Managing Azure VMs

After you have provisioned a virtual machine (VM) by using the BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management, you can start, stop, shut down, add, or remove disks of a provisioned VM. The following topic details the procedure to follow to manage provisioned Azure VMs. For information about starting, stopping, and shutting down an Azure VM, see Starting, stopping, and shutting down a server. You can also install software, add local OS users, and create or delete network paths on a provisioned VM.

Considerations for an upgraded Azure SOI

After upgrading from Azure Provider 1.0.00 to 1.1.00, consider the following while performing the Day 2 operations on an upgraded SOI:

• An upgraded SOI is not covered under Quota calculations, as Quota management is supported only for the servers provisioned by Azure Provider 1.1.00.

  Note

  You may expect incorrect quota calculations for servers provisioned in an upgraded environment. Cloud Administrator must ensure that the quota allocation is done properly.

• If you transfer an upgraded SOI to another user, and the user performs the add or remove disk operation, then the operations are performed on the original storage account in Microsoft Azure.
• If you or any other user perform Add server operation on an upgraded SOI, then the new VM disk is created or placed on a different storage account in Microsoft Azure instead of the storage account used for the original SOI servers.

Managing system disks of an Azure VM

You can perform the following tasks to manage the system disks for a server in an Azure service offering:

Adding disks to an Azure VM

You can add a disk to the provisioned VM by using the BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management My Services Console. After you have added the disk, you must access the VM and add a new disk volume to reflect the additional disk in the VM.

Adding a new disk volume to a provisioned VM using Microsoft Azure

After you have added a disk (Disk1) to the provisioned VM using BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management, the new disk volume (Disk 2) remains unallocated. You must perform the following steps to add a new disk volume (Disk 2) to a provisioned VM.

1. Connect to the provisioned VM by using the Azure Management Portal.
2. Launch Server Manager.
   
3. Click Storage.
   The existing disk details of the VM are displayed along with the new disk (Disk 2 - Unallocated), as shown in the following figure:
   
   
4. Right-click the new disk (Disk 2) and select New Simple Volume.
   
   
5. In the New Simple Volume Wizard, click Next and then enter the details for the new disk volume.
   After you have entered the required details, the Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard is displayed, as shown in the following figure:
   
6. Click Finish.
   A new disk volume (New Volume F) is added as Disk 2, as shown in the following figure:
   
   

Viewing disks of an Azure VM

To view the existing disk details of an Azure VM, see To view the system disks for a server.

Removing disks of an Azure VM

To remove the system disks of an Azure VM, see To remove a system disk from a server.

Modifying CPU and memory of an Azure VM

1. Log on to BMC Remedy Action Request System (AR System) by using your end-user credentials.
2. On the left side of the window, click the vertical Applications menu, and select Cloud Lifecycle Management > My Cloud Services Console.
3. On the My Services tab of My Cloud Services workspace, click the Servers link. 
4. From the list of servers, select the server for which you want to modify the memory and CPU option choices. The following figure shows the list of servers.
   
5. Click Modify Actions  and select an available post-deployment modify action (for example, Update CPU and RAM) from the list.
   The options available for modifying the CPU count and memory size of an Azure VM are displayed, as shown in the following figure:
   
6. In the Submit Request dialog box, select your option and click Next. 
7. Review your request details, as shown in the following figure, and click Submit.
   

Installing software on an Azure VM

1. Log on to BMC Remedy Action Request System (AR System) by using your end-user credentials.
2. On the left side of the window, click the vertical Applications menu, and select Cloud Lifecycle Management > My Cloud Services Console.
3. On the My Services tab of the My Cloud Services workspace, click the Servers link.
4. From the list of servers, as shown in the following figure, select the server on which you want to install the software, and click Modify Actions .
   
   
   
5. From the menu, select an available post-deployment modify action.
6. In the Submit Request dialog box, as shown in the following figure, select your options and click Next.
   
   
7. Review your request details, as shown in the following figure.
   
   

8. Click Submit.
   The software is deployed on the VM, as shown in the figure below:
   
   
   
   

   Note

   Post-deployment software installation from BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management may fail due to a change in the IP address of the provisioned VM when the VM is restarted or shutdown from the Azure Management Portal. See Azure Provider Limitations for details.

Adding local OS users on an Azure VM

1. Log on to BMC Remedy Action Request System (AR System) by using your end-user credentials.
2. On the left side of the window, click the vertical Applications menu, and select Cloud Lifecycle Management > My Cloud Services Console.
3. On the My Services tab of the My Cloud Services workspace, click the Servers link.
4. From the displayed list of servers, as shown in the following figure, select the server on which you want to add a local user, and click Modify Actions .
   
5. From the menu, select an available post-deployment modify action.
   
   
6. In the Submit Request dialog box, as shown in the following figure, enter the user name and password details and click Next.
   
   

7. Review your request details, and click Submit.

A local user is added on the provisioned VM with the username and password specified by you.

Managing network paths or endpoints of an Azure VM

You can perform the following operations to manage the network paths of an Azure VM. For more information about network paths, see Background information on network paths.

• Creating an inbound network path for a network instance

  Note

  BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management Administrators can also create network paths by defining the network paths or endpoints in the Azure Service Blueprint or defining the outbound network path for a network instance. See Managing network paths (administrator) for details about defining the outbound network path from the Resources > Network Container panel.

   Click here for steps to create a network path for an Azure VM.

  1. Log on to BMC Remedy Action Request System (AR System) by using your end-user credentials.
  2. On the left side of the window, click the vertical Applications menu, and select Cloud Lifecycle Management > My Cloud Services Console.
  3. On the My Services tab of the My Cloud Services workspace, click the Servers link.
  4. From the list of servers, as shown in the following figure, select the server for which you want to create a network path, and click Manage Network Paths.
     
     
  5. In the Manage Network Paths window, as shown in the following figure, specify the Network Interface as NIC0 to display the existing network path details of the VM.
     
     
  6. Click Create Network Path .
     
     

  7. In the Create Network Path window, select the Direction as Create Inbound Network Path.

     Note

     Select the Direction as Create Outbound Network Path only if you are creating the network path from server network interface.

     
     

  8. Click Next and specify the Source Endpoint details as Network Endpoint for Type and name as Internet.
     For an Azure Instance, you can create a network path only from the Internet.
     
     
     
     

     Note

     Select the Source Endpoint Type as Server Network Interface, only if you are creating the network path from a server network interface.
     
     

     Search for the Server Offering Instance and select the Server on which you want to create the network path.

     
     

  9. Click Next.
     The following figure shows the details of the Destination Endpoint.

     
     

  10. Click Next, and specify the network path constraints as shown in the figure below:

      
      

      Note

      Only the TCP and UDP Transport Protocol are supported for Microsoft Azure. 

      
      

  11. Click Save.
      The network path is created for the selected server.

• Deleting a network path

Managing load balancers for an Azure VM

As a cloud administrator or end user, you can manage the load balancer pools by server in the following ways:

• Add a load balancer pool
• Remove a load balancer pool
• Enable or disable a load balancer pool for a server

See Managing load balancers for the Azure Provider for considerations for configuring load balancers for the Azure Provider.

Viewing Availability Set of an Azure VM

As a cloud administrator or end user, you can view the availability set details of the provisioned VM in the server details, as shown in the figure below.

To view the server details, in the My Cloud Services workspace, click the Servers link and select the server.