Today, the organization currently uses the vSphere content library in their on-premesis private cloud to manage the distribution of approved templates, ISOs, and customization specifications. The organization in-turn creates blueprints in vRealize Automation's design canvas that consume these templates and customization specifications.

Now that the organization is on the path to the hybrid cloud with their new VMware Cloud Foundation instance running on the IBM Cloud, they need these approved templates, ISOs and customization specifications to also be synchronized to the public cloud.  

In this portion of the interactive simulation, we will show how to extend the organization's content library to their VMware Cloud Foundation instance running on the IBM Cloud and synchronize the organizations approved content.  We'll also show how to build blue prints in vRealize Automation and begin deploying workloads in the public cloud.

This part of the lab is presented as a Hands-on Labs Interactive Simulation. This will allow you to experience steps which are too time-consuming or resource intensive to do live in the lab environment. In this simulation, you can use the software interface as if you are interacting with a live environment.

The orange boxes show where to click, and the left and right arrow keys can also be used to move through the simulation in either direction.

Begin by logging into the private cloud and reviewing the content library.

1. Click the + icon on the browser to open a new tab.
2. Click the Address Bar in the browser.
3. Enter https://rack-1-vc-1.pao01.demo.vmware.com/vsphere-client into the address bar.
4. Click the Arrow Icon on the browser.
5. Enter admninistrator@vsphere.local in the User Name field.
6. Click the Password field and the password will auto populate.
7. Click Login.
8. In the vSphere Web Client click on Content Libraries.
   
   We see that two content libraries have been created in the private cloud.
9. Management-PAO-01 for the use in the Management Domain
10. TMM-PAO-01 used to organize and distribute content used by workloads and automation.
11. Click on the TMM-PAO-01 Content Library.
    
    Here we see that the content library is hosted on the a vSAN datastore and consumes 76.22 GB of storage.
12. Click on Related Objects to review the items in the library.

Here we see that 4 templates are contained within the library.

• os-lnx-centos-7-x64  CentOS Linux 7
• os-lnx-ubuntu-16-x64  Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS
• os-win-server-2012-r2-x64  Windows Server 2012 R2
• os-win-server-2016-x64  Windows Server 2016

1. Click on Other Types to see additional content items that have been imported into the content library.
   
   Here we see that both customization specs (cs- objects) and ISOs (iso- objects) have also been added into the content library.
2. Click on Manage.
   
   Here we see that the content library has been configured to be published to any subscriber with the Subscription URL.
3. Click Copy Link to copy the Subscription URL to the clipboard.
   
   Now that we have the Subscription URL for the content library in the private cloud, we will create and subscribe a content library in the public cloud
4. Click the browser tab labeled vSphere Web Client to connect to our vCenter Server instance running on the IBM Cloud.
5. In the vSphere Web Client click on Content Libraries.
   
   We see that presantly, there are no content libraries configured in the public cloud.
6. Click the New Content Library Icon.
7. In the Name field, enter BMX-SJC-01.
8. In the Notes field, enter Content library in IBM Bluemix synced from on-premises and click Next.
9. Select the radio button next to Subscribed Content Library.
10. Click in the Subscription URL field and the URL will auto-populate  (this is the subscription URL for the content library being shared from our on-premesis vCenter Server Instance that we looked at earlier).
    
    Note that the option to Download all library content immediately is checked by default.  If we didn't want to download the entire library, we could choose the option to only download content when needed.
11. Click Next.
12. Click Yes to trust the SSL Thumbprint of the subscription host.
13. Click the radio button for vsanDatastore as the storage location for the library contents.

Note that In this example we are usign the vSAN data store as an example.  There is no requirement to save the content library on vSAN.  You could just as easily choose an NFS or iSCI datastore,  assuming of course you have IP based storage avaialble in your environment.

1. Click Next.
2. Review the new content library settings and click Finish to complete the subscryption.
3. Click Recent Tasks at the bottom of the vSphere Web Client to view the progress of the content library synchonrization.
   
   The content library has been created on our public cloud vCenter Server instance is it's content synchronnized with our private cloud vCenter Server instance.
4. Click Recent Tasks again to close the tasks.
5. Click on the new BMX-SJC-01 content library.
   
   Here we see that the content library is hosted on the a vSAN datastore and consumes 77.37 GB of storage.
6. Click on Related Objects to review the items in the library synced from the private cloud.

Here we see that 4 templates are contained within the library.

• os-lnx-centos-7-x64  CentOS Linux 7
• os-lnx-ubuntu-16-x64  Ubuntu Linux 16.04 LTS
• os-win-server-2012-r2-x64  Windows Server 2012 R2
• os-win-server-2016-x64  Windows Server 2016

This completes the steps for creating and synchronizing the Content Library in the public cloud.  Next, we will show how to export the templates in the content library so they can be consumed by vRealize Automation.

1. With the os-lnx-centos-7-x64 template already highlighted, click the Actions.
2. Select New VM from This Template.
3. Click the SDDC-Datacenter datacenter object.
4. Click the Templates folder object as the destination for the template.
5. Click Next.
6. Click the SDDC-Cluster cluster object as the destination resource.
7. Click Next.
8. Review the template details and click Next.
9. Click the dropdown for the VM Storage Policy and select Virtual SAN Default Storage Policy  (note the default vSAN storage policy was created for us by SDDC Manager when we deployed Cloud Foundation on the IBM Cloud).
10. Click the radio button for vsanDatastore as the storage location for the template.
11. Click Next.
12. Click the dropdown for the Destination Network.
13. Click Browse to select a destination network for the template.
14. Select the network labeled vxw-dvs-9-virtualwire-7-sid-5-5005-Templates to select the NSX Logical Switch.
15. Click OK.
16. Click Next.
17. Review the template configuration data and click Finish to complete the creation.
18. Click Recent Tasks at the bottom of the vSphere Web Client to view the status of the template.
    
    Here we see that the OVF template stored in the content library has been deployed to a VM.  We will now use this newely deployed VM to create a template.  As part of the template creation process let's first export the Linux customization file that we will use for this template to our local desktop.
19. Click Recent Tasks again to close the tasks.
20. Click the Other Types in the Related Objects section.

Here we see the list of available customization specs that were  synchronized.

1. Click cs-os-lnx-centos.xml and then click Actions.
2. Click Export Item.
3. Click Browse.
4. Click Select Folder to save the customization specification to the Desktop.
5. Click OK to export the item.

With the VM we will use for the template created and the customization spec saved to our desktop we're now ready to convert the VM into a template.

1. Click the Home Icon in the vSphere Web Client.
2. Click VMs and Templates.
   
   Here we see that the os-lnx-centos-7-x64 virtual machine is located in the folder we previously specified.
3. Click on the os-lnx-centos-7-x64 template.
4. Click on Actions  Template  Convert to Template.
5. Click Yes to convert the os-lnx-centos-7-x64virtual machine to a template.
   
   Note that the virtual machine has changed to a template as indicated by the new icon.  Next we will import the customization spec so it can be used with this template.
6. Click the Home Icon in the vSphere Web Client.
7. Click Policies and Profiles.
8. Click the Import Customization Specification icon.
9. Select the cs-os-lnx-centos.xml folder on the desktop.
10. Select the cs-os-lnx-centos XML Document and click Open.
    
    The customization specification has now been added to the public cloud.
    
    Note that we've gone ahead and added the rest of the templates and customization specification for you as you'll see them later in this interactive simulation.
    
    

We're done with our vSphere setup.

1. Click the Home Icon in the vSphere Web Client.
2. Click the Hosts and Clusters.

We see the contents of our vSphere cluster running on the IBM cloud.  Note that currently, there ae no VMs running in the Compute-ResourcePool.  Next, we'll switch over to vRealize Automation and go over the steps to build a blue print in vRealize Automation, using the template we just created, and how to deploy workload VMs onto our public cloud.

In this portion of the lab, we will show how to extend the organization's implementation of vRealize Automation to include the VMware Cloud Foundation endpoint running on the IBM Cloud.  We'll then show how to create and deploy our first blueprint into the public cloud.

1. Click the + icon on the browser to open a new tab.
2. Click the Address Bar in the browser.
3. Enter https://cloud.demo.vmware.com/vcac/org/vmware into the address bar.
4. Click the Arrow Icon on the browser.
5. Click Next to set the domain as demo.vmware.com.
6. Click the Username field and enter ryan.
7. Click the Password field and enter VMware123!.
8. Click Sign-In.
9. Click Catalog to view the self-service catalog for the organization.
   
   We are logged into vRealize Automation as the Cloud Architect where we see the list of  blueprints that are available.  However, these blueprints are only available to be deployed to their private cloud.  To deploy these blueprints to the new public cloud instance of Cloud Foundation instance running on the IBM cloud we need to configure the public cloud as a new endpoint and setup a reservation.  Details on how to perform these steps are outside the scope of this lab.  However, they are summaraized below:

Install vRA Proxy Agent to the Public cloud:  To extend the on-premises instance of vRealize Automation so it can deploy workloads to our public cloud we first installed a vRealize Automation proxy agent.  This agent is used by vRealize Automation to communicate with the vCenter Server instance running in the public cloud to perform work and report status.

Setup a sevice account with the correct privelages:  We also configured a service account (vra.service@demo.vmware.com) with the required permissions needed to access to both the vCenter Server and NSX Manager instances.  Consult the vRealize Automation documentation for more information.

Add the Public Cloud as a vRealize Endpoint and configure fabric and resource groups:  Finally we login to vRealize Automation and add our public cloud vCenter Server and NSX Manager instances as an endpoints.  When we add the endpoints we also setup fabric groups, configure resources, and configure reservations.

<insert screen shot showing public cloud endpoints>

Creating a vRealize Automation Blueprint to Consume to New Public Cloud Resources in IBM Cloud.

In this portion of the interactive simulation, we pick up after the deployment of the vRA Proxy Agent and the configuration of the public cloud Endpoint.  

With our public cloud endpoints added to our on-premesis vRealize Automation instance we are now able to deploy workloads to the public cloud.  To do this we first create blueprints.  In these blueprints we will use the templates and customization specification files from the content library, which we synchronized earlier.

1. Click on the Design Tab.
2. In the Blueprints section, click New.
3. Click the Name field and enter 3 Tier App Base on Bluemix.
4. Click the Description field and enter 3 Tier App Base Formation.
5. Click OK.

First, we will add three networks.  One for each tier:  Web, App and Database

1. In the Categories of the design canvas, click Network and Security then click Existing Network.
2. Click the Ellipse Box and select the Development Web  172.21.1.0/24 network profile.
3. Click OK.
4. Click the Down Arrow in the middle of the design canvas.
5. In the Categories of the design canvas, click Existing Network again.
6. Click the Ellipse Box and select the Development App  172.21.2.0/24 network profile.
7. Click OK.
8. In the Categories of the design canvas, click Existing Network once more.
9. Click the Ellipse Box and select the Development Database  172.21.3.0/24 network profile.
10. Click OK.

Next, we select the virtual machine templates we will use.  Again, we do this for each tier: Web, App and Database.  Note that we will use the template and customization specification file that we setup earlier.

First we setup the template and custom spec for the web tier:

1. Click the Down Arrow in the middle of the design canvas.
2. In the Categories of the design canvas, click Machine Types then click the down arrow in the scroll bar..
3. Click vSphere (vCenter) Machine.
4. Click the ID* field and enter Web-Tier.
5. Click the Description field and enter Web-Tier.
6. Click the Reservation Policy dropdown and select Development.
7. Click the Machine Prefix dropdown and select dev-web-.
8. Click the arrows in under Maximum until the value is 4.
9. Click the Build Information tab.
10. Click the Action dropdown and select Clone.
11. Click the Ellipse Box in the Clone From and select the os-lnx-cento-7-x64.
12. Click OK.
13. Click Customization Spec and enter os-lnx-centos.
14. Click Machine Resources.
15. Click the arrows in under Maximum for CPUs until the value is 4.
16. Click the textbox in under Maximum for Memory and enter 16384.
17. Click the textbox in under Maximum for Disk and enter 100.
18. Click Network followed by New.
19. Click the Network dropdown and select DevelopmentWeb172211024.
20. Click OK.

Notice how as we build the blue print, the designer UI graphically depicts the blueprint.  In this case we the Web-Tier virtual machine we just defined that is connected to the DevelopmentWeb network we specified.

Next, we repeat this these steps to setup the template and custom spec for the app tier:

1. Click the Down Arrow in the middle of the design canvas.
2. Click vSphere (vCenter) Machine.
3. Click the ID* field and enter App-Tier.
4. Click the Description field and enter App-Tier.
5. Click the Reservation Policy dropdown and select Development.
6. Click the Machine Prefix dropdown and select dev-app-.
7. Click the arrows in under Maximum until the value is 4.
8. Click the Build Information tab.
9. Click the Action dropdown and select Clone.
10. Click the Ellipse Box in the Clone From and select the os-lnx-cento-7-x64.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Customization Spec and enter os-lnx-centos.
13. Click Machine Resources.
14. Click the arrows in under Maximum for CPUs until the value is 4.
15. Click the textbox in under Maximum for Memory and enter 16384.
16. Click the textbox in under Maximum for Disk and enter 100.
17. Click Network followed by New.
18. Click the Network dropdown and select DevelopmentApp172212024.
19. Click OK.

Finally,  we repeat these steps a third time to setup the template and custom spec for the DB tier:

1. Click the Down Arrow in the middle of the design canvas.
2. Click vSphere (vCenter) Machine.
3. Click the ID* field and enter DB-Tier.
4. Click the Description field and enter DB-Tier.
5. Click the Reservation Policy dropdown and select Development.
6. Click the Machine Prefix dropdown and select dev-db-.
7. Click the arrows in under Maximum until the value is 2.
8. Click the Build Information tab.
9. Click the Action dropdown and select Clone.
10. Click the Ellipse Box in the Clone From and select the os-lnx-cento-7-x64.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Customization Spec and enter os-lnx-centos.
13. Click Machine Resources.
14. Click the arrows in under Maximum for CPUs until the value is 4.
15. Click the textbox in under Maximum for Memory and enter 16384.
16. Click the textbox in under Maximum for Disk and enter 100.
17. Click Network followed by New.
18. Click the Network dropdown and select DevelopmentDatabase172213024.
19. Click OK.
20. Click the Down Arrow in the middle of the design canvas.
21. Click Finish.

Here we can see that our new base blueprint for a 3-tier app has been created in our Cloud Management Portal. The blueprint is consuming the template and customization specifications synced from private cloud to the public cloud.

With the blueprint created, the next step is to publish it.  

1. On the Blueprints select the 3 Tier App Base on Bluemix blueprint.
2. Click Publish.

The blueprint has been published. Now, let’s entitle it to our development business group under a new service labeled IBM Bluemix.

1. Click the Administration tab.
2. Click Catalog Management.
3. Click Catalog Items.
4. Select the 3 Tier App Base on Bluemix item.
5. Click Browse to select black and white icon.  (this is the icon that will represent this blueprint in the catalog)
6. Click Open.
7. Click the Down Arrow on the scroll bar.
8. Click the Service dropdown and select IBM Bluemix.
9. Click OK.

The new blueprint is entitled to our development team and is ready to be deployed.  Let’s test by deploying an instance of this 3-tier app in our public cloud powered by VMware Cloud Foundation on IBM Cloud.

1. Click Catalog.

Note, we now see a new section in our Service Catalog for IBM Bluemix.

1. Click IBM Bluemix.
2. Click the 3 Tier App Base on Bluemix blueprint to Request a deployment in the public cloud.
3. Click on Web-Tier.
4. Click the arrows next to Instances until the value is 4.
5. Click the arrows next to CPUs until the value is 3.
6. Click the textbox next to Memory and enter 4096.
7. Click on App-Tier.
8. Click the arrows next to Instances until the value is 4.
9. Click the arrows next to CPUs until the value is 4.
10. Click the textbox next to Memory and enter 16384.
11. Click on DB-Tier.
12. Click the arrows next to Instances until the value is 2.
13. Click the arrows next to CPUs until the value is 4.
14. Click the textbox next to Memory and enter 16382.
15. Click the 3 Tier App Base on Bluemix.
16. Click Description and enter 3 Tier App Base Formation Test on Bluemix.
17. Click Submit.
18. Click OK.

Our request has been submitted.   vRealize Automation will now communicate with the VMware Cloud Foundation instance running on the IBM Cloud to provision the requested blueprint.

We can logon to our vCenter Server instance and monitor the progress and watch as the VMs are deployed in our public cloud.

1. Click the vSphere Web Client tab in the browser.
2. Click Recent Tasks at the bottom of the vSphere Web Client to view the status of the request.

Here we see that the vRealize Automation has cloned, powered on, and customized the os-lnx-centos-7-x64 templates. Let’s check the state of the request.

1. Click Recent Tasks again to close the tasks.
2. Here we see that the following virtual machines have been deployed:

• dev-web-0001
• dev-web-0002
• dev-web-0003
• dev-web-0004
• dev-app-0001
• dev-app-0002
• dev-app-0003
• dev-app-0004
• dev-db-0001
• dev-db-0002

Let’s review each of the new virtual machines and check their state.

1. Click on dev-web-001.

Here we see that the Web-Tier has 3 CPUs and 4GB of memory as requested. It’s also been deployed on an NSX Logical Switch for Development Web and has been provisioned an IP Address of 172.21.1.12 from vRealize Automation.

1. Click on dev-web-002, dev-web-003 and dev-web-004 and review this information for each.  Notice that they all have the same configuration, which is to be expected.
2. Click on dev-app-001.

Here we see that the App-Tier has 4 CPUs and 16GB of memory as requested. It’s also been deployed on an NSX Logical Switch for Development App and has been provisioned an IP Address of 172.21.2.12 from vRealize Automation.

1. Click on dev-app-002, dev-app-003 and dev-app-004 to verify that they have the same configuration.
2. Click on dev-db-001.

Here we see that the DB-Tier has 4CPUs and 16GB of memory as requested. It’s also been deployed on an NSX Logical Switch for Development Database and has been provisioned an IP Address of 172.21.3.11 from vRealize Automation.

1. Click on dev-app-002 to see if it has the same configuration.
2. Click the Home Icon in the vSphere Web Client.
3. Click Home

This concludes our interactive simulation on extending vRealize Automation to the public cloud using VMware Cloud Foundation on the IBM Cloud.  In this lab we have covered a lot.  We showed:

1.  How to leverage the vSphere Content Library to synchronize virtual machine templates and customization files across the hybrid cloud.

2.  How extend our existing, on-premesis instance of vRealize Automation so it can be used with VMware Cloud Foundation instance running on the IBM Cloud.

3.  How to create blueprints in vRealize Automation for use with VMware Cloud Foundation instance running on the IBM Cloud.

4.  How to deploy blueprints into VMware Cloud Foundation instance running on the IBM Cloud.