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.
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
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
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 and select 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
Create a hardware profile type
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.
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.
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 of the hardware profile
Click Save
Field | Value |
|---|---|
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 |
Set prices for hardware profiles
To set prices for hardware profiles using extra charges with cost codes:
Privileges: Manage hardware profile extra charges
Create extra charges with cost codes. 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
For dynamic hardware profiles, the platform will also use the prices for CPU and RAM.
You can set prices in a pricing model for individual hardware profiles in each datacenter.
To onboard and synchronize prices from public cloud, see Synchronize public cloud price lists.
Enable users to work with hardware profiles
After you have prepared hardware profiles, do the following steps:
Enable hardware profiles for your tenants and select allowed hardware profiles. See Configure an enterprise in a cloud location
By default, users can select from all custom hardware profiles for all templates. You can edit a VM template and
Recommend a set of hardware profiles OR
Enable a set of selected hardware profiles for each template.
For details of how Abiquo will manage hardware profiles, see Automatic management of hardware profiles
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 disable a specific hardware profile that is not in use in deployed VMs, see Manage enterprises
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. 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.
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. This means that an undeployed VM could have no hardware profile and the user will need to select a new one before they deploy.
Synchronize hardware profiles with a provider
In public cloud providers with hardware profiles, when you create a public cloud region and add credentials for an enterprise, Abiquo will automatically retrieve the hardware profiles for the public cloud region.
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:
Privileges: Access infrastructure view and PCRs, View public cloud region details, Manage enterprises
Go to Infrastructure → Public
Select Public cloud region
Go to Servers view → Hardware profiles
At the top right of the Hardware profiles section, select an enterprise with a public cloud account
Click the round arrows refresh button
By default, for each enterprise with credentials, the hardware profiles mode is enabled. By default, all hardware profiles are available to all enterprises.
Manage hardware profiles with the API
API Documentation
For the Abiquo API documentation of this feature, see Abiquo API Resources and the page for this resource HardwareProfilesDatacenterResource.
Related pages
Control access to hardware profiles at a tenant level: Configure an enterprise in a cloud location
Configure hardware profiles for VM templates: See Modify a VM template
Configure pricing for hardware profiles: Pricing view
Configure VMs using hardware profiles: VM general information