VMware vCloud Director

Abiquo supports vCloud API version 9.0. 

For configuration and a list of features supported by Abiquo, see vCloud Director

Abiquo supports vCloud Director (vCD) as a private cloud provider using the public cloud interface. vCD is a self-contained cloud with an endpoint for access and an API to manage it, so although vCD can be a private or public cloud, it best fits the public cloud model in Abiquo, so we manage it as a public cloud.

Abiquo works with vCD organization virtual datacenters as Abiquo public cloud regions.

Credentials models for vCloud Director

You can create a public cloud region for use by many organizations with one vDC or one organization with multiple vDCs.

To enable many organizations to use the same public cloud region, with one organization virtual datacenter per tenant, enter administrator (system) credentials to register the provider virtual datacenter as the public cloud region.

To allow only one organization to use the public cloud region, enter the organization credentials. 

Create a public cloud region for vCloud Director

Before you begin, see features and configuration at vCloud Director

To create a public cloud region for vCloud Director:

1. Go to Infrastructure → Public → Create public cloud region
   1. Enter the URL for vCloud Director (e.g. https://myvclouddirector.example.com)
   2. Enter credentials for ONE of the following models:
      1. To add a provider VDC, enter Administrator credentials (user@System)
      2. To add an organization VDC, enter Organization administrator credentials (user@orgName). This region will be exclusive to the organization
   3. Click Retrieve regions and select the region
      
   4. Click Next and enter the details of the remote services
      

To enable enterprises to work in the region:

1. Edit each enterprise that will work in a vCloud Director region (provider VDC or org VDC)
   1. Go to Datacenters and drag the region/s to the Allowed datacenters column
      
   2. Go to Credentials and select vCloud Director. Enter the organization administrator identity and credential
      

Optionally activate hardware profiles

By default vCloud Director works with CPU and RAM values and administrators can activate Abiquo hardware profiles as in private cloud. See Hardware profiles.

Configure import of VMs

When the platform onboards a virtual datacenter, it can onboard the VMs into a single Abiquo VApp or multiple VApps, depending on the enterprise properties of each tenant.

"sync.singlevapp":"true",
"sync.singlevapp.name":"sync vapp name"

Import templates

When searching for templates, to retrieve templates from the enterprise's vCD organization, select the private checkbox. To retrieve templates from other organizations, select the public checkbox.

The platform can manage templates that have multiple disks, but it will display one disk only with the total size of all disks. The user can deploy multi-disk templates, add and remove additional hard disks, and create instances.

Administrators can select hot-reconfigure options for their templates if the vCD operating system and template supports these options. They can also select the network driver, which by default is now VMXNET3.

Abiquo onboards and synchronizes VDCs and networks

Abiquo onboards and synchronizes the virtual datacenters and networks of a vCD organization.

• Abiquo synchronizes the organization network as an external network for the Abiquo virtual datacenters
• Abiquo synchronizes the vCD virtual appliances as Abiquo virtual datacenters
• Abiquo synchronizes a vCD virtual appliance network as a private network. Users can also manage private networks

Screenshot: Selecting a vCD virtual appliance to onboard as an Abiquo virtual datacenter.   

Screenshot: The user has created a private network in the VDC

Users onboard firewalls

The user can onboard Edge firewalls as Abiquo classic firewalls. In vCloud Director, classic firewalls can span vApps, so to access these firewalls in the platform, select All VDCs, then select the vCloud region.

The classic firewalls support TCP and UDP protocols, and with a source or destination that can be an IP, a range of IPs, or “any”. See Manage classic firewalls. 

The integration manages firewalls on private and external networks.

Users onboard and create load balancers

The user can onboard and create load balancer policies. In vCloud Director, load balancers can span vApps, so to access all load balancers in the platform, select All VDCs and then select the vCloud region.

The integration creates load balancers on external networks.

See vCloud Director load balancers table and Manage Load Balancers

Onboard VMs into Abiquo

When you onboard VMs, the platform creates a placeholder template for each VM, but this template is unavailable, which means that the user cannot undeploy and deploy the VM again from it.

To create a standard VM template for the VM, before you undeploy, power off and create an instance template to clone the VM disks. The platform will automatically assign the VM to the new template, and the user can then undeploy and redeploy the VM.   

Users deploy VMs

Users can create VMs using VM templates registered in the platform from the vCloud registry. 

Users can add IPs and select firewalls and load balancers for their VMs.

Users can attach and detach additional disks from their VMs, and for SCSI disks they can do this with hot reconfigure. Users can resize disks if their organization virtual datacenter is not using the fast provisioning. Users cannot change the boot sequence or the bus/unit number, but the platform will recognize changes made directly in vCD. Hard disks belong to one VM only and you cannot reuse them in another VM.

Notes about creating a VM from a template with multiple disks

• The platform only displays one disk with the total size of all disks. When you add an additional disk and deploy, the platform will display two disks. After the deploy, the platform will synchronize the VM with the cloud and update the VM to display all disks
• If you undeploy and remove a disk created from the template and then deploy again, the disk you removed will still be present (copied from the template), so you should remove it after the platform creates it.

Abiquo creates VMs within an Abiquo virtual datacenter and Abiquo virtual appliance. 

Abiquo can provide internet access from private networks through an external network.

Users can create Abiquo instance templates from VMs.

The user can request a remote console, and the platform will open it using WebMKS. See Branding WMKS