Red Hat CloudForms 4.1

Provisioning Virtual Machines and Hosts

Provisioning, workload management, and orchestration for Red Hat CloudForms

Red Hat CloudForms Documentation Team

<cloudforms-docs@redhat.com>

Abstract

This guide provides instructions for provisioning, service creation, and automation in Red Hat CloudForms.

If you have a suggestion for improving this guide or have found an error, please submit a Bugzilla report at http://bugzilla.redhat.com against Red Hat CloudForms Management Engine for the Documentation component. Please provide specific details, such as the section number, guide name, and CloudForms version so we can easily locate the content.

Chapter 1. Red Hat CloudForms Lifecycle

This guide discusses lifecycle activities such as provisioning and retirement that are part of the Red Hat CloudForms Automate component. Red Hat CloudForms Automate enables real-time, bidirectional process integration and adaptive automation for management events and administrative or operational activities.

Operations Management with service level resource enforcement.

Resource Management including datastore cleanup, snapshot aging and enforcement, and virtual machine or instance aging and retirement.

Configuration and Change Management including enforced closed loop change management.

Lifecycle Management such as provisioning, customization, reconfiguration, approval, CMDB updates, and retirement.

Important

Provisioning requires the Automation Engine server role enabled. Check your server role settings in Settings → Configuration → Server → Server Control.

Provisioning

When a virtual machine or cloud instance is provisioned, it goes through multiple phases. First, the request must be made. The request includes ownership information, tags, virtual hardware requirements, the operating system, and any customization of the request. Second, the request must go through an approval phase, either automatic or manual. Finally, the request is executed. This part of provisioning consists of pre-processing and post-processing. Pre-processing acquires IP addresses for the user, creates CMDB instances, and creates the virtual machine or instance based on information in the request. Post-processing activates the CMDB instance and emails the user. The steps for provisioning may be modified at any time using Red Hat CloudForms.

Chapter 2. Provisioning Requests

The following options are available when making provisioning requests:

Set an owner (User can do this using LDAP lookup)

Assign a purpose (tag)

Select a template or image from which to create a new virtual machine or instance respectively

Choose placement

Set hardware requirements

Specify the vLan

Customize the guest operating system

Schedule the provisioning

Requirements for Provisioning Virtual Machines and Instances

Red Hat CloudForms supports the provisioning of VMware ESX hosts/hypervisors. To provision a virtual machine from VMware providers, you must have an appliance with the Automation Engine role enabled.

If you are using a Windows template, the following configuration is required:

To customize settings that are inside the operating system, Sysprep must be copied to the appropriate directory on your vCenter computer. Usually this location is: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep. Copy the Sysprep tools to the relevant operating system subdirectory. If you are running a standard Win2008 operating system, this step is unnecessary as Sysprep is included as standard.

The Windows template must have the latest version of VMware tools for its ESX Server. Check the VMware Site for more information. If you are creating a new password for the Administrator account, the Administrators password must be blank on the template. This is a limitation of Microsoft Sysprep.

See the VMware documentation for a complete list of customization requirements.

Requirements for Provisioning Virtual Machines from Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager

Item
Requirements

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager version 3.0 or higher

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager properly installed with API in default location https://server:8443/api

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager History Database

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager Data Warehouse (DWH) properly installed with access to the PostgreSQL database on the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager server. Port 5432 open in iptables.

md5 authentication allowed to Red Hat CloudForms appliances in pg_hba.conf.

PostgreSQL set to listen for connections on *:5432 in postgresql.conf.

Credentials provided during database setup to be used in Red Hat CloudForms UI.

Storage Supported for Red Hat CloudForms Virtual Machine Analysis

NFS - Red Hat CloudForms server must be able to mount NFS storage domain.

iSCSI / FCP - Cluster must use full Red Hat Enterprise Linux (not Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Hypervisor) Hosts.

DirectLUN Hook installed on each host and registered to Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Managers.

Must have Red Hat CloudForms appliance in each Cluster with this storage type.

Red Hat CloudForms appliance virtual machine container must have DirectLUN attribute set.

Local storage - Not yet supported (Red Hat does not recommend due to single point of failure).

PXE Provisioning

PXE is a boot method that allows you to load files from across a network link. Red Hat CloudForms uses it for files required for provisioning virtual machines. PXE can be used for provisioning for either Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager or VMware.

Procedure Overview

Connect to the PXE Server.

Create a System Image Type.

Associate each PXE image with an image type.

Create a customization template.

Requirements for PXE Provisioning

DHCP server configured with required PXE implementation

PXE implementation for Linux virtual machine provisioning

NFS or SAMBA read and write access to create and modify files on the PXE server

Red Hat CloudForms Server uses NFS mount to read and write the response files

HTTP read access to the NFS share location as virtual machines use this URL to access PXE images and Kickstart or Cloud-Init configuration files

Operating system installation media available to be streamed from PXE server

Images configured for desired operating systems

Kickstart or Cloud-Init templates to configure operating systems with desired packages

Additional Requirements for Provisioning Linux Virtual Machines

Linux distribution kernel and ramdisk available over HTTP

Linux sources available over HTTP

Sample PXE menu item that boots this kernel

Additional Requirements for Provisioning Windows Virtual Machines

WinPE ISO built with rhev-agent-tools (for RHEV-M environments) and configured to mount shares for Windows source files and Sysprep files and configured to run customization script

Windows based WIM file with operating system installed and configured with Sysprep

Sample Sysprep unattend file to be used with the operating system

Sample PXE menu item that downloads WinPE ISO, mount in memdisk and boot into WinPE environment

Connecting to a PXE Server

The following procedure connects to a PXE server and adds its details to Red Hat CloudForms.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click (Configuration), then (Add a New PXE Server).

In Basic Information, type a Name that will be meaningful in your environment.

For Depot Type, select either Network File System (NFS) or Samba. The fields to enter in the dialog depend on the Depot Type.

For NFS, type in the URI, Access URL, PXE Directory, Windows Images Directory, and Customization Directory. When you provision, Red Hat CloudForms writes a text file to the PXE Directory. The file is named after the MAC address of the NIC that is assigned to the virtual machine. It contains where to get the kernel and initrd image. This file is removed after a successful provision. The Windows Images Directory is where the files are located on your NFS for the provisioning of Windows operating systems. The Customization Directory is where your Kickstart and Sysprep files are located.

If using a Depot Type of Samba, you will not need Access URL, but you will need a User ID, and Password, in addition to the items required for NFS.

For PXE Image Menus, type the Filename for the PXE Boot menu.

Click Add.

Select the new PXE server from the tree on the left, and click (Configuration), then (Refresh) to see your existing images.

Next, create PXE Image types to associate with the customization templates and to specify if the image type is for a virtual machine, a host, or both.

Creating System Image Types for PXE

The following procedure creates a system image type for PXE servers.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the System Image Types accordion.

Click (Configuration), then (Add a new System Image Type).

In Basic Information, type in a Name and select a Type.

Use Host if you want this image type to only apply to hosts.

Use Vm if you want this image type to only apply to virtual machines.

Use Any if this image type can be used for either hosts or virtual machines.

Click Add.

After creating the System Image Types, assign the types to each image on your PXE servers. To do this, you will select each image on the PXE server and identify its type.

Setting the PXE Image Type for a PXE Image

The following procedure sets the image type for a chosen PXE image.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the PXE Servers accordion and select the image that you want to set a type for.

Click (Configuration), then (Edit this PXE Image).

From the Basic Information area, select the correct type. If this PXE image will be used as the Windows Boot Environment, check Windows Boot Environment. At the time of this writing, only one PXE Image can be identified as the Windows Boot Environment. Therefore, checking one as the Windows Boot Environment, will remove that from any other PXE image with that check. Click Save.

ISO Provisioning

Red Hat CloudForms also allows ISO provisioning from Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager datastores. To use this feature, you will need to do the following before creating a provision request.

Add the ISO Datastore. The Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Manager system must have already been discovered or added into the VMDB. For more information, see Managing Providers.

Refresh the ISO Datastore.

Create a System Image Type.

Set the ISO Image Type.

Create a customization template.

Adding an ISO Datastore

The following procedure adds an ISO Datastore from your Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environment.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the ISO Datastores accordion.

Click (Configuration), (Add a new ISO Datastore).

Select the Cloud or Infrastructure provider hosting the ISO Datastore.

Click Add.

The ISO datastore is added to Red Hat CloudForms.

Refreshing an ISO Datastore

The following procedure refreshes the chosen ISO datastore and updates Red Hat CloudForms with available ISOs.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the ISO Datastores accordion, and select an ISO datastore.

Click (Configuration), then click (Refresh Relationships).

Creating System Image Types for ISO

The following procedure creates a system image type for ISO Servers.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the System Image Types accordion.

Click (Configuration), then (Add a new System Image Type).

In Basic Information, type in a Name and select a Type.

Use Host if you want this image type to only apply to hosts.

Use Vm if you want this image type to only apply to virtual machines.

Use Any if this image type can be used for either hosts or virtual machines.

Click Add.

After creating the system image types, assign the types to each image on your ISO servers. To do this, you will select each image on the ISO server and identify its type.

Setting the Image Type for an ISO Image

The following procedure sets the image type for an ISO image.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the ISO Datastores accordion, and select the image that you want to set a type for.

Click (Configuration), then (Edit this ISO Image).

From the Basic Information area, select the correct Type.

Click Save.

Customization Templates for Virtual Machine and Instance Provisioning

Add a customization template to provide Kickstart, Cloud-Init, or Sysprep files for the initial loading of the operating system.

Cloud-Init Requirements

When creating a template using Red Hat Virtualization, install the cloud-init package on the source virtual machine. This enables Cloud-Init to source configuration scripts when a virtual machine built on that template boots.

See Using Cloud-Init to Automate the Configuration of Virtual Machines in the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Administration Guide for more information on using Cloud-Init in a Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environment.

See the Cloud-Init Documentation web site for example scripts.

Kickstart Requirements for ISO Provisioning

Name the Kickstart file ks.cfg.

Set the new virtual machine to power down after provisioning is complete.

CFME must use the virtual machine payload feature of RHEV to create a floppy disk containing the data from the selected customization template.

Customize the installer to include the data written to the floppy disk payload.

Example 2.1. RHEL ISO with the following modifications:

isolinux.cfg – modify default menu item append line to include ks=cdrom

ks.cfg – which must minimally include:

### Pre Install Scripts
%pre

# Mount the floppy drive
modprobe floppy
mkdir /tmp/floppy
mount /dev/floppy /tmp/floppy
%end

# Include ks.cfg file from the floppy (written by CFME based on selected customization template)
%include /tmp/floppy/ks.cfg

Customization Script Additions for Virtual Machine and Instance Provisioning

Customization Type
Reason to Include
Script entries

Kickstart

Takes the values from the Customize tab in Provisioning Dialog and substitutes them into the script.

Configure Networking based on values from provisioning dialog <% if evm[:addr_mode].first == 'static' %> <% network_string = "network --onboot yes --device=eth0 --bootproto=static --noipv6" %> <% ["ip", :ip_addr, "netmask", :subnet_mask, "gateway", :gateway, "hostname", :hostname, "nameserver", :dns_servers].each_slice(2) do |ks_key, evm_key| %> <% network_string << " --{ks_key} #{evm[evm_key]}" unless evm[evm_key].blank? %> <% end %> <%= network_string %> <% else %> network --device=eth0 --bootproto=dhcp <% end %>

Kickstart

Encrypts the root password from the Customize tab in the Provisioning Dialog.

rootpw --iscrypted <%= MiqPassword.md5crypt(evm[:root_password]) %>

Kickstart

Sends status of the provision back to Red Hat CloudForms Server for display in the Red Hat CloudForms Console.

Sysprep

Encrypts the root password from the Customize tab in the Provisioning Dialog. The value for the AdministratorPassword line must be inserted to use the password from the Provision Dialog and encrypt it.

<UserAccounts> <AdministratorPassword> <Value><%= MiqPassword.sysprep_crypt(evm[:root_password]) %></Value> <PlainText>false</PlainText> </AdministratorPassword> </UserAccounts>

Adding a Customization Template

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the Customization Templates accordion.

Click (Configuration), (Add a new Customization Template).

In Basic Information, type in a Name and Description.

Select the Image Type. This list should include the PXE image types you created.

In Type, select Kickstart or CloudInit for Linux based systems, and Sysprep for Windows based system.

In the Script area, either paste the script from another source or type the script directly into the Red Hat CloudForms interface.

Click Add.

The default dialogs show all possible parameters for provisioning. To limit the options shown, see the section called “Customizing Provisioning Dialogs”.

Provisioning Virtual Machines

There are three types of provisioning requests available in Red Hat CloudForms:

Provision a new virtual machine from a template

Clone a virtual machine

Publish a virtual machine to a template

Provisioning a Virtual Machine from a Template

You can provision virtual machines through various methods. One method is to provision a virtual machine directly from a template stored on a provider.

Important

To provision a virtual machine, you must have the "Automation Engine" role enabled.

To provision a virtual machine from a template:

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Virtual Machines.

Click (Lifecycle), and then (Provision VMs).

Select a template from the list.

Click Continue.

On the Request tab, enter information about this provisioning request.

In Request Information, type in at least a First Name and Last Name and an email address. This email is used to send the requester status emails during the provisioning process for items such as auto-approval, quota, provision complete, retirement, request pending approval, and request denied. The other information is optional. If the Red Hat CloudForms server is configured to use LDAP, you can use the Look Up button to populate the other fields based on the email address.

Note

Parameters with a * next to the label are required to submit the provisioning request. To change the required parameters, see the section called “Customizing Provisioning Dialogs”.

Click the Purpose tab to select the appropriate tags for the provisioned virtual machines.

Click the Catalog tab to select the template to provision from. This tab is context sensitive based on provider.

For templates on VMware providers:

For Provision Type, select VMware or PXE.

If VMware is selected, select Linked Clone to create a linked clone to the virtual machine instead of a full clone. Since a snapshot is required to create a linked clone, this box is only enabled if a snapshot is present. Select the snapshot you want to use for the linked clone.

If PXE is selected, select a PXE Server and Image to use for provisioning.

Under Count, select the number of virtual machines to create in this request.

Use Naming to specify a virtual machine name and virtual machine description. When provisioning multiple virtual machines, a number will be appended to the virtual machine name.

For templates on Red Hat providers:

Select the Name of a template to use.

For Provision Type, select either ISO, PXE, or Native Clone. You must select Native Clone in order to use a Cloud-Init template.

If Native Clone is selected, select Linked Clone to create a linked clone to the virtual machine instead of a full clone. This is equivalent to Thin Template Provisioning in Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization. Since a snapshot is required to create a linked clone, this box is only enabled if a snapshot is present. Select the snapshot to use for the linked clone.

If ISO is selected, select an ISO Image to use for provisioning.

If PXE is selected, select a PXE Server and Image to use for provisioning.

Under Count, select the number of virtual machines you want to create in this request.

Use Naming to specify a VM Name and VM Description. When provisioning multiple virtual machines, a number will be appended to the VM Name.

Click the Environment tab to decide where you want the new virtual machines to reside.

If provisioning from a template on VMware, you can either let Red Hat CloudForms decide for you by checking Choose Automatically, or select a specific cluster, resource pool, folder, host, and datastore. VMware virtual machines can also be provisioned to a clustered datastore by selecting it under Datastore.

Note, read-only datastores are excluded when provisioning a virtual machine.

If provisioning from a template on Red Hat, you can either let Red Hat CloudForms decide for you by checking Choose Automatically, or select a datacenter, cluster, host and datastore.

Click the Hardware tab to set hardware options.

In VM Hardware, set the number of CPUs, amount of memory, and disk format: thin, pre-allocated/thick or same as the provisioning template (default).

For VMware provisioning, set the VM Limits of CPU and memory the virtual machine can use.

For VMware provisioning, set the VM Reservation amount of CPU and memory.

Click Network to set the vLan adapter. Additional networking settings that are internal to the operating system appear on the Customize tab.

In Network Adapter Information, select the vLan.

Note

A VMware virtual machine can be provisioned to a DVPortgroup by selecting it from the vLan list. Prior to provisioning a virtual machine, the DVPortgroup must be created on a vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) in VMware vCenter in order for Red Hat CloudForms to list the DVPortgroup under vLan.

Click Customize to customize the operating system of the new virtual machine. These options vary based on the operating system of the template.

For Windows provisioning:

To use a customer specification from the provider, click Specification. To select an appropriate template, choose from the list in the custom specification area. The values that are honored by Red Hat CloudForms display.

Note

Any values in the specification that do not show in the Red Hat CloudForms console’s request dialogs are not used by Red Hat CloudForms. For example, for Windows operating systems, if you have any run once values in the specification, they are not used in creating the new virtual machines. Currently, for a Windows operating system, Red Hat CloudForms honors the unattended GUI, identification, workgroup information, user data, windows options, and server license. If more than one network card is specified, only the first is used.

To modify the specification, select Override Specification Values.

Select Sysprep Answer File, to upload a Sysprep file or use one that exists for a custom specification on the Provider where the template resides. To upload a file, click Browse to find the file, and then upload. To use an answer file in Customization Specification, click on the item. The answer file will automatically upload for viewing. You cannot make modifications to it.

For Linux provisioning:

Under Credentials, enter a Root Password for the root user to access the instance.

Enter a IP Address Information for the instance. Leave as DHCP for automatic IP assignment from the provider.

Enter any DNS information for the instance if necessary.

Select Customize Template for additional instance configuration. Select from the Kickstart or Cloud-Init customization templates stored on your appliance.

Click the Schedule tab to select when provisioning begins.

In Schedule Info, select when to start provisioning. If you select Schedule, you will be prompted to enter a date and time. Select Stateless if you do not want the files deleted after the provision completes. A stateless provision does not write to the disk so it requires the PXE files on the next boot.

In Lifespan, select to power on the virtual machines after they are created, and to set a retirement date. If you select a retirement period, you will be prompted for when you want a retirement warning.

Click Submit.

The provisioning request is sent for approval. For the provisioning to begin, a user with the administrator, approver, or super administrator account role must approve the request. The administrator and super administrator roles can also edit, delete, and deny the requests. You will be able to see all provisioning requests where you are either the requester or the approver.

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.

Cloning a Virtual Machine

Virtual machines can be cloned in other providers as well.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Virtual Machines, and check the virtual machine you want to clone.

Click (Lifecycle), and then (Clone selected item).

Fill in the options as shown in To Provision from a template using the provided dialogs. Be sure to check the Catalog Tab.

Schedule the request on the Schedule tab.

Click Submit.

[[publishing-a-virtual-machine-to-a-template-(vmware-virtual-machines-only)]] ==== Publishing a Virtual Machine to a Template (VMware Virtual Machines Only)

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Virtual Machines, and check the virtual machine you want to publish as a template.

Click (Lifecycle), and then (Publish selected VM to a Template).

Fill in the options as shown in To Provision from a template using the provided dialogs. Be sure to check the Catalog tab.

Schedule the request on the Schedule tab.

Click Submit.

Provisioning Instances

Cloud instances follow the same process (Request, Approval, Deployment) as a standard virtual machine from virtualization infrastructure. First, a user makes a request for instances and specifies the image, tags, availability zone and hardware profile flavor. Second, the request goes through the approval phase. Finally, Red Hat CloudForms executes the request.

Provisioning an EC2 Instance from an Image

Navigate to Compute → Clouds → Instances.

Click (Lifecycle), then click (Provision Instances).

Select an image from the list presented.

Click Continue.

On the Request tab, enter information about this provisioning request. In Request Information, type in at least a first and last name and an email address. This email is used to send the requester status emails during the provisioning process for items such as auto-approval, quota, provision complete, retirement, request pending approval, and request denied. The other information is optional. If the Red Hat CloudForms Server is configured to use LDAP, you can use the Look Up button to populate the other fields based on the email address.

Note

Parameters with a * next to the label are required to submit the provisioning request. To change the required parameters, see the section called “Customizing Provisioning Dialogs”.

Click the Purpose tab to select the appropriate tags for the provisioned instance.

Click the Catalog tab for basic instance options.

To change the image to use as a basis for the instance, select it from the list of images.

Select the Number of VMs to provision.

Type a VM Name and VM Description.

Click the Environment tab to select the instance’s Availability Zone, Virtual Private Cloud, Cloud Subnet, Security Groups, and Elastic IP Address. If no specific availability zone is required, select the Choose Automatically checkbox.

Click the Properties tab to set provider options such as hardware flavor and security settings.

Select a flavor from the Instance Type list.

Select a Guest Access Key Pair for access to the instance.

Select the CloudWatch monitoring level. Leave as Basic for the default EC2 monitoring.

Click the Customize tab to set additional instance options.

Under Credentials, enter a Root Password for the root user access to the instance.

Enter a IP Address Information for the instance. Leave as DHCP for automatic IP assignment from the provider.

Enter any DNS information for the instance if necessary.

Select a Customize Template for additional instance configuration. Select from the Cloud-Init scripts stored on your appliance.

Click the Schedule tab to set the provisioning and retirement date and time.

In Schedule Info, choose whether the provisioning begins upon approval, or at a specific time. If you select Schedule, you will be prompted to enter a date and time.

In Lifespan, select whether to power on the instances after they are created, and whether to set a retirement date. If you select a retirement period, you will be prompted for when to receive a retirement warning.

Click Submit.

The provisioning request is sent for approval. For the provisioning to begin, a user with the admin, approver, or super admin account role must approve the request. The admin and super admin roles can also edit, delete, and deny the requests. You will be able to see all provisioning requests where you are either the requester or the approver.

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.

Provisioning an OpenStack Instance from an Image

Navigate to Compute → Clouds → Instances.

Click (Lifecycle), then click (Provision Instances).

Select an OpenStack image from the list presented. These images must be available on your OpenStack provider.

Click Continue.

On the Request tab, enter information about this provisioning request. In Request Information, type in at least a first and last name and an email address. This email is used to send the requester status emails during the provisioning process for items such as auto-approval, quota, provision complete, retirement, request pending approval, and request denied. The other information is optional. If the Red Hat CloudForms Server is configured to use LDAP, you can use the Look Up button to populate the other fields based on the email address.

Note

Parameters with a * next to the label are required to submit the provisioning request. To change the required parameters, see the section called “Customizing Provisioning Dialogs”.

Click the Purpose tab to select the appropriate tags for the provisioned instance.

Click the Catalog tab for basic instance options.

To change the image to use as a basis for the instance, select it from the list of images.

Select the Number of Instances to provision.

Type a Instance Name and Instance Description.

Click the Environment tab to select the instance’s Tenant, Availabilty Zones, Cloud Network, Security Groups, and Public IP Address. If no specific Tenant is required, select the Choose Automatically checkbox.

Click the Properties tab to set provider options such as flavors and security settings.

Select a flavor from the Instance Type list.

Select a Guest Access Key Pair for access to the instance. For more information about key pairs, see the section called “Managing Key Pairs”.

Click the Volumes tab to provision any volumes with the instance. Volumes are useful for augmenting ephemeral storage of instances with persistent, general-purpose block storage:

Fill in the Volume Name and Size (gigabytes) fields.

If you want the volume to be deleted once the instance terminates (thereby making it non-persistent), check Delete on Instance Terminate.

To provision and add multiple volumes to the instance, click Add Volume. Doing so will add new fields you can fill in.

For more information about persistent storage in OpenStack, see the Red Hat OpenStack Platform Storage Guide.

Click the Customize tab to set additional instance options.

Under Credentials, enter a Root Password for the root user access to the instance.

Enter a IP Address Information for the instance. Leave as DHCP for automatic IP assignment from the provider.

Enter any DNS information for the instance if necessary.

Select a Customize Template for additional instance configuration. Select from the Cloud-Init scripts stored on your appliance.

Click the Schedule tab to set the provisioning and retirement date and time.

In Schedule Info, choose whether the provisioning begins upon approval, or at a specific time. If you select Schedule, you will be prompted to enter a date and time.

In Lifespan, select whether to power on the instances after they are created, and whether to set a retirement date. If you select a retirement period, you will be prompted for when to receive a retirement warning.

Click Submit.

The provisioning request is sent for approval. For the provisioning to begin, a user with the admin, approver, or super admin account role must approve the request. The admin and super admin roles can also edit, delete, and deny the requests. You will be able to see all provisioning requests where you are either the requester or the approver.

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.

Provisioning a Google Compute Engine Instance from an Image

From Red Hat Red Hat CloudForms 4.1, a Google Compute Engine instance can be provisioned. Some functionality available in other cloud providers is currently unavailable when provisioning from Google Compute Engine.

Navigate to Compute → Clouds → Instances.

Click (Lifecycle), then click (Provision Instances).

Select an image from the list presented.

Click Continue.

On the Request tab, enter information about this provisioning request. In Request Information, type in at least a first and last name and an email address. This email is used to send the requester status emails during the provisioning process for items such as auto-approval, quota, provision complete, retirement, request pending approval, and request denied. The other information is optional. If the Red Hat CloudForms Server is configured to use LDAP, you can use the Look Up button to populate the other fields based on the email address.

Note

Parameters with a * next to the label are required to submit the provisioning request. To change the required parameters, see the section called “Customizing Provisioning Dialogs”.

Click the Purpose tab to select the appropriate tags for the provisioned instance.

Click the Catalog tab for basic instance options.

To change the image to use as a basis for the instance, select it from the list of images.

Select the Number of Instances to provision.

Type a Instance Name and Instance Description. For Google Compute Engine instances, the Instance Name cannot use upper case letters. Use a combination of lower case letters and numbers to create the name.

Click the Environment tab to select the instance’s Availability Zone and Cloud Network. If no specific availability zone is required, select the Choose Automatically checkbox.

Click the Properties tab to set provider options such as hardware flavor and boot disk settings.

Select a flavor from the Instance Type list.

Select a Boot Disk Size from the list.

Click the Schedule tab to set the provisioning and retirement date and time.

In Schedule Info, choose whether the provisioning begins upon approval, or at a specific time. If you select Schedule, you will be prompted to enter a date and time.

In Lifespan, select and whether to set a retirement date. If you select a retirement period, you will be prompted for when to receive a retirement warning.

Click Submit.

The provisioning request is sent for approval. For the provisioning to begin, a user with the admin, approver, or super admin account role must approve the request. The admin and super admin roles can also edit, delete, and deny the requests. You will be able to see all provisioning requests where you are either the requester or the approver.

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.

Requirements for Provisioning a Host

Red Hat CloudForms can provision hosts using PXE and Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) technologies. Before you provision your first host, configure the following prerequisites:

Provisioning requires the Automation Engine server role be enabled. Confirm your server role settings in Settings → Configuration → Server → Server Control.

Make a PXE server accessible to the Red Hat CloudForms server.

Create a customization template for hosts. This customization template must contain host-specific additions, documented in the Customization Templates for Host Provisioning section.

Create system image types for the host.

Associate images with the image types.

Enable IPMI on provisioning hosts and add them to the Red Hat CloudForms Infrastructure.

IPMI Hosts

There are two ways to get the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Host into the VMDB. You can either use the Red Hat CloudForms’s discovery process or add the host using its IP address and credentials.

Discovering the Management Interface for an IPMI Host

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Hosts.

Click (Configuration), then (Discover Items).

In Discover, check IPMI.

Optionally, in IPMI Credentials, type in a User ID and Password.

Note

You can also add IPMI credentials after the host has been discovered. See section To Add IPMI Credentials

In Subnet Range, type in a range of IP addresses. For quickest results, use the actual IP address in both fields.

Click Discover.

Note

After the host is discovered, you can add credentials for IPMI.

Adding IPMI Credentials to a Discovered Host

After discovering an IPMI host, add the credentials using the following procedure.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Hosts.

Click on the host you want to edit.

Click (Configuration), and then (Edit this Host).

In the Credentials area, IPMI tab, type in the IPMI credentials

Use User ID to specify a login ID.

Use Password to specify the password for the user ID.

Use Verify Password to confirm the password.

Click Validate to test the credentials.

Click Save.

Adding the Management Interface for an IPMI Host

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Hosts.

Click (Configuration), then (Add a New Item).

In Basic Information, type in a Name and the IPMI IP address.

In the Credentials area, under IPMI tab, type in the IPMI credentials

Use User ID to specify a login ID.

Use Password to specify the password for the User ID.

Use Verify Password to confirm the password.

Click Validate to test the credentials.

Click Add.

The IPMI host is added to the Red Hat CloudForms environment; an operating system can now be provisioned onto it.

Customization Templates for Host Provisioning

Add a customization template to provide Kickstart files for the initial loading of the operating system. There are certain sections to use to allow for interactions with the provisioning dialogs provided by Red Hat CloudForms.

Customization Script Additions

Customization Type
Reason to Include
Script entries

Kickstart

Takes the values from the Customize tab in Provisioning Dialog and substitutes them into the script.

#Configure Networking based on values from provisioning dialog
<% if evm[:addr_mode].first == 'static' %>
  <% network_string = "network --onboot yes --device=eth0 --bootproto=static --noipv6" %>
  <% ["ip", :ip_addr, "netmask", :subnet_mask, "gateway", :gateway, "hostname", :hostname, "nameserver", :dns_servers].each_slice(2) do |ks_key, evm_key| %>
    <% network_string << " --#{ks_key} #{evm[evm_key]}" unless evm[evm_key].blank? %>
  <% end %>
<%= network_string %>
<% else %>
network --device=eth0 --bootproto=dhcp
<% end %>

Kickstart

Encrypts the root password from the Customize tab in the Provisioning Dialog.

rootpw --iscrypted <%= MiqPassword.md5crypt(evm[:root_password]) %>

Kickstart

Sends status of the provision back to Red Hat CloudForms Server for display in the Red Hat CloudForms Console.

# Callback to CFME during post-install
wget --no-check-certificate <%= evm[:post_install_callback_url] %>

Sysprep

Encrypts the root password from the Customize tab in the Provisioning Dialog. The value for the AdministratorPassword line must be inserted to use the password from the Provision Dialog and encrypt it.

<UserAccounts>
  <AdministratorPassword>
    <Value><%= MiqPassword.sysprep_crypt(evm[:root_password]) %></Value>
    <PlainText>false</PlainText>
  </AdministratorPassword>
</UserAccounts>

Adding a Customization Template

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → PXE.

Click the Customization Templates accordion.

Click (Configuration), then (Add a New Customization Template).

In Basic Information, type in a Name and Description. image:2325.png

Select the Image Type list. This list includes the PXE image types you created.

In Type, select Kickstart or CloudInit for Linux based systems, and Sysprep for Windows based system.

In the Script area, either paste the script from another source or type the script directly into the Red Hat CloudForms interface.

Click Add.

The default dialogs show all possible parameters for provisioning. To limit the options shown, the section called “Customizing Provisioning Dialogs”.

Provisioning a Host

After setting up the IPMI and PXE environments, you are ready to provision a host. Currently, you can only provision in the cluster where the template is located or you can create a template in each cluster and let a Red Hat CloudForms Automate method automatically switch the selected template in the provision object.

Important

A customization template with host-specific script additions is required. Ensure especially that the customization template contains the post-installation callback to enable discovery in Red Hat CloudForms.

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Hosts.

Select a host with IPMI enabled.

Click (Lifecycle), then (Provision Hosts).

In Request Information, type in at least a First Name and Last Name and an email address. This email is used to send the requester status emails during the provisioning. The other information is optional. If the Red Hat CloudForms server is configured to use LDAP, you can use the Look Up button to populate the other fields based on the email address.

On the Purpose tab, select the desired tags for the provisioned host.

On the Catalog tab, select the hosts to provision.

In the Host area, select the hosts to provision.

In the PXE area, select the PXE server and image.

On the Customize tab, you can select customizations for the operating system of the new host. These options vary based on the operating system to be provisioned.

Use Credentials to type in a root password

In the IP Address area, select either Static or DHCP and enter any other address information you need. If needed, type in DNS specifications.

Under Customize Template, select a script.

On the Schedule tab, select when to start the provisioning process.

In Schedule Info, select when to start the provisioning process. If you select Schedule, enter a date and time.

Select Stateless to retain files after the provision completes. A stateless provision does not write to the disk so it requires the PXE files on the next boot.

Click Submit.

The provisioning request is sent for approval. For the provisioning to begin, a user with the admin, approver, or super admin account role must approve the request. The admin and super admin roles can also edit, delete, and deny the requests. You will be able to see all provisioning requests where you are either the requester or the approver.

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.

Customizing Provisioning Dialogs

The default set of provisioning dialogs shows all possible options. However, Red Hat CloudForms also provides the ability to customize which tabs and fields are shown. You can decide what fields are required to submit the provisioning request or set default values.

For each type of provisioning, there is a dialog that can be created to adjust what options are presented. While samples are provided containing all possible fields for provisioning, you can remove what fields are shown. However, you cannot add fields or tabs.

Edit the dialogs to:

Hide or show provisioning tabs.

Hide or show fields. If you hide an attribute, the default will be used, unless you specify otherwise.

Set default values for a field.

Specify if a field is required to submit the request.

Create custom dialogs for specific users.

Adding a Provision Dialog for All Users

Login to the Red Hat CloudForms console for the Red Hat CloudForms server where you want to change the dialog.

Navigate to Automate → Customization.

Click the Provisioning Dialogs accordion.

Click the type of dialog you want to create: Host Provision, VM Provision or VM Migrate.

Select one of the default dialogs.

Click (Configuration), and then (Copy this Dialog).

Type a new Name and Description for the dialog.

In the Content field,

To remove a tab from display, change its display value to ignore. By choosing ignore, you not only hide the tab, but also skip any fields on that tab that were required. To show the tab, change the display value to show.

To hide a field, change its :display: value from :edit to :hide. To display fields of most data types, use :edit. To display a button, use :show. To set a default value for a field, add :default: defaultvalue to the list of parameters for the field. Set the :required: parameter to either true or false based on your needs.

Note

If you set :required: to true, the field must have a value for the provision request to be submitted.

Click Add.

If you are using Provisioning Profiles, you can specify a specific file that holds the customizations. To do this, you must create an instance mapping to this file in the Red Hat CloudForms Applications/provisioning/profile/VM provisioning by group class. By default, if you are using provisioning profiles and the group does not have a defined instance, the appropriate default dialog file will be used based on the type of provisioning selected.

Creating a Custom Provision Dialog

Navigate to Automate → Customization.

Click on the Provisioning Dialogs accordion.

Click on the type of dialog you want to create, Host Provision, VM Provision or VM Migrate.

Select one of the default dialogs.

Click (Configuration), and then (Copy this Dialog).

Rename the dialog as shown in the examples below.

Type of Provision
Dialog Name

Provision Virtual Machine from a template

miq_provision_dialogs_groupname_template Example: miq_provision_dialogs_ EvmGroup-user_self_service _template

Clone a Virtual Machine

miq_provision_dialogs_groupname_clone_to_vm Example: miq_provision_dialogs_ EvmGroup-user_self_service _clone_to_vm

Publish a Virtual Machine to a template

miq_provision_dialogs_groupname_clone_to_template Example: miq_provision_dialogs_ EvmGroup-user_self_service _clone_to_template

Make any changes you need.

In the Content field,

To remove a tab from display, change its display value to ignore. By choosing ignore, you not only hide the tab, but also skip any fields on that tab that were required. To show the tab, change the display value to show.

To hide a field, change its :display: value from :edit to :hide. To ensure the field does not get turned back on by a workflow model, use :display_override: :hide. To display fields of most data types, use :edit. To display a button, use :show. To set a default value for a field, add :default: defaultvalue to the list of parameters for the field. Set the :required: parameter to either true or false based on your needs.

Note

If you set :required: to true, the field must have a value for the provision request to be submitted.

Click Add.

Enter the name of the new dialog into the dialog name field in the appropriate Red Hat CloudForms Applications/provisioning/profile instance. This dialog can now be referred to in an instance in the Provisioning Profiles class so that it can be used for groups of users.

Provisioning Profiles

Provisioning profiles can be used to customize the dialogs and the state machine (steps used to provision the machine). Profiles can be created for LDAP or Red Hat CloudForms groups. To use provisioning profiles:

Create a Provisioning Profile instance for the LDAP or Red Hat CloudForms group. If no instance exists, then default settings will be used.

If customizing dialogs, create a custom dialog file, and specify the name of that file in the provisioning profile instance. If customizing the states for provisioning, create a state instance and set the name of the state instance in the provisioning profile instance.

The diagram below shows where provisioning profiles are called during the entire provisioning process.

Creating a Provisioning Profile Instance

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

Using the tree located in the accordion, click DOMAIN → Cloud → VM → Provisioning → Profile.

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.

Click (Configuration), (Add a New Instance).

Make the name of the tag identical to the name of the LDAP or Red Hat CloudForms group you are creating the instance for, replacing spaces in the group name with underscores. For example, change Red Hat CloudForms-test group to Red Hat CloudForms-test_group.

In the dialog name field, enter the name of the customized dialog file. This file must reside on the Red Hat CloudForms appliance in the /var/www/miq/vmdb/db/fixtures directory. Red Hat recommends naming the file in the format miq_provision_dialogs-groupname.rb and copying this file to all Red Hat CloudForms appliances. For instructions on creating a custom dialog file, see the section called “Customizing Provisioning Dialogs”.

Note

Be sure that the custom dialog file exists. If it does not, an error will appear when the user clicks on the Provisioning button in the Red Hat CloudForms console.

Click Add.

Setting Provisioning Scope Tags

Some non-default placement methods, for example the redhat_best_placement_with_scope or vmware_best_fit_with_scope methods, may require you to set Provisioning Scope tags for a host and a datastore.

To enable these resources for all groups, set the scope to All. To limit access to a select group, create a tag in the Provisioning Scope category with the exact name of the user group and set this tag on the desired resources. See Tags in General Configuration for information on creating tags.

To set the scope for a host:

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Hosts.

Select the host to set the provisioning scope for.

Click (Policy), and then (Edit Tags).

From the Select a customer tag to assign drop down, select Provisioning Scope and then a value for the tag from the next drop down menu.

Click Save.

To set the scope for a datastore:

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Datastores.

Select the datastore to set the provisioning scope for.

Click (Policy), and then (Edit Tags).

From the Select a customer tag to assign drop down, select Provisioning Scope and then a value for the tag from the next drop down menu.

Click Save.

Managing Key Pairs

Key pairs allow you to manage SSH access between a user and provisioned instance. For more information about key pairs in OpenStack, see Manage Key Pairs from the Red Hat OpenStack Platform Instances and Images Guide.

To manage key pairs, navigate to Compute → Clouds → Key Pairs. From there, you can view a list of available key pairs. Click on a key pair to view its details.

To create a new key pair:

Navigate to Compute → Clouds → Key Pairs.

Click (Configuration), (Add a new Key Pair).

Enter a Name for the key pair.

If you want to use a public key, copy its contents into the Public Key (optional) field.

Select which cloud provider on which to create the key pair. The key pair will then be available for use by instances in that provider.

Click Add.

Chapter 3. Working with Requests

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. 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.

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.

Reloading the Status of Provisioning Requests

Navigate to Services → Requests.

Click (Reload the current display).

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.

Navigate to Services → Requests.

Click on the request you want to approve.

Type in a Reason for the approval.

Click (Approve this request).

Denying a Provisioning Request

Navigate to Services → Requests.

Click on the request you want to deny.

Type in a Reason for the denial.

Click (Deny this request).

Copying a Provisioning Request

Navigate to Services → Requests.

Click on the request you want to copy.

Click (Copy original provision request).

Make changes to the request.

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.

Editing a Provisioning Request

Navigate to Services → Requests.

Click on the request you want to edit.

Click (Edit the original provision request).

Make changes to the request.

Click Submit.

Deleting a Provisioning Request

Navigate to Services → Requests.

Click on the request you want to delete.

Click (Delete this request).

Click OK to confirm.

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.

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.

Navigate to Automate → Explorer,.

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.

Click (Configuration), then (Edit this instance).

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.

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.

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

Assigning Tags to a Template for Auto Approval

Navigate to Compute → Infrastructure → Virtual Machines.

Click the Templates accordion, and select the templates that you want to tag.

Click (Policy), and then (Edit Tags).

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.

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.

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

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.

Select an instance within the chosen class.

Click (Configuration), then (Edit this instance).

Type the desired email addresses in the to_email_address and from_email_address fields.

Click Save.

Chapter 4. Fulfilling Requests

Fulfilling a Request

After a request has been approved, Red Hat CloudForms then goes through the steps required to complete the request. The steps followed for a regular provision from a virtual machine to a virtual machine (not to a template) are found by navigating to Automate → Explorer, then listed under DOMAIN → Cloud|Infrastructure → VM → Provisioning → VMProvision_VM → Provision VM from Template (template). The value for each state shows where the instance resides in the Datastore accordion. The default set of execution steps is shown below. For more information on state machines, see section State Machines.

Default Execution Steps in States Instance

Step
Description

Customize Request

Apply customizations.

Acquire IP Address

Integrates with IPAM (IP Address Management) to get an IP Address.

Acquire MAC Address

Integrates with IPAM to get a MAC Address.

Register DNS

Integrates with IPAM to register with DNS.

Register CMDB

Integrates with CMDB (Configuration Management Database) to register with the CMDB.

Register AD

Integrates with IPAM to register with active directory.

PreProvision

Pre-provisioning steps.

Provision

Create the virtual machine or instance.

CheckProvisioned

Check that the new virtual machine or instance is in the VMDB.

PostProvision

Post-provisioning steps.

Register DHCP

Integrate with IPAM to register the IP address with DHCP Server.

Activate CMDB

Integrate with IPAM to active the virtual machine or instance in the CMDB.

Email owner

Send email to owner that the virtual machine or instance has been provisioned.

Quotas

Quotas allow you to establish maximum usage thresholds for an owner or group for provisioned virtual machines or instances and are integrated into provisioning profiles. These maximums are checked after the approval but before the actual provision request is started. The quota is set for the group as a whole.

Editing the Default Quota

Log in as a user with administrator or super administrator rights to the Red Hat CloudForms console.

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

From the accordion menu, click DOMAIN → Cloud → VM → Provisioning → StateMachines → ProvisionRequestQuotaVerification.

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.

Click (Configuration), (Edit this instance).

Set the values for Owner - Max CPUs Allowed, Owner - Max Memory Allowed, or Owner - Max Storage Allowed to be the maximums for a specific owner.

Set the values for Group - Max CPUs Allowed, Group - Max Memory Allowed, or Group - Max Storage Allowed to be the maximums for a specific user group.

Click Save.

Using Tags for Owner and Group Quotas

Red Hat CloudForms provides tags for enforcing quotas for the owners of virtual machines or instances. Ownership of a virtual machine or instance can be set either during the provisioning process or by using the Configuration Set Ownership button. If a virtual machine or instance has an owner, the value is displayed in the Lifecycle section of the virtual machine or instance summary page.

Quota tags can be assigned directly to either a group or owner not to a configuration item. The table below shows the tags for use in quotas.

Category Display Name (Name)
Use

Quota Max CPU (quota_max_cpu)

Sets the maximum number of CPUs summed over all virtual machines and instances owned by the group or user. Sample Values: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50

Quota Max Memory (quota_max_memory)

Sets the maximum memory summed over all virtual machines and instances owned by the group or user. Sample Values: 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 10240, 20480, 40960, 81920 (in MB)

Quota Max Storage (quota_max_storage)

Sets the maximum storage summed over virtual machines and instances owned by the group or user. Sample Values: 10, 100, 1000, 20, 200, 40, 400 (in GB)

Applying a Tag to a User or User Group

Click Settings → Configuration.

Click the Access Control accordion, and select the user or group that you want to tag.

Click (Policy), then click (Edit Tags).

Select the appropriate customer tag to assign, then the value.

Click Save.

State Machines

A State Machine stores the status of something at a given time, and can operate on input to change the status. It can also cause an action or output to take place for any given change. State machines are also designed so that State-B cannot begin until State-A completes successfully.

The following components make up a Red Hat CloudForms automate state machine:

Component
Description

On_Entry

Method to run when entering the state. It enables you to execute an automate method to do some pre-processing before the state of the state machine is processed.

On_Exit

Method to run when exiting the state.

On_Error

Method to run if an error is encountered when running the state. It enables you to execute an automate method to do some final processing before the state machine finally exits (MIQ_ABORT) due to the error.

Default Value

Runs after the On_Entry method completes (The actual state being processed).

Max Retries

Maximum number of times to retry the state before exiting.

Max Time

Maximum time in seconds to retry the state before exiting.

In the diagram below, you can see how these components combine to create a state machine workflow.

Note

The retry logic, On_Entry and On_Error are distinct cases in the program flow.

Code snippet demonstrating the state machine retry logic:

# Get current provisioning status
task = $evm.root['service_template_provision_task']
task_status = task['status']
result = task.status

Then check the result to see how it should proceed:

case result
when 'error'
  $evm.root['ae_result'] = 'error'
.....
when 'retry'
  $evm.root['ae_result'] = 'retry'
  $evm.root['ae_retry_interval'] = '1.minute'
when 'ok'
  $evm.root['ae_result'] = 'ok'
end

When the result is "retry", it sets:
  $evm.root['ae_result'] = 'retry'
  $evm.root['ae_retry_interval'] = '1.minute'

The following image shows a simple state machine pertaining to approving a provision request. This instance can be found in Datastore → ManageIQ → Infrastructure → VM → Provisioning → StateMachines → ProvisioningRequestApproval → Default.

The attribute max_vms has a value of 1. State machine processing can use the attributes of the state machine instance to make logic decisions. In this case, the validate_request method, which is processed during the On_Entry portion of the ValidateRequest state, evaluates the max_vms attribute. If the number of virtual machines requested is less than the max_vms value, the request can be auto-approved. See the validate_request method for more details.

ValidateRequest is the first state to be executed.

ApproveRequest is the next state to be executed.

Note

Grayed out items reflect values that are set in the class schema. These values can be overwritten on a per instance basis.

Customizing Provisioning States

The steps followed when provisioning a virtual machine or cloud instance are completed based on instances from the DOMAIN → Cloud|Infrastructure → VM → Provisioning → StateMachines → VMProvision_VM class. Depending on your environment you can remove, change, or add steps to the provisioning process. For example, if you are not integrating with IPAM or a CMDB, then you can remove those execution steps.

Editing the Default State Instance

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

From the accordion menu, click DOMAIN → Cloud → VM → Provisioning → StateMachines → VMProvision_VM.

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.

Click (Configuration), then (Edit this instance).

For each step that you want to remove, clear the entries in the Value, On Entry, On Exit, and On Error columns.

Click Save.

Viewing the Status of a Provisioning Request

After a request has been approved, the various stages of fulfillment are executed. You can see the progress of the provisioning process by viewing its status.

Navigate to Services → Requests. The list of requests is shown.

Click on a specific request for more information. Once the provisioning begins, if the request was supposed to create more than one virtual machine or instance, a field will appear called Provisioned VMs. Click on the number that appears next to it for information on each of the individual provisions.

Viewing a Provisioned Virtual Machine or Instance

When a virtual machine or instance is created as a result of a provisioning request, its summary screen will show when it was provisioned in the Lifecycle area of the respective summary.

From Services → Workloads, click the virtual machine or instance that you want to view.

Viewing a Virtual Machine or Instance Summary

From Services → Workloads, click the virtual machine or instance that you want to view.

Chapter 5. Catalogs and Services

About Catalogs and Services

Through the use of catalogs, Red Hat CloudForms provides support for multi-tier service provisioning to deploy layered workloads across hybrid environments. You can create customized dialogs that will give consumers of the services the ability to input just a few parameters and provision the entire service.

Terminology

Terminology

Catalog Bundle

A grouping of Templates.

Catalog Item

A single Template or a group of Templates (catalog bundle).

Dialog Tabs

Part of a Service Dialog.

Element

An item on a tab in a Dialog. It can be a Button, Check Box, Drop Down List, Radio Button, Tag Control, Text Area Box, or a Text Box.

Provisioning Dialogs

Dialogs created for Host Provisioning, VM Migration, or VM Provisioning. The dialog name must be added to the appropriate provision instance to be processed.

Service Catalog

A catalog item or Catalog bundle that is available for provisioning.

Service Dialogs

Made up of fully customizable tabs, items, and values for use with Service provisioning.

Template

A template is a copy of a preconfigured virtual machine, designed to capture installed software and software configurations, as well as the hardware configuration, of the original virtual machine.

Catalogs

Catalogs are used to create groups of virtual machines or instances for provisioning. For example, a complete package of a database server, desktop with specialized software already on it, and a firewall. You will need to complete the following steps to create and provision a service catalog.

Create Catalog Items for each virtual machine or instance that will be part of the service.

Create a Service dialog. For example, create a dropdown with three options small, medium, and large.

Create a method for the Service Dialog. This method defines what each of the options means to each of the individual virtual machines or cloud instances for the service. This method is called from a service provisioning instance in the Automate model.

Create an instance in the DOMAIN/Service/Provisioning/StateMachines/ServiceProvision_Template class that calls the method.

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.

Associate method with Automate instance.

Create a Catalog Bundle, adding each of the catalog items to it. Select the Service Dialog you created. Use the instance created in the DOMAIN/Service/Provisioning/StateMachines/ServiceProvision_Template class as the Entry Point. Check Display in Catalog box.

Provision a service.

Creating a Catalog Item

Create a catalog item for each virtual machine or cloud instance that will be part of the service.

Navigate to Services → Catalogs.

Click the Catalog Items accordion.

Click (Configuration), and then (Add a New Catalog Item).

Select the Catalog Item Type you are adding. The dialogs that appear will be filtered based on the selected type of provider. For example, you will only see templates residing on Red Hat Providers, if the Catalog Item Type is Redhat.

In the Basic Info subtab:

Type a Name/Description.

Check Display in Catalog to edit Catalog, Dialog, and Entry Point(NS/Cls/Inst) options.

Provisioning Entry Point (Domain/NS/Cls/Inst) requires you to select an Automate instance to run upon provisioning.

Retirement Entry Point (Domain/NS/Cls/Inst) requires you to select an Automate instance to run upon retirement. Catalogitem statemachine

Note

The entry point must be a State Machine since the Provisioning Entry Point list is filtered to only show State Machine class instances. No other entry points will be available from the Provisioning Entry Point field.

Note

You can only choose from the catalogs and dialogs you have already created. If you haven’t done so, leave the values blank and edit later.

In the Details subtab, write a Long Description for the catalog item.

In the Request Info subtab, select provisioning options that apply to the provider chosen. For more information, refer to the sections on Provisioning Virtual Machines and Provisioning Instances.

Click Add.

Service Dialogs

When provisioning a service, input will be needed from the requester. Service Dialogs are used to take input from the user. This input is connected to a method in the Automate model that defines how the users input is translated into the provision request. Before creating a Service Dialog, be sure to plan what items you need the user to input.

Adding a Service Dialog

Navigate to Automate → Customization.

Click the Service Dialogs accordion.

Click (Configuration), and then (Add a new Dialog).

In Dialog Information, type in a Label and Description. Check the boxes for the buttons you want available at the bottom of the dialog form. The description will appear as hover text.

Click Add.

Select the dialog you just created.

Click (Configuration), and then (Edit this Dialog).

Add a tab to the dialog.

Click (Add), then (Add a New Tab to this Dialog).

Type in a Label and Description for this tab.

Add a box to this tab.

Click (Add), then (Add a New Box to this Tab).

Type in a Label and Description for this box.

Add an element to this box. Elements are controls that accept input.

Click (Add), then (Add a New Element to this Box).

Type in a Label, Name, and Description for this element.

Important

Name must use only alphanumeric characters and underscores without spaces. It is also used to retrieve the value of this element in the method used with the dialog and must start with dialog_service_type

Select a Type for an element type. All Type options have a Required and Default Value field. Check Required or set Required to true if the element is required to proceed. You can also specify a default value. The rest of the options presented are based on which type of element you select.

Element Types
Additional Info

Check Box

Check Default Value if you want this check box checked by default.

Date Control

Use Date Control to create a field where users can select a date. If you want users to be able to select a date and time, use the Date/Time Control option.

Date/Time Control

Use Date/Time Control to create a field where users can select a date and time. Only one Date Control or Date/Time Control element can be present in a dialog.

Drop Down Dynamic List

Use Drop Down Dynamic List if you want the list options to be created using automate methods. Use Entry Point (NS/Cls/Inst) to select an automate instance. Check Show Refresh Button to allow users to refresh the list options manually.

Radio Button

This element type serves the same purpose as Drop Down List but displays options using radio buttons.

Tag Control

Select a Category of tags you want assigned to the virtual machines associated with this service dialog. Check Single Select if only one tag can be selected.

Text Area Box

Provides text area for users to type in some text. You can also leave a message to users by typing in the Default Value field or leave it as blank.

Text Box

This element type serves the same purpose as Text Area Box with the option to check Protected so the text is shown as asterisks (*), instead of plain text.

Click Save.

Importing Service Dialogs

You can share service dialogs between appliances using the export and import features.

Navigate to Automate → Customization.

In the Import/Export accordion, click Service Dialog Import/Export.

In the Import area, click Browse to select an import file.

Click Upload.

Exporting Service Dialogs

You can share service dialogs between appliances using the export and import features.

Navigate to Automate → Customization.

In the Import/Export accordion, click Service Dialog Import/Export.

In the Export area, select the service dialogs that you want to export.

Click Export.

Methods

Creating a Method to Associate with the Dialog

You will need to create a method that connects the values in the dialog with the provisioning request. The method should be created in the DOMAIN/Service/Provisioning/StateMachines/ServiceProvision_Template class of the Automate model.

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.

A method is provided below that was created for the following scenario:

You want to provision a three-tiered Service that contains catalog items of web, app and DB. Each of these virtual machines (or cloud instances) has been tagged under the Service category with the appropriate value. Then, added as a catalog item and combined into a catalog bundle.

The Service Dialog captures the selection of small, medium or large application in a dropdown called service_type. When referring to a value captured in an element in a dialog, the name of the element should be prefixed with dialog_. For example, service_type becomes dialog_service_type when used in the method.

The method will set the memory sizes for each of the catalog items based on the service_type selection.

#            Automate Method
#
$evm.log("info", "Automate Method ConfigureChildDialog Started")
#
#            Method Code Goes here
#
$evm.log("info", "===========================================")
$evm.log("info", "Listing ROOT Attributes:")
$evm.root.attributes.sort.each { |k, v| $evm.log("info", "\t#{k}: #{v}")}
$evm.log("info", "===========================================")

stp_task = $evm.root["service_template_provision_task"]
$evm.log("info", "===========================================")
$evm.log("info", "Listing task Attributes:")
stp_task.attributes.sort.each { |k, v| $evm.log("info", "\t#{k}: #{v}")}
$evm.log("info", "===========================================")

#############################################################
#### This is how the method would look for dialog variables
#############################################################
dialog_service_type = $evm.root['dialog_service_type']
$evm.log("info","User selected Dialog option = [#{dialog_service_type}]")

stp_miq_request_task = stp_task.miq_request_task
#$evm.log("info","(parent) miq_request_task:  = [#{stp_miq_request_task}]")

#############################################################
#### This is how you get the catalog items for the catalog bundle
#############################################################

stp_miq_request_tasks = stp_task.miq_request_tasks
#$evm.log("info","(children) miq_request_tasks count:  = [#{stp_miq_request_tasks.count}]")

#############################################################
#### By going through the children, you can set the dialog variable for each of the children (we based our values on the childrens service tags)
#############################################################

stp_miq_request_tasks.each do |t|

  $evm.log("info"," Setting dialog for: #{t.description}")
  service = t.source
  service_resource = t.service_resource
  #$evm.log("info"," Child service resource name: #{service_resource.resource_name}")
  #$evm.log("info"," Child service resource description: #{service_resource.resource_description}")

  service_tag_array = service.tags(:app_tier)
  service_tag = service_tag_array.first.to_s

  memory_size = nil

#############################################################
#### The dialog_service_type is the attribute set on the service dialog
#### We use the service_tag to decide what child gets what dialog
#############################################################

  case dialog_service_type
  when "Small"
    case service_tag
    when "app"
      memory_size = 1024
    when "web"
      memory_size = 1024
    when "db"
      memory_size = 4096
    else
      $evm.log("info","Unknown Dialog type")
    end
  when "Large"
    case service_tag
    when "app"
      memory_size = 4096
    when "web"
      memory_size = 4096
    when "db"
      memory_size = 8192
    else
      $evm.log("info","Unknown Dialog type")
    end
  else
    $evm.log("info","Unknown Dialog type - setting Dialog options here")
  end

#############################################################
#### set_dialog_option sets the dialog for the child
#############################################################

  t.set_dialog_option('memory',memory_size) unless memory_size.nil?
  $evm.log("info","Set dialog for selection: [#{dialog_service_type}]  Service_Tier: [#{service_tag}] Memory size: [#{memory_size}]")

end
#
#
#
$evm.log("info", "Automate Method ConfigureChildDialog Ended")
exit MIQ_OK

Creating a Method in the Service Class

Service methods have been split based on purpose.

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

Service Class is located at DOMAIN → Service → Provisioning → StateMachines → Methods and Domain → Service → Retirement → StateMachines → Methods.

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.

Click the Methods tab.

Click (Configuration), then (Add a New Method).

Type in a Name and Display Name.

In the Data field, type in the method contents.

Click Validate and wait for your data entry to be successfully validated.

Click Add.

Creating an Instance in the Service Class

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

Service Class is located at DOMAIN → Service → Provisioning → StateMachines → Methods and Domain → Service → Retirement → StateMachines → Methods.

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.

Click the Instances tab.

Click (Configuration), then (Add a new Instance).

Type in a Name and Display Name.

In the Fields area, type in the method’s name in Value.

Click Add.

The instance is created so that it can be called from the ServiceProvision class.

Note

After the method has been created, it must be mapped to an instance in the DOMAIN/Service/Service/Provisioning/StateMachines class. The name of the instance must be specified as the Entry Point. This method must be called before the provision job begins.

Associating a Method with an Automate Instance

Service methods have been split based on purpose.

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

From the accordion menu, click the required service method.

Service Class is located at DOMAIN → Service → Provisioning → StateMachines → Methods and Domain → Service → Retirement → StateMachines → Methods.

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.

Either create a new instance or select the clone_to_service instance.

Click (Configuration), then (Edit Selected Instance).

In the configurechilddialog value, put the path to the method.

Click Save or Add if you are adding this to a new instance.

Now that the catalog items, service dialog, dialog methods, and service provision instance have been created, you can create the catalog bundle.

Creating a Catalog Bundle

Navigate to Services → Catalogs.

Click the Catalog Items accordion.

Click (Configuration), and then (Add a New Catalog Bundle).

In Basic Info, type in a name and description:

Click Display in Catalog.

Select the appropriate dialog name.

Select the path to the appropriate ServiceProvision instance.

Click on the Resources tab, then select the catalog items you want added to the bundle from the Add a Resource dropdown.

Click Add.

A catalog bundle is created and visible in the Service Catalog accordion.

Note

You should also create and specify an Entry Point in the DOMAIN/Service/Provisioning/StateMachines/Methods/CatalogBundle class for each catalog item that is part of a bundle. If you do not, then the pre and post provision processing will occur for each item in the bundle in addition to processing for the Catalog Bundle. To set the entry point, go into each Catalog Item and check Display in Catalog. Then, you will see the Entry Point field.

Provisioning a Service

Navigate to Services → Catalogs.

Click the Service Catalogs accordion, and select the service to provision.

Click Order. The dialog appears.

Select the options in the Service dialog.

The parameters are passed to the children based on the method tied to the choices made in the dialog.

Chapter 6. Retirement

Retiring Virtual Machines

Retiring Virtual Machines and Instances

When a virtual machine or instance is no longer required, it can be retired. Once a virtual machine or instance reaches its retirement date, it is immediately shut down and not allowed to restart. If an attempt to restart is made, Red Hat CloudForms will shut down the virtual machine or instance.

There are three built-in policies involved with retirement:

If the virtual machine or instance reaches its retirement date, it will be stopped even if it is running.

If a retired virtual machine or instance is requested to start through Red Hat CloudForms, the virtual machine or instance will not be allowed to start.

If a provider starts a retired virtual machine or instance outside of Red Hat CloudForms, the virtual machine or instance will be stopped.

Red Hat CloudForms provides a number of ways to retire a virtual machine or instance:

By using the allocated buttons in the Red Hat CloudForms console.

When creating a provision request, a retirement date can be set up.

Using the Console to Retire

Through the Red Hat CloudForms console, you can retire a virtual machine on a specific date or immediately.

Retiring a Virtual Machine Immediately

Navigate to Services → Workloads.

Select the virtual machine or instance that you want to retire.

Click (Lifecycle), then (Retire this VM/Instance).

The virtual machine or instance is immediately stopped, and will be shut down if an attempt is made to restart it.

Setting a Retirement Date for a Virtual Machine or Instance

Navigate to Services → Workloads.

Select the virtual machine that you want to set a retirement date for.

Click (Lifecycle), then (Set/remove retirement date).

Select a date using the calendar control.

Click Save.

The retirement date is set, and displays in the virtual machine or instance summary screen.

Removing a Retirement Date for a Virtual Machine or Instance

Navigate to Services → Workloads.

Select the virtual machine or instance that you want to remove the retirement date from.

Click (Lifecycle), then click (Set Retirement Date).

Click (Remove Retirement Date).

Setting Retirement in a Provision Request

If you are using Red Hat CloudForms to provision, you can set when you want retirement in the provision request. To see how to create a request, go to Provisioning Requests. A warning email will be sent to the owner before the retirement.

Scheduling Retirement in a Provision Request

After provisioning either a Cloud Instance or Virtual Machine, a multi-tabbed screen appears where you can set up your provision requests. The Schedule tab allows you to choose to power on the virtual machines or instances after they are created, and to set a retirement date. If you select a retirement period, you will be prompted for when you want a retirement warning.

Extending Retirement Dates

Red Hat CloudForms Automate includes a method to extend the retirement of a virtual machine or instance by 14 days. This section describes how to create a button that invokes this method and how to edit the method to change the number of days.

Creating a Custom Button to Extend Retirement

Navigate to Automate → Customization.

Click the Buttons accordion.

From the Object Types tree, select VM and Instance.

Navigate to the button group to which you want to add this button. (If you do not have a button group, add one and then create the button.)

Click (Configuration), then (Add a new Button).

Type in a button text and button hover text, and select the image you want to use.

In Object Details, select Request from the /System/Process/ dropdown. By default, the message is create. Do not change it.

In Request, type vm_retire_extend.

Click Add.

Changing the Number of Days to Extend Retirement

Navigate to Automate → Explorer.

Click DOMAIN → Cloud → VM → Retirement → Email → vm_retire_extend.

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 you can also use the Infrastructure namespace.

Click (Configuration), then (Edit this Instance).

In the Value field, change the vm_retire_extend_days attribute to the new value.

Click Save.