Using Self-Service Provisioning

This chapter contains the following sections:

Self-Service Provisioning

You can provision virtual machines (VMs) or applications through self-service provisioning. To provision a VM or an application using self-service provisioning, you must first create a service request. This action initiates a VM-creation workflow that includes the following:

  • Budget validation

  • Dynamic resource allocation

  • Approval

  • Provisioning

  • Lifecycle setup

  • Notification about the status of service requests

Service Requests

You can use the self-service provisioning feature to create a service request to provision virtual machines (VMs), services, or applications. The service request process produces a provisioning workflow for VM creation that includes the following actions:

  • Budget validation

  • Dynamic resource allocation

  • Approvals

  • Provisioning

  • Lifecycle setup and notification


Note

If you change the number of CPU Cores or memory allocation while in the Deployment Configuration pane, the total cost is automatically updated and displayed.

To provision a VM or execute an orchestration workflow, you must first create a service request. If desired, you can require approval from one or two administrators or designated users before the VM is provisioned or the workflow executed. VMs can be immediately approved or scheduled to be approved within a maximum of 90 days from the original request.

Creating a Service Request with Catalog Type—Standard

    Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
    Step 2   Choose the Service Request tab.
    Step 3   Click Create Request.
    Step 4   In the Create Request dialog box, choose Standard.
    Step 5   Click Submit.
    Step 6   In the Create Service Request dialog box, complete the following fields:

    Name

    Description

    Catalog Selection Request Pane

    VM Ownership

    Customer Organizations radio button

    Select this radio button to choose the customer organizations for which a VM is provisioned.

    Customer Organizations field

    Click Select to choose the customer organizations for which you want to provision the VM.

    Customer organizations that have valid vDCs are displayed.

    Note   

    This field is visible only when you select the Customer Organizations radio button.

    If you chose Create Service Request from the Catalog page, then the group list that is displayed is dependent on the user groups you select in the left pane

    User radio button

    Select this radio button to choose the users to whom you want a VM is provisioned.

    User field

    Click Select to choose the users to whom you want to provision the VM. This list is populated with users from groups which allow resource assignment to users.

    Note   

    Currently, only VMs that are in a VMware cloud can be assigned to a specific end user.

    If you chose Create Service Request from the Catalog page, then the user list that is displayed is dependent on the user groups you select in the left pane.

    VM Access Sharing

    Users with Access Privilege field

    Click Select to choose users who can only access VM information.

    The selected users can only access the VM. They cannot perform any administrative tasks.

    Users with Manage Privilege field

    Click Select to choose users who can only manage the VM.

    The selected users can perform administrative tasks on the VM.

    Catalog Type drop-down list

    Displays the catalog type. It can be one of the following:

    • Standard

    • Advanced

    • Service Container

    • VDI

    Note   

    Advanced is used for Orchestration Workflow.

    Select Catalog drop-down list

    Choose the catalog that is used for VM provisioning.

    If you chose Create Service Request from the Catalog page, then you cannot select a catalog.

    Perform deployment assessment check box

    Check this check box to perform an assessment of the budget allocation, resource limits and resource availability prior to submitting a service request. After you check this check box, the summary of the assessment is displayed in the Deployment Assessment pane.

    Important:

    This option is visible only for VMware catalogs, and for catalogs that are not ISO-based.

    Step 7   Click Next.
    Step 8   In the Provisioning Configuration pane, complete the following fields:

    Name

    Description

    Select vDC drop-down list

    Choose a vDC for the service request.

    VM Name field

    Specify a name for the VM.

    If you do not specify a name, the system will automatically generate a VM name.

    Guest OS field

    Click Select to choose a Guest OS for the service request.

    Number of vCPUs drop-down list

    Choose the number of vCPUs from the drop-down list.

    This field is populated and editable only if you checked the Allow Resizing of VM check box while creating the VMware computing policy.

    Memory drop-down list

    Choose the memory capacity from the drop-down list.

    This field is populated and editable only if you checked the Allow Resizing of VM check box while creating the VMware computing policy.

    Category field

    Click Select to choose an application category that is different from the one specified while creating the catalog.

    Step 9   Click Next.
    Step 10   In the Deployment Configuration pane, complete the following fields:

    Name

    Description

    Select VDC drop-down list

    The VDC on which the VM is provisioned.

    VDCs are defined by the administrator.

    VM Name or VM Prefix field

    The VM name or prefix.

    Comment field

    Any comments relating to the deployment configuration.

    Provision drop-down list

    Choose either Now or Later.

    Choose Now to set provisioning for any time within the next 90 days. When you choose Later, a calendar for the Day, drop-down lists for the Hour and Minute, and radio buttons for AM or PM appear.

    Days calendar

    The number of days after which the VM is terminated.

    Note   

    This option appears when the Power OFF the VM After check box is checked.

    Hours drop-down list

    Choose the number of hours after which the VM is terminated.

    Note   

    This option appears when the Power OFF the VM After check box is checked.

    Minutes drop-down list

    Choose the number of minutes after which the VM is terminated.

    Note   

    This option appears when the Power OFF the VM After check box is checked.

    Lease Time check box

    Check this check box to indicate that a lease time is configured for the VM.

    Default Cost Computation Period Settings

    Charge Duration drop-down list

    Choose a duration for which the cost is calculated. By default, this duration is set to Monthly.

    Month field

    Specify the number of months to be included in the cost computation

    Note   

    This field is displayed only when you select Monthly in the Charge Duration drop-down list.

    Day field

    Specify the number of days to be included in the cost computation

    Note   

    This field is displayed only when you select Daily in the Charge Duration drop-down list.

    Hours field

    Specify the number of hours to be included in the cost computation

    Note   

    This field is displayed only when you select Hourly in the Charge Duration drop-down list.

    Step 11   Click Next.
    Step 12   In the Custom Specification pane, complete the following fields:

    Name

    Description

    CPU Cores drop-down list

    Choose the CPU cores for the VM being provisioned.

    Note   

    This list opens if the resizing option is chosen in the Computing Policy dialog box.

    Memory drop-down list

    Choose the amount of memory for the VM being provisioned.

    Note   

    This list opens if the resizing option is chosen in the Computing Policy dialog box.

    Approximate SR Cost Estimate field

    Displays an approximate SR cost based on the values you provided in the Default Cost Computation Period Settings fields.

    Storage Tier drop-down list

    Choose an option to customize storage entries for the VM being provisioned.

    Note   

    This custom list opens if the Virtual Storage Catalog was enabled when the chosen catalog was created.

    See more information about the creation of a virtual storage catalog in Policies. See more information about enabling this option during catalog creation in About Managing Catalogs.

    Disk Datastores table

    Choose the preferred hard disk size for VM provisioning. The list of available datastores depends upon the scope conditions specified in the storage policy. You can enable or disable this option in the storage policy.

    Choose a disk from the table, and click the pencil icon to select a datastore.

    Note   

    You can edit the size of the disk if you have enabled the Allow Resizing of Disk check box in the storage policy.

    Step 13   To choose a datastore for a disk, choose a disk from the list and click the Pencil icon.
    Step 14   Click Select to view available datastores.
    Step 15   Choose a datastore from the list and click Select.
    Step 16   Click Submit.
    Step 17   (Optional)For templates with multiple disks, you must choose a datastore for each disk.
    Step 18   In the Custom Specification pane, click Select to view available VM Networks.
    Note   

    This option is available only if the Allow end user to select optional NICs check box or the Allow end user to choose portgroups check box is checked in the network policy associated with the VDC selected for this VM provisioning service request. For more information, see Adding a Network Policy.

    Step 19   Choose a VM Network from the list and click Select.
    Step 20   Click Next.
    Step 21   Complete the details in the Custom Workflow pane.
    Note   

    Custom workflow inputs apply if the catalog chosen for VM provisioning has Post Provisioning Custom Actions enabled. In this procedure, the post-provisioning workflow allows users to specify custom inputs.

    Step 22   Click Next.
    Note   

    The list of available datastores depends upon the scope conditions specified in the storage policy. You can choose only one datastore for each disk category (System, Data, Database, Swap, and Log).

    Step 23   If you checked the Perform deployment assessment check box, then review the report of the assessment displayed in the Deployment Assessment pane.

    If this assessment report identifies errors, then you must return to the previous panes and rectify the errors before submitting the request. If the assessment report shows no errors, then click Next.

    Step 24   Review the summary for the service request.
    Step 25   Click Submit.

    Creating a Service Request with Catalog Type—Advanced

    By choosing the advanced catalog type during the creation of a service request, you can execute orchestration workflows. The steps for creating an advanced catalog are much the same as those for creating a standard catalog.

      Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
      Step 2   Choose the Service Requests tab.
      Step 3   Click Create Request.
      Step 4   In the Catalog Selection section of the Create Service Request dialog box, choose the Group, Catalog Type (Advanced), and the Catalog (workflow).
      Step 5   Click Next.
      Step 6   In the Custom Workflow section of the Create Service Request dialog box, provide the custom workflow input values.
      Step 7   Click Next.
      Step 8   Review the summary of the service request.
      Step 9   Click Submit.

      Service Request Workflow and Details

      After you create a service request, you can check its status and workflow, cancel the request, resubmit the request, and so on. These actions are controlled by the toolbar buttons at the top of the service request lists.

      Service Request Workflow

      The Workflow Status box displays details about the service request and the workflow steps. A typical service request workflow to provision a VM includes the following steps:

      1. Initiation—Service request is initiated by the user.

      2. Resource Allocation—Required resources, such as virtual compute, are allocated to the VM.

      3. Approval—VM provisioning is approved, if required. During this step, an email is sent to the approvers defined in the catalog chosen for VM provisioning.

      4. Provision—VM is created and provisioned.

      5. Set Up Lifecycle Schedule—Lifecycle scheduling is configured with the setup, scheduled times, and termination times.

      6. Notify—User is notified by email that the VM has been created and provisioned.

      Optional service request workflow steps include Budget Watch and Check Resource Limits:

      • Budget Watch—An administrator has to enable budgeting for a group. This step determines if a sufficient budget is available for provisioning a new VM in that group.

      • Check Resource Limits—Resource limits for a group must be enabled by an administrator. This step determines if sufficient resources are available for provisioning a new VM in that group.

      Any user who has been assigned the Read-Group Service Request permission can view the progress of a service request.

      Service Request Details

      Service Request details include items under Overview, Ownership, Catalog Information, and the Current Status of the service request, as follows:

      Name Description

      Overview

      Request ID

      The service request ID number.

      Request Type

      The type of request (in this case, creating a VM).

      VDC

      The VDC where the VM is provisioned.

      Image

      The image from which the VM is provisioned.

      Request Time

      The time of the service request creation.

      Request Status

      The status of the service request as Complete, Canceled, Failed, and so on.

      Comments

      Any comments.

      Ownership

      Group

      The group to which the service request initiating user belongs.

      Initiating User

      The user who has initiated the service request.

      Duration Hours

      The amount of time that the VM is active. If this time is defined, the VM is deleted after the specified time.

      Scheduled Time

      The time at which the VM is provisioned. If defined, the VM is provisioned at 6 a.m. on the scheduled date. If not defined, the VM is provisioned when the workflow steps for the service request are complete.

      Catalog Information

      VDC Owner Email

      The email ID provided by the administrator when creating a VDC.

      Approving Users

      The user (if defined) who must approve the service request for VM provisioning.

      Catalog Name

      The catalog item name from which the VM is provisioned.

      Catalog Description

      The catalog item description.

      Service Request Cost

      The cost (projected) of provisioning the VM. This cost is determined based on the Cost Model that is defined for the catalog item.

      You can view the status of each workflow step. Details such as warning or error messages and the time of the request are also displayed. The workflow steps are color-coded to indicate their status:

      Color Code Description

      Gray

      The step is incomplete.

      Green

      The step completed successfully.

      Red

      The step failed. The reason for failure is also described.

      Blue

      More input is required for the step to complete. For example, an approver was defined for a service request, and until the request is approved, this step is incomplete.


      Note

      Approvers may look under the Approvals tab to see their assigned service requests.

      Viewing the Workflow Status of a Service Request

        Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
        Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.

        The default is All User Groups, which lists all service requests.

        Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.
        Step 4   Choose a service request.
        Step 5   Click View Details to see the details and status of the service request. By default, the Workflow Status tab appears in the dialog box.

        Viewing Log Details for a Service Request

          Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
          Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.

          The default is All User Groups, which lists all service requests.

          Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.
          Step 4   Choose a service request.
          Step 5   Click View Details, and choose the Log tab.

          About Scheduling a Service Request

          You can schedule VM provisioning for a later date using Deferred Provisioning. The default provisioning is at 8.30 a.m. on the date of scheduling. Once a new date is set, the VM provisioning status in the workflow displays the change.

          Scheduling Service Requests

            Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
            Step 2   Choose the Service Request tab.
            Step 3   Click Create Request.
            Step 4   Choose the group, catalog type, and catalog. See Creating a Service Request with Catalog Type—Standard.
            Step 5   Click Next.
            Step 6   Choose the Later option for the Provision field, and the provisioning date in the Service Request dialog box.
            Step 7   Click Next until the Summary window appears.
            Step 8   Click Submit.

            About Resubmitting a Service Request

            You can resubmit a failed service request. A service request could fail for the following reasons:

            • Budget limit (if defined by administrator) is exceeded for the group under which the VM is being provisioned.

            • Resource limits (if defined by administrator) are exceeded for the group under which the VM is being provisioned.

            • Provisioning could fail if a service request lacks relevant information.

            When a service request is resubmitted, the process starts again from the workflow step that failed in the earlier submissions. For example, if a service request fails in the Resource Allocation workflow (Step 2), when this service request is resubmitted, the process is re-initiated from that step.

            Resubmitting a Service Request

              Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
              Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.

              The default is All User Groups, which lists all service requests.

              Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.
              Step 4   Choose the service request to resubmit.
              Step 5   Click Resubmit Request.

              Other Service Request Functions

              Canceling a Service Request

              As an administrator in the system, you can cancel any service request that has been created. If you are an MSP admin, or a group admin, you can cancel service requests that you have created, and those created by users in member groups that you manage.

                Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.

                The default is All User Groups, which lists all service requests.

                Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.
                Step 4   Choose the service request entry to cancel.
                Step 5   Click Cancel Request.
                Step 6   Click Submit to cancel the service request.

                Rolling Back a Service Request

                You can roll back a service request when a service request is created using orchestration workflow or fenced container deployment.

                  Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                  Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.

                  The default is All User Groups, which lists all service requests.

                  Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.
                  Step 4   Choose the service request to roll back.
                  Step 5   Right-click and select Rollback Request.
                  Step 6   In the Rollback Service Request dialog box, select the tasks in the service requests that must be rolled back.

                  By default, check boxes of all tasks in the service request are checked.

                  Step 7   (Optional)Check the Abort rollback, if any rollback task fails check box.
                  Step 8   Click Submit.

                  Archiving a Service Request

                    Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                    Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.

                    The default is All User Groups, which lists all service requests.

                    Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.
                    Step 4   Choose the service request to archive.
                    Step 5   Click Archive.
                    Step 6   In the Archive Request dialog box, click Archive.

                    Choose the Archived Service Requests tab to view all the archived requests.

                    What to Do Next

                    If you need to use this archived service request at a later time, you can re-instate it. For more information, see Reinstating an Archived Service Request.

                    Deleting Service Requests

                    You can delete archived service requests from Cisco UCS Director. The deleted service requests are removed permanently from Cisco UCS Director.

                    You can enter archived service requests to delete in one of two ways:

                    • By selecting the service requests on the Archived Service Requests page and clicking the Delete Requests action.

                    • By selecting the Purge Requests action and typing the IDs of the archived service requests.

                    Both methods result in the permanent removal of the specified service requests. The only difference is the method of data entry.

                    You can delete only archived service requests. For information about archiving service requests, see the current release of the Cisco UCS Director Administration Guide. Because active service requests cannot be archived, you cannot delete service requests that are in progress, or that contain child service requests that are in progress.

                    You also cannot delete a service request that has a rollback that is in progress or that has failed. For example, say that you submit a rollback for service request (SR) 100 that generates a rollback service request SR 101. You cannot delete SR 100 while SR 101 is in progress. Furthermore, you cannot delete SR 100 if SR 101 failed.

                    To delete service requests, do the following:

                      Step 1   Navigate to Organizations > Service Requests.
                      Step 2   Click the Archived Service Requests tab.
                      Step 3   You can either enter service request IDs using the keyboard or choose service requests from the Archived Service Requests report.

                      To enter service request IDs, skip to the next step. To choose service requests instead, do the following:

                      1. Choose all the service requests that you want to delete.
                        Note   

                        Select multiple items as you would in any other application on your system. For example, in Windows, hold down the Ctrl key to choose more items or Shift to choose a range of items.

                        When you choose one or more service requests, the Delete Request action appears.

                      2. Click the Delete Request action.
                      3. In the Delete Request dialog, click Delete.
                      Step 4   To enter service requests, do the following:
                      1. Click Purge Requests.
                      2. In the Delete Request dialog, type the IDs of the service requests that you want to delete in the SR IDs text field. Use hyphens to indicate ranges of IDs and commas to separate ranges or individual IDs; for example: 101-111, 113, 116-118.
                      3. Click Delete.

                      Viewing Service Requests for a Particular Group

                        Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                        Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.

                        The default is All User Groups, which lists all service requests.

                        Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.

                        Searching the Records of Service Requests for a Group

                          Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                          Step 2   Choose the Service Request tab.
                          Step 3   On the toolbar, click Search and Replace.
                          Step 4   In the Search and Replace dialog box, enter the search terms in the search fields. You must enter the following information:

                          • Asset Identity

                          • Asset Type

                          • New Asset Identity

                          • Selected SRs

                          Step 5   Click Submit.

                          Exporting a Report of Service Requests for a Group

                            Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                            Step 2   From the left panel, choose a group name.
                            Step 3   Choose the Service Request tab.
                            Step 4   On the right of the toolbar, click the Export Report icon.
                            Step 5   In the Export Report dialog box, choose the report format.

                            The report format can be PDF, CSV, or XLS.

                            Step 6   Click Generate Report.

                            After the report is generated, the Download option appears.

                            Step 7   Click Download to open the report and to save it on your system.

                            Reinstating an Archived Service Request

                              Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                              Step 2   Choose the Archived Service Requests tab.
                              Step 3   Choose the service request that you want to reinstate.
                              Step 4   Click Unarchive.

                              Service Request Approval Process

                              Before the VM is provisioned, a service request must be approved by a specified approver or approvers named in the VDC. You have an option to define one or two approvers for a group.

                              • Once created, the service request workflow has a step requiring VM approval that displays the name of the approver.

                              • A service request notification email is sent to the approvers. Approvers may view all pending requests under the Approvals tab.

                              • Once approved is granted, VM provisioning is initiated.


                              Note

                              For more information about defining approvers, see Virtual Data Centers.

                              Approving a Service Request

                                Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > My Approvals.
                                Step 2   Choose the My Approvals tab.
                                Step 3   Choose the service request entry to approve.
                                Step 4   (Optional)To verify the details, click View Details.

                                You can view the Workflow and Input/Output information and click Close.

                                Step 5   Click Approve.
                                Step 6   Add comments in the Service Request dialog box if necessary.
                                Step 7   Click Approve.

                                Rejecting a Service Request

                                  Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > My Approvals.
                                  Step 2   Choose the My Approvals tab.
                                  Step 3   Choose the service request entry to reject.
                                  Step 4   (Optional)Verify the details by clicking View Details and then click Close.
                                  Step 5   Click Reject.
                                  Step 6   Add comments in the Service Request dialog box if necessary.
                                  Step 7   Click Reject.

                                  Viewing Approval Information on Service Requests

                                    Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > My Approvals.
                                    Step 2   Choose the My Approvals tab.

                                    All approvals that are either already approved or pending approval are listed.

                                    Searching the Records of Service Request Approvals

                                      Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > My Approvals.
                                      Step 2   Choose the My Approvals tab.

                                      All approvals that are either already approved or pending approval are listed.

                                      Step 3   In the Search field, enter your search term.

                                      The service requests that match the search criteria are displayed.

                                      Exporting a Report of Service Request Approvals

                                        Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > My Approvals.
                                        Step 2   Choose the My Approvals tab.
                                        Step 3   From the list, choose a group name.
                                        Step 4   On the right of the toolbar, click the Export Report icon.
                                        Step 5   In the Export Report dialog box, choose the report format.

                                        The report format can be PDF, CSV, or XLS.

                                        Step 6   Click Generate Report.

                                        After the report is generated, the Download option appears.

                                        Step 7   Click Download to open the report and to save it on your system.

                                        Service Request Budgeting

                                        Viewing the Current Month Budget Availability

                                          Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                                          Step 2   From the left panel, choose either All User Groups or a specific user group.
                                          Step 3   Choose the Current Month Budget Availability tab.

                                          Viewing Budget Entries

                                            Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Service Requests.
                                            Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.
                                            Step 3   Choose the Budget Entries tab.

                                            Adding a Budget Entry

                                              Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Organizations > Summary.
                                              Step 2   From the left panel, choose a user group.
                                              Step 3   Choose the Budget Entries tab.
                                              Step 4   Click Add (+).
                                              Step 5   In the Add Budget Entry dialog box, complete the following fields:
                                              Name Description

                                              Entry Name field

                                              The name of the budget entry.

                                              Budget Amount field

                                              The amount of the budget per month.

                                              Year drop-down list

                                              Choose the year.

                                              Month drop-down list

                                              Choose the month.

                                              Repeat Entries drop-down list

                                              Choose the number of months for the same amount of budget to repeat.

                                              Step 6   Click Add.