Lab Overview - HOL-2121-01-CMP - What's New in vRealize Automation 8.1
Note: It may take more than 90 minutes to complete this lab. You should expect to only finish 2-3 of the modules during your time. The modules are independent of each other so you can start at the beginning of any module and proceed from there. You can use the Table of Contents to access any module of your choosing.
The Table of Contents can be accessed in the upper right-hand corner of the Lab Manual.
The intended audience for this lab is someone who is familiar with vRealize Automation Cloud or vRealize Automation 8.0. It highlights only the new features in version 8.1.
You will get a hands-on walk through of the new capabilities within the Cloud Assembly, Service Broker and Orchestrator services. These new features include new resource limits, custom resources, custom resource actions, pricing cards, approval polices, pipelines and OVAs as catalog items and multiple new features in the Orchestrator service including the tree view, visual version differences and new debugging tools for workflows.
There are other vRealize Automation Hands On Labs that will go into more details on each of these features in addition to covering a number of intermediate and advanced use cases. All vRealize Automation Hands on Lab SKUs begin with "HOL-2121". You can search the catalog for more information.
Lab Module List:
Lab Captains:
This lab manual can be downloaded from the Hands-on Labs Document site found here:
This lab may be available in other languages. To set your language preference and have a localized manual deployed with your lab, you may utilize this document to help guide you through the process:
http://docs.hol.vmware.com/announcements/nee-default-language.pdf
During this module, you will input text into the Main Console. Besides directly typing it in, there are two very helpful methods of entering data which make it easier to enter complex data.
You can also click and drag text and Command Line Interface (CLI) commands directly from the Lab Manual into the active window in the Main Console.
You can also use the Online International Keyboard found in the Main Console.
In this example, you will use the Online Keyboard to enter the "@" sign used in email addresses. The "@" sign is Shift-2 on US keyboard layouts.
Notice the @ sign entered in the active console window.
When you first start your lab, you may notice a watermark on the desktop indicating that Windows is not activated.
One of the major benefits of virtualization is that virtual machines can be moved and run on any platform. The Hands-on Labs utilizes this benefit and we are able to run the labs out of multiple datacenters. However, these datacenters may not have identical processors, which triggers a Microsoft activation check through the Internet.
Rest assured, VMware and the Hands-on Labs are in full compliance with Microsoft licensing requirements. The lab that you are using is a self-contained pod and does not have full access to the Internet, which is required for Windows to verify the activation. Without full access to the Internet, this automated process fails and you see this watermark.
This cosmetic issue has no effect on your lab.
Please check to see that your lab is finished all the startup routines and is ready for you to start. If you see anything other than "Ready", please wait a few minutes. If after 5 minutes your lab has not changed to "Ready", please ask for assistance.
Module 1 - What's new in Cloud Assembly, Service Broker and vRealize Orchestrator (45 minutes)
With the latest release of VMware vRealize Automation 8.1, many of the most desirable features have been made available for users and administrators to consume. In this module, we will briefly explore a few of these new features. Additional labs will dive deeper into these features and provide a hands on approach to the configuration.
You will need about 45 minutes to complete this module.
Lab Captains:
vRealize Automation 8.1 is the latest example of the continuous improvement in the management of today's Multi-Cloud environments. This release adds many of the most requested features of previous versions of vRealize Automation.
Highlights of What's new in vRealize Automation 8.1 :
- Custom Resource actions: End users can now take advantage of of custom Resource Actions (vRealize Orchestrator workflows) as part of the Day 2 activities of a vRealize Automation managed resource directly from the user interface.
- Custom Resources: Extend the out of the box capabilities of vRealize Automation to include the deployment and management of Custom Resources (backed by vRealize Orchestrator Workflows).
- Resource Limits: An Administrator can configure a Resource Limit for a Cloud Zone on a Per-Product basis. A Resource Limit can be used to prevent contention issues that could be caused when multiple Projects consume the same Cloud Zones.
- Pricing: Using embedded pricing as well as metrics from vRealize Operations, users can view the cost of each deployment.
- Approval Policy: Service Broker Administrators can now create Approval Policies to provide a level of governance that helps control which Deployment Requests and Actions require approval before being instantiated.
- CSS for Custom Forms : Build truly custom forms using CSS templates.
- OVAs as Catalog Items : Administrators can now configure a new Content Source within Service Broker that enables VMware Marketplace OVA to be published as Catalog Items.
- Code Stream Pipelines as Catalog Items : The pipelines defined in Code Stream can now be presented to users as a catalog items.
- vRealize Orchestrator Enhancements : Tree View, Visual Versioning, Workflow/action debugging are just a few of the enhancements in vRealize Orchestrator 8.1.
VMware Cloud Assembly: Automation and configuration of cloud services. Orchestrates infrastructure and application delivery across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
VMware Service Broker: A unified catalog across a multi-cloud environment that allows end users to request infrastructure and application services in a policy-based self-service manner. Aggregates content from multiple resources and platforms, including VMware Cloud Assembly, vRealize Orchestrator and native public clouds, into a common product catalog. Provides flexible, policy-based guardrails for governance.
VMware Code Stream: Automates the application and infrastructure delivery process with release pipeline management, including visibility and analytics into active pipelines and their status for troubleshooting. Allows DevOps teams to leverage existing tools and processes with out-of-the-box integrations.
VMware vRealize Orchestrator: A workflow engine that allows users to create and manage workflows.
VMware vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager: Automated deployment and lifecycle management, including configuration, upgrades and patching of vRealize Suite.
In this section, we learned about a few of the most exciting features of vRealize Automation 8.1.
Move onto the next lesson where we will step through the new concepts introduced in vRealize Automation 8.1 to simplify the IT service delivery through a modern architecture.
Please launch the Chrome web browser to complete the exercises in this module.
In this lesson we will start by logging into vRealize Automation.
From within the Chrome web browser:
At the Workspace ONE login screen:
Please launch the Cloud Assembly Service.
From within the Cloud Services Console, under My Services:
In this lesson, we will explore the new vRealize Automation feature that allows administrators the ability to create Resource Limits for Cloud Zones. Using Cloud Assembly, we will discover where we can configure Resource Limits and where, once configured, we can view them.
We can see that when logging into vRealize Automation, the Deployments tab is selected by default.
We can see that this page displays the Resource Limits for each Project that utilizes this Cloud Zone
In this lesson we explored Resource Limits, a new feature introduced in vRealize Automation 8.1. We learned that these limits are configured when we add a Cloud Zone to a Project. We also learned that we can view which Projects are consuming which Cloud Zones and if there are any associated Resource Limits from within the Cloud Zones pages.
In the next lesson of this module, we will look at the ability for administrators to present Custom Resources for end user consumption.
In this lesson we will explore the ability for administrators to provide Custom Resource objects in vRealize Automation by using vRealize Orchestrator workflows and objects. This greatly expands the ability for Anything-as-a-Service (XaaS) delivery through the vRA interface.
Open a custom resource to review the details.
We can now explore the configuration of the Custom Resource Add an AD user and review the details below:
Continue to explore the additional settings for Custom Resource Add an AD user by scrolling down and review the details below:
In this lesson we explored Custom Resources, a new feature introduced in vRealize Automation 8.1. We learned that we can create Custom Resources under the Design tab. The Custom Resource feature extends the capability of vRealize Automation to create and manage external objects within vRealize Automation through both Cloud Assembly and Service Broker. A Custom Resource maps vRealize Orchestrator object types into vRealize Automation and uses vRealize Orchestrator workflows to ensure the object can be created, updated and destroyed.
In the next lesson of this module, we will look at the ability for administrators to design Custom Resource Actions.
In this lesson we will explore Custom Resource Actions. An administrator can now take advantage of of custom Resource Actions (vRealize Orchestrator workflows) to provide additional Day 2 activities. The end user can consume these actions as part of a vRealize Automation managed resource directly from the user interface. Custom Resource Actions can greatly enhance the options available out of the box and reduce requests to a help desk for simple tasks. We will walk through a simple example to show where the configuration is within vRealize Automation and how the user can consume the additional functionality.
Browse the configuration and review the settings highlighted below:
In the Property Binding section, we are able to use vRealize Orchestrator actions to select the values for the custom Resource Action inputs using information about the resource itself that is passed from vRealize Automation.
In this lesson we explored custom Resource Actions, a new feature introduced in vRealize Automation 8.1. We learned that we can create Resource Actions under the Design tab. The Resource Actions are based on vRealize Orchestrator workflows and can greatly enhance the self-service Day 2 operations for end users.
In the next lesson, we will look at the ability for administrators to assign pricing to existing and future deployments.
In this lesson we will explore the Pricing Cards feature. Pricing cards allow administrators to set static pricing, as well as utilize metrics from vRealize Operations to establish an estimated price. This price can be viewed by the user at the time of request or on already provisioned resources. NOTE: This functionality is dependent on a polling cycle and may not function properly as part of this lab. Please review the steps for details.
Review the settings for this Pricing Card
We can click to expand and review each of the sections in the Pricing Card to view the properties available.
We can see the Price of the components and how they align with the Pricing Card we reviewed.
In this lesson we explored the Pricing Card feature which is new in vRealize Automation 8.1. We learned that we can assign an uplift to a number of deployment attributes, that are based on the vRealize Operations cost metrics using pricing cards. Finally we reviewed how, at request time, a Service Broker User can obtain an understanding of the daily price of a deployment
In the next lesson, we will look at some of the new features in the Service Broker console.
For the next few lessons, we will explore new features in Service Broker. If you have not already opened Service Broker, please follow the steps below.
In this lesson, we will explore Approval Policies, a new feature introduced in vRealize Automation 8.1. Service Broker Administrators can now create Approval Policies to provide a level of governance that helps control which Deployment Requests and Actions require approval before being instantiated.
From the Service Broker interface
Review the details of the approval policy definition
Continue to review the Approval details
In this lesson, we explored an Approval Policy. Through the use of Approval Policies, administrators can hold a request for provisioning or Resource Actions until it has been reviewed by approver(s). This can ensure that resources are being utilized optimally and prevent possible impact to workload.
In the next lesson, we will explore Code Stream Pipelines as Catalog Items.
In this lesson we will explore using Code Stream Pipelines as Catalog Items in Service Broker.
On the Base Configuration tile:
In this lesson, we walked through the process of releasing a Code Stream pipeline to Service Broker, creating a content source for Code Stream Pipelines and importing the Code Stream Pipeline as a Catalog Item.
In the next lesson, we will explore Marketplace OVAs as Catalog Items.
In this lesson, we will explore the ability to create catalog items from Marketplace OVAs. This allows you to take advantage of images that have already been constructed to quickly provide to end users.
PLEASE NOTE: This lab is for example ONLY and will not function properly due to a requirement for a My.VMware.com account. Feel free to follow along if you are able.
Please launch the vRealize Orchestrator Service.
In this lesson, we will explore enhancements available in vRealize Orchestrator 8.1. Some of the most exciting enhancements include the return of Workflow Tree-View, Visual Versioning, Workflow debugging with Breakpoints and Action debugging. Follow along to walk through each of these new features.
In this lesson, we explored several new features of vRealize Orchestrator. We learned how we can explore the Workflows using a Tree-View instead of the Card or List View. We discovered how, with integrating versioning with GIT, we can compare versions using a text or visual DIFF. Finally we learned how to debug Workflows and actions.
With these new features, administrators will be able to quickly create new content to help automate all the things they need.
In this module, we covered a wide variety of new features within vRealize Automation and vRealize Orchestrator 8.1. If you would like to dive deeper into some of these new features, please explore the additional labs available by searching 2121 in the HOL interface for the complete list.
Congratulations on completing the lab module.
From here you can:
Conclusion
Thank you for participating in the VMware Hands-on Labs. Be sure to visit http://hol.vmware.com/ to continue your lab experience online.
Lab SKU: HOL-2121-01-CMP
Version: 20200928-213344