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Hardware profiles are a convenient way of displaying CPU and RAM values as service levels. Hardware profiles can make it easier for your users to configure their VMs. They also enable you to control which hardware configurations are available and to recommend suitable hardware configurations for VM templates. And you can restrict users to a set of recommended hardware configurations for a template.
Optionally, in private cloud you can create and fully manage hardware profiles and their families and types in the platform. In public cloud, you can onboard and synchronize the provider's profiles in the platform. Some cloud providers, such as VCD, may support both hardware profiles, and CPU and RAM.
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This page describes how to manage hardware profiles for private cloud datacenters and how to synchronize hardware profiles from public cloud providers in the hybrid cloud platform. For background information, see About hardware profiles |
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Since 6.2.1 we incorporate new views to allow more friendly UX for end users |
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Display hardware profiles
To display hardware profiles, go to one of these two sections of the UI.
Infrastructure → Public → select provider region → Hardware profiles
Infrastructure → Private → select datacenter → Servers view → Hardware profiles
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Before you create hardware profiles in private cloud, the platform will display the default hardware profile families and types.
Classify hardware profiles in private cloud
To help users to easily select the right hardware profile for their VMs, providers usually classify hardware profiles by family and type.
The platform contains one set of default families that are available in both public and private cloud.
In private cloud and in public cloud regions without native hardware profiles, you can also create your own hardware profile families and types that will be available in all of these locations.
To classify hardware profiles, first create families, then create types.
To create a hardware profile family or type:
Go to Infrastructure → Private andselect a datacenter
OR Go to Infrastructure → Public → select a region without native hardware profilesGo to Hardware profiles
At the bottom of the Types list, click the + add button and select Family or Type
Complete the dialog as shown below and click Save
Create a hardware profile family
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Create a hardware profile type
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Create a hardware profile
You can create Abiquo hardware profiles in private cloud datacenters and for public cloud providers that do not have provider hardware profiles, such as vCloud Director clouds.
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Abiquo supports dynamic hardware profiles for CPU and RAM, so the user can enter these values when they create a VM. For dynamic hardware profiles, the platform uses CPU and RAM prices, and it also applies cost codes. |
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Privileges: Access infrastructure view and private DCs, View datacenter details, Manage datacenter infrastructure elements |
To create a hardware profile:
Go to Infrastructure → Private or Public
Select a location and go to Hardware profiles
Click the + add button
Enter the details
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of the hardware profile
Click Save
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Field | Value |
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Family | Select a family to classify the hardware profile. The family can help users understand the main purpose of the hardware profile |
Type | Select a type to classify the hardware profile. The type can help users understand the performance specifications of the hardware profile |
Name | Enter a unique name for the hardware profile. Identify it to users who will select it for their VMs. |
CPU | The number of virtual CPUs to assign to VMs using this hardware profile. The combination of CPU and RAM must be unique in the datacenter. For dynamic hardware profiles this is the default value. |
Cores per socket | The number of cores per socket to use for supported hypervisors such as VMware. The number of CPUs must be divisible by this value. For dynamic hardware profiles this is the default value. |
RAM | The amount of virtual RAM to assign to VMs using this hardware profile. The combination of CPU and RAM must be unique in the datacenter. Select RAM units of MB, GB or TB. For dynamic hardware profiles, this is the default value. |
Dynamic | To allow the user to enter CPU and/or RAM values, select the Dynamic option/s. Pricing and billing of dynamic hardware profiles will include cost codes, and CPU and RAM usage pricing. |
Extra charges | For pricing and billing, select extra charges for the hardware profile. See Create a new cost code for an extra charge in Pricing view. |
Active | Select this checkbox to activate or deactivate the hardware profile. |
Current generation | Select this checkbox to mark that the hardware profile is compatible with current VM templates |
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Set prices for hardware profiles
To set prices for hardware profiles using extra charges with cost codes for extra charges:
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Privileges: Manage hardware profile extra charges |
Create extra charges with cost codes for extra charges. See “Create a new extra charge” in Pricing view
For the Type select Hardware profiles or All
Set values for cost codes for extra charge values. See Create a new pricing model
When you create or edit a hardware profile:
Go to Extra charges for cost codes
Click + add and select a cost code for extra charges
Click Add
Add more cost codes for extra charges as required and Save
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Activate hardware profiles for users and templates
After you have prepared hardware profiles, do the following steps:
Enable Activate hardware profiles for your tenants and select allowed hardware profiles. See Configure an enterprise in a cloud location#Allowatenanttousehardwareprofiles.location
By default, users can select from all custom hardware profiles for all templates. See Modify a VM template.
You can edit a VM template andto:Recommend a set of hardware profiles OR
Enable Activate a set of selected hardware profiles for each template.
See Modify a VM template#ActivatehardwareprofilesforaVMtemplate
Automatic management of hardware profiles
The platform will automatically manage hardware profiles as follows:
Provider hardware profiles
If you synchronize a public cloud region and a VM has a hardware profile that is not allowed for the enterprise, the platform will automatically allow the hardware profile
For AWS, Abiquo recommends hardware profiles based on information supplied by AWS and filters:
Virtualization type of Paravirtual or HVM
Root device type of Instance store or EBS
Architecture of I386, X86_64, or ARM64
If the provider does not support CPU and RAM as well as hardware profiles, and if there is no hardware profile that matches the CPU and RAM values, the platform cannot create a hardware profile, so the user will have to select another one
During onboarding, if there is a cost code assigned to the VM template, the platform will match the template cost code with a hardware profile cost code and assign the corresponding hardware profile
Abiquo hardware profiles
If a tenant enterprise already has VMs deployed when you enable hardware profiles, the platform will try to assign existing hardware profiles. If the templates of the deployed VMs have cost codes, the platform will match the cost codes with the cost codes of hardware profiles and assign the corresponding hardware profiles. If an existing profile is inactive, the platform will activate this profile and assign it. Otherwise, the platform will create a new hardware profile named ABQ_HP_{cpu}_{ram}_ID.
If you capture a VM, the platform will behave as for VMs that were already deployed when you enabled hardware profiles. During capture, the template has no cost code, so the platform cannot match cost codes to assign a hardware profile
VApp specs
When you create a VApp spec, the platform records the CPU and RAM of each VM. It also records the name, family, dynamic CPU, and dynamic RAM properties of the hardware profile. When you create a virtual appliance from a spec, the hardware profiles used for the VMs created by the spec are found following these criteria:
An active hardware profile that matches CPU, RAM of the VM and all the other properties.
Active hardware profiles with the same size or larger with the same family.
Active hardware profiles with the same size or larger in all families.
If more than one hardware profile is found, the hardware profiles will be ordered using the following properties:
Dynamic CPU
Dynamic RAM
Current generation
Cores per socket
The platform will select a hardware property that:
Does not have dynamic CPU and/or dynamic RAM
Is of the current generation
Has the smallest cores per socket (if applicable).
The others will appear as warnings on the Warning tab of the Spec creation dialog.
If the CPU and RAM do not match exactly with the VM, there will also be a warning.
The selected hardware profile can be changed on the Virtual machines tab
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Prevent users from working with a hardware profile
In public cloud, providers may periodically release new generations of hardware profiles. A VM template may require a hardware profile of the current generation. When the platform synchronizes hardware profiles from providers, it registers if they are of the current generation. In private cloud, administrators can mark a hardware profile of the current generation. When users create or configure VMs, they can search for hardware profiles of the current generation.
For a tenant, to disable hardware profiles mode or to For details of how Abiquo will manage hardware profiles, see Automatic management of hardware profiles
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Prevent users from working with hardware profiles
For custom hardware profiles, you can deactivate a hardware profile at any time in Infrastructure view for the selected datacenter on the Hardware profiles page. The platform will not display inactive hardware profiles to select as recommended profiles in templates or for use in VMs.
For a tenant, you can deactivate hardware profiles mode or disable a specific hardware profile that is not in use in deployed VMs, see Manage enterprises#Allowtenantstousehardwareprofiles. In a datacenter or a public cloud region with custom hardware profiles, you can deactivate a hardware profile at any time. The platform will not display inactive hardware profiles to select as recommended profiles in templates or for use in VMs.by editing the enterprise in an allowed datacenter on the Hardware profiles tab.
If you only activate a set of recommended hardware profiles for each VM template, then users will not be able to work with the other hardware profiles.
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Deactivating custom hardware profiles
If a user already is already using a hardware profile on a VM when you deactivate it, they can continue to use it until they delete their VM. In this case, the administrator can save the enterprise’s allowed datacenter with the inactive hardware profile selected.
You can activate a hardware profile again at any time. Also, the platform will automatically activate an existing hardware profile in preference to creating a new one when switching to hardware profile mode, capturing a VM, or creating a virtual appliance from a spec.
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Delete custom hardware profiles
After you deactivate a hardware profile, you may wish to delete it.
You cannot delete a hardware profile if it is used in a deployed VM
If the administrator deletes a hardware profile, it will be automatically removed from all enterprises.
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This means that an undeployed VM could have no hardware profile and the user will need to select a new one before they deploy.
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Synchronize hardware profiles with a provider
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Provider hardware profiles are locked and you cannot edit them
In public cloud regions with provider hardware profiles that also support CPU and RAM, you can deactivate hardware profiles mode
The platform also registers if a hardware profile is Active and if it belongs to the Current generation.
To synchronize hardware profiles:
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By default, for each enterprise with credentials, the hardware profiles mode is enabled. By default, all hardware profiles are available to all enterprises.
Abiquo onboards and synchronizes all hardware profiles for each region. Some of these hardware profiles are not valid in some zones or for some VM templates, if they are not from the same generation. Users can still work with an older hardware profile, but the provider a warning or error because it will later be removed.
After you recommend the hardware profiles for a template, the platform will filter the hardware profiles by generation compatibility, subscription, and region.
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Manage hardware profiles with the API
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API Documentation For the Abiquo API documentation of this feature, see Abiquo API Resources and the page for this resource HardwareProfilesDatacenterResource. |
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New Hardware profiles screens
Now in Edit VM screen it’s possible to see selected Hardware profile and press on “select” button to open an advanced Hardware profiles selection screen
The “show only recommended” checkbox is disabled by default.
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Related pages
Control access to hardware profiles at a tenant level: Configure an enterprise in a cloud location#Allowatenanttousehardwareprofiles.location
Configure hardware profiles for VM templates: See Modify a VM template
Configure pricing for hardware profiles: Pricing view#Hardware profilesview
Configure VMs using hardware profiles: VM general information