vCenter Nova Driver to deploy vCenter templates available as glance images

Registered by Kiran Kumar Vaddi

Title: vCenter Nova Driver to deploy vCenter templates available as glance images
In the current OpenStack architecture, to deploy an instance from an image, the images have to be available in glance. Images are added using the glance image-create command. Images are uploaded into the image server when image-create is used. VMware vCenter already has the deployable images in the form of “Templates”.

To be able to create instances from glance images that are actually templates, this blueprint proposes to enhance the VMware vCenter Nova driver to
1. Read the meta-data of the glance image
2. Use the VI SDK API to directly deploy the template
3. The deployed instance is created configured with the flavor information
By doing this we are leveraging the vCenter optimizations for the template deployments.

There are no changes required in glance to achieve this. The image's meta data indicating the name of the template and the vCenter where the template is hosted should be updated for the image. This can be done using the existing Glance APIs.

Blueprint information

Status:
Started
Approver:
Russell Bryant
Priority:
Medium
Drafter:
Kiran Kumar Vaddi
Direction:
Needs approval
Assignee:
Kiran Kumar Vaddi
Definition:
Pending Approval
Series goal:
None
Implementation:
Needs Code Review
Milestone target:
milestone icon next
Started by
Kiran Kumar Vaddi

Related branches

Sprints

Whiteboard

To clarify, this blueprint DOES NOT DEPEND ON GLANCE.

I'll get Kiran to update the blueprint text above, but he is out of office this week, so it may take a little bit.

- Dan Wendlandt

I saw the code on review.openstack for this blueprint, it doesn't support deploy vm from template with given customization spec? we've implemented spawn from template with customization spec name provided(gateway/dns/.. in the customization spec will be overwritten if user choose different network).
do you perfer we create a new blueprint or merge it together into this one?
-- ytwu

There are multiple blueprints for the vmware driver all assigned to the same person. I'd like some clarification that 1) there's consensus around these features, 2) who is actually doing the work, and 3) a realistic target for completion for each one, before adding these to the havana release plan. --russellb

I would like to see community participation in these. Can we have a discussion about this blueprint and then record the result here some how? --hartsocks

Gerrit topic: https://review.openstack.org/#q,topic:bp/deploy-vcenter-templates-from-vmware-nova-driver,n,z

Addressed by: https://review.openstack.org/34903
    Deploy vCenter templates

@ytwu: Is there a patch that is available that has the implementation of spawn from template using customization spec with n/w? We can merge both patches into one based on this. We can discuss this further on IRC or during the regular subteam meetings https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Meetings/VMwareAPI

Addressed by: https://review.openstack.org/72292
    Define constants for the VIF model types

Addressed by: https://review.openstack.org/59365
    VMware: support the hotplug of a neutron port

(?)

Work Items

Dependency tree

* Blueprints in grey have been implemented.