Deploying virtual system templates

You can deploy a virtual system template from the catalog. You can use an existing virtual system template, or you can create new virtual system templates.

Before you begin

You must have an existing virtual system template that you created.

About this task

You can use the Pattern Builder to add more assets to the virtual system template.

Procedure

  1. Click Catalog > Virtual System Templates.
  2. Select a virtual system template and click the Deploy icon in the toolbar.
    Note: If the version of an asset in the template does not exist on the system, you are prompted with a dialog to choose an alternate version of that asset. This prompt does not display for templates that were promoted from classic virtual system templates.

On the Configure pane:

  1. Edit the name for the deployment, if needed. This name displays on the Instances page after the pattern deploys.
  2. Select the environment profile that you want to use for the deployment.
    • You can optionally select a Cloud Group and an IP Group.
      Note: You can also set the cloud group and IP group for each virtual machine on the Distribute pane.
    • The deployment is limited to a single cloud group.
  3. Set the priority for the deployment.
    Note: For more information about deployment priorities, see the Related tasks.
  4. Modify the deployment schedule as needed:
    • Choose Start now, or choose Start later and select a date and time for the deployment to start.
    • Choose Run indefinitely, or choose Run until and select a date and time for the deployment to end.
  5. Optional: If you want to set up SSH access to the deployment, click SSH Key.
    1. To set up SSH access, use one of the following options to set the public key:
      • To generate a key pair automatically, click Generate. The public key is displayed in the SSH Key field and links to download the generated private key. Copy and save the generated public key from the SSH Key field if you want to use the same key pair for other deployments.
        Click Download or Download (PKCS1 format) to save the private key file to a secure location. The default name for the file that is downloaded by using the Download link is id_rsa. On Windows, this file might be saved as id_rsa.txt. The default name for the file that is downloaded by using the Download (PKCS1 format) link is id_rsa_pkcs1. On Windows, this file might be saved as id_rsa_pkcs1.txt.
        Important: SSH keys are generated and used in pairs. Only this private key provides SSH key log in to virtual machines deployed with this public key. The system does not keep a copy of the private key. If you do not download the private key, you cannot log in to the virtual machine with SSH key authentication. Save your public key and id_rsa private key file in a secure location. When you have the private key, make sure that it has the correct permissions (chmod 0400 id_rsa.txt). By default, the SSH client does not use a private key file that provides open permission for all users.
      • To use an existing SSH public key, open the public key file in a text editor and copy and paste it into the SSH Key field.
        Important: Do not use cat, less, or more to copy and paste from a command shell. The copy and paste operation adds spaces to the key that prevent you from accessing the virtual machine.

      The SSH key provides access to the virtual machines in the cloud group for troubleshooting and maintenance purposes. See the topic, "Configuring SSH key-based access", for details about SSH key-based access to virtual machines.

    2. Click OK.
  6. Modify the pattern and component attributes as needed.

    The attributes that display in the pattern configuration column are attributes from the pattern and components in the pattern that are not locked from editing. You can modify existing values or set values that were not specified during pattern creation. Be sure that all required fields have values. Components that have a blue dot next to the name contain required attributes that must be set before the pattern is deployed.

  7. When you are finished configuring all of the fields on the Configure tab, click Prepare to Deploy.

On the Distribute pane:

  1. To edit the network or volume settings for a virtual machine, move the mouse pointer over the virtual machine icon and click the pencil icon.
    1. On the IP Groups tab, you can modify IP group for each of the NICs in the virtual machine. The IP groups that are listed are associated with the environment profile that you chose for the deployment. If the IP address provided by field in the environment profile that you chose for the deployment is set to Pattern Deployer, you must set the IP address for each NIC in the deployment.
    2. If there is a Default attach block disk add-on in the pattern, you can modify the volumes for the virtual machine on the Volumes tab. You can use an existing volume or create one to attach to the component during deployment. If you choose to create a new volume, configure these settings:
      Name
      Set the name for the volume.
      Description
      Optional. Set a description for the volume.
      Size (GB)
      Set the size for the volume, in GB.
      Volume Groups
      Select a volume group for the volume. A volume group is a logical grouping of volumes that can span workloads and cloud groups.
    3. Click OK when you are finished updating the settings.
  2. When you are finished modifying the settings, click Deploy.

    When the virtual system is deployed, the virtual system instance is listed under the Instances section of the IBM® Cloud Pak System Software for Power®. To view the virtual system instance, click Instances > Virtual Systems.

    The virtual memory and virtual processor settings that are configured for the virtual images in the virtual system pattern must be met by the requirements for the software components in the pattern. If these requirements are not met, the deployment fails and an error message that lists the memory and processor requirements is displayed. If this error occurs, modify the processor and memory settings in the pattern so that the requirements are met, and deploy the pattern again.

  3. View the details of the virtual system instance in the Virtual System Instances page.

Results

The virtual system instance is successfully deployed and started. To stop the virtual system instance, select the virtual system instance from the list, and click Stop. To start the virtual system instance again, select the virtual system instance and click Start.

To remove a stopped topology, select it from the Virtual System Patterns page, and click Delete.

What to do next

After you deploy the virtual system instance, you can use the IP address of the virtual machines to access the artifacts. For example, you can manually enter the URL in your browser.
http://IP_address:9080/tradelite/
IP_address is the IP address of the deployed WebSphere® Application Server virtual machine.

If you uploaded an SSH public key during the deployment, you can also connect directly to a virtual machine without a password if you have the private key.

You can also view and monitor statistics for your deployed virtual machines and download and view the log files. For more information, see the Related tasks section.