Release date: August 2023
Shell version: 6.1.0
Document version: 2.0
- Overview
- Downloading the Shell
- Importing and Configuring the Shell
- Updating Python Dependencies for Shells
- Typical Workflows
- Workarounds
- References
- Release Notes
A shell integrates a device model, application or other technology with CloudShell. A shell consists of a data model that defines how the device and its properties are modeled in CloudShell, along with automation that enables interaction with the device via CloudShell.
CloudShell Cloud Providers shells provide L2 or L3 connectivity between resources and/or Apps.
VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G provides you with app deployment and management capabilities. These include the following:
- Python 3.9 support
- vSphere 7 support
- VM Customization Specifications
- Standard vSwitch connectivity
- Option to display the VM's web console directly from vCenter
- Capability to customize the VM's technical specs (storage size, memory, CPU), support for programmatically creating missing network interfaces if the VM is missing virtual network adapters
- Option to view cluster usage stats directly from the sandbox
For details, see the Add VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Resource CloudShell Help article. For more information on the device, see the vendor's official product documentation.
VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G is based on the Cloud Provider Standard version 1.1.0.
For detailed information about the shell’s structure and attributes, see the Cloud Provider Standard in GitHub.
Release: VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G
▪ CloudShell version 2022.1 and above
Notes:
- Save/Restore Sandbox support for vCenter Shell 2G is available in ClousdShell 2021.1 P1 and above.
- If your CloudShell version does not support this shell, you should consider upgrading to a later version of CloudShell or contact customer support.
The shell's data model includes all shell metadata, families, and attributes.
The attribute names and types are listed in the following section of the Cloud Provider Shell Standard:
Common Cloud Provider Attributes
The following table describes attributes that are unique to this shell and are not documented in the Shell Standard:
| Attribute Name | Data Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| User | String | |
| Password | Password | |
| Default dvSwitch | String | The default vCenter vSwitch or dvSwitch that will be used when configuring VM connectivity. Should be under the Default Datacenter |
| Holding Network | String | The default network that will be configured when disconnecting from another network. Should be under the Default Datacenter |
| VM Cluster | String | The vCenter cluster or host that will be used when deploying a VM. Should be under the Default Datacenter |
| VM Resource Pool | String | The vCenter Resource Pool in which the VM will be created. Should be under the defined VM Cluster (optional) |
| VM Storage | String | The vCenter storage in which the VMs will be created. The storage can be either a datastore or a datastore cluster. For example: datastore1 (To use a specific datastore inside a cluster, specify the cluster name and the datastore name. For example: clustername/datastore1) |
| Saved Sandbox Storage | String | The vCenter storage in which the content of saved sandboxes will be created. The storage can be either a datastore or a datastore cluster. For example: datastore1 or clustername/datastore1 (for datastore inside a cluster) |
| Behavior during save | String | Determines the VM behavior when the sandbox is saved. If Power off is selected, and the VM was powered on before the save, then the VM will shut down for the duration of the save, and then be powered on at the end |
| VM Location | String | The full path to the folder within vCenter in which the VM will be created. (e.g vms/quali) |
| Shutdown Method | String | The shutdown method that will be used when powering off the VM. Possible options are 'Hard' and 'Soft' shutdown |
| OVF Tool Path | String | The path for the OVF tool installation. Use the same path for all execution servers |
| Reserved Networks | String | Reserved networks separated by Semicolon(;), vNICs configured to those networks won't be used for VM connectivity |
| Promiscuous Mode | Boolean | If enabled the port groups on the virtual switch will be configured to allow promiscuous mode |
This section describes the automation (driver) associated with the data model. The shell’s driver is provided as part of the shell package. There are two types of automation processes, Autoload and Resource. Autoload is executed when creating the resource in the Inventory dashboard.
For detailed information on each available commands, see the following section of the Cloud Provider Standard:
Common Cloud Provider Commands
The VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G shell is available from the Quali Community Integrations page.
Download the files into a temporary location on your local machine.
The shell comprises:
| File name | Description |
|---|---|
| VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G.zip | Device shell package |
| cloudshell-VMware-vCenter-Cloud-Provider-Shell-2G-dependencies-win-package-<version>.zip | Shell Python dependencies (for offline deployments only) |
This section describes how to import the VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G shell and configure and modify the shell’s devices.
To import the shell into CloudShell:
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Make sure you have the shell’s zip package. If not, download the shell from the Quali Community's Integrations page.
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In CloudShell Portal, as Global administrator, open the Manage – Shells page.
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Click Import.
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In the dialog box, navigate to the shell's zip package, select it and click Open.
The shell is displayed in the Shells page and can be used by domain administrators in all CloudShell domains to create new inventory resources, as explained in Adding Inventory Resources.
Note: Offline installation instructions are relevant only if CloudShell Execution Server has no access to PyPi. You can skip this section if your execution server has access to PyPi. For additional information, see the online help topic on offline dependencies.
In offline mode, import the shell into CloudShell and place any dependencies in the appropriate dependencies folder. The dependencies folder may differ, depending on the CloudShell version you are using:
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For CloudShell version 8.3 and above, see Adding Shell and script packages to the local PyPi Server repository.
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For CloudShell version 8.2, perform the appropriate procedure: Adding Shell and script packages to the local PyPi Server repository or Setting the Python pythonOfflineRepositoryPath configuration key.
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For CloudShell versions prior to 8.2, see Setting the Python pythonOfflineRepositoryPath configuration key.
If your Quali Server and/or execution servers work offline, you will need to copy all required Python packages, including the out-of-the-box ones, to the PyPi Server's repository on the Quali Server computer (by default C:\Program Files (x86)\QualiSystems\CloudShell\Server\Config\Pypi Server Repository).
For more information, see Configuring CloudShell to Execute Python Commands in Offline Mode.
To add Python packages to the local PyPi Server repository:
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If you haven't created and configured the local PyPi Server repository to work with the execution server, perform the steps in Add Python packages to the local PyPi Server repository (offline mode).
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For each shell or script you add into CloudShell, do one of the following (from an online computer):
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Connect to the Internet and download each dependency specified in the requirements.txt file with the following command:
pip download -r requirements.txt. The shell or script's requirements are downloaded as zip files. -
In the Quali Community's Integrations page, locate the shell and click the shell's Download link. In the page that is displayed, from the Downloads area, extract the dependencies package zip file.
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Place these zip files in the local PyPi Server repository.
This section explains how to create a new resource from the shell.
In CloudShell, the component that models the device is called a resource. It is based on the shell that models the device and allows the CloudShell user and API to remotely control the device from CloudShell.
You can also modify existing resources, see Managing Resources in the Inventory.
To create a resource for the device:
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In the CloudShell Portal, in the Inventory dashboard, click Add New.
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From the list, select VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G.
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Click Create.
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In the Resource dialog box, enter the following attributes with data from step 1:
| File name | Description |
|---|---|
| User | Paste here your vCenter User |
| Password | Paste here your vCenter User Password |
| Default Datacenter | Paste here default Datacenter |
| Default dvSwitch | Paste here default dvSwitch which will be used for the connectivity |
| Holding Network | Paste here default network that will be configured when disconnecting from another network |
| VM Cluster | Paste here vCenter cluster or host that will be used when deploying a VM |
| VM Storage | Paste here vCenter storage in which the VMs will be created |
| VM Location | Paste here the full path to the folder within vCenter in which the VM will be created |
- Click Continue.
CloudShell validates provided settings and creates the new resource.
VMware vCenter Cloud Provider Shell 2G requires you to create an appropriate App template, which would be deployed as part of the sandbox reservation. For details, see the following CloudShell Help article: Applications' Typical Workflow
This section explains how to update your Python dependencies folder. This is required when you upgrade a shell that uses new/updated dependencies. It applies to both online and offline dependencies.
To update offline Python dependencies:
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Download the latest Python dependencies package zip file locally.
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Extract the zip file to the suitable offline package folder(s).
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Terminate the shell’s instance, as explained here.
In online mode, the execution server automatically downloads and extracts the appropriate dependencies file to the online Python dependencies repository every time a new instance of the driver or script is created.
To update online Python dependencies:
- If there is a live instance of the shell's driver or script, terminate the shell’s instance, as explained here. If an instance does not exist, the execution server will download the Python dependencies the next time a command of the driver or script runs.
Using the vCenter 2nd Gen shell, it is possible to connect an App or deployed App to an existing port group. This enables you to connect deployed Apps in different sandboxes and also to connect Apps deployed in a sandbox to static VMs on the vCenter server.
Note: This capability is supported only for vCenter Apps and applies to port groups created on the datacenter defined on the vCenter cloud provider resource. For illustration purposes, the below procedure assumes you want to connect an App to port group "QS_vSwitch1_VLAN_100_Access".
To connect an App to an existing port group:
- Download the vCenter.VLAN.Port.Group.zip file from the vCenter 2G shell's Integrations page.
- Import the ZIP file into CloudShell Portal.
- Open the blueprint or sandbox.
- From the App / Service pane, drag the new vCenter VLAN Port Group service into the diagram.
- Set the service's details:
- Port Group Name: Full port group name. For example: "QS_vSwitch1_VLAN_100_Access".
- VLAN ID: Port group's VLAN ID. For example: "100".
- Click Add.
- Create connection requirements between the vCenter Apps and the service.
- Deploy the connection(s), as appropriate.
The connection is created like with any other VLAN service. This includes by deploying the App, connecting the purple Connector line if the App is already deployed, and reserving the blueprint.
When using vCenter 2G Shell version 2.0.0 and 2.2.0, the App deployment types include an attribute that is incorrectly named "HHD" instead of "HDD". The below procedure explains how to fix this issue, which is done in CloudShell’s SQL Server’s Quali database.
To rename the HHD attribute:
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On CloudShell’s SQL Server machine (usually hosted on the Quali Server machine), open SQL Server Management Studio.
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Connect to database.
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Navigate to Databases > Quali. Right-click and select New Query.
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In the SQLQuery window, paste the following requests:
update AttributeInfo set Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From VM 2G.HDD' where (Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From VM 2G.HHD');
update AttributeInfo set Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From Template 2G.HDD' where (Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From Template 2G.HHD');
update AttributeInfo set Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From Image 2G.HDD' where (Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From Image 2G.HHD');
update AttributeInfo set Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From Linked Clone 2G.HDD' where (Name = 'VMware vCenter Cloud Provider 2G.vCenter VM From Linked Clone 2G.HHD');
For example:
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Click Execute.
The following output should be displayed:
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To verify, go to CloudShell Portal’s Manage>Apps page. Open an App template that uses a vCenter 2G Shell resource. Make sure the vCenter 2G deployment types include the HDD attribute:
To download and share integrations, see Quali Community's Integrations.
For instructional training and documentation, see Quali University.
To suggest an idea for the product, see Quali's Idea box.
To connect with Quali users and experts from around the world, ask questions and discuss issues, see Quali's Community forums.
For release updates, see the shell's GitHub releases page.
- On vCenter 7 there's an issues with adding tags. vCenter ticket.