Associating add-ons with classic virtual system patterns

You can associate an add-on with a classic virtual system pattern.

Before you begin

You must create the add-on or plan to select it from the list of available default add-ons before you can associate it with a classic virtual system pattern. For more information, see the related links.

About this task

You can select add-ons in the catalog and add them to a virtual system topology pattern part when you manage your virtual system patterns. When you deploy the virtual system pattern, you provide the parameters for the add-ons to customize the hardware and operating system configuration.

As you associate add-ons with your virtual image parts, be aware of the following considerations:
  • While all of the default add-ons provided with the product are shown in the catalog, not all of these default add-ons can be associated with all parts when you are creating virtual system patterns. Depending on the parts you select for your pattern, only those add-ons that are valid for the selected parts are displayed in the Pattern Editor pane.
  • Certain virtual image parts might have restrictions on your ability to add add-ons. For example, DataPower virtual images do not support access to the virtual machine using ssh. Because of this restriction, add-ons cannot be added to this type of image. If you attempt to add an add-on to this type of image, the add-on is not added, and the following error message is displayed:
    Neither script package nor add-ons can be added to this kind of image part.
  • The Default configure NIC add-on is a special add-on that is different from the others. It is not an executable script, and there are no associated environment variables. This add-on is configured during the initial startup of the virtual machine during deployment, compared to other add-ons that are executed and configured after the VM is started.

    When you add a virtual image part that requires multiple network interface card (NIC) devices, the Default configure NIC add-on is added automatically to the virtual image part. For example, if the virtual image part requires four NICs (as defined in the OVF file), one NIC is configured by default for the virtual image part, and three more Default configure NIC add-ons are automatically added to the part. You can delete excess NICs from the virtual image part if you do not need the number that are configured by default, and you can add more NICs to the part by selecting the Default configure NIC add-on from the available list. At deployment time, all of these Default configure NIC add-ons are configured for the image during initial startup of the VM.

  • At deployment time, all add-on operations are run before the custom script packages are run. The order in which add-ons are run at deployment cannot be specified in a virtual system pattern, unlike scripts and parts. Add-ons always run as the system is created. They are not initiated by users, and they do not run at deletion. Depending on the type of add-on, special processing is performed during deployment to add the additional hardware to the virtual machine as needed.

Procedure

  1. Click Patterns > Virtual System Patterns (Classic).
  2. Select the classic virtual system pattern from the available list of patterns.
    The classic virtual system pattern must be editable (not read-only). For more information about classic virtual system patterns and modifying them, see the related links.
  3. Click Edit in the toolbar to modify the classic virtual system pattern.
    The Pattern Editor pane is displayed.
  4. In the list of assets, expand the Add-ons section to view the list of available add-ons.
  5. Include an add-on in your classic virtual system pattern. Drag the selected add-on onto the appropriate virtual image part on the canvas.
    The add-on is associated with the part.
    Certain virtual image parts might have restrictions on your ability to include add-ons. For example, DataPower virtual images do not support access to the virtual machine using ssh. Because of this restriction, most add-ons cannot be added to this type of image. If you attempt to include an add-on to this type of image, the add-on is not included, and the following error message is displayed:
    Neither script package nor add-ons can be added to this kind of image part.
    For more information on this restriction, see the related links.
    If multiple add-ons are included with a classic virtual system pattern, when the pattern is deployed the add-ons are run in the same order in which they were added to that classic virtual system pattern. If an add-on runs on multiple IBM® WebSphere® Application Server virtual machines on the classic virtual system pattern, then the add-on runs on the virtual machines in the following order:
    1. Stand-alone Nodes
    2. Deployment Manager
    3. Job Manager (version 7.0.0.x and 8.x patterns only)
    4. Administrative Agent (version 7.0.0.x and 8.x patterns only)
    5. Custom Nodes
    6. IBM HTTP Server

    Add-ons are run before script packages.

  6. Optional: Configure properties defined in the add-on as needed.
    Properties can be configured when associating the add-on with a part, or it can be defined during deployment. To view and configure add-on properties, click the Parameters icon on the add-on in the Pattern Editor canvas. You can also use a variable syntax to set the value for properties whose value is not yet known. For more information on working with variable properties, see the related links.
  7. Continue working with your virtual system pattern by adding and configuring additional parts, scripts, and add-ons as needed. When finished, click Done editing to close the Pattern Editor.

What to do next

When the classic virtual system pattern is completed, you can deploy it to the cloud.