Add SCVMM Services to the Catalog

Access:

Configuration > Self-Service

Available to:

Commander Roles of Superuser and Enterprise Admin

To add a new service:

  1. Click the Catalog tab.
  2. On the Catalog page, click Add Service.

    As a shortcut, you can select an existing service in the list and click Copy. This option can save you time because it copies much of the service's existing configuration.

  3. Continue to the next section for information on the wizard pages.
  • We recommend the use of multi-cloud templates for all services in your catalog, for easier maintenance and greater flexibility. For more information, see Add Multi-Cloud Services to the Catalog.
  • When viewing a Service Catalog entry's details, a View Source link takes you to the source template in the Applications view, or the source VM in the Infrastructure view.

Service Description page

Customize display options for this service.

Field

Description

Name

The display name for this service in the Service Catalog (maximum 100 characters).

This name is used as the label for the Service section of the Request New Service form. Choose a distinctive Service Name to help requesters fill out the form.

Description

Optional; up to 1000 characters.

Along with the Name field, the Description field is used in Service Catalog searches, so adding a description can help users find service catalog entries.

Icon

Select an available icon, or click Manage Icons to add an icon. For more information, see Manage icons for the service catalog.

Categories

To help users find this service in a long list, choose one or more categories from those available, or click Manage Categories to add a category. For more information, see Manage Service Catalog categories.

If the service-level form elements such as Quantity and Expiry Date don't make sense for this service, clear the Display service form when this service is requested to hide the service portion of the service request form.

Components page

On this page, you add templates, VMs and custom components to the service.

If you want to replace a template with a newer version, see Replace templates in the service catalog.

To add a VM component to the service:

  1. Click Add and select VM Template, Image or AMI.
  2. In the dialog that appears, select a component.
  3. Use the tree or enter text in the search field to narrow the component list. The search field searches the Name and Guest OS properties for VMs.

    All components in a Service Catalog entry must belong to the same cloud account.

  4. Optional: To display VMs in the component list as well as templates, enable Allow VMs in Catalog.
  5. Optional: Use the Name field to customize the display name for this component in the Service Catalog (maximum 100 characters).
  6. This is the component name that a user sees when completing a service request form.

  7. Click Add to Service.

To add a new custom component type to the service:

  1. Click Add > New Component Type.
  2. Provide a name (maximum 64 characters), optional description and the annual cost.

    See also Manage component types for the service catalog.

To add an existing custom component type to the service:

  1. Click Add and select the component type from the menu.
  2. If more than five custom component types already exist, you need to instead select Custom Type from the menu, and in the Select Custom Component Type dialog, select a component from the list.

When you have finished adding components, click Close to return to the wizard.

  • The maximum number of components in a service is 15.
    • If you upgraded from release 5.2 or earlier, you can select whether to use the Blueprint model or the Legacy model:
      • If you select the model (recommended), you customize the Component form within the service catalog entry itself. Component forms customized in the Form Designer are ignored for Blueprint service catalog entries.
      • If you continue to use the model, you must customize both Service and Component forms in the Form Designer. See Add Services to the Catalog – Legacy Model for details on the rest of the wizard when using the legacy model. Note that the Legacy model is deprecated and will be removed in a future release.

At this point, you can click Finish and continue editing the service catalog entry later if you wish. Or, click Next to customize the service.

Component-specific pages

A subpage is added to the Add Service wizard for each component you added to the service.

On each subpage, you see tabs allowing you to customize options for each component in the service. At minimum, you see Infrastructure, Resources, Attributes and Form tabs. If you have integrated with external systems such as Puppet or Chef, additional tabs allow further customization.

Blueprint button bar

Adding elements to the Form tab allows requesters to change the default settings you configure on the other tabs.

If a user requests changes from the default settings configured in the service catalog, these changes are displayed in approval emails, on the approval landing page, and in the Request Details dialog.

Infrastructure tab

Set infrastructure options for this specific component.

Field

Description

Name

Optional: Customize the display name for this component in the Service Catalog (maximum 100 characters). A user sees the component name when viewing service details and when completing a service request form.

This name is used as the label for the Component section of the Request New Service form. Choose a distinctive component name to help requesters fill out the form.

Description

Optional: Customize the description for this component in the Service Catalog (maximum 1000 characters). A user sees the component description when viewing service details and when completing a service request form.

Deployed Name

Specify the name for deployed instances of this component.

Select Use default naming format to use the default naming convention, or specify a customized deployed name.

Click Configure global text replacement rules to shorten your component names. See also Set up text replacement rules for service names.

Annual Cost
(Custom components only)

The preconfigured annual cost is displayed. You can change it in the Manage component types for the service catalog.

Completion Workflow

If you have set up one or more component-level completion workflows, you can select one from the drop-down menu.

Completion workflows allow you to specify actions to be carried out after deployment.

You can click Add Workflow to create a new workflow.

You can click Edit Workflow to edit the workflow that's currently selected in the drop-down list. Note that when you edit the workflow using this link, you're editing the workflow for all of the components or services it's assigned to.

While it's possible to create completion workflows for all component types, they are especially recommended for all custom components. If no completion workflow is assigned, a custom component moves immediately to the Completed state once approved. A completion workflow allows for provisioning steps to be carried out before the component moves to Completed. The completion workflow for a database instance, for example, could include a script to create the database.

Resources tab

Set default resource values for this specific VM or template component. You can click Use source template settings to discard all changes (or, for a VM component, click Use source VM settings).

Field

Description

CPU Count

Set the default number of CPUs for this specific component.

Memory

Set the default memory requirements for this specific component.

Disks

Set the default storage requirements for this specific component. For existing disks, you can change the disk size and storage tier. You can also add disks, set the size, and set the storage tier. Enable the Locked option to stop Service Portal users from modifying a hard disk in a service request.

You must ensure that datastores are available to back all storage tiers in use.

You can't resize the base disk.

Network

Set the default networking information for this specific component.

Select a network zone for each adapter from the drop-down menu.

Add adapters by clicking the Add Adapter link, and then set the required network zone.

  • The network zone and storage tier set for a requested service are used to determine the provisioning destination, which in turn affects costs displayed for the published service.
  • If you're using network zones, to prevent automated deployment failure, you must either configure a default network zone on the Resources tab or add the Network element to the Form tab (or both).
  • If a network zone assigned to a service catalog component is deleted, the service is marked as corrupt and can't be requested.
  • If you don't add the Storage element and/or the Network element to the Form tab, the default values you configure on the Resources tab are used to determine placement, which defines what destinations appear on the Service form. For more information, see Service Request Form Elements.

Attributes tab: Custom Attributes

Set custom attributes and their default values for this specific component. On the Form tab, you can allow requesters to set values for custom attributes. If you don't specify a default value, no default is set for the component. If you add an attribute on the Form tab, the default value you set on the Attributes tab is presented to the requester as the default value.

To be able to add a custom attribute for this component on the request form, you must add the custom attribute on the Attributes tab first.

If custom attributes were defined for the source VM template, they are prepopulated here. Click Delete Attribute if you don't want this attribute to apply to this service component.

Custom attributes defined for source VM templates aren't displayed for multi-cloud services.

Click Add Attributes to select from the list of existing custom attributes. In the Add Attributes dialog, Form attributes and custom attributes applicable to the current component type are displayed.

To edit existing custom attributes, click Manage Attributes. On the Custom Attributes page, you can add and edit custom attributes. Click the browser's Back button to return to the Attributes tab.

If you add list-type custom attributes that are interrelated, the attributes are displayed in the order of parent to child to grandchild (if applicable). Your selection of a default value for the parent affects the selectable values for the sublist attribute. For more information, see Create Relationships Between Attributes Used on Forms.

Attributes tab: Groups

Set the default groups for this component. To learn about groups, including other methods for assigning groups to new services, see Manage Service Groups.

If this component is a VM or VM template, groups assigned to the source template or VM aren't prepopulated on the Attributes tab.

Click Add Groups to select one or more group types and click OK. On the Attributes tab, select a group from the relevant menu.

To add, edit, or delete groups, click Manage Groups; when finished, click your browser's Back button to return to the Attributes tab.

Puppet tab

If you have integrated a Puppet server with Commander, Puppet environments, classes and groups are displayed on the Puppet tab for service components. Select an environment for the VM component. Once you select an environment, only those classes and groups found in that environment are available for selection.

You can select one or more default classes and groups. Ctrl-click to select multiple classes and groups.

Assign classes to nodes indirectly by assigning groups to nodes, rather than directly assigning classes to nodes. If you use the Configure Puppet workflow step to assign classes and variables to a node, Commander creates a group with the same name as the node and pins the node to the group. A parent group named "vCommander" is also created to contain these groups.

You can also allow users to select classes and/or groups on the Form tab. You can then use variables to return the requested values through a completion workflow. For more information, see Integrate Puppet with Commander.

Chef tab

If you have integrated one or more Chef servers or organizations with Commander, Chef information is displayed on the Chef tab for service components.

If you have added multiple Chef servers or organizations, select a server or organization from the Chef Organization menu. Otherwise, the Chef organization is displayed as a read-only value.

Select an environment from the Chef Environment menu. The roles and recipes for the selected environment are displayed.

Select one or more default roles and recipes from the Available Roles and Recipes pick-list. Ctrl-click to select multiple roles and recipes. Use the arrow buttons between the lists to move your selections into the Current Run-List. Then order the roles and recipes properly.

If you don't select default roles and recipes, no defaults are applied.

You can then use variables to return your selections through a completion workflow. For more information, see Integrate Chef with Commander.

Form tab

On this tab, you customize the form users see when they request this specific component. Adding elements to the Form tab allows requesters to change the default settings you configured on the other tabs.

If you leave the Form tab blank for all components added to the service, users won't see a component form when they request a service; they will see only the service-level form page provided by the new service request definition. For more information, see Create New Service Requests.

Form Element

Description

Header

Adds heading text to the form.

Text

Adds explanatory text to the form.

Input Text Field

Allows the requester to enter a value, such as a note or a password.

Important: If users will enter a password on the request form, enable Hide User Input. When Hide User Input is enabled:

  • Asterisks (*) are displayed for this field value in the Request Details dialog, emails, and landing pages.
  • The password is stored, encrypted, in the Commander database.
  • The plain-text password can be accessed through the approval workflow variable #{request.services[x].components[x].settings.inputField['field name']}. For example, if you set the Display Label for the Input Text Field to "Password", you would access the password in an approval workflow script with the variable #{request.services[1].components[1].settings.inputField['Password']}.
  • If a request containing a password is copied, the password is blanked out.

Dynamic List

Allows the requester to select options from lists that are updated in real time from an external source. If the lists can depend on other form elements, the selection of one form element can dictate the available choices for another list. For more information, see Add Dynamic Lists to Forms.

File Upload

Allows the requester to upload files during the service request process. Uploaded files are added to the VM's local directory as configured in the completion workflow using the Copy Uploaded File workflow step. This allows for more flexibility when scripting unattended installations and additional VM configurations. The file upload functionality can be used with Chef or Puppet for enhanced VM deployment and orchestration. For more information, see Integrate Chef with Commander or Integrate Puppet with Commander.

CPU Count
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify or change CPU count requirements for a VM component. You can limit the number of CPUs that users can request by entering a comma-separated list of values (for example, 1,2,4).

Memory
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify or change memory requirements for a VM component. You can limit the amount of memory that users can request.

Storage
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify or change storage requirements. The selectable storage tier labels can be customized.

You must ensure that datastores are available to back all storage tiers in use.

The Storage form element works together with the Destination form element on the Service form (see Service Request Form Elements). If you add the Destination element to the Service form and enable the Limit Selections option, the storage tiers and network zones configured for the selected deployment destination are shown on the form, rather than those you configured for the Storage element and the Network element. The Limit Selections option ensures that users don't select a storage tier or network zone that's unavailable on the target destination.

Allowed Actions: Specify whether the requester can Add disks, Change disks, and Remove disks.

If you specify that the user can change existing disks, specify the Maximum Disk Size.

If you specify that the user can both add and change disks, specify the Maximum Disk Size and Maximum Extra Disks.

Network
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to change or add network adapters for a VM component by choosing a network zone. The number of network adapters shown on the form matches the number of NICs on the source template.

When this element is on the form:

  • automatically deployed VMs can only be assigned to networks in the listed network zones, so you must assign network zones;
  • and if multiple destinations are available to a user, with different networks configured for each destination, you must also add the Destination form element to the Service form (see Service Request Form Elements). If a requester wants to select a network zone that's not available on the default destination, they need to be able to select another destination.

Selectable Zones: Choose one or more network zones that users may select.

Allowed Actions: Select the actions that requesters can perform with respect to network selection:

  • Add adapter: Network zones are not shown on the form if you select this option; adapters are labeled Adapter 1, Adapter 2, and so on, and Commander assigns the network of the first NIC of the deployed VM to all added adapters.
  • Change network zone
  • Add adapter and change network zone

Component Name
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify the deployed name of a VM component. The Maximum Length field allows you to change the maximum number of characters (default: 50). See also Order of precedence for deployed service names.

Attributes

Allows the requester to specify custom attribute values for a component.

If you added custom attributes on the Attributes tab, or if custom attributes were assigned to the source template or VM, these attributes appear under Attributes.

Click a custom attribute to add it to the form.

If the attribute is a list-type attribute and configured to apply only to forms, you can enable Select Multiple to allow users to select multiple values for this attribute. For more information, see Form custom attributes.

If you add a custom attribute to component through the Form tab and add the same attribute to the service form (see Create New Service Requests), the value specified on the service form takes precedence.

Puppet Classes
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify Puppet classes for a VM component. This form element appears only if a Puppet server is integrated with Commander. If a Puppet environment was selected on the Puppet tab, only classes found in the specified environment can be selected on the form. See Integrate Puppet with Commander for details.

Assign classes to nodes indirectly by assigning groups to nodes, rather than directly assigning classes to nodes. If you use the Configure Puppet workflow step to assign classes and variables to a node, Commander creates a group with the same name as the node and pins the node to the group. A parent group named "Commander" is also created to contain these groups.

Puppet Groups
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify Puppet groups for a VM component. This form element appears only if a Puppet server is integrated with Commander. If a Puppet environment was selected on the Puppet tab, only groups found in the specified environment can be selected on the form. See Integrate Puppet with Commander for details.

Chef Run-List
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to configure a Chef run-list for a VM component. This form element appears only if a Chef server is integrated with Commander. See Integrate Chef with Commander for details.

The Chef Run-List form element can't co-exist with either the Chef Recipes or the Chef Roles form element.

Chef Recipes
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify Chef recipes for a VM component. This form element appears only if a Chef server is integrated with Commander. See Integrate Chef with Commander for details.

The Chef Run-List form element can't co-exist with either the Chef Recipes or the Chef Roles form element.

Chef Roles
(Templates and VMs only)

Allows the requester to specify Chef roles for a VM component. This form element appears only if a Chef server is integrated with Commander. See Integrate Chef with Commander for details.

The Chef Run-List form element can't co-exist with either the Chef Recipes or the Chef Roles form element.

Deployment page

When you've finished setting options for each component in the service, specify deployment options for the entire service.

Field

Description

Deployment Order

Applies only to VM components. Some components in a multi-tier service may require other components to be started and running before they can start.

Within each group, components are sorted in alphabetical order. Components are deployed serially, not in parallel.

An administrator can override this deployment order by manually deploying components in a different order.

Completion Workflow

If you have set up one or more service-level completion workflows, you can select one from the drop-down menu.

Completion workflows allow you to specify actions to be carried out after deployment.

You can click Add Workflow to create a new workflow.

You can click Edit Workflow to edit the workflow that's currently selected in the drop-down list. Note that when you edit the workflow using this link, you're editing the workflow for all of the components or services it's assigned to.

Highly Available

If you enable this option, all components in the service will be highly available.

An administrator can override this option during manual deployment. If this option is enabled, automated deployment will use a deployment destination that supports high availability.

Start Deployed Components

By default, VMs are powered on during deployment. If you want to deploy VMs in this service in a powered-off state, disable this option.

Placement page

When you assign a placement attribute value to a published service, you're identifying the requirements of that published service to help ensure that services are deployed to the best destination.

  1. Click Edit Placement Attributes.
  2. In the Edit Placement Attributes dialog, in the Not Required pane, select an attribute value that's provided by this destination and click Add to move it to the Required pane.
  3. Click OK to close the Edit Placement Attributes dialog.
  4. The placement attribute values you've assigned to this service are displayed on the Placement page.
  5. For a placement attribute with selectable values, use the Up and Down arrow buttons to order the attribute values by preference. For example, if a service can be deployed on either private or public cloud, but private cloud is preferable, make sure the Private Cloud attribute value is first in the list.

For more information, see Configure Placement Attributes.

Visibility page

Specify which users and groups can request this service.

Field

Description

Do not publish

The service is in the catalog but is not available for selection (temporarily disabled).

See also Permanently remove services from the Service Catalog.

Publish - Global

The service is available to all organizations, users and groups.

Publish - Specific organizations, users and groups

The service is available to the specified organizations, users and groups.

Under Organizations, select an organization from the drop-down menu and click Add. Under Users/Groups, enter the user/group name or email address for one or more users or groups and click Add. You can assign a service to both organizations and users/groups.

When an organization member requests this service, the deployed service will automatically be assigned to the organization, with the requester as primary owner.

Summary page

Review the details and click Finish.

The service that you added or changed is displayed in the Service Catalog List View or Table View.