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Provisioning VMs on Amazon using Quick Start

Quick Start asks you to provide a limited number of configuration settings for BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management so it can integrate with Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this way BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management can fulfill end user requests for automated provisioning of virtual machines to an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) or Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).

To provision VMs on Amazon, you can set up a connection to an EC2 or VPC and then specify an Amazon Machine Image (AMI). Quick Start converts these choices into data that is automatically entered into BMC Cloud Lifecyle Management so it can provision new VMs comparable to the specified AMI.

This topic describes the end-to-end Amazon approach in Quick Start. It includes the following sections:

Video demonstration

You can view a video that demonstrates how to use Amazon Web Services to configure BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management so it can fulfill end user requests for automated provisioning of VMs.

Click here to see the video and related information...

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Video contents

Time stamp

Topic

Prerequisites

0:31

Amazon connector

1:30

Amazon environment

3:23

Amazon services

5:30

Tenants

7:17

Users

8:14

Provisioning

9:04

Before you begin

  • Log onto BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management using a cloud administrator account. The cloud administrator must be associated with a provider company. (Click here for details about creating a provider company and a cloud administrator account.) When completing the BMC Remedy AR Systems form for the cloud administrator account, be sure to check Unrestricted Access.

    If you do not use the Cloud Admin template to create the cloud administrator account (the standard approach), create a provider company for the new cloud administrator account and then ensure the account has the following permissions:
    • Cloud Admin
    • Contact Organization Admin
    • DMT Admin
    • Infrastructure Change Viewer
  • Prepare an AWS account and be familiar with using AWS.

  • Obtain security credentials for the AWS account. This is necessary because the AWS account must be able to make Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) API requests. To generate and extract the certificate and private key files for the AWS account, see Amazon Web Services documentation.

    Note

    Amazon recently changed its procedures for generating AWS credentials. To generate credentials that BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management can process, navigate to Amazon's "Your Security Credentials" page. Expand Access Keys. In the note beneath Access Keys, click the link for the legacy Security Credentials page. That page lets you generate an X.509 certificate and the corresponding private key in a format that satisfies BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management.

  • In AWS, identify any AMIs that you will use for provisioning VMs. 
  • Perform additional configuration on the Amazon EC2 integration module if you need to update the default module. For details on the necessary configuration, see Configuring-BMC-Atrium-Orchestrator-for-Amazon-EC2.
  • Take the following steps to ensure correct integration with the Amazon EC2 integration module:
  • Ensure that conditions in any policies already defined in BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management are set to "Match Any." Quick Start creates its own policies that may conflict with existing policies. For more information, see Adding-and-editing-policies.
  • Be aware that you can only use Quick Start to create new configurations for BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management. You cannot modify existing configurations
  • Optionally, review the complete list of required settings before using Quick Start.

High-level steps

5StepAmazonBreadcrumbHiLevel.png

To access Quick Start, click the vertical Workspaces menu on the left side of the BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management Administration Console. Then click Quick Start.

After launching Quick Start, perform the following high-level steps:

  1. Adding Amazon connectors—Provide AWS credentials to establish a connection to an Amazon EC2 provider instance.
  2. Adding Amazon environments—Define the computing, storage, and network resources available for a virtual machine.
  3. Adding Amazon services from templates—Define a service offering by selecting an AMI.
  4. Adding tenants and entitlements—Identify tenants and the offerings to which those tenants are entitled.
  5. Adding tenant users—Identify users who can perform actions for tenants.

After you complete these steps, users can provision VMs to an Amazon EC2 or VPC using the BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management - My Cloud Services Console.

Adding an Amazon connector

5StepAmazonBreadcrumbConnector.png

In Quick Start, a connector defines an integration with an Amazon EC2 provider instance. EC2 is a web service that provides resizable, cloud-based computing capacity.

To add an Amazon connector

  1. On the Quick Start home page, click Add Amazon Connectors. The Amazon Connectors page opens.
    The Amazon Connectors page lists all currently defined Quick Start connectors for an EC2 provider instance.AmazonConnectors.gifTo begin defining a connector, click Add New AddNewIcon.gif. The Create New Amazon Connector page opens.
    TipYou can click on any column header to sort information. 
  2. Complete the Create New Amazon Connector page.
    The Create New Amazon Connector page prompts you for a user name and Amazon Web Services (AWS) account credentials needed to establish a secure connection to an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provider instance. 

    CreateNewAmazonConnector.gif
    Option
    Description
    User
    User name that can be associated with the AWS account credentials that you provide.
    Private Key
    Contents of the private key file generated and extracted from your AWS account. The private key file is used to authenticate requests to AWS.
    Certificate
    Contents of the X.509 certificate file generated and extracted from your AWS account. The certificate holds the public key associated with your AWS account.
  3. Click Save.
    The Amazon connector is complete. The Quick Start home page appears. A green check GreenCheck.gif next to the Add Amazon Connectors option indicates creation succeeded.

Quick Start interactions with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management

Click here to learn about the actions Quick Start takes based on your choices in the Add Amazon Connectors wizard.

Action

Related information

Configure an Amazon EC2 account

Search for and onboard Amazon pods that are mapped to availability zones in EC2

Search for and onboard Amazon virtual clusters

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Adding Amazon environments

5StepAmazonBreadcrumbEnvironment.png

An environment defines the computing, storage, and network resources available for a virtual machine. An Amazon environment can be an EC2 Availability Zone or a VPC subnet. The network resources defined for the environment must include at least one network. BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management does not require a management network for an Amazon environment.

Environments are also called logical hosting environments. In Quick Start an environment is essentially a logical hosting environment with some other information added.

To add an Amazon environment

  1. On the Quick Start home page, click Add Amazon Environments. The Amazon Environments page opens.
    The Amazon Environments page lists all currently defined Amazon environments.AmazonEnvironments.gifTo begin defining an environment, click Add New AddNewIcon.gif. The New Environment page opens.
    NoteUntil you finish providing network information for an environment, the Amazon Environments page shows the environment you define on the New Environment page but the Status column for the new environment shows a Continue button ContinueIcon.gif. Click Continue to display the Networks page for that environment.
  2. Complete the New Environment page.
    The New Environment page lets you provide information that defines a new Amazon environment.NewEnvironmentAmazon.gif
    Option
    Description
    Environment Name
    Name to identify the Amazon environment.
    Description
    Descriptive text for the environment.
    AWS Account
    Name of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) account to use to connect to an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provider instance or Virtual Private Cloud (VPC).
    Amazon Web Service
    One of the following AWS connection options:
    • EC2—Connect to an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.
    • VPC—Connect to an Amazon Virtual Private Cloud. If you select this option, you must have previously used AWS to create a VPC for the Availability Zone you specify with the Amazon Pod option.
    Amazon Pod
    An Amazon Availability Zone.
    Availability Zone or VPC
    Choice of Amazon Availability Zone or Virtual Private Cloud, which determines where in AWS your virtual machines are generated. Availability Zones correspond to geographic areas.
  3. Complete the Networks page.
    The Networks page lists the networks defined for this environment based on the Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) or Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) already selected for this environment. For each network that should be made available to a virtual machine, provide the information listed below.NetworksAmazon.gif
    Option
    Description
    Subnet
    One of the following subnet options:
    • Customer—A default network label for a network container based on Availability Zones. The Customer label does not map to any Amazon entity.
    • Range of IP addresses—The addresses available to the network address.
    Network Alias
    Identifying name for the network being made available to the VM.
  4. Click Save.
    The Amazon environment is complete. The Quick Start home page appears. A green check GreenCheck.gif next to the Add Amazon Environments option indicates creation succeeded.

Quick Start interactions with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management

Click here to learn about the actions Quick Start takes based on your choices in the Add Amazon Environments wizard.

Action

Related information

Onboard network container blueprints by searching for network container blueprints based on an AWS account and either an Amazon Availability Zone or Virtual Private Cloud. Network container blueprints matching those criteria are onboarded.

Create a logical hosting environment for the onboarded network container blueprints.

Create compute pools for a virtual cluster and virtual data store and map the virtual cluster compute pools to a logical hosting environment.

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Adding Amazon services from templates

5StepAmazonBreadcrumbServices.png

You must define a service offering that end users can choose in a service catalog when they are provisioning virtual machines (VMs). Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) can be used as service offerings.

An AMI is a type of pre-configured operating system along with virtual application software that can be used as a template to instantiate a virtual machine within the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). In an EC2 environment, an AMI is the basic unit of service that you can deploy.

To add Amazon services from templates

  1. On the Quick Start home page, click Add Services from EC2 AMIs. The Amazon Services and Templates page opens.
    The Amazon Services and Templates page lists existing AMIs that can be used as service offerings.ServiceOfferingsAmazon.gifTo begin defining a service offering, click Add New AddNewIcon.gif. The New Amazon Services and Templates page opens.
  2. Complete the New Amazon Services and Templates page.
    AmazonServicesTemplates.gif
    Option
    Description
    Name
    Name for the service you want to offer in the service catalog.
    Service Description
    Descriptive text for the service.
    Environment
    Environment created when you added an Amazon environment.
    Network
    Network associated with the environment you selected. If the environment is based on a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and multiple subnets are defined for the environment, you can select one of those subnets. If the environment is based on an Availability Zone, select Customer.
    AMI Type
    One of the following AMI types:
    • Owned—An AMI that can be used by anyone who subscribes to the service that provides it.
    • Private—An AMI to which you have been granted private access.
    • Public—An AMI that can be used by anyone.
    AMI
    Name of the AMI to be used. If the AMI Type is set to Public, you must type the name of the AMI rather than selecting from a list.
    Key Pair Value
    Only available when you set AMI Type to Public. Use Amazon Web Services to create the key pair needed to access an Amazon EC2 instance and obtain the name to be used when the Amazon service is created.
    Default Size
    Amount of computing capacity provided by the AMI.
    Price
    (Optional) Amount a user is charged for use of a virtual machine for a specified period of time. For example, 20 dollars per month.
    Currency
    Type of currency, such as U.S. dollars (USD).
    Period
    Length of time for which a user is charged for use of a virtual machine.
  3. Click Save.
    The Amazon service offerings are complete. The Quick Start home page appears. A green check GreenCheck.gif next to the Add Services from EC2 AMIs option indicates creation succeeded.

Quick Start interactions with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management

Click here to learn about the actions Quick Start takes based on your choices in the Amazon Services and Templates wizard.

Action

Related information

Search for EC2 AMIs based on the selected AWS account and AMI type. Using the results of that search, the system creates a definitive media library (DML) entry in the Product Catalog.

Create a service blueprint, specifying the AMI rather than an operating system

Create a service offering for the service blueprint

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Adding tenants and entitlements

5StepAmazonBreadcrumbTenants.png

You must define the entitlements that are available to tenants. An entitlement is a set of service offerings that a tenant can request. A tenant in BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management can be a company, organization, or any other group of users. By setting up tenants, you can segregate companies or organizations in the cloud. You can also control what entitlement packages are available for each tenant.

To add tenants and entitlements

  1. On the Quick Start home page, click Add Tenants and Entitlements. The Tenants and Entitlements page opens.
    Tenants_Amazon.gif
    To begin creating a user, click Add New AddNewIcon.gif. The Create New Tenant Entitlement page opens.
    Complete the Create New Tenant Entitlement page.
    The Create New Tenant Entitlement page provides the information needed to define a tenant and the entitlements available to the tenant.NewTenant.gif

    Option
    Description
    Name
    Name of the tenant.
    Location
    Location of the tenant.This location is not necessarily the same as the location of a vCenter server you specify when creating a vCenter connector.
    Environment Entitlement
    Associates the tenant with an environment.
    Offering Entitlement
    Identifies the service offerings to which the tenant is entitled. For each offering you select, you must ensure that the associated environment (specified with the Environment Entitlement option) is also selected.

    Note

    If you map multiple environments with different network aliases to a single tenant, subsequent provisioning attempts in BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management may fail with policy validation errors.

    If you map multiple environments created from multiple network pods to a single tenant, provisioning may fail because the environment chosen during provisioning may be incompatible with the VM Template or AMI used for service creation.

    Click here for a workaround to either scenario
    1. Apply the QS_Environments tag to the top-level service blueprint for each environment to be provisioned. For more information about applying tags to service blueprints, see Managing-service-blueprint-tags.
    2. Select the Service Governor workspace. Then select Network Container and add a policy with the following characteristics. For more information on adding policies, see Adding-and-editing-policies.
      • Matches all
      • Service Blueprint matches QS_Environments
  2. Click Save.
    The entitlement is defined for a tenant. The Quick Start home page appears. A green check GreenCheck.gif next to the Add Tenants and Entitlements option indicates creation succeeded.

Quick Start interactions with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management

Click here to learn about the actions Quick Start takes based on your choices in the Tenants and Entitlements wizard.

Action

Related information

Create a tenant company

Select entitlement packages for a tenant

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Adding tenant users

5StepAmazonBreadcrumbUsers.png

You must create users that are associated with a tenant.

To add tenant users

  1. On the Quick Start home page, click Add Tenant Users. The Tenants and Users page opens.
    The Tenants and Users page lists all users, along with their tenancy and role.TenantsUsers.gif
    To begin creating a user, click Add New AddNewIcon.gif.  The Create New Tenant User page opens. 
  2. Complete the Create New Tenant User page.
    The Create New Tenant User page provides the information needed to define a new user for a tenant.NewUser.gif
    Option
    Description
    First Name
    User's first name.
    Last Name
    User's last name.
    Login
    User's logon ID
    Password
    User's password.
    Role
    One of the following user roles:
    • Cloud Admin—Manage the full life cycle of the cloud environment, including its initial planning, deployment, and configuration, and its continued administration, operation, and maintenance.
    • Org Admin—Manage a subset of the cloud to perform tasks such as monitoring usage, administering virtual firewalls, and maintaining virtual load balancers.
    • End User—Request services, such as the deployment of virtual machines (VMs), through the BMC My Cloud Services Console.
    Tenant Company
    Tenant that is associated with this user.
     
  3. Click Save.
    The user is defined for a tenant. The Quick Start home page appears. A green check GreenCheck.gif next to the Add Tenant Users option indicates creation succeeded.

Quick Start interactions with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management

Click here to learn about the actions Quick Start takes based on your choices in the Tenants and Users wizard.

Action

Related information

Add tenant users

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Recovering from failures

If any of the Quick Start operations described above fail, artifacts from the operation may persist within BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management. To ensure that Quick Start is functioning smoothly, you can perform a cleanup procedure.

 

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