Are there working examples for writing custom reports for my needs?

You can find examples of writing custom reports at http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​dam/​en/​us/​td/​docs/​unified_computing/​ucs/​ucs-director/​cloupia-script-cookbook/​5-0/​CloupiaScript-Cookbook.pdf

What reports are available to the end-users and administrators?

The following reports are available for the end-users and the administrators:

1. Administrators

   • Summary Report —This report lists the container details including the name, template type, and the date it was created and provides consolidated information about all the provisioned VMs and their status in the container.

   • Detailed Report without Credentials—This report lists the VM name and type, the resource consumption details (disk size, memory, and CPU), details of the network interface, hostname and status, and port mappings for the container without specific credentials.

   • Detailed Report with Credentials—This report lists the VM name and type, resource consumption details (disk size, memory, and CPU), hostname and status, details of the network interface, and port mappings for the container along with the specific credentials.

   • Detailed Report without Credentials (for Administrators)—This report lists the VM name and type information about resource pools, resource consumption details (disk size, memory, and CPU), details of the network interface, hostname and status, and the container port groups without specific admin credentials.

   • Detailed Report without Credentials (for Administrators)—This report lists the VM name and type, information about resource pools, resource consumption details (disk size, memory, and CPU), CSR virtual appliances deployed by Cisco VACS and their license states, details of the network interface, hostname and status, and the container port groups with specific admin credentials.

2. End users

   • Summary Report —This report lists the container details including the name, template type, and the date it was created and provides consolidated information about all the provisioned VMs and their status in the container.

   • Detailed Report without Credentials—This report lists the VM name and type, the resource consumption details (disk size, memory, and CPU), details of the network interface, hostname and status, and port mappings for the container without specific credentials.

   • Detailed Report with Credentials—This report lists the VM name and type, resource consumption details (disk size, memory, and CPU), hostname and status, details of the network interface, and port mappings for the container along with the specific credentials.

What are the default workflows that come with a Cisco VACS installation?

The default workflows are listed in Cisco UCS Director under Policies > Orchestration > VACS.

Are there working examples for writing custom tasks and custom workflows?

A standard Cisco VACS workflow consists of the following elements:

• Workflow Designer (GUI Interface)

• Predefined tasks

You can reference a custom workflow in an advanced catalog from the self-service portal, and create a service request to execute a custom workflow. For examples of writing custom tasks, see http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​dam/​en/​us/​td/​docs/​unified_computing/​ucs/​ucs-director/​cloupia-script-cookbook/​5-0/​CloupiaScript-Cookbook.pdf.

How many container requests can be run simultaneously?

Cisco VACS does not impose any limit on the number of simultaneous container requests. However, we recommend four container requests.

How long does it take an application container to be provisioned?

Ideally, containers can be provisioned in about 30 minutes. Time taken to provision containers depends on the number of VMs and its disk size in a container, Host CPU/memory usage, VC work load, and the storage type of a host.

Can a Container service request be started at a later day/time to optimize the resource consumption?

Yes.

Troubleshooting Issues with Container Template definition

Where can I see the default firewall policies for templates?

You can see the default firewall policies underPhysical > Network > MultiDomain Manager > PNSC Accounts > <PNSC Account Name> > PNSC Firewall Policies > <Templatename>_Firewall Policy

.

I want to modify the default firewall ACLs for the templates. Where do I go?

You can modify the default firewall ACLs. For information on how to modify the default firewall ACLs, see the Viewing and Editing the ACLs for the 3 Tier Templates

Is there a limit on the number of container templates that I can create?

No.

The service request for a container deployment fails with the following error message: Container VM allocation failed with error Host :host name is not a module of N1K:VSM Name. Make sure either: 1) all the hosts under cluster are added as modules in N1K (or) 2) remove the non N1K hosts from the cluster. and try again!!!

In the cluster environment, it is expected that all the hosts present in the cluster must be members of the Cisco Nexus 1000v switch. Hence, this error message.

Can I view the VACS license details?

Yes. You can view the Cisco VACS PAK information by navigating to Administration > License. You can check for CUIC-SERV-STINGRAY.

Can I check the CSR licensing information for my container?

Yes. For information on how to view the CSR information for your container, see the Viewing the CSR 1000V Licensing Information.

Can I edit a firewall policy per container, although they are deployed using the same template?

Yes. For information on how to edit the container based firewall rules, see the Managing Firewall Policies

How can I create a container template that needs a combination of public and private IPs?

No, you cannot create a container template that needs a combination if public and private IPs.

How do I get notified ahead when no more addresses are available in an IP pool during a container deployment?

You can setup Cisco UCS Director to provide notifications using the scripts available in the Cloupia script cook book guide available at http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​dam/​en/​us/​td/​docs/​unified_computing/​ucs/​ucs-director/​cloupia-script-cookbook/​5-0/​CloupiaScript-Cookbook.pdf

Who gets notified when a container is deployed successfully?

When a container is successfully deployed, Cisco VACS notifies the requester via an e-mail, provided the requester has configured the e-mail settings.

How can I provide access to my workload VMs in the container from outside the container?

You can provide access to the workload VMs by enabling Static NAT on a VM.

How do I define VM naming conventions for workload VMs?

The VM name is automatically defined by Cisco VACS.

Can I delete a container template that is already published in the self -service catalog, and an end user has provisioned containers based on that template?

Yes. However, you cannot use the catalog for provisioning additional containers.

How do I ensure that a container request is approved prior to deployment?

No approval mechanism is available to verify that a container request is approved prior to deployment.

FAQs on Container Deployment

What does the error message “Error while allocating VM resources” mean and how do I resolve it?

This error message indicates one of the following conditions:

• One of the resource pools is exhausted—Use different resource pools in the template to resolve this error.

• There are no hosts available to allocate VM resources—Add more hardware resources to your infrastructure to resolve this error.

I see an error message “Failed to create VM” in the Service Request logs. How do I resolve it?

This error message indicates that the vCenter is unable to create a VM. Please log on to the vCenter and check details to resolve the error.

I see an error message “FAILED TO CREATE network port groups” in the Service Request logs. How do I resolve it?

This error message indicates that the workflow is unable to create a port-profile on Cisco Nexus 1000V. This condition could be caused by a delay in response from the port-profile service on Cisco Nexus 1000V or the port profile has been created on the Cisco Nexus 1000V which is not available on the vCenter during the creation of a VM.

I see an error message “NO RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE HOSTS TO CREATE VMS” in the Service Request logs. How do I resolve it?

This error occurs when there are insufficient vCPUs or memory on an allocated host. Modify the compute policy to remove the host.

Who can monitor the VM traffic and how?

You must enable ERSPAN on the VM interfaces to monitor the workflow.

How do I monitor the consumption of resources? Are there reports available?

Yes, Operational reports are available in Cisco UCS Director to monitor resource consumption.

Can I log into the network service VMs ? Is it OK to reconfigure them directly ?

Yes, you can log in via a SSH session or the VC console. However, it is not recommended to log in or confgure the network service VM (VSG and CSR).

Can I resubmit a failed container workflow ?

No. Re-submission is not supported and is blocked. Roll back the service request, do an inventory collection, and instantiate a new container.

I see an error message “Error while allocating resources for <>: Cannot allocate resources. Policy scope resulted in 0 servers” ? How do I resolve it?

Check the computing and storage policies associated with the container template. The error message is displayed because, based on the conditions (for example, Active VMs, CPU usage, Memory usage) in the respective computing and storage policies, there are no hosts available that meet the policy criteria mentioned in the compute and storage policies.