18 Virtual Datacenters

Oracle Engineered Systems

When Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center is installed on Oracle Engineered systems and you want to create and manage a virtual datacenter built upon on the engineered systems, then the procedures described here for setting up the infrastructure and the virtual datacenter might not be suitable.

The infrastructure setup is different and a default virtual datacenter is configured during installation and configuration of Oracle Engineered systems. Refer to the Chapter 20, "Oracle Engineered Systems" for more information.

Required User Role

A cloud administrator can create and manage the virtual datacenters, accounts, and cloud users. The cloud administrator has the role of Asset Admin and Network Admin to setup and manage the virtual datacenter infrastructure.

Specify Privileges

To access an already created vDC as a cloud administrator, you must have the proper privileges set to view and manage it. Creating only the cloud admin role is not enough, you must have the privileges for the vDCs to be managed. Contact the Ops Center administrator for more information.

Server Pool Setup

You can create vDC with server pools based on the following types of virtualization technology:

• Oracle VM Server for x86

• Oracle Solaris Zones

• Oracle VM Server for SPARC

See Chapter 17, "Server Pools" for more information about how to create server pools.

Ensure all the required networks are assigned to the user-defined network domain that is associated with the server pool. The vDC creation wizard displays the list of available server pools in Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center. The list includes the server pools that conform to the following characteristics:

• There are virtualization servers in the server pool and the server pool is not empty.

• The server pool is associated with a user-defined network domain.

• Server pools of supported virtualization technology.

• There are compatible storage resources to be used as root disk and volumes for the vServers.

• There are compatible storage resources for saving vServer metadata.

For Oracle Solaris Zones server pool, the pool members must not be a mixture of Oracle Solaris 10 and 11 operating system.

Storage Setup

The vDC inherits the storage resources allocated for the server pool. The virtualization type of the server pool defines all the possible types of storage resources available for the vDC. Oracle VM Server for x86 based server pools can have the following type of storage resources:

• Oracle VM Storage Repositories

• LUNs allocated from Static Block Storage libraries

• LUNs from Dynamic Block Storage libraries

For Oracle VM Server for x86 server pools, the Oracle VM Storage repositories must be associated with the server pool.

The Oracle Solaris Zones server pools can have the following types of storage resources:

• NAS libraries

• LUNs allocated from Static Block Storage libraries

• LUNs from Dynamic Block Storage libraries

The Oracle VM Server for SPARC server pools can have the following types of storage:

• NAS libraries

• LUNs allocated from Static Block Storage libraries

• LUNs from Dynamic Block Storage libraries

You require the Oracle Solaris Zones and Oracle VM Server for SPARC server pool to be associated with NAS libraries if they are associated only with Block Storage libraries. NAS libraries are required for storing guest metadata details.

Volume Storage

When you create a vDC, you allocate the storage resources to be used for all the accounts created in the vDC. The allocated storage resources are used as root disks of the vServers and volumes. Volumes are additional storages that you can attach to the vServers. For volumes, the storage is allocated from the storage libraries that are associated with the server pools. A cloud user can also import external volumes into the account.

Network Setup

Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center provides comprehensive network management options that enables secure management of the virtual datacenter.

The server pools must be associated with user-defined network domain to be added to the vDC.

Understanding Network Domain Implementation

The network domain is a logical grouping of related networking components in Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center. You can build the network on the following type of fabrics:

• Fully-managed switched fabrics

  The switches and the fabrics they support are discovered and managed in Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center and you can create VLANs or InfiniBand partitions. The network domain created from fully-managed fabrics provides the option to create dynamic private networks.

• Host-managed fabrics

  Set VLAN IDs to unmanaged Ethernet fabrics and make it host-managed fabrics. Though the switches are not managed in Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center, you can assign VLAN IDs to the Ethernet fabrics. You have to manually enable the VLAN IDs on the switch ports connected to the hosts in that fabric. Host-managed fabrics allow you to create dynamic private networks.

  Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center uses the VLAN IDs set for the creation of dynamic private networks.

• Unmanaged fabrics

  Neither the switches are managed nor the VLAN IDs are available in Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center to create the network. The networks are declared or discovered while discovering an asset in Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center. The network domain created out of these networks does not provide the option to create dynamic private networks. You can set aside the networks created on the unmanaged fabrics as private while creating a network domain.

  You must ensure that these networks assigned as private are not in use and there is no routing between the selected networks and other networks. These private networks are defined as static private networks. For vDC, a network domain only with unmanaged fabrics can be assigned to a server pool if there are static private networks in it.

Dynamic Private Networks

Each dynamic private network created is allocated a subnet address according to the standards specified in IETF RFC1918. While creating network domains, you can select the option to select the fabric on which you want to create the network, limit the number of networks to be created on the fabric, and the network addresses to be excluded from use.

The number of private networks that you can create on a fully-managed fabric depends on the type of physical fabric. Each port on an Ethernet switch can support 128 logical fabrics. Each partition on an InfiniBand switch can support 32000 logical fabrics. The number of logical fabrics determines how many private networks you can create. For an InfiniBand fabric, each P-key can support a private network. For an Ethernet fabric, each VLAN ID can support a private network.

When you create a network domain, you can set the network creation limit for each selected fabric. This determines how many private vNets that can be created in an account. You can spread the number of private networks across all of the accounts in the vDC.

Plan Your Network Domains

The network setup must be implemented in such a way that the cloud user has the required network resources available to allocate to the virtual servers created in the accounts. The cloud user must be able to create private networks. The networks must be created upon either fully-managed switched fabrics, host-managed fabrics or unmanaged fabrics.

Create a network domain, assign the managed networks, and associate it with the server pool which must be added to the vDC. The vDC inherits the network domain from the server pool. From the available networks in the network domain, attach the required networks to the server pool. These managed networks form the public external networks for the vDC. You can assign these networks to the accounts created in vDC.

The vDC enables cloud users to create virtual machines and run applications. The cloud user provides networking to its virtual machines from the public networks that are allocated to each account or by creating private networks. The cloud user can use the public networks, or create a private vNet for use in the account. When the cloud users create a private vNet, either a dynamic private network is created or the static private network is available for use in that account.

You must allocate the IP addresses in the public networks and static private networks. This will enable the cloud users to use the allocated IP addresses.

When the cloud user creates a private vNet, it is listed under the network domain of the vDC.

See Chapter 7, "Networks" for more information about managing fabrics, creating network domains, and private networks.

Create Virtual Datacenter

Before you create the vDC, it is important to have your server pools, network, and storage set up. When they are set up properly, you can select the required resources for the vDC.

To Create a Virtual Datacenter

1. Select vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Click Create Virtual Datacenter in the Actions pane.

   The Create Virtual Datacenter wizard displays.

3. The first step provides a introduction to the vDC and the prerequisites for creating a vDC.

   You can select to skip this step in the future when you create a vDC again. Click Next to specify identification details for the vDC.

4. In the Specify Virtual Datacenter Details, enter the following information:

   • Provide a name and description for the vDC.

   • Enter tags for better identification and classification of the vDC in Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center.

   Click Next to select the server pools.

5. Select a server pool from the list.

6. Select whether you want to add more compatible server pools as that of the selected server pool.

7. Select the compatible server pools that you want to assign to the vDC.

   Click Next to configure the volume storage.

8. Designate some of the storage resources to be used for volumes. You can designate the following storage resources as volume:

   • Oracle VM Server for x86 based vDC

     • Oracle VM Storage Repositories

     • Dynamic Block Storage Libraries

   • Oracle Solaris Zone based vDC

     • NAS Libraries

     • Block Storage Libraries that include both Dynamic and Static

   • Oracle VM Server for SPARC based vDC

     • NAS Libraries

     • Block Storage Libraries that include both Dynamic and Static

   Click Next to specify the vCPU sizing.

9. Select the minimum and maximum share of the physical CPU threads that are available for each vCPU.

   The virtual datacenter resources are allocated to the accounts. Each account has a quota defined for the usage of vCPU, memory and storage resources. You must specify the share of the physical CPU that each vCPU must receive. Through timesharing of the CPU cycles, you can allocate more vCPUs than the existing physical CPU threads.

   For zone based vDCs, you can set the minimum and maximum share of the physical CPU threads. When vServers (zones) are created, the Fair Share Scheduler is the default scheduler. The physical CPU allocation for each vServer is provided by the Fair Share Scheduler.

   This option will not be available for Oracle VM Server for SPARC based vDCs as there is one to one relationship between the vCPU and the physical CPU thread.

   Click Next to view the summary.

10. The summary lists the total resources that are allocated for the vDC. The summary lists the following:

    • Virtualization type – The virtualization technology of the server pool.

    • Total CPUs – The physical CPU threads available from all the virtualization servers in the selected server pools of the vDC.

    • Total memory – The total RAM allocated to the management domains of the selected server pool. For example, Oracle Solaris Zones based vDC, it is the total memory of the global zones in the server pool. For Oracle VM Server for x86 based server pools, it is the total memory of the Oracle VM Servers in which the virtual machines run.

    • Total disk space – The sum of all the disk spaces allocated from the storage libraries associated with the selected server pools.

    • vCPU sizing cap values – The minimum and maximum share of the physical CPU for each vCPU must receive.

    Confirm the vDC configuration and click Finish to create the vDC.

Update vDC Configuration

You can update the following details of vDC:

• vDC identification and tags.

• Assign more server pools or remove server pools that are not used.

• Assign more storage for volume. You cannot remove the storage already assigned for volume.

• Modify the vCPU sizing.

Select a vDC and click the Update Virtual Datacenter option in the Actions pane. Modify the required attributes and complete the wizard.

Resource Management

Oracle Enterprise Manager provides a complete view of the resources in the vDC and monitors the utilization of the virtualization servers, network, and storage. The cloud administrator gets a good picture of the utilization of the resources which helps to manage the under-utilized and over-utilized resources.

The following figure shows the Dashboard view when you select a vDC.

Figure 18-1 Virtual Datacenter Dashboard

Description of "Figure 18-1 Virtual Datacenter Dashboard"

The Dashboard shows the total resources available for a vDC and the amount allocated for different accounts. The committed resources indicate the total resources entitled to all the accounts in the vDC.

The Network tab displays detailed network usage in the vDC. It lists the fabric and public networks of the vDC, and all of the private networks created by the cloud user. You can see on which fabric the private vNets are created.

Figure 18-2 Network Usage in a vDC

Description of "Figure 18-2 Network Usage in a vDC"

The Server Pools tab shows the usage of the server pool resources. This lists the server pools that are in the vDC. The total and committed resources of vCPU, memory and storage are displayed. This helps you to plan whether you must add more resources to the vDC.

Figure 18-3 vDC Server Pool Usage

Description of "Figure 18-3 vDC Server Pool Usage"

The Incident tab lists all the incidents reported from all the infrastructure components in the vDC. For each incident, view the source of the incident which will help you to identify the component and the source of the problem. The incidents also covers the warnings issued when the vDC resources are over-utilized.

Figure 18-4 vDc Incidents Tab

Delete vDC

You can delete a virtual datacenter and release all of the resources attached to it. To delete a virtual datacenter, ensure the following conditions:

• No vServers are in the running state in the virtual datacenter.

• Shut down all the vServers in the virtual datacenter.

When you delete a virtual datacenter, all of the suspended or shut down vServers are deleted and the resources are released.

Create Account

You provide an entitlement to the virtual resources for an account. You allocate the resources from the vDC to an account. The resource allocation for all the accounts in a vDC can be more than the actual resources in a vDC. This oversubscription of the resources must be identified and planned for a vDC. You must configure the virtual resources for an account properly and update the resource configuration when the requirement increases. When an account does not have enough resources, the cloud user receives notifications that they cannot create vServers due to unavailability of resources.

As a cloud administrator watch the resource usage and properly configure the resources for an account.

To Create an Account

1. Select the vDC in which you want to create the account.

2. Click Create Accounts in the Actions pane.

   The Create Account wizard displays.

3. The first step provides a introduction to accounts and the prerequisites for creating an account.

   You can skip this step in the future when you create an account again. Click Next to specify identification details for the account.

4. Enter the name and description for the account.

   Add tags for categorizing and identifying the account. Click Next.

5. Specify the resource quotas for vCPU, memory and storage to the account.

   The available resources from vDC are allocated to the vDC. You can over-subscribe the resources. The Resource Quota Information displays whether the vDC resources are undersubscribed or oversubscribed. This gives a complete picture of the vDC resource usage.

6. Select the number of private vNets a cloud user can create in an account.

   The maximum number of private vNets that you can create in an account is 4096.

7. Select the public networks from the vDC that you can allocate to the account.

   For each network, the available number of IP addresses is displayed. Enter the number of IP addresses that will be allocated to the account. Click Next.

8. Select the cloud users who can access the account. You must assign a cloud user while creating the account. Thereafter, use Add Users option to add more users.

9. Review the account information and click Finish to create the account.

Update Account Configuration

As a cloud administrator, you can modify the identification, and resources allocated to an account. When you want to increase the resources allocated to an account, you can modify by selecting an account and click Update Account in the Actions pane. Modify the resources and complete the wizard.

You cannot remove the resources allocated to an account. Also, you cannot remove the public network or reduce the limit of public addresses assigned to an account.

Manage Cloud Users to an Account

You can add cloud users to the account and give them the right to use the resources allocated to an account. You can add the cloud users while you create an account or using the option Add Users.

To Add a Cloud User

1. Select the account and click Add Users in the Actions pane.

   The Add Users wizard displays.

2. The list of available cloud users and already assigned cloud users to the account are displayed. Select the users to whom you want to assign to the account and move it to the Assigned Users.

   Click Next to view the summary.

3. View the summary and click Finish to add the user to the account.

To Remove a Cloud User

1. Select the account.

2. Select the Users tab in the center pane.

   The list of users assigned to the account are displayed.

3. Select the cloud user whom you want to remove.

4. Click the Delete icon.

5. Click Remove to confirm the action.

Maintaining OS Images

For vDCs based on Oracle VM Server for SPARC virtualization technology, you must manage OS provisioning profiles that the cloud user can use for creating vServers in their environment. The Oracle Solaris 10 ISO or FLAR images must be imported in the NAS libraries associated with the server pools placed in the vDCs.

Configure your Oracle Solaris 11 Software Update Library in the Enterprise Controller to synchronize with the Oracle Solaris 11 Package Repository. The cloud user can use all the profiles for Oracle Solaris 11 OS.

Ensure to configure DHCP in your environment so that the cloud user can install Oracle Solaris 10 ISO image.

OS provisioning profiles that are based on Oracle Solaris 10 FLAR images and Oracle Solaris 11 OS, use WAN boot and do not require DHCP configuration.

See Chapter 5, "Software Libraries" for more information.

Delete an Account

Ensure that you do not have running virtual servers in the account. Shut down all the virtual servers in the account. Use the option Delete Account to remove the account.

When there are vServers in running state, the following message displays:

Figure 18-5 Delete Account

Description of "Figure 18-5 Delete Account"

Before You Begin

You must complete the following tasks as prerequisites for creating vServers:

• Define the memory, storage, and number of CPUs required for the vServers

  After memory, storage, and number of CPUs are defined, you can select the best suitable vServer type from those available for the account. vServer types are visible to cloud users during the vServer creation process. Contact your cloud administrator when you require a vServer type.

• Define the operating system and configuration for the vServers

  You must define the OS and configuration for the vServers. Based on that, you can choose the correct server template. The proper server template must exist before creating a vServer. You can either select a server template from those that exist for the account or create a new server template. Actions to use or create server templates vary based on the virtualization technology used in the vDC. For more information about server templates, see Manage Server Templates

• Define the virtual networks to attach to vServers for connectivity

  Plan the network connectivity of the vServers. vServers are only assigned to virtual networks at vServer creation time. You must choose one or more vNets from the available vNets or create new ones before creating a vServer. For more information about vNets, see vNets Creation

• Define the IP address assignment method

  You can choose from two different methods for IP address assignment to vServers:

  • Static method – Used to assign a specific IP address to a vServer. When using this method you must allocate in advance an IP address from the selected virtual networks. You must consider using this method when creating a single vServer at a time.

  • Automatic method – This method dynamically assign an IP address from each selected virtual network. When creating a multiple vServer at a time, only the use of the automatic IP address assignment method is allowed.

• Define the number of vServers to create

  You can create single or multiple vServers at a time. When creating multiple vServers at a time, vServers are created with the same configuration and a suffix is added to each vServer's name. You must also consider the IP address assignment method when defining the number of vServers.

• Define the use of the high availability support option for vServers

  Choose to use the high availability support option for vServers. When a high availability is enabled, the vServer is available uninterruptedly. The vServer is not shutdown when the backend infrastructure fails and it is migrated to another server and started. When high availability is not enabled, the vServer starts only after the backend infrastructure is available. Cloud administrator takes care of server pool settings to provide high availability feature in a vDC.

• Determine the use of the vServers access control mechanism

  You must determine the access mechanism to log into your systems. An option available as an alternative secure method is to use a public key to authenticate SSH root access to the vServer without the use of a password. This option is available to all cloud users, other options to create local user account or provide password for remote SSH access might be present based on the virtualization technology of the vDC.

• Determine the use of distribution groups for vServers

  You can determine if a vServer needs to be added to a distribution group. This feature is available for vDCs based on Oracle VM Server for SPARC virtualization technology and Oracle Exalogic systems. Distribution group ensures that two vServers are not running in the same Oracle VM Server. If you choose to assign a vServer to a distribution group, the distribution group must exist before creating the vServer. For more information about distribution group, see Distribution Group Creation.

Some of the other additional tasks that you can perform before or after creating a vServer:

• Define the use of additional storage for vServers

  When you require additional storage for vServers, attach volumes to vServers. You might attach volumes to vServers at vServers creation time, in that case, volumes must exist before creating the vServers. For more information about creating volume, see Volume Creation.

  You can skip this option at vServer creation time, you can also attach volumes at a later time.

Create vServers

Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center provides a wizard that walks you through a series of steps to collect information and resources to create vServers. It is important to have your planning tasks completed before running the wizard.

To Create vServers

1. Expand vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Select the account from the vDC Accounts list.

3. Click Create vServer in the Actions pane.

   The Create vServer wizard displays.

4. Enter the following information in the vServer Details step:

   • Name and description for the vServer.

   • Tags for better identification and classification of the vServer.

   • Number of vServers to create.

   • Check the High Availability Support option if required.

   Click Next to select a server template.

5. Select a server template from the list.

   Click Next to select a vServer type.

6. Select a vServer type from the list and click Next.

7. Select one or more volumes from the Available Volumes list. Use the arrow keys to move the selected volumes to the Attached Volumes list.

   You can skip this step as the volumes can also be attached after creating a vServer. Click Next to continue.

8. Select one or more vNets from the list.

   Click Next to select the IP address assignment method.

9. Select the IP address assignment method for each vNet and click Next.

   When the static method is selected, choose an IP address from the list.

10. When the Distribution Group Selection step is present, select a distribution group from the list if required.

    You can skip this step. Click Next to provide a public key.

11. In the vServer Access step, you can choose from one of the available options to get remote SSH access to the vServer:

    • Provide a public key to authenticate the SSH root access to the vServer. You can use either of the following options to register the public key:

      • Check the Upload Local Key option to upload the public key from a local file, then click Next to view the Summary.

      • Paste the public key directly into the Public Key text area, then click Next to view the Summary.

    • Provide login credentials to authenticate the SSH access to the vServer. This is only available for cloud users using Zones or Oracle OVM for SPARC as virtualization technology in the vDC.You can use one or both of the following options:

      • Check the option to supply the password for the remote SSH root access, and click Next.

        You will be directed to the Login Credentials step. Enter the password and confirm it, then click Next to view the Summary.

      • Check the option to create a local user account and password for remote SSH access, then click Next.

        You will be directed to the Login Credentials step. Enter the local user name and the password, then click Next to view the Summary.

    You can also skip this step and click Next to view the summary.

12. Confirm the vServer information provided in the Summary and click Finish to create the vServer.

vServer Management

After creating a vServer, you can manage the vServer life cycle by executing the available actions for vServer management.

To locate all the actions available for managing a vServer:

1. Expand vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Select the account from the vDC Accounts list.

3. Select the vServer tab in the Center Pane.

4. You can then select a vServer from the vServers list and then choose one of the actions displayed.

   Figure 18-9 vServer Management Options

   
   Description of "Figure 18-9 vServer Management Options"
   
   

Cloud users can perform the following actions to manage a vServer life cycle. The availability of some of the actions depends on the cloud infrastructure. See Actions Available for a Cloud User for available actions under different cloud infrastructure:

• Update a vServer – To modify the current name or description of a vServer. This action also allows the creation or deletion of vServer tags.

• Stop a vServer – To stop a running vServer. When a vServer is stopped, the guest operating system is shutdown. A stopped vServer can be started later.

• Start a vServer – To start a stopped or shutdown vServer. The restarted vServer might not get the same IP address as the original vServer.

• Pause a vServer – To suspend a running vServer.

• Resume vServer – To start a suspended vServer.

• Shutdown all vServers – To shutdown all vServers listed for an account. This action is only available in the Actions pane.

• Attach vServer volumes – To attach one or more new volumes to a vServer. You must stop the vServer before executing this action.

• Detach vServer volumes – To detach one or more volumes from a vServer. You must stop the vServer before executing this action.

• Delete a vServer – To delete a vServer from a vDC account. Deleting a vServer results in shutting down the vServer followed by the deletion of the vServer.

Create a Private vNet

Private vNet is a private virtual network set up exclusively for an account. The vServers associated with this vNet have private virtual IP address for internal communication.

To Create a Private vNet

1. Expand vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Select the account from the vDC Accounts list.

3. Click Create Private vNet in the Actions pane.

   The Create Private vNet wizard displays.

4. Enter the following information in the Private vNet Details step:

   • Name and description for the private vNet.

   • Tags for better identification and classification of the private vNet.

   Click Next to configure the private vNet.

5. Select the number of elements for the private vNet.

   This is the maximum number of vServers that can be part of this vNet. Use the slide bar to set the value. The values entered are rounded to the next value of 2, 6, 14, 30, 62, 126, 254, 510, 1022, 2046, 4094, and 8190.

   Click Next to view the summary.

6. Confirm the private vNet information and click Finish to create the private vNet.

Upload Server Templates

To upload a server template, you can choose from two different server templates sub types:

• Template – Single virtual machine template that is ready to be deployed into virtualized platforms. Templates can be of format .tgz, .tar or other file types.

• Assembly – Collection of interrelated software appliances that can include a configuration of multiple virtual machines with their virtual disks and their inter connectivity. An assembly is contained in a single .ova (Open Virtualization Format Archive) file. When uploading an assembly, you can also create snapshots.

You can either select the server templates stored in the local host machines or from other locations that you can access. Use FTP, HTTP, or HTTPS protocols to upload the server templates from other locations.

Before uploading a server template, you must:

• Decide on a suitable server template sub type.

• Make sure the file for the server template is of the correct format.

• Check whether the file is accessible when uploading the server template from a file in other location.

To Upload a Server Template

1. Expand vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Select the account from the vDC Accounts list.

3. Click Upload Server Template in the Actions pane.

   The Upload Server Template wizard displays.

4. Enter the following information in the Identify Server Template step:

   • Name and description for the server template.

   • Tags for better identification and classification of the server template.

     Click Next to specify server template details.

5. Choose a server template sub type.

6. Choose an option to upload the server template file.

   When the URL option is selected, enter the complete URL.

   Click Next to view the summary.

7. Confirm the server template information and click Finish to create the server template.

Create Server Templates

The option to create a server template is available only when the vDC is built on Oracle VM Server for SPARC virtualization technology. You can create server templates from existing OS provisioning profiles. The list of profiles is filtered to display only the distribution which are available to vDC. If a required profile is not available, contact your cloud administrator for required OS provisioning profiles to install your vServers. The OS profiles that have been created for a selected ISO image is made available to create the server template.

To Create a Server Template

1. Select the Account in the vDC Management section.

2. Click Create Server Template in the Actions pane.

   The Create Server Template wizard is displayed.

3. Skip the introduction and click Next.

4. Enter the name and description for the server template.

   If required, enter tags for easy classification and categorization.

   Click Next.

5. Select a profile that provisions Oracle Solaris OS.

   You can install Oracle Solaris 10 or Oracle Solaris 11 OS on the vServer. Click Next.

6. Review the information and click Finish to create the server template.

The new template will be created and will be available to be used to create a vServer.

Server Template Management

You can perform the following actions for server templates management:

• Update Server Template – To modify the name or description of a server template. This action also allows the creation or deletion of server template tags.

• Register Server Template – To register a server template for public use. Registering a server template make the server template available to other accounts in the vDC.

• Unregister Server Template – To unregister a server template is accessible for public use. Unregistering a server template make the server template available to only to the vDC account from which the server template was created.

• Delete Server Template – To delete a registered or unregistered server template. Deletion of a server template does not influence a vServer that was created based on the server template.

These options are disabled when the vDC is built on Zones virtualization technology.

Create a Volume

You can create or import volumes. The procedures to create and import volumes are described in this section.

To Create an Empty Volume

1. Expand vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Select the account from the vDC Accounts list.

3. Click Create Volume in the Actions pane.

   The Create Volume wizard displays.

4. Enter the following information in the Volume Details step:

   • Name and description for the volume.

   • Tags for better identification and classification of the volume.

   Click Next to configure the volume.

5. Check the Shared option if required.

6. Enter the size of the volume.

   Click Next to view the summary.

7. Confirm the volume information and click Finish to create the volume.

To Create a Volume from a Snapshot

1. Expand vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Select the account from the vDC Accounts list.

3. Select the Storage tab in the center pane.

4. Select the Snapshot sub tab in the center pane.

5. Select a Snapshot for the Snapshots list.

6. Click the Create Volume from Snapshot action.

   The Create Volume From Snapshot wizard displays.

7. Enter the following information in the Volume Details step:

   • Name and description for the volume.

   • Tags for better identification and classification of the volume.

8. Check the Shared option if required.

9. Click Create to create the volume.

To Import a Volume

1. Expand vDC Management in the Navigation pane.

2. Select the account from the vDC Accounts list.

3. Click Import Volume in the Action action.

   The Import Volume wizard displays.

4. Enter the following information in the Volume Details step:

   • Name and description for the volume.

   • Tags for better identification and classification of the volume.

5. Enter the URL in which the external volume resides.

6. Check the Shared option if required.

7. Click Import to import the volume.

Volume Management

After a volume is created, you can perform the following actions for volume management.

• Update Volume – To modify the name or description of a volume. This action also allows the creation or deletion of volume tags.

• Delete Volume – To delete a volume from a vDC account. Only volumes that are not currently attached to a vServer can be deleted. Deleting a volume results in releasing storage space. The process of deletion of a volume does not influence a snapshot that has been created previously based on that volume.

Snapshot Management

You can perform the following actions for storage management

• Update Snapshot – To modify the name or description of a snapshot. This action also allows the creation or deletion of snapshot tags.

• Create Volume from a Snapshot – To create a volume base on a snapshot, see Volume Creation

• Delete Snapshot – To delete a snapshot from a vDC account. Deleting a snapshot does not affect volumes, snapshots exist independently of the volume.

Distribution Group Management

You can perform the following actions for distribution groups management:

• Update a distribution group – To modify the name or description of a distribution group. This action also allows the creation or deletion of distribution group tags.

• Delete a distribution group.