Introduction to updating VM templates
There are two main ways to make sure your users have up-to-date templates in Abiquo:
Create a new template from an instance of the old template
Update existing template disks
Update a VM template by creating a new template
To update a VM template as a new template.
Deploy a VM from the template, shut it down gracefully, and create an Abiquo instance (as a backup)
Update the VM (e.g. install a new service pack or security patch), then create another instance template
Promote the new instance to a master template, and change the name to show users that it is a new version. See https://abiquo.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/doc/pages/311371382/Manage+VM+templates#Promote-an-instance-to-a-master-template
Copy the new template to the catalogue in each of your datacenters (with Duplicate VM template)
In each datacenter catalogue, share the VM template to your enterprises (with Scopes)
Rename the old VM template or change the description to show users that it is deprecated
Updating VM template disk files
You can update VM template disk files. The use case is as follows.
Upload or download a template
Use it to create a VM
Update the template. Abiquo supports changes to:
file content
size
format (see Template compatibility table)
capacity
Update the disk using the UI or the Appliance manager API
When the user next deploys the VM, the platform will copy the updated disk
For instructions:
for the UI method, see https://abiquo.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/doc/pages/311378488/Modify+VM+template+disks#Replace-a-template-disk
for the API method, see Upload and replace template disks via API
Do not change VM template files on the filesystem
If you change the disks of a VM template on the NFS filesystem, you also need to correctly update all the relevant Abiquo database fields, such as virtualimage.diskFileSize, as well as the OVF information, which Abiquo may require to maintain platform coherence.
Considerations when updating VM templates
When you want to update a VM template, remember:
You can rename and change descriptions of any VM template (or instance) in the catalogue, even if the template is used by a virtual appliance in the datacenter (deployed or undeployed)
Any user with the appropriate privileges can create an instance of a template, and the instance will be stored in the user’s enterprise
You cannot remove a master template if there is an instance in any enterprise. As a cloud admin user, you will need to switch to each enterprise and check the repository for instances. Or you can check in the repository file system
You cannot remove scopes to “unshare” a template if it is being used by any virtual appliance in an enterprise in the datacenter
You can remove a template disk from the filesystem to make the template Unavailable to users. If you later replace the template disk with the exact same disk, then the template will become Available again
You can update a template disk using the UI or API, and as part of this process, you will update the template definition in Abiquo. Follow the instructions for the Abiquo UI or API. After you update a template disk, users will deploy VMs with the new disks