1.5
Table Of Contents
- vCloud API Programming Guide
- Contents
- vCloud API Programming Guide
- About the VMware vCloud API
- Hello vCloud: A Simplified RESTful Workflow
- Exploring a Cloud
- Provisioning an Organization with vApps, Templates, and Media
- Deploying and Operating vApps
- Summary of vCloud API vApp and Virtual Machine Operations Requests
- Create a vApp From a Template
- Compose a vApp From Existing Virtual Machines
- Recompose a vApp to Add or Remove Virtual Machines
- Operate a vApp
- Configuring vApps and Virtual Machines
- Retrieve the Configuration Links for a vApp
- Retrieve the Configuration Links for a Virtual Machine
- Retrieve or Update a Modifiable Section
- Update a vApp Network Configuration
- Update the NetworkConnectionSection of a Virtual Machine
- Retrieve or Modify the CPU Configuration of a Virtual Machine
- Retrieve or Modify the GuestCustomizationSection of a Virtual Machine
- Retrieve or Modify ProductSection Elements
- Retrieve or Modify Groups of Related Sections in a Virtual Machine
- Retrieve or Modify the Hard Disk Configuration of a Virtual Machine
- Creating, Provisioning, and Managing Organizations
- Summary of Administrative Requests
- Administrator Credentials and Privileges
- Organization Administration
- Network Administration
- vDC Administration
- Catalog Administration
- User and Group Administration
- Working With Roles and Rights
- Controlling Access to vApps and Catalogs
- Using vCloud API Extensions to Provision and Manage a Cloud
- Working With Object Metadata
- Using the Query Service
- Configuring and Using Blocking Tasks and Notifications
- XML Representations in the vCloud API
- Index
Hello vCloud: A Simplified RESTful
Workflow 2
vCloud API clients and vCloud Director servers communicate over HTTP, exchanging XML representations
of vCloud API objects.
This simplified example of a RESTful workflow includes requests that discover and deploy a particular vApp,
in this case, an FTP server with a connection to the public Internet.
These examples assume that you have access to a catalog that includes a vApp template with certain
characteristics and an organization network that supports connections to the public Internet. The workflow
and examples are flexible, and can accommodate various vApp templates and cloud capabilities.
1 Logging In on page 24
vCloud Director requires API requests to be authenticated. The first step in any RESTful workflow is to
obtain an authentication token.
2 Find a Catalog and a vDC on page 26
Before you can deploy a vApp, you must find a vApp template in one of your organization's catalogs
and a vDC in your organization to use for the deployment.
3 Retrieve the Contents of a Catalog on page 27
You can make a GET request to a catalog URL to retrieve a list of vApp templates and media images
available from the catalog.
4 Retrieve a Catalog Item on page 28
You can examine the list of items in a catalog to find items of interest based on the values of their name
and type attributes. You must retrieve a catalog item to get a Description and a usable reference to the
underlying object.
5 Retrieve Deployment Information From the vDC on page 30
To deploy your template as a vApp, you must specify a vDC to deploy it in and a network to connect it
to.
6 Deploy the vApp on page 31
To deploy the vApp, you construct an InstantiateVAppTemplateParams element that specifies a vApp
template to use and a network to connect to, then POST the element to the
action/instantiateVAppTemplate URL of the vDC.
7 Get Information About a vApp on page 34
When you instantiate a vApp template, the server returns the URL of the resulting vApp. You can use
this URL with a GET request to retrieve information that you can use to connect to the vApp, modify its
configuration, and operate it.
VMware, Inc.
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