AWS VM provisioning walkthrough

This example walks you through the components of Cloud Provisioning and Governance that function during the provisioning of a virtual machine in an AWS datacenter. Topics covered include blueprints, resource blocks, the Cloud API (CAPI), and MID Server script includes.

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This walkthrough starts with a Windows VM that a user already provisioned in AWS. Next it walks you through the blueprint with the VM, the resource blocks, and then the CAPI calls specified from the resource blocks. Finally, the walkthrough shows you how a base MID Server script include makes the actual calls to the AWS API.

This example uses default resource blocks and script includes that are available in your instance. Therefore, although you might not have a provisioned VM on your instance, you can still follow these steps and view the components used in this example to understand how the components work.

For an example of a VM in Azure, see Azure VM provisioning walkthrough.

Remarque :

The terms virtual machine, VM, and virtual server are used interchangeably in this example.

Procédure

1. Look at a provisioned VM in the Cloud User Portal, and focus on some of the details about the VM:
   1. On your instance, open the Cloud User Portal (Cloud Provisioning and Governance Cloud User Portal).
   2. View a provisioned VM in a stack, such as this Windows VM, by clicking Stacks, and then clicking the name of the stack.

      In this example, the stack is named MyStack.

      

   3. Under Resources, click the VM in the stack.

      

   4. View the properties of the VM, and notice that it is in region us-east-1 in an AWS Datacenter.

      

2. Look at the blueprint on which the VM is based:
   1. Navigate to Design > Blueprints, and then open a blueprint with a virtual server in the Azure datacenter. The Deployment Model tab appears by default, showing you the various components of the blueprint.

      This example blueprint has three components: The container, the virtual server, which is the actual VM that is provisioned, and the AWS datacenter.

      

   2. Click the Operations tab on the bottom, and then click Provision.

      

      The Provision operation is the operation that the system triggered when it created the VM. Other default operations are available, but this example focuses on the Provision operation.

   3. Click the Provision block for Blueprint Container Resource.

      

   4. On the right, notice that one of the parameters in the Inputs list is Location.
      This parameter holds the value eastus, which is where the VM lives in the datacenter.

      

      Inputs can be specified on the container, as it is in this example, or on any other resource block. By default, the Location parameter is already specified for you in the Blueprint Container resource block, so that you can use it in every blueprint like this one. If you switch the blueprint to Draft, you can add more parameters to the Blueprint Container resource block. You cannot add parameters to the Virtual Server resource block. For this walkthrough, no additional parameters are necessary.

3. Look at the Virtual Server and AWS Datacenter resource blocks used in this blueprint:
   1. In the Cloud Admin Portal, navigate to Design > Resource Blocks.
   2. Search for and open the Virtual Server resource block, which is provided by default with Cloud Provisioning and Governance.

      

   3. On the Resource Block form, click the Host Resource related list to view the list of supported host resource blocks.
   4. Notice that the host interface and host resource are already specified:

      

      • The Host Interface field specifies the interface that must match the guest interface in the resource block that hosts this virtual machine. In this case, the host interface is the Compute Interface, which is also the guest interface on the AWS Datacenter resource block. By default, the datacenter resource blocks provide several guest interfaces that other resource blocks like virtual storage can use to connect to the datacenter.
      • The HostResource column in the Host Resource related list already specifies AWS Datacenter, which means that the AWS datacenter resource block is a valid host for this VM.
   5. Click the Operations tab, and then click the Steps subtab.

      

   6. Select Provision from the Operation list.

      

      Remember that the Provision operation is the operation that the system used to create the VM. Other default operations are available, but this example focuses on the Provision operation.

   7. Notice the step that appears in the list and the full step description that appears above the input parameters:

      

      • Host Resource Operation: indicates that this step calls an operation on the host resource (the AWS datacenter in this example).
      • Compute Interface is the guest interface on the AWS datacenter that this step is using.
      • ConnectAndCreateVirtualMachine is the operation in the AWS datacenter that this step calls.

      Remarque :

      In this case, the step calls an operation from another resource block: the AWS datacenter. Steps can also call CAPI directly, and then CAPI can execute REST calls to the cloud provider API. You can see that when you look at the AWS datacenter resource block.
   8. Navigate back to Design > Resource blocks.
   9. Open the AWS Datacenter resource block,which is the host resource block that the virtual server is connected to.
   10. Notice the supported guest interfaces in the Guest Interface related list:

       

       These guest interfaces are the interfaces that the AWS datacenter makes available to other resource blocks. The Compute Interface is provided so that the Virtual Server resource block, which specifies the Compute Interface as its host interface, can connect to the datacenter.

   11. Click the Operations tab, and then click the Steps subtab.

       

   12. In the Interface list, select Compute Interface if it is not already selected.

       

       Remember that this interface is specified in the Virtual Server resource block.

   13. In the Operation list, search for and select ConnectAndCreateVirtualMachine.

       

       Remember that this operation is specified in the Virtual Server resource block.

   14. Notice the CAPI call that is used in the only step for the ConnectAndCreateVirtualMachine operation:

       

       • Cloud API: indicates that this step calls CAPI, so that CAPI can execute a REST call to the cloud provider, which in this case is AWS.
       • Compute Interface specifies the CAPI interface that this step calls.
       • CreateNode indicates the method that is executed. As the name suggests, this method tells AWS to create the virtual machine.
   15. With the resource block in the Draft state, point to the highlighted (blue) step and then click the Edit Step icon to open the step configuration.
       
   16. Look at the step configuration, and notice the settings that integrate with CAPI:

       \

       Field	Description
       Operation Type	Invoke Cloud API specifies that this step should call the CAPI via the given provider, interface, and method.
       API Provider	AWS Elastic Compute Cloud is a product (not that actual provider) that belongs to the AWS provider as defined in CAPI.
       API Interface	Compute Interface is a product that belongs to the AWS provider as defined in CAPI.
       API Method	CreateNode is the method that calls AWS to create the VM.

       Remarque :

       The CAPI API definition ties together the provider (AWS), the product (AWS Elastic Compute Cloud), the interface (Compute Interface), and the method (CreateNode).
   17. Close the window.
   18. With the Compute Interface.CreateNode step selected, click the Response Processor tab, and notice the Create_Virtual_Server_Response_Processor script.

       

       This script is the response processors that updates the CMDB in your instance after the virtual machine is created in AWS.

   19. View an explanation of the script and the example that is a part of the topic at Create a Response Processor.
       When you finish reviewing that topic, return to this topic.
4. Look at the CAPI components that work together to provision the VM:
   1. In the Cloud Admin Portal, navigate to Design > Cloud API.
   2. Click the API tab.
   3. Search for an open AWS Compute API.

      There are two AWS Compute API records. Open the first one in the list that matches the image in the next step.

   4. Look at how this CAPI API ties together an interface and a product:

      

      Field	Description
      Cloud API Interface	Compute Interface is the same interface that you can see specified in the resource block. The interface contains the definition for methods, including the CreateNode method.
      Connector	Cloud Compute Connector indicates that this CAPI makes Java calls to the system, which then calls the AWS API. This connector is not scripted. If this were a scripted connector, it was have a MID Server script include that calls the AWS API. Remarque : Most AWS-related APIs that are provided in the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application by default are not scripted, like this one, and cannot be modified. But you can create your own scripted APIs.
      Version	1.0 indicates the version of the API. You could have multiple versions of this API with different version numbers. Remember that in the step in the AWS Datacenter resource block that creates the VM, a Version field is provided. Although it was blank in this example because there is only one version of this API, you could specify a different version number.
      Product	AWS Elastic Compute Cloud is the product that belongs to the AWS provider in CAPI. This product is provided by default with Cloud Provisioning and Governance, and is one of the most commonly used products for creating VMs on AWS.

   5. In the CAPI Method Mappers related list, click the record preview icon for the CreateNode record, and then click Open Record.

      

   6. Look at the CreateNode method mapper:

      

      Notice that the Endpoint operation is not Execute Script. This value indicates that the CreateNode method is using a Java call within the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application on your instance to make a REST call to the AWS API. Therefore, you cannot modify how the CreateNode method works. If the value was Execute Script, you would see a MID Server script include specified in the Request script field. You would be able to modify that script include, or specify a new one, to customize the REST calls to the AWS provider.

   7. Scroll down and look at parameters in the CAPI Parameter Mappers related list.
      Notice that important parameters, such as Location, are provided.
   8. Navigate back to the AWS Compute API form.
   9. Click the API Config Overrides related list, and review the items that are required for authentication:

      Config Parameter and Override Value	Description
      AccountAliasName $(CloudCredential.Alias)	The account alias is an optional value that you can create in your AWS account. It is a secondary name for your account ID. See the AWS documentation for more information.
      Credentials $(CloudCredential.secret_key)	The secret key is used with the access key for authentication. You configured this value in your AWS credential record during setup. To refer to that procedure, see Configure access to the AWS accounts using permanent AWS credentials.
      Endpoint $(CloudCredential.URL)	The endpoint is the URL that your users must log in to and authenticate. It uses the account ID or the account alias. See the AWS documentation for more information.
      Identity $(CloudCredential.access_key)	The Identify record holds the AWS access key, which AWS requires for authentication.

   10. Navigate back to Design > Cloud API, and then click the Interface tab.
   11. Search for and open Compute Interface.
       This interface is the interface specified in the resource block and the AWS Compute API CAPI API.
   12. Review the contents of the interface.

       Notice that the interface provides REST response structures for methods like CreateNode. You typically do not need to modify existing interfaces.

       Note the service category and the operations:

       Field or related list	Description
       Service Category	The service category classifies the interface. The category for the Compute Interface is also Compute.
       CAPI Interface Operations	The interface operations define the JSON structure for the REST call and the parameters that are required for the interface.

   13. Click the CreateNode CAPI interface operation.
       This operation is the one that provides the framework for creating the EC2 virtual server in AWS.
   14. Review the components of the operation:

       Field or related list	Description
       Response structure	The response structure is the JSON framework for REST API call. It provides a list of attributes that AWS can use to create the virtual resource with empty values.
       Interface Operation Parameters	These parameters are also the parameters that the CAPI interface needs from the system so it can pass it in the REST call to the cloud provider.

       

   15. Navigate back to Design > Cloud API, and then click the Provider tab.
   16. Open the AWS provider.

       The AWS Provider form opens, showing you that this provider is based on an existing CMDB class: AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter].

       

   17. Click the Cloud Products related list if it is not already selected, and sort the list by the Name column.

       Notice that several AWS products are already available by default. One of the most commonly used AWS products is Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

       

   18. Click AWS Elastic Compute Cloud in the Name column.
       Notice that the product specifies many resource types, each of which is mapped to a CI class.

       

       These resource types indicates the some of the CIs, but not all, that are related to the virtual machine. The response processor in the resource block populates CIs with data when AWS provisions the VM.

5. To see the important CIs that are related to the VM:
   1. On the Cloud User Portal, click Stacks, and then open the stack containing the VM.
   2. Click the View Dependency icon.

      

      The dependency map displays the stack CI at the top, the VM in the middle, and the various related CIs, such as the image, at the bottom.

      

   3. To view the form for the VM in the CMDB, right-click the arrow next to any CI, such as the VM.

      

   4. From the menu, select View Form.

      

      The CI form opens, showing you that much of the information is already available on the Cloud User Portal when you view the properties of the VM.

      	VM properties in the Cloud User Portal