Appliance Library

This area organize all the virtual images on the enterprise repository.

Profile information This section is only managed by System Administrator and Enterprise admin profile

It is designed to assist System administrators and Enterprise admins in the management of preconfigured images in order to make them available to be used on the cloud infraestructure.

Appliance Library can be understood like a repository of public (for all the enterprises) and private (for a determinate enterprise) images or appliances.

The concept of Apps Library and Repository Spaces

The concepts to understand in this area are.

Virtual image

The description and required files to define a preconfigured virtual machine, containing the operating system and desired applications (for example, a Debian distribution with Apache installed).

The virtual image description contains the follow information:

• Image name: a short name in order to identify the virtual image.
• Image description: a complet description of the installed services and applications on the virtual image.
• Category assigned: A logical aggregation of virtual images facilitating the organization of these images. There is a default category which cannot be deleted.
• Icon assigned : Each virtual image is assigned an icon image for easy identification, a default icon is assigned if the application is not explicitly given one. If user wants, he can upload a new file.
• Public check (Only in modification process): This check allows to all enterprise to show this image.

And a resource requirements:

• Ram assigned
• CPU assigned
• Hard Disk assigned
• Hypervisor type: based on the disk file format.

Any of this parameters can be managed on the section using the creation , modification  
and delete buttons

Profile information System administrator is the unique profile who can manage the public images

Enterprise Repository

The virtual images container, is the file system where all the available virtual image files are stored. On the delploy phase of a virtual machine abiCloud import these disk files into the target hypervisor file system.

Each enterprise has its own private repository, making visible only virtual images from users on the same enterprise.

Remote Space

An external virtual image provider holding public virtual images definitions and disk files according to the OVF standard. Available form other physical location.
The idea is that ISV and appliances providers can offer their own remote repositories in order to allow users to download their virtual appliance. This will be stored and configured to be used directlly in abiCloud

Operations 

In summary, on this section, user can:

• On the main right panel you can see all the virtual images on the enterprise, moving between different categories.
• Bloundle identification on the upper-right corner of each virtual image. Can be master or slave (indicating a boundle of a master image).
• Category management. Add and delete categories.
• Icon management. Add and delete availabele icons (to facilite virtual image reconigtion). This process is inside the image creation or modification process.
• Change the resource requirements requirements of a given virtual image (CPU, RAM and HD).
• On the left panel you can manage external virtual image providers. Add more public virtual images on the enterprise repository from some accessible repository.
• Upload a virtual image from the client file system to the enterprise repository (using 'add' simbol on the right).
• Download a virtual image to the client file system form the enterprise repository (first option when pick a virtual image).
• Delete a selected virtual image, then all its files will me removed from the enterprise repository. 

Connecting and Browsing an external Repository Space

All the accesible public repository spaces are on the left panel. A Repository Space (RS) should be accecible from an HTTP URL (used as source identifier).
An user can require to download many virtual images on his enterprise repository.

Default RS public available abiquo maintains a public Remote Space (default configured) at http://abispace.s3.amazonaws.com/ovfindex.xml.

Adding a Repository Space

Use the  button on the left panel. 

Enter the URL of the repository space as shown in figure and click on OK. URL can end with ovfindex.xml or it will be added if not provided.

The newly registered repository space will then been seen under the "Repositories" on the left panel.

Deleting a Repository Space

Use the  button on the left panel to delete the selected repository space, then a pop-up is showing requesting confirmation of this process, click on OK and the Repository Space is removed.

A Repository Space can be deattached an no logger appears on the Repository Space list, but all the virtual images definitions and disks files previously added at the enterprise repository still remain accessible for virtual application definition.

Package Management

When a Repository Space is selected you can see the list of all the accessible virtual images (formally OVF packages) on the remote repository space. 

The information of each virtual image is based on the ProductSection of its OVF definition, details there, and disk format.

There you can:

• Category filtering. See only the virtual images you care.
• Identify already downloaded images are identified (green mark).
• Identify errors, when a virtual image is not download correctly (maybe an invalid OVF definition).
• The repository space can refreshed to reflect new added virtual image.

Download virtual images from a repository space

Those virtual image can be picked and require its download from the Remote Space into the enterprise repository, making them available for virtual appliance definition.

Tick the check box to select the package to be downloaded, this activates the download button. Click on the download button to initiate the download of the selected OVF packages.

• During the download the progress is updated.
• When the OK button is clicked the progress of the download can seen as well as well as the enabling of a "cancel" button should a cancellation of the  download be required, simply click the download button under the OVF package to cancel the action.
• If some error occurs during the download pahse an error alert appears on the list.
• Images can be downloaded again (if the source have change) and the previous virtual image (and disk files) are overwritten.

Session expired Note that logging out of the system does not in any way affect the download of an OVF package that has already been started.  Upon closing the window, the Virtual image(s) representing the Virtual Disk(s) in OVF package(s)  that has/have been downloaded are immediately displayed

Virtual Image Management

All the information of a virtual image can be edited, using the last option on the virtual image detals.

Categories management

In this section, is allowed to manage categories.

Using the basic buttons, users can create  or delete a category

In this popup user can:

• Specify the category name
• With the ok/cancel buttons, confirm the information supplied or return to the previous page.

Icon management

On the virtual image edit pop-up and using the [+] button allows the introduction of new icons to the system:

• The name of the icon
• URL  where the icon is stored.  You can add icons in a folder called "icons" inside the web server or any image stored in internet. We suggest icons of 96x96 pixels. The validate button assures that the icon to be updated is ok.
• With the ok/cancel buttons the user can confirm the information entered or return to the previous page.

Uploading

If you want to create your own virtual image form a disk file on the local disk then should:

• Specifiy the virtual image requirements and information (as in virtual image edit).
• Select the file of the disk to be used on the virtual image.

The ''uploaded'' repository space once some virtual image is uploaded a new repository space (''uploaded'') is created to sholl all virtual images uploaded by an entreprise.

2 GB limitation The upload process is handled by the browser and there are some limitations duet the fact that browsers actually fetch all the file in memory before posting to the server. So files with more than 2 GB should not be provided.

Downloading a virtual image to the client file system

Using the first option on the upper-right corner of the virtual image detals you can require to download the disk file of the virtual image, this will open a browser pop-up to confirm the download to the user local disk (an ordinary HTTP download).