Introduction to virtual appliance specifications
Manage virtual appliance specs in the Apps library
A user with privileges to work in the Apps library view and to manage specs can use the Virtual appliance specs tab. Click on a spec to display a details panel. To display the details of a spec and its versions, on the spec's icon, click the option button and select Versions. The Manage spec versions dialog will open. Click on a version to display its details.Privilege: Manage virtual appliance specs, Consume virtual appliance specs
Screenshot: virtual appliance specs tab and details panel
Screenshot: virtual appliance spec version dialog
Edit a virtual appliance spec
When you edit a virtual appliance spec in the Apps library, you can change the name, description and icon.
Share virtual appliance specs with other tenants
A new VApp spec is always available to the enterprise that created it and to users of any other tenants in its scopes.
Privilege: Allow user to switch enterprises
To define the tenants who can work with the spec, edit the spec's scopes. Edit the spec and open the Scopes tab. Assign your own scope and/or child scope(s) beneath your scope in the hierarchy.
Define the locations where users can work with a spec
To define where a spec can be used, you can select allowed locations. Users of enterprises that are allowed to access a location can work with the specs allowed in the location.
Privilege: Allow user to switch enterprises
To manage allowed locations, edit the spec and open the Locations tab and select locations, noting the following:
- Another user may have already assigned locations that you cannot administer and access. In this case, you can maintain or deselect these locations. If you deselect them, you cannot add them again
- If the spec should be available in all current and future locations, select Use all locations.
- If you want to restrict the spec to a group of current locations, deselect Use all locations and select the locations where the spec will be available for use
When designing a virtual appliance for use in more than one location, please consider the following:
- Private cloud datacenters allow multiple disk templates and additional disks. In public cloud, Abiquo templates and VMs always have a single disk
- Public networks in private cloud will be translated to floating IPs in public cloud and vice versa
- Some IP addresses may be reserved by an SDN system or cloud provider
- The number of NICs allowed or required per virtual machine may vary across different private and public cloud environments
Define the version of a spec to use
The platform presents users with a single version of a virtual appliance spec. The administrator can configure this to be the default version or the latest version.
When you create a virtual appliance spec, the platform automatically sets this first version as the default version.
When you create another version you can choose to make this version the default.
To change the default version of a spec:
- In the Apps library open the Virtual appliance specs tab
- On the spec's icon, click the option button and select Versions
- Click on the version you want users to work with
- On the top right hand side of the dialog, click Mark as default version
To unset the default, so that users will always work with the latest version:
- Remove the mark of the default version
You can delete a version of a spec. If you delete the default version, then the platform will return the latest version.
Delete virtual appliance specs
You can delete spec versions or the entire spec. When you delete a virtual appliance spec, the platform will also delete all its versions, even shared versions. When you delete an enterprise, the platform will delete all its specs, even shared specs and shared versions.