AWS Marketplace connector
AWS Marketplace connector enables catalog administrators and internal service suppliers to create services for provisioning end users with EC2 instances imported from the AWS (Amazon Web Services) Cloud.
External account requirements
- You must have an AWS Marketplace account registered in the AWS Cloud. See
Create and activate AWS account
in the Amazon documentation. - You must have permissions to use EC2 products in the IAM console. See
IAM policies for Amazon EC2
in the Amazon documentation.
Configuration parameters for the AWS Marketplace connector
Before you can use the AWS Marketplace connector to import services, or in workflows, you must configure a connection as described in Configuring service connectors. The following table describes the parameters required to create a connection:
Parameter | Examples | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Access Key ID | AKIAIYXZYMKERDF32BQA | IAM user access key ID. You can check this value from AWS Marketplace management console > IAM> Users > %USER_NAME% > Security Credentials. |
| Secret Access Key | 7s0jvI5YIUMDTDCPosN2O/72UNHIIKlmq2zYuGzR | IAM user secret access key. This value is accessible only when you create security credentials for a user, so save it immediately. For information on managing access keys for IAM users, see
Managing access keys for IAM users
|
Region (Optional) | eu-west-1 | The region code used for API calls. For more details about available AWS Marketplace regions, see
Regions and availability zones
If a value is not provided, us-west-2 is used by default. |
Catalog import capabilities
With the AWS Marketplace connector, you can import services from AWS Marketplace as services in BMC Digital Workplace Catalog. You must import AWS Marketplace catalog to the BMC Digital Workplace Catalog so that you can build workflows that include Launch EC2 action.
Important
Before importing EC2 instances from the AWS Marketplace, create a custom service template with the Offering URL text field (see the Service profile screenshot). For more information, see Adding service templates.
While importing an EC2 instance from the AWS Marketplace, configure the service to import the Offering URL value. Map the OfferingUrl value with the Offering URL field from the custom template. For more details about how to import the catalog, see Importing service catalog items.
Workflow actions available through the AWS Marketplace connector
The following table provides an overview of all AWS Marketplace connector actions:
| Action | Description | Input parameters | Possible output |
|---|---|---|---|
Create Aws Key Pair | Creates the public and private keys necessary for launching an EC2 instance. For more details about key pairs, see
Managing access keys for IAM users
| Create AWS Key Pairs input parameters | Create AWS Key Pairs output parameters |
| Create Security Group | Creates a security group that can be associated with a EC2 instance. | Create Security Group input parameters | Create Security Group output parameters |
| Launch EC2 Instances | Launches an existing EC2 instance in the AWS marketplace. Note: To connect to a running EC2 instance, an SSH key pair is required. If you don't have permissions to use EC2 products, your request will fail. | Launch EC2 input parameters | Launch EC2 output parameters |
| Get Connection Details | Retrieves the details of connected instances. The output of this action can be passed to the input of the Send Aws Instance Creation Email. | Get Connection Details input parameters | Output |
Best practice
Default service actions
The AWS Marketplace connector provides the following Day 2 predefined service actions mapped with the Launch EC2 Instance action:
- Start
- Stop
- Terminate
Example: Workflow for a service that launches an EC2 instance in a new security group in the AWS Cloud
Important
EC2 instances can be launched only when corresponding services are imported to BMC Digital Workplace Catalog from the AWS Cloud.
The Send Aws Instance Creation Email activity can be used only if the Microsoft Office 365 connector is configured.
The described workflow performs the following tasks in the AWS Cloud:
- Create Aws Key Pair: Creates the AWS key pair required for launching an AWS EC2 instance.
- Create Security Group: Creates a new security group in the AWS Cloud.
- Launch EC2 Instance: Associates the created AWS key pair and the security group with a previously imported EC2 instance, and launches this instance.
- Send Aws Instance Creation Email: Sends the output from the Launch EC2 activity to the input fields of the Send Aws Instance Creation Email, and sends an email to the defined recipient.
Input and output parameters for actions
Create Aws Key Pair input parameters
Required | Parameter name | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Connection Id | String | Connection > AWS Marketplace | The default Connection ID of this connector. |
| Required | Key Name Base | String | Process input > Text variable | The name of the AWS key pair required for launching an EC2 instance. For the created process variable, add a text question. |
| Optional | Region | String | Process input > Text variable | Identifier of an AWS Machine Image (AMI) necessary for launching a virtual server in the AWS Cloud. The AMI ID is associated with a region in the AWS Marketplace. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question, and add a list of values with the Region and AMI ID mapping. See an example questionnaire for more details. |
| Optional | Ami Id | String | Process input > Text variable | Identifier of an AMI necessary for launching a virtual server in the AWS Cloud. |
| Optional | Public Key | String | Process input > Text variable | Value of the public key.
|
Create Aws Key Pair output parameters
| Parameter | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Key Fingerprint | String | Key fingerprint automatically generated from the key pair. For more details about fingerprints, see Verifying your Key Pair's Fingerprint in the Amazon documentation. |
| Key Name | String | Name of the AWS key pair. |
| Private Key Material | String | Returned value of the private key. In the example workflow described in this topic, this value is sent to the Private Key input parameter of the Send Aws Instance Creation Email activity. |
Create Security Group input parameters
Before creating a security group in the AWS Cloud, review
What Is AWS CloudHSM?
in the Amazon documentation.
Required | Parameter name | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Connection Id | String | Connection > AWS Marketplace | The default Connection ID of this connector. |
| Required | Security Group Name | String | Process input > Text variable | Name of a security group in the AWS Cloud. For the created process variable, add a text field question. |
| Required | Description | String | Process input > Text variable | Description of the security group rule in the AWS Cloud. For the created process variable, add a text area question. |
| Required | Ip Ranges | String | Process input > Text variable | Ip ranges of the security group that determines the traffic that can reach an EC2 instance. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question with the list of IP values. Add the following value for selection:
|
| Required | Protocol | String | Process input > Text variable | Protocol of the security group. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question with the list of protocol values. |
| Required | From Port | String | Process input > Text variable | Port value. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question. |
| Required | To Port | String | Process input > Text variable | Port value. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question. |
| Optional | Region | String | Process input > Text variable | Region value. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question. |
| Optional | Ami Id | String | Process input > Text variable | The AMI ID of the group. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question. |
Create Security Group output parameters
| Parameter | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Description | String | Security group for connection of windows instances | Description of the security group. |
| Group Id | String | sg-5168462a | Automatically generated ID of the security group. |
| Group Name | String | Windows_Security_Group | Name of a security group in the AWS Marketplace. |
Ip Permissions Auto Construct | String | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Ip Permissions Egress Auto Construct | String | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Owner Id | String | Not applicable | Owner of the security group. |
Tags Auto Construct | String | Not applicable | Tags automatically generated from the security group metadata. |
| Vpc Id | String | vpc-586b156j | Identifier of the AWS Virtual Private Cloud. |
Launch EC2 Instances input parameters
Important
Before you can use the Launch EC2 activity in your workflows, you must have the following conditions met:
- Import the required EC2 instances from the AWS Marketplace
- The AWS Marketplace user must manually subscribe to the imported EC2 instances. For more information how to subscribe to a EC2 instance, see
Managing Your AWS Marketplace Subscriptions
in the Amazon documentation.
To find out required details of an EC2 instance, review the imported profile of a service. Follow the link in the Offering URL field, and find out the AMI ID and Instance Type.
Required | Parameter name | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Connection Id | String | Connection > AWS Marketplace | The default Connection ID of this connector. |
| Required | Ami Id | String | Process input > Text variable | Identifier of an AWS Machine Image (AMI). It provides the information required to launch an virtual server in the AWS Cloud. See the example of AMI ID for the Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS LAMP provisioned by aMi STACX service. |
| Required | Product Id | String | Process context variable > Service Request > External Service ID | Identifier of a external service in the AWS Marketplace. |
| Required | Requested For Login Name | String | Process context variable > Requested For > Login Name | User name who requests an EC2 instance. |
| Required | Instance Type | String | Process input > Text variable | Type of EC2 instance in the AWS Marketplace. For the process question based on the created variable, create a dropdown question for this process question. Associate the input variable with the available instance types in the AWS Marketplace. See the example of instance types for the Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS LAMP provisioned by aMi STACX service. |
| Optional | Number Of Instances | String | Process input > Integer variable | Number of instances to be launched. For the created process variable, add a text field question. |
| Optional | Region | String | Process input > Text variable | Identifier of an AMI necessary for launching a virtual server in the AWS Cloud. The AMI ID is associated with a region in the AWS Marketplace. For the created process variable, add a dropdown question, and add a list of values with the Region and AMI ID mapping. See the example questionnaire for more details. |
| Optional | Key Pair Name | String | Process input > Text variable or Create AWS Key Pair > Output > Key Name | Name of an AWS key pair existing in the AWS Cloud. |
| Optional | Security Group Name | String | Process input > Text variable | To use the default group, leave the value blank. To use a group other than the default group, specify the name of an existing group. |
Launch EC2 Instances output parameters
| Parameter | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instance Ids | Array | i-4a1c2fld | Identifiers of launched EC2 instances. |
| Key Pair Name | String | ami-edf3b1fs 2018-02-05 T09:26:04.619+0000 | Key pair name. |
| Private Key Material | String | Not applicable | Private key value. |
| Security Group name | String | Windows_Security_Group | Name of the security group to which the EC2 instance belongs. |
Get Connection Details input parameters
Required | Parameter name | Data type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required | Connection Id | String | Connection > AWS Marketplace | The default Connection ID of this connector. |
| Required | Instance Ids | Array | i-4a1pwf5d | Identifiers of launched EC2 instances. |
| Optional | Private Key | String | Not applicable | The name of the AWS key pair required for launching an EC2 instance. |
Reference screenshots
This section includes helpful screenshots about information referenced in this topic.
Custom service profile used for importing the AWS Marketplace instances
EC2 Instance types in the AWS Marketpace
The following screenshot shows a dropdown question builder with a list of Instance Type values:
AMI IDs and Regions in the AWS Marketpace
The following screenshot shows a text question builder with a default AMI ID value:
The following screenshot shows a dropdown question builder with a list of Region values:
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