5.5
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
- 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 or vApp Template as OVF
- Upload a Media Image
- Download a Media Image
- Capturing and Importing vApps
- Managing Catalog Items
- Creating and Using Independent Disks
- View or Change the Owner of an Object
- Controlling Access to vApps and Catalogs
- Deploying and Operating vApps
- Summary of vCloud API vApp and Virtual Machine Operations Requests
- Create a vApp From a Template
- Create a vApp From an OVF Package
- Compose a vApp From Existing Virtual Machines
- Recompose a vApp to Add or Remove Virtual Machines
- Clone a vApp
- Capture a vApp as a Template
- Update vApp Access Controls
- 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
- Managing and Monitoring a Cloud
- Summary of System Administration 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
Table 4‑1. Summary of Provisioning Requests (Continued)
Operation Request Request Body Response
Retrieve properties of an
independent disk.
GET API-URL/disk/id None
Disk
Update an independent disk
in a VDC.
POST API-URL/disk/id
Disk Disk
Retrieve a list of all virtual
machines attached to an
independent disk.
GET API-
URL/disk/id/attachedVms
None
Vms
Delete an independent disk. DELETE API-URL/disk/id None
Task
Upload an OVF Package to Create a vApp Template
A vCloud API client that has access to an OVF package can use a standard workflow to upload the package
and create a vApp template.
The initial configuration of a vApp is established in the OVF package on which its source template is based.
In the vCloud API, vApp templates are based OVF 1.0, an open standard format. For more information
about OVF and how the vCloud API uses it, see “About OVF,” on page 89.
An OVF package includes several kinds of files.
An OVF descriptor
An XML file that contains metadata that describe a virtual machine or
collection of related virtual machines and the deployment environment they
require. By convention, this file has the suffix .ovf.
Virtual disk files
The descriptor lists these files and includes information about their format.
An optional certificate
You can use this file to certify the authenticity of the package.
An optional manifest
Contains a SHA-1 digest of each of the files in the package.
Upload Workflow
The upload workflow for OVF packages uses a combination of vCloud API requests and standard HTTP file
transfer requests.
1 The client makes a POST request to the catalog chosen to hold the template derived form the uploaded
OVF. The request body specifies a name, description, and other parameters used when creating the
template.
2 The server returns a CatalogItem that references a vApp template.
3 The client makes a GET request to the entity reference in the CatalogItem to retrieve the VAppTemplate,
which includes an upload URL for the OVF descriptor. Because the template is not yet complete, the
VAppTemplate element has status="0".
4 The client makes a PUT request to the upload URL and supplies the OVF descriptor in the request
body.
5 The server processes the descriptor and modifies the vAppTemplate to include an upload URL for each
file listed in the References section of the descriptor. While the server is modifying the vAppTemplate,
the client makes periodic requests for it and examines the response for additional upload URLs. When
the response contains additional upload URLs that were not present in the initial response, template
construction is complete.
6 The client uses PUT requests to upload each of the files.
vCloud API Programming Guide
58 VMware, Inc.