5.6

Elements References
Compute VdcRef
VcloudSession VdcLink
Each reference contains the URL and media type of the referenced object. The following diagram shows
where references provide URLs to other elements (solid black arrow). Additionally, The Compute and
VcloudSession elements contain up links to the ServiceList and Compute elements, respectively.
Figure 1‑1. Link Relationships in the Object Model
Client
Login
▪ auth token
▪ href
▪ VDC href
VdcLink
VcloudSession
VdcLink
Vcloud VDC
services
service
Session ServiceList
Service
▪ serviceType
▪ serviceId
▪ region
▪ href to content
Compute
▪ serviceType=“compute:dc”
▪ serviceId=<assigned>
VcdRef
VcdRef
▪ name
▪ href
▪ region
▪ link to get vcloudsession
When a client creates a session, the client receives a SessionType response, which contains a link to the
services for that vCloud Air account. The client sends a GET request to the service link and receives a list of
services. Each service contains a service type, service ID, region, and an href to the service. When the client
invokes the service href, the client receives a Compute response that contains the type of service, its service
ID, and a list of the virtual data center references. Region refers to a collection of physical data centers that
are located in distinctly separate geographic areas. You select a region or regions when you purchase
compute services. The virtual data center reference contains a link that you can use to log in to vCloud for
the Organization corresponding to the VDCReference.
API Versioning
The schema version of the vCloud Air Platform APIs appears in the values of the xmlns attribute in a
response.
The version format contains the major and minor versions of the release. For example, a response that used
schema version 5.6 would include the following attributes:
xmlns="http://www.vmware.com/vchs/v5.6"
xmlns:tns="http://www.vmware.com/vchs/v5.6"
All requests must include an HTTP Accept header that designates the API version that the client supports.
The header indicates that the request is for version 5.6 of the vCloud Air Platform APIs to use with the
vCloud API. The following formats are valid for the version:
Accept: application/xml;version=5.6
Accept: application/*;version=5.6
Accept: */*;version=5.6
vCloud Air Platform Programmer's Guide
10 VMware, Inc.