- Click an instance with collected processes.
- From the Diagnostics area, click Running Processes.
The most recent collection of running processes is displayed. Sort this list by clicking on the column headers.
13.15. Managing Security Groups for Cloud Instances
Manage security groups associated with cloud provider instances using Red Hat CloudForms.
To add a security group to an instance:
- Navigate to → → .
- Click on Instances by Provider, and select an instance.
-
Click
(Configuration), then click
(Add a Security Group).
- Select a Security Group from the drop-down menu to add to the instance.
- Click Save.
To remove a security group from an instance:
- Navigate to → → .
- Click on Instances by Provider, and select an instance.
-
Click
(Configuration), then click
(Remove a Security Group).
- Select a Security Group from the drop-down menu to remove from the instance.
- Click Save.
13.16. Editing Instance or Image Properties
Edit the properties of an instance or image to set parent and child instances. SmartState Analysis also can detect this.
- From → → .
- Click the accordion for the items to edit.
- Click the item to edit properties.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Edit this Instance or Edit this Image) on the Taskbar.
- From the Parent Instance dropdown, select the parent instance.
- From Child Instance selection, select instances that are based on the current instance from the list of Available Instances.
- Click Save.
13.17. Controlling the Power State of an Instance
Follow this procedure to control the power states of an instance through the Red Hat CloudForms console.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the instance to change the power state.
Click Power Operations, then click the button for the desired power operation.
-
Click
(Start) to start the selected instances.
-
Click
(Terminate) to terminate the selected instances.
-
Click
(Suspend) to suspend the selected instances.
-
Click
(Reset) to reset the selected instances.
-
Click
(Stop Guest) to stop the guest operating system.
-
Click
(Restart Guest) to restart the guest operating system.
-
Click
- Click OK.
Google Compute Engine instances are limited to the following power options: Start, Stop, and Terminate.
13.18. Right Sizing an Instance
Red Hat CloudForms uses collected statistics to recommend the best size for an instance. Red Hat CloudForms uses the information from the Normal Operating Range to calculate the recommendations.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click an instance for right-sizing.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Right-Size Recommendations) button.
A new page appears with three levels of Memory and CPU recommendations, Conservative, Moderate, and Aggressive, next to the Normal Operating Range statistics.
13.19. Resizing an Instance
Red Hat CloudForms allows you to resize an existing, active instance by changing its flavor. This is only possible if your OpenStack deployment has:
- At least two Compute nodes, or with resizing to the same host enabled
- Enough capacity to support the needs of the new flavor
Keep in mind that the instance will undergo a controlled shutdown when you change its flavor.
For more information about the requirements and underlying OpenStack process involved, see Resize an Instance in the Red Hat OpenStack Platform Instances and Images Guide.
To resize an instance through Red Hat CloudForms:
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the instance whose flavor you want to change.
-
Click
(Configuration), and then
(Reconfigure this Instance).
- In the Reconfigure Instance section, select the new flavor you want from the Choose Flavor dropdown.
- Click Submit. Doing so will initiate the flavor change, and it might take several minutes before Red Hat CloudForms verifies whether the change was successful.
See Chapter 11, Flavors and Manage Flavors in the Red Hat OpenStack Platform Instances and Images Guide for more information.
13.20. Migrating a Live Instance
Live migration involves moving a live instance between Compute nodes. Live migration is useful for avoiding instance downtime during cloud maintenance or load management. See How to Migrate a Live Instance in the Red Hat OpenStack Platform Migrating Instances guide for details on the underlying OpenStack process.
To migrate a live instance:
- Navigate to → → .
- On the right pane, click the instance to be migrated. Use the Instances by Provider accordion to filter instances by provider and/or availability zone.
-
Click
(Lifecycle), then
(Migrate selected Instance).
On the Migrate Instance section, select your preferred migration options:
- Auto-select Host?: let the OpenStack provider automatically choose a destination Compute node. If you prefer to choose a specific node, uncheck this option and choose from the Destination Host dropdown.
- Block Migration: check this option to perform a block-based migration. With this migration, the entire virtual machine image is moved from the source node to the destination node. If your OpenStack provider uses shared storage, leave this option unchecked. See Prerequisites in the Red Hat OpenStack Platform Migrating Instances guide for related information.
- Disk Over Commit: check this option to prevent the OpenStack provider from verifying first whether the destination host has available disk space to host the instance.
- Click Submit.
Once the migration initiates, the instance list will reload with a message indicating that the selected instance is being migrated. Upon completion, the instance list will reload and the evacuated instance will be displayed as
(On).
13.21. Evacuating an Instance
If a Compute node is shut down, you can evacuate instances hosted on it. This is only useful if the instances use shared storage or block storage volumes. See Evacuate Instances in the Red Hat OpenStack Platform Instances and Images Guide for details on the underlying OpenStack process.
To evacuate an instance:
- Navigate to → → .
- On the right pane, click the instance to be evacuated. Use the Instances by Provider accordion to filter instances by provider and/or availability zone.
-
Click
(Lifecycle), then
(Evacuate selected Instance).
On the Evacuate Host section, select your preferred evacuation options:
- Auto-select Host?: let the OpenStack provider automatically choose a destination Compute node. If you prefer to choose a specific node, uncheck this option and choose from the Destination Host dropdown.
- On Shared Storage: leave this checked to indicate that all instance files are on shared storage.
- Click Submit.
Once the evacuation initiates, the instance list will reload with a message indicating that the selected instance is being evacuated. Upon completion, the instance list will reload and the evacuated instance will be displayed as
(On).
13.22. Viewing Capacity and Utilization Charts for an Instance
View capacity and utilization data for instances that are part of a cluster.
You must have a server with network visibility to your provider assigned the server role of Capacity & Utilization Collector to use this feature. For more information, see General Configuration.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion to view capacity data.
- Click the item to view.
-
Click
(Monitoring), and then
(Utilization) on the taskbar.
Select to view hourly, most recent hour, or daily data points for the dates to view data.
- Select a Time Profile.
Daily charts only include full days of data. This means Red Hat CloudForms does not show daily data for a day without a complete 24 data point range for a day.
For information about data optimization including utilization trend reports, see Chapter 6, Data Optimization.
13.23. Viewing the Instance or Image Timeline
View the timeline of events for an instance or image if registered to a host.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the instance to view the timeline.
-
Click
(Monitoring), and then
(Timelines) on the taskbar.
From Options, customize the period of time to display, and the types of events to view.
- Use the Interval dropdown to select hourly or daily data points.
- Use Date to type the date of the timeline to display.
- If viewing a daily timeline, use Show to set how many days back to go. The maximum history is 31 days.
- The three Event Group dropdowns allow selection of different event groups to display. Each has its own color.
- From the Level dropdown, select either a Summary event or a Detail list of events. For example, the detail level of a Power On event might include the power on request, the starting event, and the actual Power On event. If you select Summary, you only see the Power On event in the timeline.
- To see more detail on an item in the timeline, click on it. A balloon appears with a clickable link to the resource.
13.24. Viewing the Instance or Image Summary
When you click on a specific instance or image, you will see the Virtual Thumbnail, and an operating system-specific summary screen of the item. Where applicable, click on a subcategory of the summary to see more detail on that section.
The summary page contains the following categories:
- Properties include information such as the base operating system, hostname, IP addresses, instance vendor, cloud resources, and snapshots. This includes the ability to analyze multiple partitions, multiple disks, Linux logical volumes, extended partitions, and Windows drives. Some categories can be clicked on for additional detail. For example, click Container to view notes associated with an instance.
- Lifecycle shows the date of discovery and the last analysis. If a retirement date and time or owner has been set, these display as well.
- Relationships include information on the instance’s cloud provider, genealogy such as parent and child instances, and drift.
- VMsafe shows properties of the VMsafe agent if it is enabled.
- Compliance shows the status of system compliance checks and history of past checks.
- Power Management displays the current power state, last boot time, and last power state change. State Changed On is the date that the instance last changed its power state. This is a container view of the power state, therefore a restart of the operating system does not cause the container power state to change and does not update this value.
- Security includes information on users and groups.
- Configuration includes information on applications, services, packages, init processes, and files. This section changes depending on the base operating system.
- Diagnostics provides a link to viewing running processes and the information from the latest collected event logs.
- Smart Management shows all tags assigned to this instance.
Performing a SmartState Analysis on an instance or image provides more detailed information in these categories.
13.25. Viewing User Information for an Instance or Image
Red Hat CloudForms’s SmartState Analysis feature returns user information. Explore the user to get details on the user’s account, including group memberships.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click on the instance or image to open its summary page.
- From the Security section of the summary page, click Users.
- Click the user to view details.
13.26. Viewing Group Information for an Instance or Image
Red Hat CloudForms’s SmartState Analysis feature returns group information. Explore the group to get a list of its users.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the item to view user information.
- Click on the item to view its Summary.
- From the Security section of the Instance Summary, click Groups.
- Click the group to view users.
13.27. Viewing Genealogy of an Instance or Image
Red Hat CloudForms detects the lineage of an instance. View an instance’s lineage and compare the instances that are part of its tree. This also allows tagging of instances that share genealogy.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the item to view genealogy.
- Click on the item to view its Summary.
- From the Relationships area in the Summary, click Genealogy.
13.28. Detecting Drift on Instances or Images
The configuration of an instance might change over time. Drift is the comparison of an instance to itself at different points in time. The instance needs to be analyzed at least twice to collect this information. Detecting drift provides you the following benefits:
- See the difference between the last known state of a machine and its current state.
- Review the configuration changes that happen to a particular instance between multiple points in time.
- Review the association changes that happen to a particular instance between multiple points in time.
- Review the classification changes that happen to an instance between two time checks.
- Capture the configuration drifts for a single instance across a time period.
Detect drift on instances or images:
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the item to view drift.
- Click on the item to view its Summary.
- From the Relationships area in the Summary, click Drift History.
- Click the checkboxes for the analyses to compare.
-
Click
(Select up to 10 timestamps for Drift Analysis)] at the top of the screen. The results display.
- Check the Drift sections on the left to view in your comparison.
- Click Apply.
The following descriptions pertain to the Expanded View
. Whether you see the value of a property or an icon representing the property depends on the properties type.
- A property displayed in the same color as the base means the compared analysis matches the base for that property.
- A property displayed in a different color from the base means the compared analysis does not match the base for that property.
If you are in the Compressed View
, the values of the properties are not displayed. All items are described by the icons shown below.
-
A
(checkmark) means that the compared analysis matches the base for that property. If you hover over it, the value of the property will display.
-
A
(triangle) means the compared analysis does not match the base for that property. If you hover over it, the value of the property displays. Click the minus sign next to the sections name to collapse it.
-
A
To limit the scope of the view, you have three buttons in the Resource button area.
-
Click
(All attributes) to see all attributes of the sections you selected.
-
Click
(Attributes with different values) to see only the attributes that are different across the drifts.
-
Click
(Attributes with the same values) to see only the attributes that are the same across drifts.
-
Click
To limit the mode of the view, there are two buttons in the Resource button area.
-
Click
(Details Mode) to see all details for an attribute.
-
Click
(Exists Mode) to only see if an attribute exists compared to the base or not. This only applies to attributes that can have a Boolean property. For example, a user account exists or does not exist, or a piece of hardware that does or does not exist.
-
Click
This creates a drift analysis. Download the data or create a report from your drift for analysis using external tools.
13.29. Creating a Drift Report for an Instance or Image
- Create the comparison to analyze.
-
Click
(Download).
Click the output button for the type of report you want.
-
Click
(Download drift report in text format) for a text file.
-
Click
(Download drift report in CSV format) for a csv file.
-
Click
(Download drift report in PDF format) for a PDF file.
-
Click
13.30. Viewing Analysis History for an Instance or Image
Each time a SmartState Analysis is performed on an instance, a record is created of the task. This information is accessed either from the instance accordion or the instance summary. Use this detail to find when the last analysis was completed and if it completed successfully. If the analysis resulted in an error, the error is shown here.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the desired item to view analysis history.
- Click on the item to view its summary.
From the Relationships area in the summary, click Analysis History. A history of up to the last 10 analyses is displayed.
- Click on a specific analysis to see its details.
13.31. Viewing Event Logs for an Instance or Image
Using an Analysis Profile, collect event log information from your instances.
See the Setting a Default Analysis Profile section in the CloudForms General Configuration guide.
This feature is only available for Windows.
- Navigate to → → .
- Click the accordion for the item to view event logs.
- Click on the item to view its Summary.
- From Diagnostics click Event Logs.
The collected event log entries are displayed. Sort this list by clicking on the column headers.