Overview of the Azure Provider
This topic, which describes Microsoft Azure Provider, contains the following sections:
Product overview
Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform and infrastructure, created by Microsoft, for building, deploying, and managing applications and services through a global network of data centers managed by Microsoft. Microsoft Azure provides both platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) services and supports various programming languages, tools, and frameworks for both Microsoft and third-party software and systems.
Azure Provider is an integration of Microsoft Azure with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management. Azure Provider leverages the cloud computing services of Microsoft Azure from the BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management – Administration Console. With an Azure Provider, you can extend an existing environment and invest in Microsoft while deploying in a public cloud. With Microsoft Azure virtual machines (VMs), enterprise customers can deploy their own customized Microsoft Windows Server or Linux images into a multizone, commercially backed Service Level Agreement (SLA) production environment in minutes or get started with a preconfigured image from the Microsoft image gallery. Finally, with Microsoft Azure and virtual network technology, the cloud is a seamless extension of your datacenter, taking full advantage of Microsoft System Center, Active Directory, and Visual Studio.
With an Azure Provider integration with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management, you can perform the following actions:
- Provision VMs:
- Provision VMs from an image gallery of prepopulated templates available from Microsoft Azure.
- Provision VMs from custom-built virtual hard disk (VHD) images.
- Attach or detach and use data disks for storage (each disk can be up to 1 TB in size).
- Perform remote actions:
- Log in remotely via Remote Desktop Procedure (RDP), PowerShell, Secure Socket Shell (SSH), or terminal server, to customize VMs.
- Start, stop, or shutdown VMs.
- Modify the CPU count or memory size of provisioned VMs.
- Add a server to an existing service.
- Install software on provisioned VMs (both pre- and post-provisioning) using BMC Server Automation.
- Add local OS users to a provisioned VM.
- Perform networking actions:
- Onboard an Azure network with subnets.
- Place VMs in specific networks or subnets.
- Open or close VM endpoints by using network paths.
High-level tasks for setting up an Azure Provider
The following sections lists the high-level tasks that you must complete to set up an Azure Provider and initiate an Azure service instance.
Cloud administrator tasks
The cloud administrator is an IT professional who is responsible for the full lifecycle of the cloud environment, including initial planning, deployment, and configuration; and continued administration, operation, and maintenance. As a cloud administrator, you can leverage Microsoft Azure in the IaaS provider capability for your development and testing teams. As a Microsoft Software Developer Network (MSDN) subscriber and an enterprise customer, you can have access to an image gallery that contains multiple versions of the Windows server operating system and additional server software such as SQL Server, SharePoint Server and BizTalk Server, enabling you to quickly develop and test components at discounted rates. You can use your own MSDN server software licenses and bits to create VMs tailored to your specific needs.
The following table lists the tasks of a cloud administrator, associated with the stages at which the tasks are required:
Process stage | Task |
|---|---|
You must install the Azure Provider first before using it. | |
Typically you perform the activities of the setup phase of your Azure Provider only once. These activities include configuring the Azure Provider and setting up the Azure account credentials. | |
Onboarding existing Microsoft Azure resources | You can bring existing Microsoft Azure resources, such as Virtual Networks (VNs) and Affinity Groups into BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management by onboarding.
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After you have onboarded the Azure resources, you must configure the onboarded Azure Provider resources to provision an Azure service:
You must also define single or multiple subnets for a Virtual Network and tag the subnets individually, if you want to enable VM placement in specific subnets. | |
In this final phase, you prepare and initiate the service offering request, as described in the following topics:
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Cloud end-user tasks
Cloud end users rely on cloud resources to complete their work. Cloud end users request services, such as the deployment of VMs, by using the BMC My Cloud Services Console. As a BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management end user, you can request and access new Windows server machines and Linux virtual machines in minutes, with the flexibility to adjust usage as needs change. With the pay-as-you-go approach, you pay only for what you use, and there are never any penalties for changing your virtual machine configurations.
The following table lists the tasks of an end user, associated with the stages at which the tasks are required:
Process stage | Task |
|---|---|
Azure construct mappings
The following table lists BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management objects and describes how they correspond to Microsoft Azure constructs.
BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management object | Azure construct | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Logical Data Center | Affinity Group | Microsoft Azure provides an affinity group feature to provide a higher degree of colocation within a data center than would otherwise be possible using random placement. Place associated cloud and storage services within an affinity group to minimize network latency. This minimization is particularly important when a cloud service makes extensive use of storage services. |
Logical Hosting Environment (LHE) | Affinity Group and Virtual Network | Microsoft Azure virtual network provides you with the capability to extend your network into Microsoft Azure and treat deployments in Windows as natural extensions to your on-premises network. |
Logical Network | Subnet | These IP addresses are used for the subnets (for example, gateways and so on) created in a virtual network. |
SOI | CloudService | A cloud service in Microsoft Azure is based on a service model. The service model provides definition settings for the cloud service and configuration values for those settings. |
Tenant+Region | Storage | Each combination of a tenant with a region has a unique storage location in Microsoft Azure. |
Logical Communication Path (LCP) or Network Path | Endpoint | A Microsoft Azure endpoint has a public port and a private port. Resources can connect to an endpoint by using either the TCP or the UDP protocol. The TCP protocol includes HTTP and HTTPS communication. |
Version 1.0.00 of the Azure Provider
This section provides the information about version 1.0.00 of the Azure Provider.
Release contents
This release contains the Azure Provider installer.
Product compatibility
This release integrates with the following products:
- BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management 4.0.00
- Microsoft Windows Azure Service Management REST API Version 2013-08-01
Limitations
Following are the limitations of the Azure Provider:
- If the provisioned Azure VM is restarted or shutdown prior to executing the post-deployment software install, software install fails due to change in the IP address of the provisioned VM.
- If the RSCD 4750 port is open and you perform the add server operation on an Azure VM, the server gets added, but the RSCD 4750 port and software install does not work.