User`s guide

Object Taxonomy
The vCloud API defines a set of objects common to cloud computing environments. An understanding of these
objects, their properties, and their relationships is essential to using the vCloud API.
Figure 1-1. vCloud API Object Taxonomy
Catalog 2
Catalogitem
em
em
em
Catalog 1
Catalog 3
vDC2
Catalogitem
Catalogitem
Catalogitem
Catalogitem
users
Media
vApp
template
Media
vApp
TasksList
Organization
vDC1
Media
vApp
template
Media
vApp
Catalogitem
em
em
em
groups
Network
Network
vCloud API objects have the following high-level properties:
Organizations
A cloud can contain one or more organizations. Each organization is a unit of
administration for a collection of users, groups, and computing resources.
Users authenticate at the organization level, supplying credentials established
when the user was created or imported. User credentials are authenticated by
the organization's identity provider, which can be either the integrated identity
provider included in vCloud Director or an external SAML-based identity
provider.
Users and Groups
An organization can contain an arbitrary number of users and groups. Users
can be created by the organization administrator or imported from an LDAP
directory service or SAML-based identity provider. Groups must be imported.
Permissions within an organization are controlled through the assignment of
rights and roles to users and groups.
Catalogs
Catalogs contain references to virtual systems and media images. A catalog can
be shared to make it visible to other members of an organization, and can be
published to make it visible to administrators in other organizations. A system
administrator specifies which organizations can publish catalogs, and an
organization administrator controls access to catalogs by organization
members.
vCloud SDK for PHP Developer's Guide
8 VMware, Inc.