Setting Up the End User Portal

End User Portal

The End User Portal is a self-service portal that includes a catalog of services that you provide to the user. After an end user requests one of the services available, the End User Portal completes the service request workflow that you have configured for the user. This workflow may include approvals of the self-service provisioning request, assignment of the necessary compute, storage and network resources, and configuration of security and performance settings. After the service is provisioned, the end user can track the status of the services using the summary dashlets and summary reports on the landing page and through the reports available within the End User Portal.

Following are tasks that an end user can perform in the End User Portal:

  • Provision virtual machines (VMs), application specific infrastructure, and bare metal servers

  • Review and manage your service requests

  • Upload and deploy OVFs and other images

  • Monitor and create reports for your provisioned virtual and physical resources

  • Approve service requests to provision infrastructure

Summary of Tasks to Set Up the End User Portal

As an administrator, following are the tasks you must complete to set up the End User Portal:

  • Add user groups

  • Add user accounts

  • Set up end user permissions for specific tasks

  • Set up the user interface of the portal

Setting Up User Accounts for the End User Portal

Creating a User Group

Procedure
    Step 1   Choose Administration > Users and Groups.
    Step 2   On the Users and Groups page, click User Groups.
    Step 3   Click Add.
    Step 4   On the Add Group screen, complete the following fields:
    Field Name Description

    Name field

    The name of the group or the customer organization.

    You can include special characters such as ( ). & - _ `~ $% ^ {}! '@

    Description field

    The description of the group or the customer organization, if required.

    Code field

    A shorter name or code name for the group. This name is used in VM and hostname templates.

    Cost Center field

    (Optional) The cost center name or number if required. This name or number represents a cost center that a group is associated with. This name can be used in a VMware System policy for the VM naming convention.

    For more information about using a cost center for naming conventions, see Managing Policies.

    Contact Email field

    The email used to notify the group owner about the status of service requests and request approvals if necessary.

    First Name field

    The contact’s first name.

    Last Name field

    The contact’s last name.

    Phone field

    The contact’s phone number.

    Address field

    The contact’s address.

    Group Share Policy drop-down list

    Choose the group share policy for the users in this group.

    This drop-down list is populated only when you have created group share policies.

    For more information on creating this policy, see Creating a Group Share Policy.

    Allow Resource Assignment To Users check box

    If checked, the users of this group can have resources assigned to them and can own these resources. Also, these users can view resources belonging to the group. However, the resources among these users cannot be shared.

    Step 5   Click Add.
    What to Do Next

    Repeat this procedure if you want to add more groups. For each group that you add, you can edit resource limits, manage tags, and customize the logo and application labels.

    Adding Users

    Before You Begin

    Ensure that you have created a group before you add a user to it.

    Procedure
      Step 1   Choose Administration > Users and Groups.
      Step 2   On the Users and Groups page, click Users.
      Step 3   Click Add.
      Step 4   On the Add User screen, complete the required fields, including the following:
      Field Name Description

      User Role drop-down list

      Choose the role type for the user.

      Note   

      This drop-down list displays all the available user roles in Cisco UCS Director. In addition to the user roles available by default, you can create additional user roles. For more information on creating user roles, see Adding a User Role.

      User Group drop-down list

      Select the group that the user will have access to. You can either select a group already available, or you can add a new group.

      Note   

      This field is visible only when you select Service End-User or Group Admin as the user role.

      MSP Organization drop-down list

      Select the MSP organization that the user will manage.

      You can either select an organization that is currently available, or you can add a new organization.

      Note   

      This field is visible only when you select MSP Admin as the user role.

      Login Name field

      The login name.

      You can include special characters such as ( ). & - _ `~ $% ^ {}! ' @

      Password field

      The password.

      Note   

      If Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication is configured for the user, the password is validated only at the LDAP server, and not at the local server.

      Confirm Password field

      The password is entered again for confirmation.

      User Contact Email field

      The email address.

      Note   

      The email address is required to notify the group owner about the service request status and to request approval.

      First Name field

      The first name.

      Last Name field

      The last name.

      Phone field

      The phone number of the user.

      Address field

      The office address of the user.

      Set user disable date check box

      Check to set the date and time when the user account must be disabled in the system. Disabling a user account means that the user can no longer log in into the system.

      A week prior to this date, an email message stating that the account will be disabled is sent to the user. This automatic email message is generated and sent by the PeriodicNotificationToUserTask system task.

      On the specified date and time, the user account is disabled automatically. If the user is logged in to the system on the date specified, then the login session is terminated automatically.

      Locale drop-down list

      Choose a language for the system specifically for this user. By default, the language is set to English.

      When this user logs in, the user interface is displayed in the language you selected. This locale selection applies only to this user.

      Login with Classic View check box

      Check to launch the Classic View user interface when this user logs in to the system.

      The capability to set the system to launch the Classic View for other users is available only in Release 6.5. The Classic View will be removed in a subsequent release.

      Step 5   Click Add.
      What to Do Next

      Click a row with a user and click Manage Profiles, to optionally assign multiple roles for that user.

      Setting Permissions for the End User Portal

      After you create user accounts for the End User Portal, you must provide these accounts with permissions to perform specific tasks. The subsequent sections list out the permissions that you need to able for end users to perform tasks such as managing catalogs or managing VMs.

      Permissions Required for Approvals

      The following table shows a list of the available approval actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing Service Request Details

      Default

      Approving a Service Request

      Default

      Rejecting a Service Request

      Default

      Canceling a Service Request

      Default

      Resubmitting a Service Request

      Default

      Archiving a Service Request

      Default

      Adding Notes to a Service Request

      Default

      Rolling Back a Service Request

      Default

      Permissions Required for Catalogs

      The following table shows a list of the available catalog actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing Catalog Details

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for a Standard Catalog

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for an Advanced Catalog

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for a Service Container Catalog

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for a Bare Metal Catalog

      Default

      Running a Deployability Assessment

      Default

      Adding a Standard Catalog Item

      Additional permissions required

      Adding an Advanced Catalog Item

      Additional permissions required

      Adding a Service Container Catalog Item

      Additional permissions required

      Adding a Bare Metal Catalog Item

      Additional permissions required

      Cloning a Catalog Item

      Additional permissions required

      Editing a Catalog

      Additional permissions required

      Deleting a Catalog

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for Budget Entries

      You can perform actions on the budget entries. For some actions, additional permissions are required. The following table shows a list of the available budget entry management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Adding a Budget Entry

      Additional permissions required

      Viewing a Budget Entry

      Additional permissions required

      Physical Resources

      Permissions Required for CloudSense Reports

      The following table shows a list of the available CloudSense management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Generating a CloudSense Report

      Default

      Opening a CloudSense Report

      Additional permissions required

      Emailing a CloudSense Report

      Additional permissions required

      Deleting a CloudSense Report

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for Rack Servers

      The following table shows a list of the available rack server management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Powering a Rack Server On or Off

      Additional permissions required

      Shutting Down a Rack Server

      Additional permissions required

      Performing a Hard Reset on a Rack Server

      Additional permissions required

      Power Cycling a Rack Server

      Additional permissions required

      Launching the KVM Console for a Rack Server

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for Servers

      The following table shows a list of the available server management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Powering a Server On or Off

      Additional permissions required

      Associating a Server with a Service Profile

      Additional permissions required

      Disassociating a Server

      Additional permissions required

      Launching the KVM Console for a Server

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for Service Profiles

      The following table shows a list of the available service profile management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing Service Profile Details

      Default

      Disassociating a Service Profile from a Server

      Additional permissions required

      Requesting an Inventory Collection

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SnapMirrors

      The following table shows a list of the available SnapMirror actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing SnapMirror Details

      Default

      Permissions Required for Storage Virtual Machines

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing SVM Details

      Default

      Permissions Required for vFilers

      The following table shows a list of the available NetApp vFiler actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing vFiler Details

      Default

      Setting up a vFiler

      Additional permissions required

      Setting up CIFS on a vFiler

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Initiator Groups

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM initiator group actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating an SVM Initiator Group

      Additional permissions required

      Renaming an SVM Initiator Group

      Additional permissions required

      Binding a Port Set to an SVM Initiator Group

      Additional permissions required

      Unbinding a Port Set from an SVM Initiator Group

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM LUNs

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM LUN actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing SVM LUN details

      Default

      Creating an SVM LUN

      Additional permissions required

      Resizing an SVM LUN

      Additional permissions required

      Cloning an SVM LUN

      Additional permissions required

      Taking an SVM LUN Offline or Online

      Additional permissions required

      Mapping an SVM LUN to an Initiator Group

      Additional permissions required

      Unmapping an SVM LUN from an Initiator Group

      Additional permissions required

      Toggling the Space Reservation on an SVM LUN

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM CIFS Shares

      The following table shows a list of the available CIFS share actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating a CIFS Share on an SVM

      Additional permissions required

      Setting CIFS Share Access on an SVM

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Export Policies

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM export policy actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating an Export Policy for an SVM

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Export Rules

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM export rule actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating an SVM Export Rule

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Initiators

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM initiator actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating an SVM Initiator

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Port Sets

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM port set actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating an SVM Port Set

      Additional permissions required

      Destroying an SVM Port Set

      Additional permissions required

      Adding a Port to an SVM Port Set

      Additional permissions required

      Removing a Port from an SVM Port Set

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM SIS Policies

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM SIS policy actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating an SIS Policy for an SVM

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Snapshot Policies

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM snapshot policy actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing SVM Snapshot Policy Details

      Default

      Creating a Snapshot Policy on an SVM

      Additional permissions required

      Enabling and Disabling a Snapshot Policy on an SVM

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a Snapshot Policy Schedule for an SVM Snapshot Policy

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM WWPN Aliases

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM WWPN alias actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating a WWPN Alias on an SVM

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Volume Snapshots

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM volume snapshot actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Creating a Snapshot for an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Restoring an SVM Volume from a Snapshot

      Additional permissions required

      Using a Snapshot to Restore a File on an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Using a Snapshot to Partially Restore a File on an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for SVM Volumes

      The following table shows a list of the available SVM volume actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing SVM Volume Details

      Default

      Creating an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Taking an SVM Volume Offline or Online

      Additional permissions required

      Resizing an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Cloning an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a Multi-Volume Snapshot

      Additional permissions required

      Moving an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Mounting and Unmounting an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Enabling and Disabling Deduplication on an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Starting Deduplication on an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Stopping Deduplication on an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a Qtree on an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Running Inventory Collection on an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Setting the Snapshot Reserve for an SVM Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Assigning an SVM Volume to a Group

      Additional permissions required

      Unassigning an SVM Volume from a Group

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for vFiler Volumes

      The following table shows a list of the available vFiler volume actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing vFiler Volume Details

      Default

      Creating a vFiler Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Resizing a vFiler Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Taking a vFiler Volume Offline or ONline

      Additional permissions required

      Enabling and Disabling Deduplication on a vFiler Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Exporting a vFiler Volume using NFS

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a vFiler Volume Snapshot

      Additional permissions required

      Resizing the Snapshot Reserve for a vFiler Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a CIFS Share on a vFiler Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Setting CIFS Share Access on a vFiler Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a Qtree on a vFiler Volume

      Additional permissions required

      Services

      Permissions Required for Payment Information

      The following table shows a list of the available payment actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing Payment Information Details

      Additional permissions required

      Making a Payment

      Additional permissions required

      Updating Payment Details

      Additional permissions required

      Checking Funds

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for Service Requests

      The following table shows a list of the available service request actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing Service Request Details

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for a Standard Catalog

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for an Advanced Catalog

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for a Service Container

      Default

      Creating a Service Request for a Bare Metal Catalog

      Default

      Canceling a Service Request

      Default

      Resubmitting a Service Request

      Default

      Archiving a Service Request

      Default

      Adding Notes to a Service Request

      Default

      Rolling Back a Service Request

      Default

      Permissions Required for User OVF Management

      The following table shows a list of the available OVF management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Uploading an OVF File

      Default

      Deploying an OVF File

      Default

      Virtual Resources

      Permissions Required for Application Containers

      The following table shows a list of the available application container actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing Application Container Details

      Default

      Viewing Application Container Reports

      Default

      Managing an Application Container's Power

      Default

      Decommissioning an Application Container

      Default

      Cloning an Application Container

      Default

      Adding a VM to an Application Container

      Default

      Adding a Bare Metal Server to a Deployed APIC Application Container

      Default

      Deleting an Application Container

      Default

      Accessing a VM Console

      Default

      Editing Resource Limits

      Default

      Editing a Cost Model

      Default

      Adding an Application Container Contract

      Default

      Permissions Required for VMs

      The following table shows a list of the available VM lifecycle management actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Viewing VM Details

      Default

      Requesting Inventory Collection on a VM

      Default

      Launching the VM Client

      Additional permissions required

      Launching the VNC Console

      Additional permissions required

      Launching the VMRC HTML5 Console

      Additional permissions required

      Configuring the Lease Time for a VM

      Additional permissions required

      Managing a VM's Power

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a Snapshot

      Additional permissions required

      Reverting a Snapshot

      Additional permissions required

      Marking a Snapshot as Golden

      Additional permissions required

      Cloning a VM

      Additional permissions required

      Resizing a VM

      Additional permissions required

      Resynchronizing a VM

      Additional permissions required

      Creating a VM Disk

      Additional permissions required

      Adding a vNIC to a VM

      Additional permissions required

      Assigning a VM to a VDC

      Additional permissions required

      Moving a VM to a VDC

      Additional permissions required

      Cloning a VM as an Image

      Additional permissions required

      Converting a VM as an Image

      Additional permissions required

      Enabling and Disabling the VMRC Console on a VM

      Additional permissions required

      Mounting an ISO Image as a CD/DVD Drive

      Additional permissions required

      Unmounting an ISO Image as a CD/DVD Drive

      Additional permissions required

      Permissions Required for Images

      The following table shows a list of the available image actions and permissions required:

      Task

      End User Permissions

      Converting an Image to a VM

      Additional Permissions Required

      Deploying a VM from a Template

      Additional Permissions Required

      Setting Up the User Interface of the End User Portal

      In addition to enabling permissions for end users, you can also enable certain elements in the End User Portal. These include:

      • Configuring dashlets

      • Configuring colors of dashlet reports

      • Selecting catalogs

      Configuring Dashlets

      A dashlet is a report that you can display on the dashboard of End User Portal.

      The available dashlets include:

      • VMs

      • UCS Servers

      • Orders

      • Catalogs

      • Approvals

      As an administrator, you can choose to display some or all of the dashlets on the End User Portal. You can configure the dashlets for each user group.


      Note

      All available dashlets are added to a user group only when the user group contains a user. When a user group does not have even one user, dashlets do not appear for the user group.

      To configure dashlets for a user group, do the following:

      Procedure
        Step 1   Choose Administration > Users and Groups.
        Step 2   On the Users and Groups page, click User Groups.
        Step 3   Click the row with the user group for which you want to configure the dashlets.
        Step 4   From the More Actions drop-down list, choose Dashlet Setup. The Dashlets Report screen appears with all the available dashlets.
        Note   

        When the user group does not have any users, dashlets do not appear in the Dashlets Report screen. Add a user to the user group to configure the dashlets.

        Step 5   On the Dashlets Report screen, select the dashlet you do not want for the user group and click the X (Delete) icon.
        Step 6   To add a dashlet to the user group, click the + (Add) icon. On the Add Entry screen, do the following:
        1. From the Dashlet Name list, select the dashlet type.
        2. In the Dashlet Data Report section, click the + (Add) icon.
        3. In the Add Entry to Dashlet Data Report, select the entry (status, type, or state depending on the dashlet type you chose), assign a color to the entry, and click Submit.
        4. Assign colors to the rest of the entries.
        5. After assigning colors to the entries for the dashlet, click Submit.
        Step 7   On the Dashlets Report screen, make sure the Publish to end users box is checked.

        This option enables the dashlets to appear on the End User Portal for users of this group.

        Step 8   Click Submit.

        Changing Colors of Dashlet Reports

        As an administrator, you can choose to change the color for each entry in the dashlet reports that appear on the End User Portal. An entry might be a status (In Progress or Completed), a category type (Standard or Advanced), or a power state (on or off) depending on the dashlet. For example, for the VMs dashlet, you can assign red for the ON state and gray for the Off state.

        To change colors for entries in a dashlet report, do the following:

        Procedure
          Step 1   Choose Administration > Users and Groups.
          Step 2   On the Users and Groups page, click User Groups.
          Step 3   Click the row with the user group for which you want to configure the dashlet.
          Step 4   From the More Actions drop-down list, choose Dashlet Setup. The Dashlets Report screen appears with all the available dashlets.
          Step 5   On the Dashlets Report screen, select the dashlet and click Edit. The Add Entry screen appears.
          Step 6   On the Add Entry screen, do the following:
          1. In the Add Entry to Dashlet Data Report area, select the entry, assign a color to the entry, and click Submit.
          2. Assign colors for the rest of the entries.
          3. After assigning colors to the entries for the dashlet, click Submit.
          Step 7   Make sure the Publish to end users box is checked.

          This option enables the changes in the dashlet to appear on the End User Portal for users of this group.

          Step 8   Click Submit.

          Selecting Catalogs for End User Portal

          As an administrator, you can enable folders and catalogs within these folders to appear on the dashboard of the end user portal. You can enable a maximum of 25 catalog folders and a maximum of 25 catalogs within a folder to appear on the dashboard of the end user portal.

          To configure catalogs to appear on the dashboard of the end user portal, do the following:

          Procedure
            Step 1   Choose Administration > Users and Groups.
            Step 2   On the Users and Groups page, click User Groups.
            Step 3   If you have MSP-mode enabled, then choose the Customer Organizations tab.
            Step 4   Click the row with the user group for which you want to configure the catalogs.
            Step 5   From the More Actions drop-down list, choose Catalog Setup. The Configure Catalog screen appears with the list of catalogs available for the user group.
            Note   

            If catalogs have not been assigned to the user group, the Configure Catalog screen is empty.

            Step 6   On the Configure Catalog screen, check the catalogs that must appear on the End User Portal dashboard.
            Step 7   Click Submit.

            When users that belong to the group login to the end user portal, the dashboard is populated with the selected catalogs and catalog folders.