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Creating, copying, or editing a service blueprint

You must create at least one service blueprint before you can create a service.

Before you begin

  • Review the information in Service blueprints overview.
  • Plan your service blueprint. Because of the many different ways you can create a service blueprint, you might not need each of the major steps provided in this topic. Plan your service blueprint, and then follow the procedures you need to create the blueprint you have planned. You can create service blueprints that include some or all of the following objects, in whatever numbers you choose:
    • Applications, such as software packages
    • Servers
    • PaaS resources
    • Networks
    • Load balancers
    • IP endpoints and virtual LANs
    • Other service blueprints
  • Create and publish objects to the Product Catalog:
    • For server provisioning, must have at least one installable resource, such as a BSA VGP, Amazon ami, or equivalent package from any of the cloud platforms CLM supports. For example, create at least one Virtual Guest Package (VGP) and one System Package (SP) in BMC Server Automation and publish them to the Product Catalog, as described in Creating objects in BMC Server Automation.

    • For platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provisioning, publish BMC Database Automation templates to the product catalog. Also, if the provisioning process includes SQL scripts or other types of scripts, those scripts must be defined as Actions in BMC Database Automation and published to the Product Catalog. For details, see Integrating with BMC Database Automation
  • If you intend to define parameters to pass data to the software, scripts and BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows included in a service blueprint, some preliminary configuration is necessary:
    • For server provisioning, add local properties to your BLPackage job to parameterize it and add script parameters to your NSH scripts. For details, see Configuring service blueprint parameters.
    • For PaaS provisioning, you may want to set up variables in BMC Database Automation templates that allow for user decisions about PaaS resources. (Note: Built-in parameters for BMC Database Automation templates accommodate many typical forms of user input, and they require no preliminary setup.) If any scripts used in PaaS provisioning require user input, you must also add parameters to them. For more information, see Using parameters in PaaS provisioning.
  • If you want to edit existing service blueprints, ensure that Submitter Mode on the Licenses tab in BMC Remedy AR System is set to Changeable. If the Submitter Mode is not set to Changeable (that is, it is set to Locked), any entries in a service blueprint that one user creates cannot be changed by another user. For example, if one cloud administrator defines settings for a service blueprint, another cloud administrator cannot change those settings. For more information on setting Submitter Mode, see Enabling submitters to modify requests.

Note

If you upgraded to 4.x,  TRO (Transaction Requestable Offering) actions fail if you:

    1. Create a blueprint without compute level tags or NC/Compute Pool policies.
    2. Provision an SOI.
    3. Add a NC or Compute Pool policy. (You can update the offering accordingly)

If you try to add a server TRO on an already-provisioned SOI (service offering instance) with the NC/Compute Pool policy in effect, the TRO action fails because Add Server uses the provisioned Service Manager that does not have the new tags. For more information, see: 


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To create a service blueprint

  1. Do one of the following:

    If you want to...Complete these steps
    Create a new blueprint
    1. In the Service Designer workspace, click Create New, and then select the type of blueprint you want to create.
      A new service blueprint is opened in the Blueprint Editor. By default, you begin working in Definition 1.
      If you are creating an Application, Server, or PaaS Blueprint, your blueprint will contain only one application, server, or PaaS database object.
    2. Click Save.

    3. Enter a unique name for your blueprint to describe the application or server type (for example, LAMP Gold or MediaWiki).
    4. Provide a Description.

    5. Click OK. 

    Copy an existing blueprint
    1. In the Service Designer workspace, click a service blueprint in the Blueprint Library.
      The service blueprint appears in view-only mode.
    2. Select Version > Clone.
    3. Enter a unique name for your blueprint to describe the application or server type (for example, LAMP Gold or MediaWiki).

    4. Click Create Copy.
      The new service blueprint is opened as a working copy and is available to edit.

  2. As needed, add and define the components in your blueprint.

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Defining components in a service blueprint

Whether you are creating, copying, or editing a service blueprint, you can add several different types of objects, and define network connections between those objects in many ways. The procedures below offer a suggested path through the initial creation process, though you can add some or all of these objects in almost any order.

1. To add and define servers in a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click Server.
    A new server group containing a server is added to the blueprint. The detail pane for the server opens.
  2. Add detail for the server as follows:
    1. In the Compute Resources section, enter basic information about the resources required for this server group:
      1. From the Hardware menu, select the system used (for example, X86-64).

        Note

        Make sure that the hardware you select matches your resources. Selecting unavailable hardware causes the compute pool selection to fail. If you do not know the underlying hardware, select Unknown.

      2. In the CPU Count field, specify the number of processors needed (for example, 4).
      3. In the Memory Size field, specify the amount of memory in MB (for example, 8192 MB).
      4. Define any tags you want applied to this server. For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.
      5. In the Type area, select Physical or Virtual to specify the type of server:

        Note

        If you select Physical, the Hardware, CPU Count and Memory Size values must exactly match the values given in BMC Server Automation device configuration.

      6. If you are configuring a Virtual server, click the Add icon and select a Cloud Platform and Installable Resource for this VM.
        The Product Catalog contains a list of installable resources. The installable resource can be a Virtual Guest Package (VGP) from BMC Server Automation (including VMware, IBM LPAR, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer VGP resources) or an Amazon Machine Image (AMI) from Amazon EC2.
      7. If you are configuring a Virtual server, you can add one or more additional system disks by clicking the Add icon, and specifying the Disk Number, Size (in MB) of the disk, and any Tags for the placement of the extra disks (typically, an extra disk for application data). This enables end-users to select extra system disks as an option on the service offering.

        Note

        This extra storage is considered internal or local to the VM.

      8. Ensure that the Install Software check box is checked if you want the software for the applications associated with this server installed. If you clear this check box, any software on applications you associate with this server will not be installed.
      9. In the Operating System field, click the Add icon and select an operating system package.

        Note

        If you do not select an operating system, the cloud workflow skips the operating system in the service blueprint. You typically would install the operating system only with bare-metal VMs. If you know your VGP contains an operating system, do not add an operating system.

      10. In the Operating System Post-Install Action area, specify any actions to run after the operating system is deployed.
    2. Click Post-Deployment Actions, and specify any actions to run after the server is provisioned:
      1. Click the Add New Row icon.
      2. In the Action Type field, select a type of postdeployment action to run.
      3. In the Action field, enter the action you want run.
        If you are entering a BMC Atrium Orchestrator action, enter moduleName:workflowName.An initial colon is not necessary as it is for dynamic lists.

      4. After you have added all desired actions, use the Up and Down arrows to configure the sequence in which the actions are run.
    3. Click Parameters, and define parameters to pass data to the software, scripts, and BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows included as part of this server. For detailed information, see Configuring service blueprint parameters.
  3. Click the server group.

    A detail pane for that server opens.

  4. Add detail for the server group as follows:
    1. Enter Basic Details:

      FieldInstruction
      NameEnter a name for the server group. For example, Web server. By default, the server group is named Server Group #, where # is a number indicating the order in which the server group was added.
      DescriptionDescribe the purpose or nature of the server group. For example, Web server.
      Number of InstancesEnter a number of servers you want provisioned as part of this server group, such as a pool of Virtual Machines (VMs). The number you enter is represented in the upper-right corner of the server box in this server group.
      Tags

      Define any tags you want applied to this server group. For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.

    2. Click Remote Access Ports, and enter information for one or more ports to keep open:

      1. Click the Add New Row icon.

      2. In the Port field, enter a port in the firewall (for example, 8080).

      3. From the Transport Protocol menu, select a protocol (for example, TCP).

      4. From the Action Type menu, select the action (for example, Script).

      5. In the Action field, enter the action (for example, open_port_windows.nsh).
        If you are entering a BMC Atrium Orchestrator action, enter moduleName:workflowName.An initial colon is not necessary as it is for dynamic lists.

    3. Click Post-Deployment Actions, and specify any actions to run after the server group is deployed:
      1. Click the Add New Row icon.
      2. In the Action Type field, select a type of postdeployment action to run.
      3. In the Action field, enter the action you want run.
        If you are entering a BMC Atrium Orchestrator action, enter moduleName:workflowName.An initial colon is not necessary as it is for dynamic lists.

      4. After you have added all desired actions, use the Up and Down arrows to configure the sequence in which the actions are run.
    4. Click Compliance, and then select the Enable Compliance check box to enable compliance:

          1. Click the Add New Row icon.

          2. In the Compliance Job field, enter a name for the compliance job that would be run on the selected server. Note that once you start entering the name for the compliance job, a list of compliance jobs depending on your environment is auto-populated.

          3. Select a value from the list, for example:

            • PCI_Monthly

            • PCI_DAILY
            • HIPPA_WEEKLY
            • SOX_MONTHLY
            • CIS_MONTHLY
          4. Click OK.


              Enabling a specific compliance standard implies that all the servers provisioned using the specific resource set are assigned the compliance standard. Based on the maintenance window specified for these standards by the BMC Server Automation administrator, the servers are tested for compliance.

      Notes

      Bear the following points in mind when you create or edit blueprints:

      **  When you add a server to a resource set, no compliance standard is set for it by default.

      ** When you scale in/scale out your deployment to balance the load, the compliance standards associated with the added/removed servers are not added/removed automatically, you need to manually perform those actions.

      ** When you onboard a single-tier or multi-tier blueprint, compliance jobs are not associated to the onboarded SOI by default, you need to manually associate the compliance jobs to the onboarded SOI.

  5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 to add other server groups and servers to the service blueprint.
  6. If you want to allow a server group to be reused in other service blueprints, save it to the Blueprint Library:
    1. Right-click the server and click Convert to Reference.
    2. Enter a Name for the server. Because the name will be visible in the Blueprint Library, provide a name that enables cloud administrators to easily identify the server.
    3. Enter a Description of the server.
    4. Click OK.
      The server is added to the Server/PaaS Blueprints section of the Blueprint Library.
  7. Click Save.

The following image shows a new service blueprint for a Windows, Apache, MySQL, and PHP (WAMP) stack, with a server for the Web tier and a server for the database tier. Note that the Design issues link shows 2 issues because there are currently no NICs defined for the servers. That will happen when networks are added to the blueprint.

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2. To add and define PaaS resources in a service blueprint

To add PaaS resources to a service blueprint, open a service blueprint for editing and click PaaS ResourceA new PaaS resource is added to the service blueprint, and the detail pane for that server group opens. 

Use the following procedure for PaaS provision for BMC Database Automation. (See also PaaS provisioning for Cloud Foundry for another way to provision PaaS.)

  1. Under Instance Details, provide information about the database instances.
    Menus in the Instance Details section are populated according to the PaaS resources you have onboarded. 



    FieldInstruction
    Type

    Select the type of resource. For BMC Database Automation, select Database Instance type.

    SubtypeSelect the subtype of the PaaS resource. Currently, BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management only supports Oracle RACOracle Restart, and Oracle Standalone.
    EditionSelect the edition of the PaaS resource. Currently, BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management only supports Enterprise.
    VersionSelect the version of the PaaS resource.
    DescriptionEnter the purpose of this PaaS resource.
    Memory Size (MB)Enter the amount of memory in MB. If you do not specify a value, the instance uses a default memory value specified in the BMC Database Automation template that you select in the Installable Resource field.
    Installable ResourceClick  to display a list of templates that can be used to deploy a PaaS resource. This list is populated with BMC Database Automation templates published to the Product Catalog. Select a package and click OK.
  2. Click Parameters to add parameters to the resource instance. 
    For more information about adding parameters to instances, see Using parameters in PaaS provisioning

    The following procedure describes the process of adding a parameter.

    1. In the Parameters table, click .

    2. Enter a parameter name.
      This field is required.
    3. Enter a user friendly display label.
      This field is required. The end user sees this label when the package is provisioned instead of the parameter name.
    4. Enter a short description.
      This information appears as a tooltip.

      Note

      If you are building a parameter for a password with regular expression validation, make sure that you provide a description that informs the user about the requirements of the password. For example, you might require the password to contain at least one numeral. When the Regular Expression field contains a string, and the Password field is checked, the description is displayed to the user if validation fails for an entered password.

    5. Select the appropriate data type (for example, StringNumericBoolean or Token) that controls the input menu type.
      Depending on which data type you select, only specific options are available. For example, if you select Boolean, only the Default ValueUser Entry Enabled, and Required options are available. You cannot modify data types later. If you are creating a Token parameter, see detailed instructions in the Passing deployment data using tokens page.
    6. In the Default Value field, enter the the appropriate value (for example, the default value if you storing user input).
      For example, enter the default value that the end user will see during the request, or the value used with parameters (when User Entry Enabled is not selected). Make sure that you enter appropriate values per data type. There is no validation checking in the UI other than the Regular Expression pattern. However, the Numeric data type will not let you enter non-numeric values. If you select Boolean, you can only choose {true} or {false} as the default value.
    7. In the Regular Expression field, enter the pattern text that the parameter value must match for validation.
      For example, if you want the parameter value to consist only of alphabetical characters, enter \[a-zA-Z\]\ as the String values. You can use Regular Expression with String or Numeric data types, but not Boolean.
    8. Select Ignore Case to only compare character sequence.
      For example, you would select Ignore Case if ABC and abc are both considered valid matching patterns.
    9. Click User Entry Enabled to prompt the user to enter the value during provisioning.
      This action allows the end-user to specify an input and, if needed, override the default value.
      1. Click Required if input is mandatory.
      2. Click Password Field for password-style input (where the values are not displayed).
        The password values are initially displayed as you enter them. But after you save the parameters, they are then masked as asterisks.
        The Password Field is independent of the User Entry Enabled field. You can mask the default value even if User Entry Enabled is not selected.
    10. If you want to include a dynamic list, select the Dropdown check box and complete the Data Source field.

      For more information, see Adding dynamic lists to fields.

     

  3. Click the the PaaS resource set (the green box) to provide basic details.

    Field
    Instruction
    Name

    Enter a name for the PaaS resource set.

    For database provisioning, the name you enter is used as the name of the database and must conform to naming conventions for the underlying infrastructure. For example, if you are provisioning an Oracle database, adhere to Oracle's naming requirements, such as alphanumeric characters only, no spaces, and unique names on any single host. Refer to Oracle documentation for a complete list of naming requirements.

    Note

    If you deploy more than one database with the same name to the same hosting environment, the deployment will fail. You can configure parameters to give users the ability to change the name of a database, but the parameter only lets users assign a name to a single database. If you are deploying more than one database to the same hosting environment, structure the blueprint so you can assign a name to each PaaS resource set representing a database to be deployed.

    DescriptionDescribe the purpose or nature of the PaaS resource set.
    Number of Instances

    Enter the number of database instances to be provisioned. (For example, you might enter the number of database instances. This is not the number of databases, but rather the number of database instances.) The number you enter appears in the upper-right corner of the box representing a resource instance.

    Note

    If you select a subtype of Oracle Standalone when defining a PaaS resource set (see step 1), only one database instance can be provisioned even though you can enter a number greater than 1 in this field. If you enter a value greater than 1, provisioning will fail.

    Tags

    Define any tags you want applied to this PaaS resource set. The tags you apply should belong the tag groups specified in the PaaS policy. For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.

  4. Click Post-Deployment Actions, and specify any actions to run after the PaaS resource is deployed:

    1. Click Add new row .

    2. In the Action Type field, select a type of post-deployment action to run.

    3. In the Action field, enter the action you want run.

    4. After you have added all desired actions, use the Up and Down arrows to configure the sequence in which the actions are run.

  5. To allow a PaaS resource set to be reused in other service blueprints, save it to the Blueprint Library:

    1. Right-click the PaaS resource set and click Convert to Reference.
    2. Enter a Name for the PaaS resource set. Because the name will be visible in the Blueprint Library, provide a name that enables cloud administrators to easily identify the PaaS resource set.
    3. Enter a Description of the PaaS resource set.
    4. Click OK.
      The server is added to the Server/PaaS Blueprints section of the Blueprint Library. 

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3. To add and define applications in a service blueprint

You do not need to add applications to your blueprint. For example, you might want a blueprint for provisioning a VM without software. If you want software installed as part of services provisioned by your blueprint, you must include at least 1 application.

For a description of creating and publishing a BMC Server Automation package so it can be used in this procedure, see Creating a BMC Server Automation Deploy Job or an application component template

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, do one of the following actions:
    • Click Application to add a new application that is unassociated with a server group.
    • Drag Application and drag it to an existing server group to associate the application with that server group.
    A new application is added to the blueprint, and the detail pane for that application opens.
  2. Enter Basic Details:

    FieldInstruction

    Name

    Enter a name for the application.
    DescriptionDescribe the purpose or nature of the application. For example, Apache Web Server software.
    TagsDefine any tags you want applied to this application. For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.
  3. Click Software Packages, and provide information about the software in this application.
    You can select from a list of available software packages (consisting of BMC Server Automation packages for server provisioning or scripts for PaaS provisioning).

    1. Click the Add New Row icon.

    2. In the Select Application dialog, select the software packages you want, and then click OK.
      If you select multiple packages, they will be added to the Software Packages table in the order you selected them.

    3. The software packages are added to the Software Packages table.

    4. Rearrange the software packages into the required order of installation by selecting a package and then clicking the up and down arrows.

    5. For each software package, specify the preinstallation and postinstallation type of actions to run.

      1. Select a package.
      2. In the Type fields specify whether the action should be a script or a BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflow.
      3. In the Action fields enter the action to take.

      For PaaS provisioning, software packages run SQL scripts or other types of scripts. A common preinstallation action is to set permissions on a location where a script will run. 

      For server provisioning, you can select a network shell (NSH) script or BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflow that runs a particular action. For example, a BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflow can check the hardware configuration on a VM before installation. Or, a script can set the Apache administrator password after installation.

      For NSH scripts, do not enter the full path. For example, set_apache_admin_password.nsh.

      For BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflow, enter the delineated path. For example: MyProvisioningActions:UpdateDNS.

  4. Click Operations, and define the start or stop operations to perform on the software packages in their correct sequence. 

    Note

    The Operations section is not available unless you have first added a software package to the application as defined in the previous step.

    Operations are not applicable to PaaS provisioning.

    1. Click the Add New Row icon.

    2. Select a package (for example, Apache Version 2.2 for Windows).

    3. Select the action type (for example, Script).

    4. Enter the action (for example, start).
      If you are entering a BMC Atrium Orchestrator action, enter moduleName:workflowName.An initial colon is not necessary as it is for dynamic lists.

    5. After you have added all desired operations, configure the sequence in which the operations are run by selecting an operation and then clicking the up and down arrows.

  5. Click Parameters, and define parameters to pass data to the software, scripts, and BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows included as part of this application.
    For detailed information, see Configuring service blueprint parameters.

  6. If you have not already done so, drag and drop the application to a server group.
    The software of the application will be deployed as part of its associated server group. You can drop multiple applications in any server group.

    Applications not associated with a server group are considered orphaned. You can save and check in a blueprint with orphaned applications, but those applications will not be provisioned as part of a service since they are not associated with a server.

  7. Click Save.
  8. If you want to allow this application to be reused in other service blueprints, save it to the Blueprint Library:
    1. Right-click the application and click Convert to Reference.
    2. Enter a Name for the application. Because the name will be visible in the Blueprint Library, provide a name that enables cloud administrators to easily identify the application.
    3. Enter a Description of the application.
    4. Click OK.
      The application is saved to the Application Blueprintss section of the Blueprint Library.
  9. Repeat this procedure to add other applications to your service blueprint.

The following screenshot builds on the WAMP stack blueprint, adding Apache and PHP applications to the Web tier, and a MySQL application to the database tier:

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4. To add and define networks and connections in a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click Network.
    A new network resource is added to the blueprint, and the detail pane for that network opens.
  2. In the detail pane for the network resource, click the Add icon, and select one or more tags for this network resource.
    Tags are used to select the network that the NIC should be attached to (that is, routed to).
  3. Click the Connect icon , and then drag a network connection between a server and a network resource.
    The detail pane for the network placement opens.

    Note

    The first connection line you draw from a server must be a network placement between the server and a network, defining the first NIC in use for that server. After the first NIC is defined, any future connection lines from that server can be another network placement or a network path.

  4. Provide information for the network placement:
    1. In the NIC Number field, enter the number of the NIC within the server's sequence of NICs.
      By default, 0 is entered for the first network placement on a server, 1 is entered for the second network placement, and so on.
    2. For the IP Address field, select whether the IP address will be Dynamic or Static.
    3. If you want this network to acquire additional NAT addresses, select the Assign NAT Address box.

      Network Address Translation provides a separate IP address to access the public network (internet). The NAT address may or may not be a publicly routable (Internet-routable) address.

      Note

      In version 4.6.03, for the Azure provider, do not select the Assign NAT Address box because BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management does not support NAT addresses for Azure.

    4. To perform domain name system registration, select the DNS Registration Required check box and then select the Private IP or Public IP option.
      For more information about enabling DNS in an off-premises environment, see
      Enabling IPAM and DNS registration with AWS. For more information about enabling DNS in an on-premises environment, see Defining a DNS server in BMC Network Automation in the BMC Network Automation online technical documentation.

      Note

      For on-premises environments where BMC Network Automation is the network provider, if you select the DNS Registration Required check box, ensure that you set the IP Address field to Static, and then select Private IP. BMC does not currently support Dynamic and Public IP DNS registration.

      For off-premises environments where the provider is Amazon Web Service (AWS) for example, if you select the DNS Registration Required check box, you can select Private IP or Public IP.

      If you select DNS Registration Required with Private IP, you must have a VPN connection already established to enroll the server with a private IP in BMC Server Automation.

  5. Create a network path between a server and the network:
    1. Click the Connect icon , and drag a network connection between a network and a server.
      The detail pane for the network connection opens.

    2. In the Connection field, select Network Path.
    3. In the Description field, describe the purpose of the path.
    4. In the Transport Protocol field, select a protocol (such as TCP).
    5. In the Destination Port area, specify either a specific port or a range of ports available for this path.
      The port number is required by BMC Network Automation.
    6. For the Network Traffic field, select whether to permit or deny network traffic for the defined port numbers.
    7. For the Enabled check box, select whether this path is enabled.
    8. For the Logged check box, select whether network traffic on this path will be logged.
    9. For the Locked check box, select whether the parameters for this connection are locked when the service is provisioned.
      This option prevents end users from using options to change parameters after provisioning.
    10. For the Hidden check box, select whether the network path will be hidden from end users.
      This option is often used in conjunction with the Locked option.
    11. In either the Source or the Destination area, select a NIC on the server to use for this connection.
  6. If needed, create a network path between servers:
    1. Drag a network path between two servers.
      The detail pane for the network path opens.

    2. In the Description field, describe the purpose of the path.

    3. In the Transport Protocol field, select a protocol (such as TCP).

    4. In the Destination Port area, specify either a specific port or a range of ports to be available for each application.
      The port number is required by BMC Network Automation.

    5. For the Network Traffic field, specify whether to Permit or Deny traffic.
    6. In the Source and Destination areas, select the NICs to use for this connection
      The following image shows a network path between 2 servers in the WAMP stack blueprint. This path configures a firewall, allowing traffic on port 3306.


  7. If needed, create a connection between applications:
    1. Drag a connection between applications.
      The detail pane for the network connection opens.

    2. In the Name field, enter a name for the connection.
    3. In the Description field, describe the purpose of the connection.
    4. In the Tags field, define any tags you want applied to this connection. For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.
    5. In the Transport Protocol field, select a protocol (such as TCP).
    6. In the Source and Destination areas, select the NICs to use for this connection.
    7. (Optional) If you want to create a network path based on this connection, click the Clone to Path check box.
      A new network path between the server groups is drawn, and the detail pane for that path is opened for editing.
  8. (Optional) If you created a network path as part of the previous step, complete the following steps to define that path:
    1. In the Description field, describe the purpose of the path.
    2. In the Transport Protocol field, select a protocol (such as TCP).
    3. In the Destination Port area, specify either a specific port or a range of ports available for this path.
      The port number is required by BMC Network Automation.
    4. For the Network Traffic field, select whether to permit or deny network traffic for the defined port numbers.
    5. For the Locked check box, select whether the parameters for this connection are locked when the service is provisioned.
      This option prevents end users from using options to change parameters after provisioning.
    6. For the Logged check box, select whether network traffic on this path will be logged.
    7. For the Hidden check box, select whether the network path will be hidden from end users.
      This option is often used in conjunction with the Locked option.
    8. In either the Source or Destination area, select a NIC on the server to use for this connection.
  9. Click Save.
    The following image shows the New Service Blueprint dialog box for a WAMP stack blueprint:
  10. Repeat this procedure to add other network resources to this service blueprint.

The following screenshot adds three networks to a WAMP stack blueprint. One network is for management of both servers, another network is for the Web server, and another network is for the database. Notice that since the networks have been added and connected to servers, the servers now have NICs defines, and the Design Issues link shows no errors.

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5. To add and define load balancer pools in a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click Load Balancer Pool.
    A new LBP is added to the service blueprint, and the detail pane for that LBP opens.

  2. Select one of the following options:
    • Reference an existing load balancer pool—When provisioned, the service will use an existing load balancer pool. If you select this option, you need to specify only a Load Balancer Pool Name, and the service will attempt to locate that LBP when the service is provisioned.
    • Define a new load balancer pool—A new load balancer pool will be provisioned as part of the server group, and will be considered associated to that server group. If you are defining a new LBP, complete the rest of this procedure.

  3. In the Load Balancer Pool Name field, enter a name for this LBP.

    Recommendation

    When the Service Offering Instance (SOI) is provisioned, the resultant pool name for the LB is a combination of the name of the SOI and the LB pool specified in the service blueprint. If the LB device does not support more than 32 characters, LB pool creation fails on the device. In such cases, BMC recommends that you use smaller LB pool and SOI names so that the resultant pool does not exceed the limit levied by the device.

  4. In the Load Balancer Pool Tags field, define any tags you want applied to this LBP.

  5. In the Associated Server Group field, select the server group with which you want the LBP associated.

  6. For the Assign NAT Address check box, select whether you want this LBP to be assigned additional Network Address Translation (NAT) address.

  7. In the Client Port field, enter a port number or well-known label (for example, 1736).

  8. From the Transport Protocol menu, select a protocol.

  9. In the Description field, provide a helpful description of the LBP rules.

  10. In the Additional Parameters table, click the Add button to specify any additional LBP parameters (based on the load balancer's vendor).

  11. Create a network connection between the LBP and a server.

    Note

    When creating network connections that involve LBPs, you can create a network path or a network entry between a server and a LBP associated with the same server group. If the LBP is associated with a different server group, you can create only a network path. If the LBP is not associated with a server group at all, you can create only a network entry to the server.

    • For a network entry:

      1. Click the Connect icon , and then drag a network connection between a LBP and a server.
        The detail pane for the network entry opens.
      2. From the NIC menu, select a NIC on the server.
      3. For the Enabled check box, select whether you want this network entry enabled.
      4. In the Server Port field, enter a port number on the server for this network entry. If unspecified, the LBP's Client Port is used as the value.
    • For a network path:
      1. Click the Connect icon , and then drag a network connection between a LBP and a server.
        The detail pane for the network path opens.

      2. In the Description field, describe the purpose of the path.
      3. In the Transport Protocol field, select a protocol (such as TCP).
      4. In the Destination Port area, specify either a specific port or a range of ports available for this path.
        The port number is required by BMC Network Automation.
      5. For the Network Traffic field, select whether to permit or deny network traffic for the defined port numbers.
      6. For the Enabled check box, select whether this path is enabled.
      7. For the Locked check box, select whether the parameters for this connection are locked when the service is provisioned.
        This option prevents end users from using options to change parameters after provisioning.
      8. For the Logged check box, select whether network traffic on this path will be logged.
      9. For the Hidden check box, select whether the network path will be hidden from end users.
        This option is often used in conjunction with the Locked option.
      10. In the Source area, select a NIC on the server to use for this connection.
  12. Click Save.
  13. Repeat this procedure for additional LBPs.

The following image shows a WAMP stack blueprint with a new three-tier definition that includes a load balancer for the Web tier. Note that the number in the upper-right corner of the server box indicates two instances of servers in that server group.

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6. To add and define IP endpoints and VLANs in a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click IP EndPoint / VLAN.
    A new IP endpoint / VLAN is added to the service blueprint, and the detail pane for that IP endpoint/VLAN opens
  2. Select whether this is a Single Endpoint or a VLAN.
  3. Enter an IP Address.
  4. If you are creating a VLAN, enter a Mask address.
  5. Create a network path between an IP endpoint/VLAN and a server:
    1. Click the Connect icon , and then drag a network connection between an IP endpoint/VLAN and a server.
      The detail pane for the network path opens.

    2. In the Description field, describe the purpose of the path.

    3. In the Transport Protocol field, select a protocol (such as TCP).

    4. In the Destination Port area, specify either a specific port or a range of ports available for this path.
      The port number is required by BMC Network Automation.

    5. For the Network Traffic field, select whether to permit or deny network traffic for the defined port numbers.

    6. For the Enabled check box, select whether this path is enabled.

    7. For the Logged check box, select whether network traffic on this path will be logged.

    8. For the Locked check box, select whether the parameters for this connection are locked when the service is provisioned.
      This option prevents end users from using options to change parameters after provisioning.

    9. For the Hidden check box, select whether the network path will be hidden from end users.
      This option is often used in conjunction with the Locked option.

    10. In either the Source or Destination area, select a NIC on the server to use for this connection.

      Note

      IP endpoints/VLANs not connected to a server with a network path are considered orphaned, and are removed when the service blueprint is saved.

  6. Click Save.
  7. Repeat this procedure for additional IP endpoints/VLANs.

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7. To reuse blueprints within a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click an object you want to reuse from the Blueprint Library.
    The object is added to your service blueprint, and the detail pane for the referenced blueprint opens, showing the name of the blueprint and its author.
  2. Select one of the following options to determine which version of the blueprint to include:
    • Latest Version—As other versions of the referenced blueprint are added, your blueprint will reference whichever version is the latest.
    • Specific Version—As other versions of the referenced blueprint are added, your blueprint will continue to reference the version you specify.
    • Identified by Tag—If a blueprint is tagged at the version level when it is checked in, you can reference a version by its tag. Because no two versions of a service blueprint can have the same tag, if the association of the tag to a version changes, your blueprint will use whichever version makes use of that tag.
  3. If you added a server or PaaS resource, add detail for its server group as follows:
    1. Enter Basic Details:

      FieldInstruction
      NameEnter a name for the server group. For example, Web server. By default, the server group is named Server Group #, where # is a number indicating the order in which the server group was added.
      DescriptionDescribe the purpose or nature of the server group. For example, Web server.
      Number of InstancesEnter a number of servers you want provisioned as part of this server group, such as a pool of Virtual Machines (VMs). The number you enter is represented in the upper-right corner of the server box in this server group.
      Tags

      Define any tags you want applied to this server group. For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.

    2. Click Post-Deployment Actions, and specify any actions to run after the server group is deployed:
      1. Click the Add New Row icon.
      2. In the Action Type field, select a type of postdeployment action to run.
      3. In the Action field, enter the action you want run.
        If you are entering a BMC Atrium Orchestrator action, enter moduleName:workflowName.An initial colon is not necessary as it is for dynamic lists.

      4. After you have added all desired actions, use the Up and Down arrows to configure the sequence in which the actions are run.
  4. If you added a server, click Remote Access Ports, and enter information for one or more ports to keep open:
    1. Click the Add New Row icon.

    2. In the Port field, enter a port in the firewall (for example, 8080).

    3. From the Protocol menu, select a protocol (for example, TCP).

    4. From the Action Type menu, select the action (for example, Script).
      If you are entering a BMC Atrium Orchestrator action, enter moduleName:workflowName.An initial colon is not necessary as it is for dynamic lists.

    5. In the Action field, enter the action (for example, open_port_windows.nsh).

  5. If needed, create a network path between objects in the referenced blueprint and other objects in the service blueprint:
    1. Click the Connect icon , and then drag a network path between objects in the service blueprint.
      The detail pane for the network path opens.

    2. In the Description field, describe the purpose of the path.

    3. In the Transport Protocol field, select a protocol (such as TCP).

    4. In the Destination Port area, specify either a specific port or a range of ports available for this path.
      The port number is required by BMC Network Automation.

    5. For the Network Traffic field, select whether to permit or deny network traffic for the defined port numbers.

    6. For the Enabled check box, select whether this path is enabled.

    7. For the Logged check box, select whether network traffic on this path will be logged.

    8. For the Locked check box, select whether the parameters for this connection are locked when the service is provisioned.
      This option prevents end users from using options to change parameters after provisioning.

    9. For the Hidden check box, select whether the network path will be hidden from end users.
      This option is often used in conjunction with the Locked option.

    10. in the Source and Destination areas, select the NIC on any servers to use for this connection.

    11. Repeat steps a through j for other network paths.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Repeat this procedure to add additional blueprints from the Blueprint Library.

The following screenshot shows a PaaS blueprint added to a service blueprint. Note that the PaaS resource is bounded by a dashed line, which indicates that the PaaS resource is an included blueprint.

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8. To define definitions for a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click Definition > Properties.
    The Definition Details dialog opens.
  2. On the Properties tab, enter information for the following fields:

    FieldInstruction
    Definition NameEnter a name for this definition.
    TagsDefine any tags you want applied to this definition. For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.
    DescriptionDescribe the purpose or nature of the definition.
    Enable Monitoring

    Select the Enable Monitoring check box to enable performance monitoring of the resources provisioned by the service blueprint. If you enable monitoring, you can select a Monitoring Level. Additionally, if you enable monitoring, you can select the Enable Monitoring Policy check box to allow users to create monitoring rules in the My Services console.

    See Enabling resource monitoring for end users for more information.

    Monitoring is not applicable to PaaS provisioning.

  3. Click the Parameters tab and define parameters to pass data to the software, scripts, and BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows included as part of this definition.
    For detailed information, see Configuring service blueprint parameters.
  4. Click the Operations tab and create any start and stop operations for the service components of the service blueprint.

    Note

    You cannot define any start or stop operations for the component level until you have defined them at the software packages level in your service components. As a result, if you added a component that includes the OS but no software packages, you cannot define any component-level stop or start operations.

    Operations are not applicable to PaaS provisioning.

    1. Select an Operation (either Start or Stop).
    2. In the Actions for the selected operation table, click the Add new row icon.
      A new row is added to the table.
    3. From the Component menu in the new row, select a service component.
    4. From the Operation menu in the new row, select an operation type.
    5. Repeat steps a through d for other operations you want defined for the service definition.
    6. After you have added all desired operations, use the Up and Down arrows to configure the sequence in which the operations are run.
  5. Click the Post-Deploy Actions tab and specify any actions to run after the service is deployed:
    1. Click the Add New Row icon.

    2. In the Action Type field, select a type of postdeployment action to run.

    3. In the Action field, enter the action you want run.
      If you are entering a BMC Atrium Orchestrator action, enter moduleName:workflowName.An initial colon is not necessary as it is for dynamic lists.

    4. After you have added all desired actions, use the Up and Down arrows to configure the sequence in which the actions are run.

  6. Click the Deployment Sequence tab, and then use the Up and Down arrows to configure the sequence in which service blueprint components are deployed when the service is requested.
  7. Click OK.
  8. Click Save.
    The following image shows a definition for a two-tier WAMP stack blueprint:

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9. To define the properties of a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click Service Properties > Tags.
    The Service Properties dialog opens.
  2. On the Tags tab, define any tags you want applied to the service blueprint.
    For more information about tags in service blueprints, see Managing blueprint tags.
  3. Click the Parameters tab and define parameters to pass data to the software, scripts, and BMC Atrium Orchestrator workflows included as part of this service blueprint.
    For detailed information, see Configuring service blueprint parameters.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Click Save.

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10. To validate a service blueprint

As you define a service blueprint, BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management tracks any errors that would prevent the service blueprint from functioning correctly. Use this procedure to validate that all errors in your service blueprint have been corrected before you check it in to the Blueprint Library.

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, ensure that the Design Issues link above the service blueprint indicates no issues. If the link indicates one or more issues, click the link.
  2. Correct all issues in the drop-down list.
  3. If you have checked in at least one version of a service blueprint previously, and you are the owner of that blueprint, you can test the working copy of that blueprint by provisioning a service.
    1. Ensure that the service blueprint is associated with a service offering. See Creating a service offering for more information.
    2. Select Workspaces > Service Instances.
      The Service Instances workspace opens.
    3. Click the Service Catalog tab.
    4. Select the service offering using the working copy of your blueprint, and then click Request Now.
      The Submit Request dialog opens, with an option to select the working copy and definition of the blueprint.
    5. Select the Use Working Copy check box.
    6. In the Configuration field, select a definition to test.
    7. Complete your service request and wait for BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management to provision the service.
  4. If necessary, modify your blueprint in the Service Designer and repeat this procedure.
    When you are satisfied with your changes, save your blueprint and check it in to the Blueprint Library.

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To check in a service blueprint

Follow this procedure when you are ready for a blueprint to be used either for creating services or as a reusable-blueprint in other service blueprints.

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, do one of the following actions:
    • Select File > Save and Check In.
    • Select Working copy > Check In.
    The Check In Details dialog appears.
  2. Define the tags and comments associated with this version of the blueprint.

    Note

    If you define a tag for a version of the blueprint, the tag must be unique among other version tags for this blueprint. If you apply a tag used in an earlier version of the blueprint, a confirmation box asks you to verify that you want the tag used in the new version instead of the version currently using that tag. This functionality enables you to create a dynamic reference to the tag. As the tag moves from version to version, so does the reference. Any service offerings that refer to the tag will use whatever blueprint version has that tag to provision the service. See Creating a service offering for more information about selecting a blueprint tag when defining a service offering.

  3. Click OK.
    The blueprint is removed from the My Checked Out Blueprints list, and is added to the Blueprint Library.

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To discard a working copy

If you do not want to retain the local copy of the blueprint that was created when you checked it out, complete the following steps:

  1. Ensure that the blueprint is open in the Service Designer in view mode. (The blueprint should not be opened for editing.)
  2. Select Working Copy > Discard.
  3. In the confirmation box click Yes.
    The local copy of the blueprint is discarded, and the blueprint no longer appears in the My Checked Out Blueprints list.

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To check out and edit a service blueprint

Follow this procedure to modify an existing service blueprint.

  1. In the Service Designer workspace, select a service blueprint from the Blueprint Library.
    The service blueprint appears in view-only mode.
  2. Click Check Out.
    A local copy of the service blueprint is created and is available to edit.
  3. If you want to work in a different definition for this service blueprint, click Definition > Switch Definition, and then select the definition you want to edit.

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To manage service blueprint definitions

  1. With a service blueprint opened for editing, click Definition > Switch Definition > Manage.
    The Manage Definitions dialog appears.
  2. If you want to add a new definition, complete the following steps:
    1. Click New Definition.
      A new definition is added to the list.
    2. Click OK.
  3. If you want to create a new definition as a copy of an existing definition, complete the following steps:
    1. Next to the definition you want to copy, click the Copy icon .
      A new definition is added to the list.
    2. Click OK.
  4. If you want to rename a definition, complete the following steps:
    1. Click the name of the definition you want to rename.
    2. Enter a new name.
    3. Click OK.
  5. If you want to make a definition the current definition in the Service Designer, click Enable next to that definition.
  6. If you want to delete a definition, complete the following steps:
    1. Next to the definition you want to delete, click the Delete icon .
      The definition is removed from the list.
    2. Click OK.

The following screenshot shows the Manage Definitions dialog box with a definition added to the WAMP stack blueprint to accommodate a 3-tier environment with load balancing:

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To view and manage the version history of a service blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint open in the Service Designer, select Blueprint > View History.
    The Version History dialog opens, listing all saved versions of the blueprint.
  2. To edit the tags and comments of a version:
    1. Select a version and then click Edit.
      The Version dialog opens.
    2. Update the Tags and Comments fields as needed.
    3. Click OK.
      The version properties are updated.

      Note

      The tag must be unique among other version tags for this blueprint. If you apply a tag used in another version of the blueprint, a confirmation box asks you to verify that you want the tag used in the updated version instead of the version currently using that tag. This functionality enables you to create a dynamic reference to the tag. As the tag moves from version to version, so does the reference. Any service offerings that refer to the tag will use whatever blueprint version has that tag to provision the service. See Creating a service offering for more information about selecting a blueprint tag when defining a service offering.

  3. To make an older version the current version:
    1. Select a version and then click Make Current.
      A confirmation dialog box opens.
    2. Click Yes.
      A copy of the older version is created as the latest version.
  4. To take ownership of a service blueprint version currently owned by another user:
    1. Select a version and then click Take Ownership.
      A confirmation dialog box opens.
    2. Click Yes.

      Note

      Respect the check-in/check-out process, and take ownership of a blueprint only when absolutely necessary. For example, if multiple cloud administrators are collaborating on a blueprint, and the current owner goes on vacation with the blueprint still checked out, another administrator might take ownership of that blueprint to continue their collaborative work.

  5. When you are done viewing and managing the version history of the service blueprint, click OK.

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To list the service offerings and blueprints using a blueprint

  1. With a service blueprint open in the Service Designer, select Blueprint > View Usage.
    The View Usage dialog opens, listing all service offerings and blueprints using this blueprint.
  2. When you are done viewing the associations, click OK.

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Where to go from here

After you have created at least one service blueprint, you can create a service. For more information, see Creating cloud services.

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Related topics

Navigating the Service Designer workspace
Creating and managing requestable services

Building service blueprints
Creating cloud services
Retiring, reinstating, or deleting a blueprint 

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