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
vCloud API Object Metadata Limits
The following limits apply to vCloud API object metadata:
Metadata key size
The contents of a Key element in a MetadataEntry cannot exceed 256 UTF-8
characters.
Metadata size
The size of all Metadata for an object, computed as the sum of all Key and
TypedValue UTF-8 strings in all MetadataEntry elements in the GENERAL domain,
cannot exceed 128 KB. An additional 16KB of MetadataEntry content can be
created in the SYSTEM domain.
MetadataEntry limit
The total metadata associated with an object cannot exceed 1024
MetadataEntry elements in the GENERAL domain and 128 MetadataEntry
elements in the SYSTEM domain.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“Retrieve or Update a Metadata Element,” on page 241
n
“Retrieve or Update a Metadata Value,” on page 244
Retrieve or Update a Metadata Element
A system administrator or the owner of an object can create, retrieve, or update the object's Metadata element.
This element contains all object metadata, and operations that modify it merge the modifications with existing
contents.
When you create an object, its representation contains an empty Metadata element. A system administrator or
the object owner can add metadata by updating the Metadata element with new MetadataEntry elements. Each
of these elements contains a Key and a TypedValue. The contents of the Key element define the key name, which
must be unique within the scope of the object's metadata. You can modify the value associated with an existing
key. See “Retrieve or Update a Metadata Value,” on page 244.
NOTE The Key element cannot contain a semicolon character (;). In addition, several other character sequences
are not allowed, or not allowed in certain positions.
Table 8-3. Content Restrictions for Key
Cannot Contain Cannot Start with Cannot End with
/../ ./ /.
/./ ../ /..
Prerequisites
Verify that you have rights to read or modify the metadata. See “Access Control for vCloud API Object
Metadata,” on page 240
Procedure
1 Retrieve the representation of the object.
Examine the response to find its metadata link. This example shows the metadata link from an Org.
<Link
rel="down"
type="application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.metadata+xml"
href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/org/26/metadata"/>
Chapter 8 Working With Object Metadata
VMware, Inc. 241