VMware Cloud Provider Lifecycle Manager 1.5 is now GA

We are joyful to announce the final availability of VMware Cloud Provider Lifecycle Manager (VCPLCM) model 1.5 as on 18^th April 2023.

VMware helps companies suppliers to maintain up with the tempo of improvements that permits them to supply the most recent and biggest instruments to their tenants to assist their companies. This is straightforward mentioned than accomplished. Service suppliers have to additionally concentrate on deployments, upgrades, and configuration of product stack to ship seamless companies and meet SLAs. Operations like, upgrades, deployment and total administration turns into an overhead that impedes time and innovation.

With this model of VCPLCM, we’ve launched many options that are helpful to the suppliers each when it comes to administration and notification relating to the prevailing atmosphere. We have delivered enhancements and refinements that allow improved operational expertise and fast course of instances, thereby permitting companions to concentrate on delivering modern differentiation and seamless companies to their tenants and ship improved SLAs with sooner time to market.

With model 1.4 (that was introduced in October 2022) we delivered GUI enhancements, prolonged hassle capturing and parallel activity dealing with capabilities. Building on the identical, we’ve delivered options that present an enhanced consumer expertise with simplified operations.

Let’s now see what are the brand new options that VCPLCM 1.5 affords:

We have targeted extra on providing important enhancements that permits companions to expertise a refined and enhanced operational toolset.

• First, we’ve enabled the Auto registration of VMware Usage Meter on the Commerce Portal, which means, customers can now begin metering their VMware merchandise proper from the deployment that eases the suppliers to register their home equipment individually.
• Next, we’ve launched notifications for duties. Users can now both see the standing proper from the GUI as earlier than or can arrange a notification electronic mail that may free the customers from ceaselessly checking in.
• Task Execution enhancements – This is one other main function that has been added. Should there be any failures whereas upgrading, the customers now have the choice to Roll-back or resume their upgrades from a “check point” lowering the time and effort for upgrades.
• The Restart choice has been launched within the UI that helps customers to Restart the product deployment and register datacenter part in case it fails. Barring the necessity to enter the small print once more.   

Isn’t this nice? I’m positive you wish to know extra, let’s discuss these intimately.

Below are the important thing options that are options that are included with model 1.5.

1. Usage Meter Auto Registration
2. Notifications for VCPLCM
3. Interop Reporting
4. Enhanced Task Execution
5. Alternative Product Version definition
6. API model 3 has been launched.

Usage Meter Auto Registration

Deployment & Management of Usage Meter and configuring collectors is without doubt one of the options of VCPLCM. We have gone past simply that and have included auto-registration together with deployment.

When deploying the Usage Meter, it is possible for you to to register that with the VMware Commerce portal.

Below are the steps it’s good to comply with to register Usage Meter with the VMware Commerce portal utilizing VCPLCM.

1. While deploying Usage Meter it’s good to choose UM Auto Register

2. Provide the beneath particulars:

• CSP Token – API token to be retrieved from VMware Cloud Partner Navigator
• Metering Mode- Production/Test
• Connectivity Mode- Online/Offline
• Contract Number
• Site Name

You can even present the beneath proxy particulars for connectivity:

Upon offering the above particulars, you possibly can auto-register the Usage Meter with VMware Commerce portal throughout the deployment utilizing VCPLCM.

Notifications for VMware Cloud Provider Lifecycle Manager

VCPLCM is executing duties primarily based on the API requests. Such duties may be long-running till (together with) VCPLCM 1.4 the one option to discover out if a activity was completed was to confirm the standing repeatedly.

However, particularly for long-running duties, customers may not stick with the consumer interface to get an replace on the duty. Instead, it might be good to get data on activity updates by way of electronic mail.

In addition to activity execution, customers may wish to obtain data on essential product-related occasions, resembling expired certificates or passwords.

To get knowledgeable about such occasions with out explicitly logging in to VCPLCM and querying merchandise or different extra particular particulars, VCPLCM 1.5 have launched a notification system that may inform customers if configured accordingly, additionally notify them by way of electronic mail of the standing of the duties executed and ship notifications for expired passwords and certificates.

Notification service

To add the notification performance, VCPLCM provides a notification service.

This notification service supplies an choice so as to add a notification in case some occasion happens. Below are the eventualities.

• The activity completes – both profitable, failed or cancelled.
• Certificate expires.
• Password expires.
• A certificates is about to run out (configurable threshold)
• Password is about to run out (configurable threshold)

The notification service is configurable by API, please check with the VMware documentation for extra particulars and obtain the most recent Postman assortment for a similar.

Interop Reporting

Interop reporting has been launched, the place particulars concerning the current environments and their integrations with co-existing merchandise are displayed, indicating model incompatibilities or pending/upcoming points. Apart from model incompatibilities, it additionally reveals the password standing, expiration date and certificates standing as properly.

You can outline the present or goal model and it’ll checklist associated merchandise, attainable upgrades, upcoming expiring certificates or passwords.

The report is downloaded in JSON format, and you need to use the respective device to view the identical.

Enhanced Task Execution

Restart Option:
The wait is over; you don’t have to enter the small print once more for any failed or cancelled activity. We have launched the “Restart” choice in UI which is on the market for product deployment and datacenter part registration as of now. You get an choice to retrieve the unique activity payload by choosing “Download request Payload” and may begin the deployment with modifying enter.

Rollback and Resume Option:

Rollback and resume choice has been launched in case of any failure throughout the improve.

Enable Rollback choice was out there within the earlier model, for any failure throughout the improve course of, the product shall be rolled again to the prevailing model. However, with this model, you get an choice to disable that Automatic Rollback function and get an choice to roll again or resume from a checkpoint. These checkpoints are outlined as sub-tasks, and you’ll choose these checkpoints as per your requirement to renew/rollback.

Alternate Product model definition

Now you possibly can view alternate product variations together with the construct quantity in VCPLCM GUI.

This is launched to keep away from confusion whereas choosing the product model for deployment.

With earlier variations, we needed to keep a selected folder construction to repeat the product binaries however now these binaries may be copied wherever contained in the /cplcmrepo listing.

The above adjustments have been integrated to make sure simplicity when it comes to product deployment.

API Changes

VCP LCM REST API has been up to date and stays with model 3.

Version 1 and a pair of of API are nonetheless accessible, however it is suggested to make use of v3.

Below are the operations included:

• Restarting, resuming, and rolling again duties
• Retrieve the request payload of a activity.
• Generate an interop report.
• Retrieve notifications and archive/learn notifications.

CLI and GUI are utilizing v3, nonetheless, CLI has an choice to work with v1 or v2 API as properly.

For extra data on the discharge, please check with the launch notes. You can even go to our documentation web page for extra particulars. You can obtain the product from the downloads web page.

For extra questions, please join with us by way of our devoted Slack channel and we’d be joyful to reply to your queries and suggestions. Or go away a reply.