5.1

Object Identifier, Type, and Reference
These attributes are common to all object representations.
id
The object identifier, expressed in URN format. The value of the id attribute
uniquely identifies the object, persists for the life of the object, and is never
reused. The id attribute value is intended to provide a context-free identifier
that can be used with the vCloud API entityResolver (see “Retrieve an Object
as an Entity,” on page 312).
type
The object type, specified as a MIME content type.
href
An object reference, expressed in URL format. Because this URL includes the
object identifier portion of the id attribute value, it uniquely identifies the
object, persists for the life of the object, and is never reused. The value of the
href attribute is a reference to a view of the object, and can be used to access a
representation of the object that is valid in a particular context. Although URLs
have a well-known syntax and a well-understood interpretation, a client
should treat each href as an opaque string. The rules that govern how the server
constructs href strings might change in future releases.
Object Creation Status
Objects such as VAppTemplate, VApp, and Vm, that extend the ResourceEntity type have a status attribute whose
value indicates the state of the object. In this table, YES indicates that a status value is allowed for the object
listed in the column header. The status value for a VAppTemplate or VApp, which contain Vm objects that each
have a status attribute of their own, is computed from the status of the contained objects.
Table 12-4. status Attribute
Value Description
vAppTemplat
e vApp Vm Media
-1 The object could not be created. YES YES YES YES
0 The object is unresolved. YES YES YES YES
1 The object is resolved. YES YES YES YES
2 The object is deployed. No No No No
3 The object is suspended. No YES YES No
4 The object is powered on. No YES YES No
5 The object is waiting for user input. No YES YES No
6 The object is in an unknown state. YES YES YES No
7 The object is in an unrecognized state. YES YES YES No
8 The object is powered off. YES YES YES No
9 The object is in an inconsistent state. No YES YES No
10 Children do not all have the same status. YES YES No No
11 Upload initiated, OVF descriptor
pending.
YES No No No
12 Upload initiated, copying contents. YES No No No
13 Upload initiated , disk contents pending. YES No No No
14 Upload has been quarantined. YES No No No
15 Upload quarantine period has expired. YES No No No
Chapter 12 XML Representations in the vCloud API
VMware, Inc. 311