Managing Policies

This chapter contains the following sections:

About Policies

A policy is a set of rules that determines where and how a new virtual machine (VM) is provisioned within the infrastructure, based on the availability of system resources.

Cisco UCS Director requires four policies to be set up in order to provision VMs. For SCVMM integration, these are the Hyper-V policies for compute, storage, network, and deployment.

In addition, there are service delivery policies for cost models and for OS license.

About Service Delivery

For SCVMM integration, you create the following service delivery information:

  • Cost models

  • OS licenses

  • Hyper-V deployment policy

Click tabs in Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Service Delivery to perform these tasks.

Managing Cost Models

For simplified accounting, you can define a cost model. A group's infrastructure resources can be accounted for based on its cost model.

You combine the supported infrastructure resource costs (CPU, memory, and storage) with VM costs to determine the total cost of a VM lifecycle.

For a cost model, you define costs such as the following:
  • One-time provisioning cost

  • Active and inactive VM costs

  • Provisioned, reserved, and used CPU costs

  • Provisioned memory cost


    Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Polices > Service Delivery.
    Step 2   Click the Cost Model tab.

    The cost models in the Cisco UCS Director are displayed. The Cost Model tab provides the following actions:

    Action Description

    Refresh

    Refreshes the current page.

    Favorite

    Adds this page to the Favorites tab which displays the page that you go to most often.

    Add

    Adds a new cost model in the Cisco UCS Director.

    When you choose a cost model, the following actions appear:

    Button Name Description

    View

    Displays a cost model.

    Edit

    Edits a cost model.

    Delete

    Deletes a cost model.

    Clone

    Clones a cost model.


    Adding a Cost Model


      Step 1   Navigate to the Cost Model tab.

      For more information about how to navigate to the Cost Model tab, see Managing Cost Models.

      Step 2   Click Add.
      Step 3   In the Add Cost Model dialog box, complete the following fields:
      Name Description

      Cost Model Name field

      The cost model name.

      Cost Model Description field

      The cost model description.

      Cost Model Type drop-down list

      Choose HyperV as the cost model type.

      Charge Duration drop-down list

      Choose the Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly as the change frequency.
      Note   

      The remaining fields in this dialog box are all defined on an hourly basis.

      Fixed Costs

      One Time Cost field

      The fixed one-time cost for provisioning the VM.

      VM Costs

      Active VM Cost field

      The hourly cost of a VM in the active state.

      Inactive VM Cost drop-down list

      The hourly cost of a VM in the inactive state.

      CPU Costs

      CPU Charge Unit drop-down list

      Choose the GHz or Cores as the CPU charge unit.

      Provisioned CPU Cost field

      The hourly provisioned CPU cost per CPU charge unit (GHz). The cost is applicable for active VMs.

      Used CPU Cost field

      The hourly used CPU cost, based on actual CPU usage. The cost is applicable for active VMs.

      Note   

      This cost does not include provisioned and reserved cost. If you enter a value in Used CPU Cost, leave the provisioned cost and reserved cost fields empty. If you have specified the provisioned cost and reserved cost, leave the used CPU cost empty.

      CPU Core Cost field

      The hourly CPU cost per core allocated to a VM.

      Memory Costs

      Provisioned Memory Cost field

      The hourly provisioned memory cost per GB. The cost is applicable for active VMs.

      Note   

      The memory cost is calculated in the same manner as CPU cost.

      Used Memory Cost field

      The hourly reserved memory cost per GB. The cost is applicable for active VMs.

      Storage Costs

      Committed Storage Cost field

      The hourly committed storage cost per GB for both the active and inactive VMs.

      Used Storage Cost field

      The hourly reserved storage cost per GB for both the active and inactive VMs.

      Step 4   Click Add.

      Managing OS License Details

      You can add Windows OS license key data using the OS License tab. These license keys are the ones used in VM provisioning, and are mapped to Windows VM images during the creation of a catalog.

      Note


      If you entered Windows license key information in the HyperV System Policy, the license key entered on the OS License tab overrides that value.



        Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Service Delivery.
        Step 2   Click the OS License tab.

        The OS Licenses in the Cisco UCS Director are displayed. The OS License tab provides the following actions:

        Action Description

        Refresh

        Refreshes the current page.

        Favorite

        Adds this page to the Favorites tab which displays the page that you go to most often.

        Add

        Adds an OS license in the Cisco UCS Director.

        When you choose an OS license, the following actions appear:

        Button Name Description

        View

        Displays an OS license.

        Edit

        Edits an OS license.

        Delete

        Deletes an OS license after confirmation.

        Clone

        Clones an OS license.


        Adding OS License Details


          Step 1   Navigate to the OS License tab.

          For more information about how to navigate to the OS License tab, see .

          Step 2   Click Add.
          Step 3   In the Add License Details dialog box, complete the following fields:
          Name Description

          Windows Version Name field

          The Windows version name.

          License field

          The Windows product ID/license key.

          Note   

          Key Management Service (KMS) client setup keys are also accepted.

          License Owner Name field

          The name of the Windows license owner.

          Organization field

          The organization to be configured in the VM.

          License Mode drop-down list

          Choose Per-Seat or Per-Server as the license mode.

          Number of licensed Users field

          The number of licensed users or connections.

          Step 4   Click Submit.

          Managing Hyper-V Deployment Policies

          The HyperV deployment policy defines system-specific information, such as the following:

          • VM name template for the automatic creation of VM names

          • Host name template

          • VM image type

          • OS license pool product ID

          • Time zone for the deployment that uses the policy

          • Domain and/or workgroup to be used for deployment with this policy


            Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Service Delivery.
            Step 2   Scroll across the tabs to find and click the HyperV Deployment Policy tab.

            The Hyper-V deployment policies in the Cisco UCS Director are displayed. The HyperV Deployment Policy tab provides the following actions:

            Action Description

            Refresh

            Refreshes the current page.

            Favorite

            Adds this page to the Favorites tab which displays the page that you go to most often.

            Add

            Adds a Hyper-V deployment policy.

            When you choose an OS license, the following actions appear:

            Button Name Description

            View

            Displays a Hyper-V deployment policy.

            Edit

            Edits a Hyper-V deployment policy.

            Delete

            Deletes a Hyper-V deployment policy.

            Clone

            Clones a Hyper-V deployment policy.


            Managing Hyper-V Deployment Policies

            The HyperV deployment policy defines system-specific information, such as the following:

            • VM name template for the automatic creation of VM names

            • Host name template

            • VM image type

            • OS license pool product ID

            • Time zone for the deployment that uses the policy

            • Domain and/or workgroup to be used for deployment with this policy


              Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Service Delivery.
              Step 2   Scroll across the tabs to find and click the HyperV Deployment Policy tab.

              The Hyper-V deployment policies in the Cisco UCS Director are displayed. The HyperV Deployment Policy tab provides the following actions:

              Action Description

              Refresh

              Refreshes the current page.

              Favorite

              Adds this page to the Favorites tab which displays the page that you go to most often.

              Add

              Adds a Hyper-V deployment policy.

              When you choose an OS license, the following actions appear:

              Button Name Description

              View

              Displays a Hyper-V deployment policy.

              Edit

              Edits a Hyper-V deployment policy.

              Delete

              Deletes a Hyper-V deployment policy.

              Clone

              Clones a Hyper-V deployment policy.


              Adding a Hyper-V Deployment Policy


                Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Service Delivery.
                Step 2   Click the HyperV Deployment Policy tab.
                Step 3   Click Add.
                Step 4   In the Add Policy dialog box, complete the following fields:
                Name

                Description

                Policy Name field

                The name for the Hyper-V deployment policy.

                Policy Description field

                The description of the Hyper-V deployment policy.

                Power On after deploy check box

                Check if you want all VMs deployed using this policy to be automatically powered on.

                VM Name Template field

                The VM name template for generating VM names, declared in the format ${VARIABLE}. For example: vm-${GROUP_NAME}-SR${SR_ID}.

                The following variable names are permitted:
                • CLOUD_NAME—The name of the cloud that is being deployed.

                • GROUP_NAME—The name of the group the VM belongs to.

                • CATALOG_NAME—The name of the catalog item or entry.

                • USER—The requesting user ID.

                • SR_ID—The service request ID.

                • COMMENTS—The requesting user's comments.

                • PROFILE_NAME—The name of the policy.

                • LOCATION—The name of the location, as specified during cloud creation.

                • UNIQUE_ID—A random-ID that makes the name unique.

                • APPCODE—The application code value specified during catalog creation.

                • COST_CENTER—The cost center a group or customer organization is associated with that is specified during group or customer organization creation.

                Note   

                You can append the # character to the VM Name Template to create a unique index number for the VM Name. It can be specified in multiples. For example, if the VM name template is vm-${GROUP_NAME}##, the VM Name is vm-ABCD01 for the first VM provisioned with this policy (the group name is ABCD and 01 represents ##).

                Recycle VM Name check box

                By default, decommissioned VM names that were previously provisioned are used when creating a new VM. Uncheck if you do not want to recycle previously used VM names.

                End User VM Name or VM Prefix check box

                Check if you want to add the VM prefix specified by the end user in the custom specification page of the service request during VM provisioning.

                Host Name Template field

                The host name template for generating host names, declared in the format ${VARIABLE}. For example: host-${GROUP_NAME}-SR${SR_ID}.

                The following variable names are permitted:
                • CLOUD_NAME—The name of the cloud that is being deployed.

                • GROUP_NAME—The name of the group the VM belongs to.

                • CATALOG_NAME—The name of the catalog item or entry.

                • USER—The requesting user ID.

                • SR_ID—The service request ID.

                • COMMENTS—The requesting user's comments.

                • PROFILE_NAME—The name of the policy.

                • LOCATION—The name of the location, as specified during cloud creation.

                • UNIQUE_ID—A random-ID that makes the name unique.

                • APPCODE—The application code value specified during catalog creation.

                • COST_CENTER—The cost center a group or customer organization is associated with that is specified during group or customer organization creation.

                Note   

                The # character can be appended to the Host Name Template to create a unique index number for the Host Name. It can be specified in multiples.

                Note   

                Hostname is limited to 15 characters and must compliance with Windows NetBIOS limitations. This limitation is applicable for both Windows and Linux VMs.

                Recycle Host Name check box

                By default, host names from a decommissioned VM that was previously provisioned are used when creating a new host. Uncheck if you do not want to recycle previously used host names.

                End User Host Name or Host Prefix check box

                Check if you want to add the host prefix specified by the end user in the custom specification page of the service request during host provisioning.

                Time Zone drop-down list

                Choose the Time Zone for VMs using this policy.

                GUI Run Once Commands field

                The command to execute inside the VM after the VMs using this policy are provisioned. For example: cmd.exe/c md c:\newfolder.

                VM Image Type drop-down list

                By default, Windows and Linux appears as the VM image type.

                If you choose Linux Only, a new Add Policy dialog box appears.

                For a Linux only VM image, complete the required fields.

                Linux Parameters

                Root Password field

                The root password of the Linux machine.

                DNS Domain Name field

                The name of the DNS domain.

                Windows Parameters

                Product ID field

                The Windows product ID or license key.

                Note   

                If this value does not match the value in your OS License Pool, that value overrides the key provided here.

                Administrator Password field

                The administrator password for the template.

                Organization Name field

                The organization name to be configured with the VM operating system.

                Full Name field

                The full name of the organization.

                Domain/Workgroup drop-down list

                Choose either Workgroup or Domain.

                If you choose Domain, complete the required fields.

                Workgroup field

                The workgroup name.

                Step 5   For a Linux Only VM image, complete the following fields:
                Name Description

                Policy Name field

                The name for the Hyper-V deployment policy.

                Policy Description field

                The description of the Hyper-V deployment policy.

                Power On after deploy check box

                Check this check box if you want VMs to be automatically powered on after deployment.

                VM Name Template field

                The VM name template.

                Host Name Template field

                The host name template.

                Time Zone drop-down list

                Choose the Time Zone for VMs using this policy.

                GUI Run Once Commands field

                The command to execute inside the VM after the VMs using this policy are provisioned. For example: cmd.exe/c md c:\newfolder.

                VM Image Type drop-down list

                Choose Linux Only.

                Root Password field

                The root password of the Linux machine.

                DNS Domain Name field

                The name of the DNS domain.

                Step 6   When you choose Domain, complete the following fields:
                Name Description

                Domain field

                The domain name.

                Domain Username field

                The domain user name. The format of the user name is domain\username.

                Domain Password field

                The domain password.

                Step 7   Click Submit.

                Adding a Hyper-V Computing Policy


                  Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Computing.
                  Step 2   Click the HyperV Computing Policy tab.
                  Step 3   Click Add.
                  Step 4   In the Add Policy dialog box, complete the following fields.
                  Note   

                  Fields may vary depending on the version of SCVMM cloud selected.

                  Name Description

                  Policy Name field

                  The policy name.

                  Policy Description field

                  The policy description.

                  Cloud Name drop-down list

                  Choose the cloud name.

                  Host Node/Cluster Scope drop-down list

                  If you want to narrow the scope of the host node, choose another option. The default is All.

                  Selected Host Nodes field

                  This field appears when you choose to include or exclude hosts in the Host Node/Cluster Scope drop-down list.

                  Click Select and choose host nodes to include or exclude.

                  Associate SCVMM Cloud drop-down list

                  Changes the resource allocation, based on SCVMM cloud selected.

                  Allow Migration to Different CPU Type check box

                  Check this check box to allow migration of the provisioned VM to a different CPU type. Leave unchecked if you want to disallow migration.

                  Enable High Availability check box

                  Check this check box to enable high availability.

                  Note   

                  This option is required to deploy a VM on cluster resources. Make sure to select the cluster CSVs in the storage policy and common virtual switch available on cluster.

                  Filter Conditions check boxes

                  Check the conditions that apply. Any hosts that do not meet these criteria are excluded. For each selected Minimum Condition, choose the boolean operators and enter the condition value in the respective text field.

                  Note   

                  If more than one condition is selected, all selected conditions must match.

                  Deployment Options

                  Override Template check box

                  Check this check box if you want to override the template properties during deployment.

                  If checked, complete the required fields.

                  Resizing Options

                  Allow Resizing of VM check box

                  Check this check box if you want to allow VMs to be resized before or after provisioning.

                  If checked, complete the required fields.

                  Step 5   To override the template, complete the following fields:
                  Name Description

                  Number of vCPUs field

                  The number of vCPUs.

                  Enable Dynamic Memory check box

                  Check this check box to enable dynamic memory.

                  Memory (MB) field

                  The memory to be allocated.

                  Step 6   To allow VM resizing, complete the following fields:
                  Name Description

                  Permitted values for vCPUs field

                  The permitted individual values for vCPUs.

                  Permitted values for Memory in MB field

                  The permitted individual values for memory (MB)

                  Permitted values for Startup Memory field

                  The permitted individual values for startup memory (MB)

                  Permitted values for Maximum Memory in MB field

                  The permitted individual values for maximum memory (MB)

                  Permitted values for Memory Buffer (%) field

                  The permitted individual values for the memory buffer (percentages)

                  Step 7   Click Submit.

                  Adding a Hyper-V Network Policy

                  The network policy enables virtual network types to be defined and made available on host nodes.

                  You can also specify the following:

                  • Adapter types to assign for provisioned VMs

                  • Enablement of VLAN

                  • Extension of the policy to cover multiple vNICs


                    Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Network.
                    Step 2   Scroll across the tabs to find and click the Hyper-V Networking Policy tab.
                    Step 3   Click Add.
                    Step 4   In the Network Policy Information dialog box, complete the following fields.
                    Name Description

                    Policy Name field

                    The policy name.

                    Policy Description field

                    The policy description.

                    Cloud Name drop-down list

                    Choose the cloud name.

                    Allow end user to select optional NICs check box

                    Check this check box to allow end users to select optional NICs.

                    VM NIC(s) field

                    The list of VM NICs that are added to the network policy.

                    Click the + icon to add a VM NIC.

                    Step 5   To add a VM NIC to the network policy, in the Add Entry to VM NICs dialog box, complete the following fields:
                    Name Description

                    NIC Alias field

                    The name of the NIC alias of the VM network.

                    Mandatory check box

                    This check box is enabled when you check the Allow end user to select optional NICs check box. If you want to make the NIC alias as mandatory, check this check box.

                    Allow end user to choose VM Networks check box

                    Check this check box to allow end users to choose VM networks during VM provisioning.

                    Adapter Type drop-down list

                    Choose SYNTHETIC or EMULATED as the adapter type.

                    VM Networks field

                    The list of VM networks that are added to the NIC alias.

                    Click the + icon to add a VM network.

                    Step 6   To add a VM network to the network policy, in the Add Entry to VM Networks dialog box, complete the following fields:

                    Name

                    Description

                    Network Name field

                    Click Select and choose a network.

                    Fields in the Add Entry to VM Networks dialog box vary depending on the network model selected in the Network Name field.

                    Subnet drop-down list

                    This field appears when you choose an external network or a virtualization-based VM network. Choose a subnet from the drop-down list.

                    VLAN ID drop-down list

                    This field appears when you choose virtualization-based network without isolation. Choose a VLAN ID from the drop-down list.

                    Enable MAC Spoofing check box

                    Check this check box to enable changing of a factory-assigned MAC address on a NIC.

                    Use DHCP check box

                    Check this check box to use the DHCP server to assign dynamic IP addresses to devices on a network

                    Static IP Pool drop-down list

                    This field appears when the Use DHCP check box is unchecked. Choose the static IP pool from a list of IP pools in SCVMM.

                    Port Classification drop-down list

                    (Optional) Choose a port classification from the list of port classifications displayed based on the selected network.

                    Step 7   Click Submit.

                    Adding a Hyper-V Storage Policy


                      Step 1   On the menu bar, choose Policies > Virtual/Hypervisor Policies > Storage.
                      Step 2   Click the HyperV Storage Policy tab.
                      Step 3   Click Add.
                      Step 4   In the Add Policy dialog box, complete the following fields.
                      Note   

                      Fields may vary depending on the version of SCVMM cloud selected.

                      Name Description

                      Policy Name field

                      The storage policy name.

                      Policy Description field

                      The storage policy description.

                      Cloud Name drop-down list

                      Choose the SCVMM cloud name.

                      Scope

                      Data Stores Scope drop-down list

                      If you want to narrow the scope of the data stores, choose another option. The default is All.

                      Selected Data Stores

                      This field appears when you choose to include or exclude data store in the Data Stores Scope drop-down list.

                      Click Select and choose data stores to include or exclude.

                      Use CSV check box

                      Check this check box if you want to use CSV.

                      Note   

                      Using CSV is mandatory if deploying the VM on cluster resources.

                      Storage Options

                      Use Local Storage check box

                      Check this check box if you want to use local storage.

                      Use SAN check box

                      Check this check box if you want to use storage area network (SAN).

                      Use SMB check box

                      Check this check box if you want to use server message block (SMB).

                      Minimum Conditions check boxes

                      Check the conditions that apply. Any data stores that do not meet these criteria are excluded. For each selected Minimum Condition, choose the boolean operators and enter the condition value in the respective text field.

                      Note   

                      If more than one condition is selected, all selected conditions must match.

                      Deployment Options

                      Override Template check box

                      Check this check box if you want to override the template properties during deployment.

                      If checked, complete the required fields.

                      Resizing Options for VM Lifecycle

                      Allow Resizing of Disk check box

                      Check this check box to allow disk to be resized during the disk lifecycle.

                      Permitted Values for Disk in GB field

                      This field appears when you check the Allow Resizing of Disk check box. The permitted values for disk in GB.

                      Allow user to select datastores from scope check box

                      Check this check box to allow users to select datastores from scope.

                      Step 5   To override the template, complete the following fields:
                      Name Description

                      Use Dynamic Provisioning check box

                      Check this check box to enable dynamic memory.

                      Custom Disk Size (GB) field

                      The custom disk size to be allocated.

                      Step 6   Click Submit.