Connector for VMware vCloud Director

This section of the documentation contains the technical specifications of the ASM Core - VMware vCloud Director connector, which allows you to perform Cloud Provisioning and IT Service Management functions against business services deployed on cloud based infrastructure managed by VMware vCloud Director. 

The documentation describes the details of the VMware vCloud Director connector including:

• The supported versions of VMware vCloud Director
• The name of the .NET assembly file
• The connection methodology
• The resource and link types that can be discovered and the attributes of each resource and link type
• The events that are generated and the attributes passed with those events.
• The actions that can be called from ASM Core to be implemented into VMware vCloud Director.

For compatibility and version support details, refer to the ASM Connector Matrix.

You should familiarize yourself with the information in Installing Connectors before installing any connectors, and read the Integration topics for more information on how to configure them.

Functionality

The vCloud Director connector allows organizations to:

• Drive actions on cloud based resources and applications as part of a Service Request or Change Management process, or Release Management process. 
• Discover cloud based resources into the ASM Core Federated CMDB, including:
  • Organizations
  • Catalogs
  • vApp Templates
  • vApps

Use Case Scenario

The connector can be used to support following use cases:

• Cloud Provisioning
• Incident Classification
• Asset Management.
• Change/Release Management
• Request Fulfilment

Possible use cases and recommendations are provided further in this document.

Licensing

Contact Sales for more information.

The connector for VMware vCloud Director is not separately licensed and is available to any organization that is licensed for both ASM Core and VMware vCloud Director.

Connector Description

The table below provides a description of the connector for VCloud Director.

Information fields	Description
Connector	VMware vCloud Director  <-> ASM Core
ASM database version	SQL (See Prerequisites document for details)
Third-party application	VMware vCloud Director
VMware vCloud Director supported DB	Any DB format as detailed in VMware vCloud Director Prerequisites
Assembly	Infra.Connector.vCloud.dll
Connector class	vCloudConnector
Configuration file	Infra.Connector.vCloud.icnf
Connection methodology	Web Services

 

The table below provides compatibility for ASM and VCD Versions

VSM/ASM Versions Supported	VMware vCloud Director Versions Supported
10	1.5 / 1.5.1 / 5.1
10	1.5 / 1.5.1 / 5.1 / 5.5

The connector uses vCloud 1.5 API when liaising with VMware vCloud Director 5.1 / 5.5 systems. As a consequence, version 5.1 / 5.5 vCloud specific resources and functionalities are not exposed to ASM Systems.

Connector Install Process

The connector install process is part of the main application installation process.

Connection Parameters

When creating a new VMware vCloud Director source from the Source option of the Integration Platform, some specific parameters have to be entered.  The screenshot below illustrates an example of connection details to a VMware vCloud Director source.

Only one set of credentials is required; from a vCD system administrator.

URL

This represents the path to the vCloud Director application, not the API as such. The path provided should make use of https tag.

This patch must not contain any references to virtual directories. An example of proper path is https://vcd2rhl5vcd.model.infra.com.au/. 

In comparison, https://vcd2rhl5vcd.model.infra.com.au/Cloud/ and https://vcd2rhl5vcd.model.infra.com.au/api/ are two examples of erroneous paths.

Login ID and Password

For vCD system admin, the Login ID needs to be of the following format: “<user-id>@system”.

Federated CMDB Population

Federated CMDB population is performed by setting up scans using the Integration Platform functionality of ASM Core. These scans allow for VMware vCloud Director resources and links to be reflected in the ASM Core CMDB. This section provides details on the resource types and attributes, as well as on the link types and their attributes.

Resource Types

This section lists the resource types and their attributes that the connector is able to discover and eventually import on VMware vCloud Director systems.

Network Pool

Field ID	Display	Data Type
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
Description	Description	text

This resource is a mandatory input when using the new outbound action: Create Organization Network – Routed.

Provider vDC

A provider vDC resource is a collection of all the resources available in a vCloud. A Provider vDC is created by the vCloud service provider using tools that are specific to the host platform. In this release, a Provider vDC is created by a vSphere administrator using vSphere tools. The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	Data Type
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
description	Description	string
status	Status	profile
CpuAllocation	CPU Allocation (MHz)	long
CpuCapacity	CPU Capacity (MHz)	long
CpuFree	CPU Free (MHz)	long
MemoryAllocation	Memory Allocation (MB)	long
MemoryCapacity	Memory Capacity (MB)	long
MemoryFree	Memory Free (MB)	long
RootComputeCapacityIsElastic	Elastic CPU/Memory	Bool
RootComputeCapacityIsHA	Highly Available CPU/Memory	Bool
StorageAllocation	Storage Allocation (MB)	long
StorageCapacity	Storage Capacity (MB)	long
StorageFree	Storage Free (MB)	long
VCpuRatingMHz	Virtual CPU Rating (MHz)	int
isEnabled	Enabled	bool

Provider Network

This element is created by the server and is read-only at the client.  The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	Data Type
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
ProviderInfo	Provider Info	string
Description	Description	text
NetworkPoolName	Network Pool Name	string
NetworkPoolHref	Network Pool Href	string
IpScopeIsInherited	IP Scope Is Inherited	bool
IpScopeGateway	IP Scope Gateway	string
IpScopeNetmask	IP Scope Netmask	string
IpScopeDns1	IP Scope DNS 1	string
IpScopeDns2	IP Scope DNS 2	string
IpScopeDnsSuffix	IP Scope DNS Suffix	string
IpScopeIpRanges	IP Scope IP Ranges	string
FenceMode	Fence Mode	profile
DHCPServiceEnabled	DHCP Service Enabled	bool
DHCPDefaultLeaseTime	DHCP Default Lease Time	int
DHCPMaxLeaseTime	DHCP Max Lease Time	int
DHCPIpRange	DHCP IP Range	string
FireWallIsEnabled	Firewall Enabled	bool
FireWallRuleIsEnabled	Firewall Rule Enabled	bool
FireWallRuleDescription	Firewall Rule Description	bool
FireWallRulePolicy	Firewall Rule Policy	string
FireWallRuleProtocolTCP	Firewall Rule Protocol TCP	bool
FireWallRuleProtocolUDP	Firewall Rule Protocol UDP	bool
FireWallRuleProtocolPort	Firewall Rule Port	int
NatIsEnabled	NAT Enabled	bool
NatType	NAT Type	string
NatPolicy	NAT Policy	string
NetworkOrgName	Network Organization Name	string
NetworkOrgAPIAdminUrl	Network Organization API Admin URL	string

Organization

A vCloud contains one or more organizations. A vCloud organization is a unit of administration for a collection of users, groups, and computing resources. Clients authenticate at the organization level, using credentials established by an organization administrator when the user was created or imported from a directory service such as LDAP. 

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	DataType
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
description	Description	text
fullName	Full Name	string
consoleURL	Console URL	string
orgUsers	Users	entityReference
DefaultDeploymentLeaseSeconds	Default Deployment Lease (Sec)	int
DefaultStorageLeaseSeconds	Default Storage Lease (Sec)	int

vDC

A vCloud virtual datacenter (vDC) is an allocation mechanism for computing resources such as networks, storage, CPU, and memory. In a vDC, these resources are fully virtualized, and can be allocated based on demand, service level requirements, or a combination of the two. Resource consumption in a vDC is monitored by a chargeback mechanism.

There are two kinds of vDC: 

• Provider vDCs contain all the resources available from the vCloud service provider. Provider vDCs are created and managed by vCloud system administrators.
• Organization (Org) vDCs provide an environment where virtual systems can be stored, deployed, and operated. They also provide storage for virtual media.

The vCloud system administrator allocates resources to an organization vDC, and an organization administrator specifies how that allocation is distributed to the vDCs in an organization.

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	Data Type
Organization	Organization	entityReference
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
description	Description	text
status	Status	profile
nicQuota	NIC Quota	int
networkQuota	Network Quota	int
vmQuota	VM Quota	int
cpuAllocated	CPU Allocated (MHz)	long
cpuLimit	CPU Limit (MHz)	long
cpuUsed	CPU Used (MHz)	long
memAllocated	Memory Allocated (MB)	long
memLimit	Memory Limit (MB)	long
memUsed	Memory Used (MB)	long
storageAllocated	Storage Allocated (MB)	long
storageLimit	Storage Limit (MB)	long
storageUsed	Storage Used (MB)	long
isEnabled	Is Enabled	bool
vDCOrgName	vDC Organization Name	string
vDCOrgAPIAdminUrl	vDC Organization API Admin URL	string

Network

An organization can be provisioned with one or more networks, each of which represents an allocation of the networking capacity of a provider vDC. These networks (known as organization networks) can be configured to provide services such as DHCP, NAT, and firewalling.

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	DataType
name	Name	string
href	URL	string
Description	Description	string
NetworkPoolName	Network Pool Name	string
NetworkPoolHref	Network Pool Href	string
IpScopeIsInherited	IP Scope Is Inherited	bool
IpScopeGateway	IP Scope Gateway	string
IpScopeNetmask	IP Scope Netmask	string
IpScopeDns1	IP Scope DNS 1	string
IpScopeDns2	IP Scope DNS 2	string
IpScopeDnsSuffix	IP Scope DNS Suffix	string
IpScopeIpRanges	IP Scope IP Ranges	string
FenceMode	Fence Mode	profile
DHCPServiceEnabled	DHCP Service Enabled	bool
DHCPDefaultLeaseTime	DHCP Default Lease Time	int
DHCPMaxLeaseTime	DHCP Max Lease Time	int
DHCPIpRange	DHCP IP Range	string
FireWallIsEnabled	Firewall Enabled	bool
FireWallRuleIsEnabled	Firewall Rule Enabled	bool
FireWallRuleDescription	Firewall Rule Description	bool
FireWallRulePolicy	Firewall Rule Policy	string
FireWallRuleProtocolTCP	Firewall Rule Protocol TCP	bool
FireWallRuleProtocolUDP	Firewall Rule Protocol UDP	bool
FireWallRuleProtocolPort	Firewall Rule Port	int
NatIsEnabled	NAT Enabled	bool
NatType	NAT Type	string
NatPolicy	NAT Policy	string

Catalog

Catalogs contain references to an organization’s virtual systems and media images. A catalog can be unpublished and visible only to its creator, or published and visible to other members of an organization. A vCloud system administrator specifies which organizations can publish catalogs, and an organization administrator controls the publication of catalogs and access to published catalogs within the organization.

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	DataType
Organization	Organization	entityReference
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
Description	Description	string
IsPublished	Is Published	boolean
IsSharedToEveryone	Is Shared to Everyone	boolean
EveryoneAccessLevel	Everyone Access Level	profile
Owner	Owner	string
CatalogOrgName	Catalog Organization Name	string
CatalogOrgAPIAdminUrl	Catalog Organization API Admin URL	string

Catalog Item

A CatalogItem element can reference any entity that can be contained by a Catalog. Every vApp template or media image that has been added to the catalog is represented as a CatalogItem element. 

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	DataType
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
Description	Description	string
Entity	Entity	Entity reference
EntityURL	Entity URL	String
Type	Type	Profile
Catalog	Catalog	Entity reference
CatalogItemOrgName	Catalog Item Organization Name	string
CatalogItemOrgAPIAdminUrl	Catalog Item Organization API Admin URL	string

vApp Template

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	DataType
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
status	Status	profile
Type	Type	profile
Description	Description	string
ovfDescriptorUploaded	ovf Descriptor Uploaded	bool
NetworkSection	Network Section	string
EulaSection	Eula Section	string
DeploymentLeaseInSeconds	Deployment Lease (Seconds)	int
StorageLeaseInSeconds	Storage Lease (Seconds)	int
DeploymentLeaseExpiration	Deployment Lease Expiration	datetime
StorageLeaseExpiration	Storage Lease Expiration	datetime
numVMs	No of VMs	int
canInstantiate	Can Instantiate	bool
vAppTemplateOrgName	vApp Template Organization Name	string
vAppTemplateOrgAPIAdminUrl	vApp Template Organization API Admin URL	string

vApp

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	DataType
name	Name	string
href	URL	string
vappowner	vApp Owner	string
status	Status	profile
Type	Type	profile
Description	Description	string
ovfDescriptorUploaded	ovf Descriptor Uploaded	bool
NetworkSection	Network Section	string
EulaSection	Eula Section	string
DeploymentLeaseInSeconds	Deployment Lease (Seconds)	int
StorageLeaseInSeconds	Storage Lease (Seconds)	int
DeploymentLeaseExpiration	Deployment Lease Expiration	datetime
StorageLeaseExpiration	Storage Lease Expiration	datetime
numVMs	No of VMs	int
vAppOrgName	vApp Organization Name	string
vAppOrgAPIAdminUrl	vApp Organization API Admin URL	string
vAppOwner	vApp Owner	string

Media

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Field ID	Display	DataType
name	Name	string
href	URL	string
status	Status	profile
Type	Type	profile
Description	Description	string
imageType	Image Type	profile
Size	Size (bytes)	int
MediaOrgName	Media Organization Name	string
MediaOrgAPIAdminUrl	Media Organization API Admin URL	string

VM

A VM represents an individual virtual system, a member of a vApp’s Children container.

The attributes of this resource type are listed in the table below:

Key	Display	Data Type
name	Name	string
href	API URL	string
status	Status	profile
Description	Description	string
ovfDescriptorUploaded	ovf Descriptor Uploaded	bool
adminPasswordEnabled	Has Local Admin Password	bool
adminPassword	Local Admin Password	string
computerName	Computer Name	string
internalIpAddress	Internal IP Addresses	string
externalIpAddress	External IP Addresses	string
operatingSystem	Operating System	string
numberOfCpus	Number of CPUs	int
totalDiskCapacity	Total Disk Capacity (MB)	float
memory	Memory (MB)	long
VMOrgName	VM Organization Name	string
VMOrgAPIAdminUrl	VM Organization API Admin URL	string

vCD User

A User represents an individual user in the vCD system.

Field ID	Display	Data Type
name	Name	String
href	API URL	String
adminurl	API Admin URL	String
uniqueid	Unique ID	String
FullName	Full Name	String
EmailAddress	Email Address	String
Telephone	Telephone	String
IsEnabled	Is Enabled	Bool
IsLocked	Is Locked	Bool
IM	IM	String
NameInSource	Name In Source	String
Object GUID	Object GUID	String
IsAlertEnabled	Is Alert Enabled	Bool
IsExternal	Is External	Bool
IsDefaultCached	Is Default Cached	Bool
IsGroupRole	Is Group Role	Bool
StoredVMQuota	Stored VM Quota	Int
DeployedVMQuota	Deployed VM Quota	Int
RoleName	RoleName	String
Password	Password	String
UserOrgName	User Organization Name	String
UserOrgAPIAdminUrl	User Organization API Admin URL	String
UserOrgDescription	User Organization Description	String
UserOrgFullName	User Organization Full Name	String
UserOrgDefaultDeploymentLeaseSeconds	User Organization Default Deployment Lease (Sec)	Int
UserOrgDefaultStorageLeaseSeconds	User Organization Default Storage Lease (Sec	Int

Link Types

The connector allow for the exposure and import of several link types into the ASM Core CMDB. These link types are summarized in the table below.

Name	Resource Type A	Resource Type B	Description
Provider vDC Networks	Provider vDC	Provider Network	Link that shows relationship between provider vDC with provider Networks.
Catalog Contents	Catalog	Catalog Items	Link that shows relationship between a Catalog with its Contents.
vDC Available Networks	vDC	Network	Link that shows relationship between a vDC with its available networks.
vDC Resources	vDC	vDC Resource	Link that shows relationship between a vDC with its Resources.
VMs in vApp	vAppTemplates and vApps	vDC Resource:VM	Link that shows relationship between a VM with its parent, the vApp.
App Networks	vAppTemplates, vApps and VMs	Network	Link that shows relationship between a vApp with its network.
Network Association	Network	Network	Link that shows relationship between a network with its parent, the provider network.
Organization vDCs	Organization	vDC	Link to show the vDCs that belong to an organization.
Organization Catalogs	Organization	Catalog	Link to show the catalogs that belongs to an organization.
Organization Networks	Organization	Network	Link that shows the relationship of a network allocated to an organization by the system administrator.
Organization Users	Organization	User

User Import

The vCD connector allows for the discovery and importation of User from VMware vCloud Director into ASM Core as person records. 

An organization can contain an arbitrary number of person records and groups. Person records can be created by the organization administrator or imported from a directory service such as LDAP. (Groups must be imported from the directory service.) Permissions within an organization are controlled through the assignment of security roles and groups to person records that can also be flagged as Users or Analysts.

Imports of users into ASM Core can take place in 2 main environments:

1. VMware vCloud Director is the authoritative source of users for VMware Service
2. A LDAP repository (such as MS Active Directory) is the authoritative source of users

In the second case, special care should be applied to Users import as it can lead to the creation of multiple person records for a unique directory server user. To avoid this happening, it is recommended to implement the following:

1. When setting up LDAP mapping, use a custom string from the Person template (for instance “Custom String 1”) to map the LDAP “Object GUID” attribute.
2. When setting up the VMware vCloud Director mapping, apply the following:
3. Field mapping
4. ASM Core Person “Custom String 1” field mapped to vCD “Object GUID” attribute
   
   
5. Matching Criteria rule
   
   • {Person: Custom String 1} like {Resource:Object GUID}

Outbound Action Types

The VCD connector proposes several action types. It does not handle any inbound action type. 

For more details about Outbound/Inbound action functionality, refer to the documentation on ASM Core Integration Platform.

Instantiate vApp

A vApp template is like a recipe for creating a vApp. This recipe, contained in the vAppTemplate entity, specifies a set of files, such as virtual disks, that the vApp requires, and a set of abstract resources, such as CPU, memory, and network connections, that must be allocated to the vApp by the vDC in which it is deployed.

Instantiation creates these vDC-specific bindings based on parameters supplied by the client. (These bindings are advisory; they do not guarantee that the resource will be available when the vApp is deployed.) Instantiation is a prerequisite to deployment. In most cases, a client instantiates a vApp template and then immediately deploys it.

You cannot instantiate a vApp template until all of its required files are available in a vDC. A vAppTemplate that meets this requirement is said to be resolved, and has a status attribute whose value is 1.

When configuring the Instantiate vApp Outbound Action, it is recommended to set up both the Deploy and the Power On attributes to False.

Action ID	instantiateVAppTemplate
Action Display Name	Instantiate a vApp Template
Type of Transaction	Asynchronous

Input Parameters

Key	Display	Data Type
name	vApp Name *	string
Description	vApp Description	string
vDC	vDC *	entityReference
vAppTemplate	vApp Template *	entityReference
deploy	Deploy	bool
network	Network	entityReference
powerOn	Power On	bool
DeploymentLeaseExpiration	Deployment Lease Expiration	dateTime
StorageLeaseExpiration	Storage Lease Expiration	dateTime

* indicates mandatory field

Output Parameters

Key	Display	Data Type
vAppName	vApp Name	string
vAppURL	vApp API URL	string
vAppConsoleURL	vApp Console URL	string
Action Error Message	Action Error Message	string
Action Error StackTrace	Action Error StackTrace	string
Action Error Minor Error Code	Action Error Minor Error Code	string
Action Error Major Error Code	Action Error Major Error Code	string
HttpCode	HTTP Status Code	string
HttpMessage	HTTP Message	string
HttpUri	HTTP URI	string
HttpFaultResponse	HTTP Fault Response	string

Provision Organization

This is a composite action that orchestrates the individual actions used to provision a new organization, in the following order:

• Create Organization
• Create User
• Create Organization Network
• Create Organization vDC

Action ID	provisionOrg
Action Display Name	Create Organization
Type of transaction	Synchronous; concludes on creation

Input Parameters

Settings	Key	Display	Data Type
Organization
	organizationName	Organization Name*	string
	organizationDescription	Organization Description	text
	organizationFullname	Organization Full Name*	string
	DeployedVMQuota	Deployed VM Quota	int
	StoredVMQuota	Stored VM Quota	int
	OrganizationLdapOu	Organization LDAP OU	string
Lease
	DefaultDeploymentLease	Default Deployment Lease	int
	DefaultStorageLease	Default Storage Lease	int
Notification
	UseDefaultNotificationSettings	Use Default Notification Settings*	bool
	NotificationSenderAddress	Notification Sender Address	string
	NotificationSubjectPrefix	Notification Subject Prefix	string
User
	AdministrationUsers	Administration Users *	string
	AdministrationRole	Administration Role *	profile
	OrganizationUsers	Organization Users	string
	OrganizationRole	Organization Role	profile
Network
	NetworkName	Network Name *	string
	NetworkDescription	Network Description	text
	ParentNetwork	Parent Network *	entityReference
	VdcName	vDC Name *	string
	VdcDescription	vDC Description	text
	VdcAllocationModel	Allocation Model *	profile
	VdcStorageAllocated	Storage Allocated (MB)	int
	VdcStorageLimit	Storage Limit (MB)	int
	VdcCpuAllocated	CPU Allocated (MHz)	int
	VdcCpuLimit	CPU Limit (MHz)	int
	VdcMemoryAllocated	Memory Allocated (MB)	int
	VdcMemoryLimit	Memory Limit (MB)	int
	VdcNicQuota	NIC Quota	int
	VdcNetworkQuota	Network Quota	int
	VdcVmQuota	VM Quota	int
	VdcPercentResourceGuaranteedMemory	% Resource Guaranteed (Mem.)	float
	VdcPercentResourceGuaranteedCpu	% Resource Guaranteed (CPU)	float
	VdcIsThinProvision	Is Thin Provision	bool
	VdcProviderVdc	Provider vDC Reference *	entityReference
	VdcVCpuRatingMHz	Virtual CPU Frequency (MHz)	long

* indicates mandatory field

Output Parameters

Key	Display	Data Type
orgURL	Organization API URL	string
orgConsoleURL	Organization Console URL	string
networkURL	Organization Network API URL	string
vdcURL	Organization vDC API URL	string
Action Error Message	Action Error Message	string
Action Error StackTrace	Action Error StackTrace	string
Action Error Minor Error Code	Action Error Minor Error Code	string
Action Error Major Error Code	Action Error Major Error Code	string
HttpCode	HTTP Status Code	string
HttpMessage	HTTP Message	string
HttpUri	HTTP URI	string
HttpFaultResponse	HTTP Fault Response	string

Login IDs are provided as a concatenated list of login IDs, delimited by semi-colons. It assumed the dedicated portal UI will take responsibility for concatenating these values.

Set vApp Network

Binds an org network to a vApp network with the specified name.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	Network	reference to an Org Network
	Network Admin API URL	string
	Network API URL	string
	vApp Network Name	string
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

If “vApp Network Name” is empty, the org network is bound to all the vApp networks in the vApp.

Customize Virtual Machines

A VM must be powered off while this action is performed in order for it to succeed. The Customization script is ran only when the VM is restarted.

This configures a VM to have a specific guest customization as specified by the parameters. If not configured, the action will switch on guest customization for the virtual machine. Guest customization is dependent on VMware Tools being already installed on the VM.

If a vApp is identified by the parameters, the customization is applied to all VMs within.

 

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
	Guest Customization Script	text
	Computer Name	string
	Local Admin  Password	string
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Update VM Capacity 

A VM must be powered off while this action is performed in order for it to succeed.

This updates the memory and CPU of a VM to values specified by the parameters. 

If a vApp is identified by the parameters, the update is applied to all VMs within. 

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
	Number of CPUs	int
	Memory (MB)	int
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Make VM Names Unique

A VM must be powered off while this action is performed in order for it to succeed.

This generates a pseudo-random name a virtual machine within a vApp, optionally seeded by a provided prefix. The update is performed to both the internal vSphere name for the virtual machine and its computer name.

If not configured, the action will switch on guest customization for the virtual machine. Guest customization is dependent on VMware Tools being already installed on the VM.

If no prefix is specified, the initial internal VM name is used instead.

The generated name is necessarily restricted in length to 15 characters.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
	Prefix	string
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Insert Disk

A VM must be powered off while this action is performed in order for it to succeed.

This inserts a new disk into a VM.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
	Bus Sub Type	profile “Bus Sub Types”
	Capacity (MB)	int
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Profile “Bus Sub Types”

To support this action a new profile and a new matrix will be defined and published covering the supported bus types.

Value	Display	Underlying Super Type (Mapped in Matrix)	Super Type Value
ide	IDE	IDE	5
buslogic	BusLogic Parallel (SCSI)	SCSI	6
lsilogic	LSI Logic Parallel (SCSI)	SCSI	6
lsilogicsas	LSI Logic SAS (SCSI)	SCSI	6
virtualscsi	Paravirtual (SCSI)	SCSI	6

Remove Disk

This removes a disk with the specified index from a VM. If no index is specified, it will remove the disk with the highest index.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
	Disk Index	int
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Deploy a vApp or Virtual Machine

Deploying a vApp automatically deploys all of the virtual machines it contains.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
	Power  On	bool
	Deployment Lease (seconds)	int
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Undeploy a vApp or Virtual Machine

Undeploying a vApp powers off or suspends any running vApp Children, then frees the resources reserved for the vApp and sets the vApp’s status attribute to a value of 1 to indicate that it is not deployed. 

Undeploying a virtual machine powers off or suspends the virtual machine, then frees the resources reserved for it and sets the its status attribute to a value of 1 to indicate that it is not deployed. This operation has no effect on the containing vApp.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
	Save State	bool
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Power On a vApp or Virtual Machine

A powerOn request to a vApp URL powers on all of the virtual machines in the vApp, as specified in the vApp’s ovf:StartupSection element.

A powerOn request to a virtual machine URL powers on the specified virtual machine.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Power Off a vApp or Virtual Machine

A powerOff request to a vApp URL powers off all of the virtual machines in the vApp, as specified in its ovf:StartupSection element.

A powerOff request to a virtual machine URL powers off the specified virtual machine.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Reset a vApp or Virtual Machine

A reset request to a vApp URL resets all of the virtual machines in the vApp, as specified in its ovf:StartupSection element.

A reset request to a virtual machine URL resets the specified virtual machine.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Suspend a vApp or Virtual Machine

A suspend request to a vApp URL suspends all of the virtual machines in the vApp, as specified in its ovf:StartupSection element.

A suspend request to a virtual machine URL suspends the specified virtual machine.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Discard Suspended State

A discardSuspendedState request to a vApp URL discards the suspended state of all of the virtual machines in the vApp, as specified in its ovf:StartupSection element.

A discardSuspendedState request to a virtual machine URL discards the suspended state of the specified virtual machine.

You cannot resume a suspended vApp after its suspended state has been discarded.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Shutdown a vApp or Virtual Machine

A shutdown request to a vApp URL shuts down all of the virtual machines in the vApp, as specified in its ovf:StartupSection element.

A shutdown request to a virtual machine URL shuts down the specified virtual machine. This request needs VM Tools to be installed on the VM to succeed.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

 

Reboot a vApp or Virtual Machine

A reboot request to a vApp URL reboots all of the virtual machines in the vApp, as specified in its ovf:StartupSection element.

A reboot request to a virtual machine URL reboots the specified virtual machine. This request needs VM Tools to be installed on the VM to succeed.

Input Parameters	vApp	reference to a vApp
	vApp API URL	string
	VM	reference to a VM
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Clone a vApp

This operation must be performed with organization credentials. 

The cloneVApp operation is similar to the instantiateVAppTemplate operation, except that it specifies a vApp to clone, rather than a vAppTemplate to instantiate. 

Input Parameters	Name *	string
	Description	text
	vApp *	reference to vApp
	vDC *	reference to vDC
	Network	reference to Network
	Deploy	bool
	Power-Up	bool
	Deployment Lease Expiry Date	date time
	Storage Lease Expiry Date	date time
Output Parameters	Clone vApp Name	string
	Clone vApp API URL	string
	Clone vApp	reference to vApp
	vApp Console URL	string
	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

* indicates mandatory field

Compose a Blank vApp

Creates a Blank vApp on a particular VDC.

Input Parameters	vApp Name*	string
	vDC*	reference to vDC
	Deployment Lease Expiry Date	date time
	Storage Lease Expiry Date	date time
Output Parameters	vApp Name	string
	vApp API URL	string
	vApp	reference to vApp
	vApp Console URL	string
	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

* indicates mandatory field

Merge vApp

Merges one or more source vApps into a target vApp. The Target vApp Name parameter is optional, if it is provided the resultant merged vApp will be renamed to this Target vApp Name. If Delete Source is True and Source is a VM, the VM will be deleted from its parent vApp.

Input Parameters	Source vApp	reference to vApp (Multiple Value)
	Source vApp API URL	String (Multiple Value)
	Target vApp Name	string
	Target  vApp	reference to vApp
	Target  vApp API URL	string
	Delete Source	bool
Output Parameters	Merged vApp Name	string
	Merged vApp	reference to vApp
	Merged vApp API URL	string
	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

 

Renew a vApp

Renews the deployment and/or storage lease of a vApp.

Input Parameters	vApp	resource reference
	vApp API URL	string
	Deployment Lease Expiry Date	date time
	Storage Lease Expiry Date	date time
Output Parameters	N/A

Share a vApp

Share a vApp to everyone in the Org or to a few people specified in the input parameters.

If sharing to everyone the “Share to Users” parameter(s) are not needed. Otherwise they must be provided.

A vApp can only be shared to person records assigned an Organization where the vApp resides.

Input Parameters	vApp	resource reference
	vApp API URL	string
	Share to Everyone	bool
	Share to Users	reference (Multiple Value)
	Access Level *	profile
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

* indicates mandatory field

 

Delete a vApp

This physically deletes a vApp. 

Input Parameters	vApp	resource reference
	vApp API URL	string
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

 

Create an Organization

This creates an Organization in vCloud Director.

Input Parameters	Organization Name *	string
	Organization Full Name *	string
	Use Default Notification Settings *	bool
	Organization Description	text
	Deployed VM Quota	int
	Stored VM Quota	int
	Deployment Lease Seconds	int
	Storage Lease Seconds	int
	Is Default Org Email *	bool
	From Email Address	string
	Default Subject Prefix	string
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string
	Organization Name	string
	Organization API Admin URL	string
	Organization API URL	string

* indicates mandatory field

Update an Organization

Input Parameters	Organization Description	text
	Deployed VM Quota	int
	Stored VM Quota	int
	Deployment Lease Seconds	int
	Storage Lease Seconds	int
	Is Default Org Email *	bool
	From Email Address	string
	Default Subject Prefix	string
	Organization Full Name	string
	Organization API Admin URL	string
	Organization	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	Int
	Error Message	String

* indicates mandatory field

In addition to the fields that are marked with an asterisk, it is mandatory to provide either Organization API Admin URL or Organization.

Delete an Organization

Input Parameters	Organization API Admin URL	string
	Organization	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

 

Create an Organization User

Input Parameters	Organization Admin API URL*	string
	Full Name	string
	Email Address	string
	Telephone	string
	Is Enabled	bool
	IM	string
	Is Alert Enabled	bool
	Stored Vm Quota	int
	Deployed Vm Quota	int
	Organization User *	string
	Organization Role *	profile
	Password *	string
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string
	User Name	string
	User API Admin URL	string

* indicates mandatory field

Update an Organization User

Input Parameters	Full Name	string
	Email Address	string
	Telephone	string
	Is Enabled	bool
	IM	string
	Is Alert Enabled	bool
	Stored Vm Quota	int
	Deployed Vm Quota	int
	Organization Role	profile
	Is External	bool
	User Admin API URL	string
	User	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

In addition to the fields that are marked with an asterisk in the previous section, it is mandatory to provide either User API Admin URL or User.

Delete an Organization User

Input Parameters	User Admin API URL	string
	User	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

 

Delete an Organization Network

Input Parameters	Network Admin API URL	string
	Network	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

 

Create an Organization vDC

Input Parameters	Organization Admin API URL	string
	Network Admin API URL	string
	vDC Name *	string
	Allocation Model *	profile
	Provider vDC Reference *	entityReference
	vDC Description	text
	Storage Allocated (MB)	int
	Storage Limit (MB)	int
	CPU Allocated (MHz)	int
	CPU Limit (MHz)	int
	Memory Allocated (MB)	int
	Memory Limit (MB)	int
	NIC Quota	int
	Network Quota	int
	VM Quota	int
	% Resource Guaranteed (Memory)	float
	% Resource Guaranteed (CPU)	float
	Is Thin Provision	bool
	Virtual CPU Frequency (MHz)	long
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string
	vDC Name	string
	vDC API Admin URL	string
	vDC API URL

* indicates mandatory field

Update an Organization vDC

Input Parameters	vDC Description	text
	Storage Allocated (MB)	int
	Storage Limit (MB)	int
	CPU Allocated (MHz)	int
	CPU Limit (MHz)	int
	Memory Allocated (MB)	int
	Memory Limit (MB)	int
	NIC Quota	int
	Network Quota	int
	VM Quota	int
	% Resource Guaranteed (Memory)	float
	% Resource Guaranteed (CPU)	float
	Is Thin Provision	bool
	Virtual CPU Frequency (MHz)	long
	VDC Admin API URL	string
	VDC	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

In addition to the fields that are marked with an asterisk, it is mandatory to provide either vDC Admin API URL or vDC.

Delete an Organization vDC

An Organization must be Disabled before it can be deleted.

Input Parameters	vDC Admin API URL	string
	vDC	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Change Ownership of a vApp

You can change the owner of a VApp, but not that of a VAppTemplate or Media object.

VApp, VAppTemplate, Catalog, and Media objects are initially owned by the user who created them. Ownership is expressed in an Owner element contained by the object representation. This element includes a User element that references the owner.

Before you start

To change the owner of a vApp, you must be the vApp owner, an organization administrator, or the system administrator. 

To view change the owner of a catalog, you must be an organization administrator or the system administrator.

 

Input Parameters	User Admin API URL	string
	User	entityReference
	vApp API URL	string
	vApp	entityReference
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

Update VM Network Connection

Input Parameters	vApp API URL	string
	vApp	entityReference
	VM	entityReference
	Network Admin API URL	string
	Network	entityReference
	Network Connection Index *	int
	IP Address	string
	IP Address Allocation Mode	profile
Output Parameters	Error Code	int
	Error Message	string

The Network Connection Index attribute represents the NIC number of the VM targeted by this outbound action.

* indicates mandatory field. In addition, it is mandatory to provide vApp API URL or vApp or VM.

Create Organization Network - Bridged

This is accessible by multiple organizations. Virtual machines belonging to different organizations can connect to and see traffic on this network. This network provides direct layer 2 connectivity to machines outside of the organization. Machines outside of this organization can connect to machines within the organization directly.

Input Parameters	Parent Network *	reference to an External Network
	Network Description	string
	Network Name *	string
	Organization Admin API URL *	String
Output Parameters	Network API Admin URL	String
	Network Name	String
	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

* indicates mandatory field

Create Organization Network - Isolated

This is accessible only by this organization. Only virtual machines within this organization can connect to and see traffic on this network.

This network provides an organization with an isolated, private network that multiple vApps can connect to. This network provides no connectivity to machines outside this organization. Machines outside of this organization have no connectivity to machines within the organization.

Input Parameters	Start Address *	String
	End Address *	String
	NetMask *	String
	Gateway *	String
	Network Name *	String
	Network Pool *	Reference to a Network Pool
	Network Description	String
	Organization Admin API URL *	String
Output Parameters	Network API Admin URL	String
	Network Name	String
	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

* indicates mandatory field

Create Organization Network - Routed

Accessible only by the organization specified. Only virtual machines within this organization can connect to this network.

This network also provides controlled access to an external network. System administrators and organization administrators can configure network address translation (NAT) and firewall settings to make specific virtual machines accessible from the external network.

Input Parameters	Start Address *	String
	End Address *	String
	NetMask *	String
	Gateway *	String
	Network Name *	String
	Network Pool *	Ref to a Network Pool
	Network Description	String
	Organization Admin API URL *	String
	DHCP Is Enabled	Boolean
	DHCP Start Address	String
	DHCP End Address	String
	DHCP Default Lease Time	Int
	DHCP Max Lease Time	Int
	Firewall Is Enabled	Boolean
	Firewall Default Action	Allow / Block
Output Parameters	Network API Admin URL	String
	Network Name	String
	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

* indicates mandatory field

Rename VM

This action allows renaming existing VM. 

If a VM ref is provided as input, the referenced VM will be renamed according to the value passed in VM Name field.

If a vApp ref or vApp API URL value is provided as input, up to 5 VMs belonging to the referenced vApp will be renamed based to the value passed in VM Name field by adding “_x” as a suffix; for instance <VM_name>, <VM_name>_1, <VM_name>_2, <VM_name>_3 and <VM_name>_4.

If Update Computer Name is enabled, the VM Name will be used to rename the name of the Computer related to the VM. Default value is disabled for this option.

Input Parameters	VM Name *	String
	vApp	Ref to a vApp
	vApp API URL	String
	VM	Ref to a VM
	Update Computer Name	Boolean
Output Parameters	VM Name	String
	VM Name-2	String
	VM Name-3	String
	VM Name-4	String
	VM Name-5	String
	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

* indicates mandatory field

Create an Organization Network Firewall Rule

This outbound action allows creating a firewall rule for a specific organization network in vCloud Director.

Mandatory fields are: 

• Network Admin API Url or the Network Entity reference
• A name for the Firewall rule.
• A source IP address and a destination IP address.

The system allows for 2 rules to have to same names but it does not allow for the creation of 2 rules using the same IP + Port source and destination, direction, and protocol.

Optional fields allow:

• Enabled: activate or deactivate the rule.
• Policy: Drop, Allow
• Protocols: specifying between Any, TCP, UDP, TCP & UDP, ICMP.
• Direction: specifying between Incoming, Outgoing
• Ports: Any port (*), FTP (21), SSH (22), HTTP (80)

	Display name	Field Type	Default Value
Input Parameters	Network Admin API URL	string
	Network	entityReference
	Firewall Rule Name *	string
	Enabled	bool	False
	Policy	profile	Drop
	Protocols	profile	TCP
	Direction	profile	Incoming
	Destination Port	profile	Any Port (*)
	Source Port	profile	Any Port (*)
	Destination IP *	string
	Source IP *	string
Output Parameters	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

* indicates mandatory field

Delete an Organization Network Firewall Rule

This action deletes an existing firewall rule for a specific Organization Network.

Mandatory fields are: 

• Network Admin API Url or Network Entity reference
• A name for the Firewall rule

If there are no existing rules in the specified network that possess the name provided as input parameter, no rule will be deleted. A message is generated in the HTTP Fault Response stating: “Warning: no Firewall rule deleted. The value specified did not correspond to any existing Firewall rule in the source system.”. This is not considered as a failure of the Outbound Action workflow task, meaning the workflow will continue following the Succeeded branch.

Input Parameters	Network Admin API URL	string
	Network	entityReference
	Firewall Rule Name *	string
Output Parameters	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

* indicates mandatory field

Create an Organization Network NAT Rule

This outbound action allows creating a NAT Routing rule for a specific organization network.

Mandatory fields are: 

• Network Admin API Url or Network Entity reference
• An External IP address and an Internal IP address

Optional fields:

• Protocols: allows specifying between TCP, UDP, TCP & UDP.
• Type: allows specifying between Port Forwarding and IP Translation
• Ports: Any port (*), FTP (21), SSH (22), HTTP (80)

	Display name	Field Type	Default Value
Input Parameters	Network Admin API URL	string
	Network	entityReference
	NAT Rule Type	profile	Port Forwarding
	Protocols	profile	TCP
	External Port	profile	Any Port (*)
	Internal Port	profile	Any Port (*)
	External IP *	string
	Internal IP *	string
Output Parameters	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

* indicates mandatory field

Delete an Organization Network NAT Rule

This action is used to delete one or several rules at the same time inside a unique Organization network.

Mandatory fields are: 

• Network Admin API Url or Network Entity reference
• NAT Rule Type
• At least one the other parameters

If Delete All IP Translation Rules and/or Delete All Port Forwarding Rules attributes are set to True, all the existing rules of the associated type will be deleted in the specified Organization Network.

When using Internal and/or External IP values or Internal and/or External IP values, the Outbound action will delete all the rules that matches all the parameters provided. At least one of the 4 values needs to be specified for the rule to run.

For example, if the only value specified is an External IP, then all the rules that possess this External IP address will be deleted. But if an External Port is also specified, then all then rules that possess the External IP address as well as the Port number will be deleted.

Any combination of the 4 parameters can be used.

If there are no existing rules that match the input parameters of the Outbound action, no rule will be deleted. A message is generated in the HTTP Fault Response stating: “Warning: no NAT rule deleted. The values specified did not correspond to any existing NAT rule in the source system.”. This is not considered as a failure of the Outbound Action workflow task, meaning the workflow will continue using the Succeeded branch.

Input Parameters	Delete All IP Translation Rules	bool
	Delete All Port Forwarding Rules	bool
	Network Admin API URL	string
	Network	entityReference
	External IP	string
	Internal IP	string
	External Port	profile
	Internal Port	profile
	NAT Rule Type	profile
Output Parameters	Action Error Major Code	String
	Action Error Message	String
	Action Error Minor Error Code	String
	Action Error Stack Trace	String
	HTTP Fault Response	String
	HTTP Message	String
	HTTP Status Code	String
	HTTP URI	string

Security and Certificates

Installing a Security Certificate

The vCD connector requires a security certificate to be installed on the ASM Core server to connect to VMware vCloud Director.

The recommended way to install the certificate is, from the ASM Core server, to point a web browser to the vCD server. A warning will be displayed that certificate is not trusted. From there, either the User’s Web browser allows for a straight install of the certificate, or system administrators will have to export the certificate to a file and then import this newly created file as a trusted certificate. The certificate has to be installed in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities > Local Computer folder.

Security Certificate Warnings

During installation, the Configuration Wizard may attempt to test whether it can establish a connection over SSL with the specified connection parameters.

If a connection fails, a dialog will be displayed detailing the reasons why the connection could not be trusted and suggest actions that could be taken to resolve those issues. In addition, the dialog provides options to inspect and install the certificates issued by the server.

It is strongly advised that you consult with the relevant system administrators before directly installing a certificate with this dialog to avoid the server trusting compromised connections. It always best practice for the certificate of a remote server to be manually provided by that server’s administrator rather than downloaded from the server.

Example of VMware vCloud Director Certificate Installation

1. In the Internet browser, type in the URL of the vCD instance
2. When asked, select to proceed to vCD despite the certificate not being installed.
3. Once on the vCD log in page, click on the Certificate Error box on the right of the Address bar.
   
4. Click on View Certificate at the bottom of the window . Then click on “Install Certificate…”.
5. Select “Place all certificates in the following store” option and click on the Next button.
   
6. Tick the option Show Physical stores and select the Local Computer folder under Trusted Root Certification Authorities folder .
   
   

6. Click OK and complete the installation process.
7. Restart the Internet browser and type in the vCD instance URL.  Check that no certificate alert appears.