7.1

Software Component Considerations for Nesting Blueprints
For scalable blueprints, it is a best practice to create single layer blueprints that do not reuse other
blueprints. Normally, update processes during scale operations are triggered by implicit dependencies such
as dependencies you create when you bind a software property to a machine property. However, implicit
dependencies in a nested blueprint do not always trigger update processes. If you need to use nested
blueprints in a scalable blueprint, you can manually draw dependencies between components in your
nested blueprint to create explicit dependencies that always trigger an update.
Selecting a Machine Component that Supports Software Components
You deliver Software components by placing them on top of supported machine components when you
assemble blueprints.
To support Software components, the machine blueprint you select must contain a machine component
based on a template, snapshot, or Amazon machine image that contains the guest agent and the Software
bootstrap agent, and it must use a supported provisioning method. Because the Software agents do not
support Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), ensure that machine blueprints, reservations, and networking
and security components you are using are congured to use IPv4 and not IPv6. If you are designing
blueprints to be scalable, it is a best practice to create single layer blueprints that do not reuse other
blueprints. Normally, update processes during scale operations are triggered by implicit dependencies such
as dependencies you create when you bind a software property to a machine property. However, implicit
dependencies in a nested blueprint do not always trigger update processes.
While IaaS architects, application architects, and software architects can all assemble blueprints, only IaaS
architects can congure machine components. If you are not an IaaS architect, you cannot congure your
own machine components, but you can reuse machine blueprints that your IaaS architect created and
published. If you need to use nested blueprints in a scalable blueprint, you can manually draw
dependencies between components in your nested blueprint to create explicit dependencies that always
trigger an update.
Table 4‑47. Provisioning Methods that Support Software
Machine Type Provisioning Method
vSphere Clone
vSphere Linked Clone
vCloud Director Clone
vCloud Air Clone
Amazon AWS Amazon Machine Image
Creating Property Bindings Between Blueprint Components
In several deployment scenarios, a component needs the property value of another component to customize
itself. You can bind properties of XaaS, machines, Software, and custom properties to other properties in a
blueprint.
For example, your software architect might modify property denitions in the life cycle scripts of a WAR
component. A WAR component might need the installation location of the Apache Tomcat server
component, so your software architect congures the WAR component to set the server_home property
value to the Apache Tomcat server install_path property value. As the architect assembling the blueprint,
you have to bind the server_home property to the Apache Tomcat server install_path property for the
Software component to provision successfully.
Configuring vRealize Automation
352 VMware, Inc.