5.1
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
- Summary of vCloud API Browsing Requests
- Retrieve the Login URL and List of Supported API Versions
- Create a Login Session Using the Integrated Identity Provider
- Retrieve a List of Organizations Accessible to You
- Retrieve an Administrative View of a Cloud
- Retrieve a List of vSphere Platform Operations and Objects for a Cloud
- Provisioning an Organization
- Summary of vCloud API Provisioning Requests
- Upload an OVF Package to Create a vApp Template
- Download a vApp Template as OVF
- Upload a Media Image
- Copying and Moving with the vCloud API
- Capturing and Importing vApps
- Cataloging vApp Templates and Media Images
- Creating and Using Independent Disks
- View or Change the Owner of an Object
- 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
- Provide User Input Requested by a Virtual Machine
- Attach or Detach an Independent Disk
- Creating and Using vApp Snapshots
- Operate a vApp
- Configuring vApps and Virtual Machines
- Retrieve the Configuration Links for a vApp
- Retrieve the Configuration Links for a Virtual Machine
- Update Multiple Sections of 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
- Update the Storage Profile for a Virtual Machine
- Creating and Managing Organizations
- Summary of Administrative Requests
- Administrator Credentials and Privileges
- Organization Administration
- vDC Administration
- Network Administration
- Catalog Administration
- User and Group Administration
- Working With Roles and Rights
- Controlling Access to vApps and Catalogs
- Managing and Monitoring a Cloud
- Summary of vSphere Platform Extension Requests
- Retrieve or Update System Settings
- Attach a vCenter Server
- Finding Available vCenter Resources
- Create a Provider vDC
- Create an External Network
- Create a Network Pool
- Import a Virtual Machine from vCenter
- Relocate a Virtual Machine to a Different Datastore
- Truststore and Keytab Maintenance
- Retrieve the vSphere URL of an Object
- Working With Object Metadata
- Using the Query Service
- Configuring and Using Blocking Tasks and Notifications
- vCloud Director Extension Services
- XML Representations in the vCloud API
- Index
Requests that specify API version 5.1 cannot access objects that do not exist in
the vCloud API version 5.1 namespace.
Accept-Encoding
By default, vCloud Director returns response content as uncompressed XML.
Compressing the response can improve performance, especially when the
response is large and network bandwidth is a factor. (Requests cannot be
compressed.) To request a response to be returned as compressed XML, include
the following header:
Accept-Encoding: gzip
The response is encoded using gzip encoding as described in RFC 1952, and
includes the following header:
Content-Encoding: gzip
In the default configuration, responses smaller than 64KB are never
compressed.
Authorization
All requests from authenticated clients must include an Authorization header.
See “Logging In,” on page 24 for details about the value of this header.
Content-Type
Requests that include a body must start with the appropriate HTTP Content-
Type header. Content types for all elements are included in the schema
reference. In addition, the type attribute of a response body indicates the
content type of the document. For example, this response fragment indicates
that the content type associated with a CatalogItem object is
application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.catalogItem+xml.
<CatalogItem
type="application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.catalogItem+xml"
href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalogItem/221"
name="Ubuntu Template with vsftpd"/>
A POST or PUT request that supplies a CatalogItem in the request body
requires the following Content-Type header:
Content-Type: application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.catalogItem+xml
When it appears as the value of a Content-Type header or the type attribute of
an element in the vCloud API, this string is case-insensitive in requests, and
can be returned in either mixed case or lowercase characters in responses.
Request Bodies
vCloud Director uses a validating XML parser that requires elements in a request body to agree with the schema
in order and number. Request bodies are rejected as invalid unless they meet the following criteria:
n
XML namespace attributes must be supplied for all namespaces represented by elements in the request.
See “XML Namespace Identifiers,” on page 309.
n
If multiple namespaces are represented in the request, XML namespace attributes must include an
identifying prefix, and that prefix must be used with all elements from that namespace.
n
All required elements must appear in request bodies. All elements that appear in request bodies must
appear in the order that the schema establishes, and with content that conforms to the type constraint that
the schema specifies.
Chapter 1 About the VMware vCloud API
VMware, Inc. 19