Getting Started Guide for UKCloud for VMware
Overview
If you're new to UKCloud, you'll probably have received a link to this guide as part of your welcome email. It will help you to get started using UKCloud for VMware.
The Getting Started Guide provides an overview of UKCloud for VMware and gives you basic information about how to log in and set up your environment.
Intended audience
To complete the steps in this guide you must have access to the UKCloud Portal and vCloud Director. To build compute services and virtual data centres (VDCs) you must be a vCloud Director administrator.
Before you begin
You should have received your UKCloud Portal login credentials from your Customer Success Manager (CSM).
We recommend that you use the Mozilla Firefox ESR 32-bit browser as this is supported by both the UKCloud Portal and by the Web Console for the version of vCloud Director used by UKCloud for VMware.
More information! Browser requirements for services on the UKCloud Platform
Introductions to UKCloud for VMware
We understand that each enterprise application has its own set of technical and service requirements that must be addressed on an individual basis. UKCloud for VMware is highly configurable, and gives you the flexibility to use different service levels, VM sizes, security domains, connectivity and data protection options.
You can build completely tailored solutions by mixing and matching service options. The choice doesn't lock you to one service or size and you can always change it later.
Services within UKCloud belong to an account, which in turn belongs to a company. A company can own multiple accounts. You can use accounts to create separate environments for different projects or, in the case of UKCloud partners, to create separate environments for different customers. Within an account you can have multiple UKCloud services, one of which could be UKCloud for VMware. You can have multiple instances of a service within an account.
Logging in to the UKCloud Portal
The first thing you need to do to get started with UKCloud for VMware is to log in to the UKCloud Portal.
Go to the appropriate URL, depending on the security domain in which your service is located:
Assured OFFICIAL: https://portal.ukcloud.com
Elevated OFFICIAL: Contact your Portal administrator or Customer Success Manager (CSM)
On the Log in page, enter your credentials and click Sign in.
Tip
If you've forgotten your password, click the Forgotten password? link to request a password reset.
If this is the first time you've logged in, use the temporary password you were given by your Portal administrator or CSM. You'll be prompted to change this temporary password.
If your Portal administrator has enabled memorable word authentication, you'll be prompted to enter three randomly‑selected letters from your memorable word. (If this is the first time you've logged in, you'll be prompted to create a memorable word.)
If your Portal administrator has enabled Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), you'll be prompted to enter a six digit code. Use your 2FA app to generate the code and enter it here. (If this is the first time you've logged in, you'll be prompted to set up 2FA.)
Note
If you incorrectly enter your password three times, you'll be prompted to enter a captcha code until you successfully log in. If you incorrectly enter the captcha code or your password another three times, a seventh unsuccessful login attempt will result in your account being locked. You'll need to contact your Portal administrator to unlock your account.
For more information about the UKCloud Portal and all the functionality it provides, see the Getting Started Guide for the UKCloud Portal.
Creating your UKCloud for VMware estate
When you first access UKCloud for VMware, you'll need to create a compute service (sometimes called a vOrg) to act as a top-level container for your cloud resources. As your estate grows, you can add more compute services to logically organise your resources.
Within your compute service, you create VDCs to contain your VMs. VMs in the same VDC share workload characteristics and have access to the same resources, such as networking infrastructure, storage and external connectivity. We recommend that you organise related VMs within vApps to make your applications easier to manage. For example, you can start all the VMs within a vApp with a single operation, rather than having to start up each VM separately. vApps are also useful to help maintain crash‑consistency within an application in the event of a disaster.
Building a compute service
If you have the appropriate permissions, you can use the Portal to create a compute service in your account, without having to raise a support ticket.
In the UKCloud Portal, select the account in which you want to create the compute service.
In the navigation panel, expand Tools and then select Create Compute Service.
On the Build Compute Service page, from the Zone radio buttons, select the zone in which you want to create the new compute service.
Note
In the Portal, you can create compute services only in zones in regions 5 and 6.
Enter a Compute Service Name.
Tip
The name can be up to 32 characters long and can include any character except +.
Click Build.
The Build Compute Service Status page displays information about the compute service you're building and lets you know how the build is progressing.
Tip
You can stay on this page until the build is finished, or you can leave this page and check the status of the build later by going to the VMware Cloud Build History report.
When the build is complete, the page displays either a success or fail message.
If the build is successful, you can start building VDCs in your compute service (see Building a virtual data centre).
If the build is unsuccessful, raise a support ticket (quoting the Build ID) to resolve any issues.
Building a virtual data centre
After creating your compute service, the next step is to create one or more VDCs.
Note
You can build VDCs in any of your compute services in regions 5 and 6, including those created by support tickets or the Portal API, not just those you created using the Portal.
In the Portal navigation panel, expand VMware Cloud and then select the compute service in which you want to create the VDC.
Note
To create a VDC using the Portal, the compute service must be in region 5 or 6.
From the Actions menu, select Build VDC.
Note
If this option is greyed out, either you do not have the appropriate permissions or your compute service is not in region 5 or 6.
On the Build VDC page, from the VM Type radio buttons, select the option that describes the characteristics of the workload of the VDC:
ESSENTIAL---For lower priority workloads, such as temporary applications, data processing or system modelling tasks. VMs in the VDC can have contended compute resource allocation (CPU/RAM) and automated rebalancing is enabled to ensure the workload receives the requested performance.
POWER---For key workloads that are resource intensive, such as web and application workloads, mid-sized databases and caching services. VMs in the VDC have an uncontended compute resource allocation and automated rebalancing is enabled to pre-emptively optimise performance and availability.
PRIORITY---For critical workloads that handle important business processes that benefit from a steady state of operation. VMs in the VDC have an uncontended compute resource allocation and automated rebalancing is configured to reduce workload movement around the platform.
Enter a VDC Name.
Tip
The name can be up to 32 characters long and can include any character except +.
Click Build.
The VDC Build Status page displays information about the VDC you're building and lets you know how the build is progressing.
Tip
You can stay on this page until the build is finished, or you can leave this page and check the status of the build later by going to the VMware Cloud Build History report.
When the build is complete, the page displays either a success or fail message.
If the build is successful, you can start building VMs. To provide external access to the VDC, you'll need to create an edge gateway (see How to build an edge gateway using the UKCloud Portal).
If the build is unsuccessful, raise a support ticket (quoting the Build ID) to resolve any issues.
Logging in to vCloud Director
After you've created your compute service and VDC, you can start to build up your applications. To do this, you must log in to vCloud Director, which you can access from the UKCloud Portal.
In the Portal navigation panel expand VMware Cloud then select your compute service.
On the vCloud Director tab, for additional security, re-enter your UKCloud Portal password, then click Confirm.
vCloud Director launches in your browser window. What you see depends on the version of vCloud Director available in your environment.
vCloud Director 8.20 Home page
Note
If this is the first time you've opened vCloud Director, you may be requested to download the vCloud Director Web Console plugin.
Tip
If you encounter any issues, make sure you're using the Firefox ESR 32-bit browser. For more information, see Browser requirements for services on the UKCloud Platform.
vCloud Director 9.1 Home page
The tasks you can perform in vCloud Director will depend on the permissions you have been granted.
More information! How to manage permissions for vCloud Director
To return to the UKCloud Portal:
- In vCloud Director 8.20, click the Logout link in the top right corner.
- In vCloud Director 9.1, click your user name in the top right corner, and select Log out.
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Next steps
In this Getting Started Guide, you've learned:
About your UKCloud for VMware environment and how your estate is organised
How to log in to the UKCloud Portal
How to create a compute service and VDC to set up your environment
How to log in to vCloud Director so that you can start to build your applications
Now that you've set up your basic environment, you can start building your applications. If you want to get up and running quickly, you can take a look at How to build a virtual machine with UKCloud for VMware, which provides a quick walkthrough of the process.
For more detailed information about the different aspects of your UKCloud for VMware environment, see:
To create virtual machines to define your applications:
To create a VDC network to enable your virtual machines to communicate with each other and the outside world:
To configure your edge gateway to control access to your VMs:
Related videos
Glossary
This section provides a glossary of terms specific to UKCloud for VMware.
account Within the UKCloud for VMware environment there are two types of account:
customer account --- A collection of related compute services associated with a particular customer or partner.
user account --- The account you use to log in to the UKCloud Portal or authenticate with the Portal API. Your user account determines which customer accounts you have access to. Each user account can be associated with multiple customer accounts.
company A UKCloud construct to organise business accounts. Each company can own multiple accounts.
compute service A top-level container within a customer account that includes a vCloud Director organization and its VDCs, catalogues, users and resources.
UKCloud for VMware A UKCloud IaaS service that provides a compute infrastructure specifically designed to deliver traditional enterprise applications to the cloud.
ESSENTIAL A type of VM that may have contended resource allocation. Automated rebalancing is enabled to ensure the workload receives the requested performance.
POWER A type of VM with uncontended compute resource allocation. Automated balancing is enabled to pre-emptively optimise performance and availability.
PRIORITY A type of VM with uncontended compute resource allocation. Automated balancing is configured to reduce workload movement around the platform, reducing workload disruption.
vApp A container for VMs that enables you to group related VMs together to manage them in one place.
virtual data centre (VDC) A container for VMs, where each VM has the same workload characteristics and access to the same resources, such as networking infrastructure, storage and external connectivity.
virtual machine (VM) Software that emulates the functionality of a physical computer, running an operating system and applications. Customers can define a VM's resource requirements and the UKCloud platform optimises its placement to ensure it receives the requested resources.
Feedback
If you find an issue with this article, click Improve this Doc to suggest a change. If you have an idea for how we could improve any of our services, visit UKCloud Ideas. Alternatively, you can contact us at products@ukcloud.com.