IBM Cloud VPC Providers

IBM Cloud Virtual Server for VPC

IBM Cloud Virtual Server for VPC (virtual private cloud) consists of virtual server instances within IBM’s VPC infrastructure, a public cloud construct. Virtual server instances for VPC enable the deployment of a secured private space in a publicly accessible environment by way of a single-tenant infrastructure in a multi-tenant public cloud. VPCs are logically isolated networks where cloud compute, storage and networking resources are deployed and used to host business workloads, applications and websites. Like networks in traditional on-premises data centers, VPCs utilize cloud security functions and models that match the functionality of those found in offline data centers.

Adding IBM Cloud VPC Providers

Complete the following procedure to add an IBM Cloud VPC provider in Infrastructure Automation.

  1. Browse to menu: Compute > Clouds > Providers.

  2. Click Configuration, then click 1862 Add a New Cloud Provider.

  3. From the Type list, select IBM Cloud VPC.

  4. Enter a Name for the provider.
  5. Select the appropriate Zone.

  6. Select the appropriate Region.

  7. Under Endpoint, enter your IBM Cloud API Key.

    For more information on managing IBM Cloud API keys, including how to create one, see Managing user API keys.

  8. Click Validate to validate the credentials.

    Note: The connection uses port 443. Make sure the port 443 is opened on any firewalls.

  9. Click Add.

Configuring Metrics Collection for the IBM Cloud VPC Provider

  1. On IBM Cloud, navigate to the Overview page for the instance in which metrics will be collected

  2. Navigate to the Monitoring tab and click on Add Monitoring

  3. Create the IBM Cloud Monitoring instance

Note: An IBM Cloud Monitoring instance with ‘platform metrics’ enabled can be used to collect metrics for all VM instances in the deployed region

In order to enable metrics functionality on ManageIQ, the instance GUID is required when adding the VPC cloud provider. This can be obtained using the IBM Cloud CLI:

  1. Log in to IBM Cloud CLI i.e. ibmcloud login -sso

  2. Use the following command: ibmcloud resource service-instance <INSTANCE_NAME> --output json | jq -r '.[].guid'

Configuring Event Handling for the IBM Cloud VPC Provider

  1. On IBM Cloud, create an IBM Cloud Activity Tracker service instance Note: Export API will be used therefore Lite plan cannot be used

  2. Open the dashboard for the instance and navigate to Settings -> Organization -> API Keys

  3. Copy the service key or generate a new one

  4. On ManageIQ, when creating an IBM Cloud VPC provider, place the service key in the field under the Events tab on the provider creation form

For further information, see https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/activity-tracker?topic=activity-tracker-service_keys

Adding IBM Cloud VPC Regions

Infrastructure Automation allows administrators to add additional IBM Cloud VPC regions on the appliance server. You can use this capability to add new regions that have been set up since Infrastructure Automation was released. Once added the region it will be available when creating a new IBM Cloud VPC provider.

  1. Browse to config gear Settings > Application Settings.

  2. Click on the Settings accordion, then click Infrastructure Automation: Region at the top. Optionally, a server can be selected (within Zones) to limit the additional region to that server only.

  3. Click on the Advanced tab.

  4. Search for :ems_ibm_cloud_vpc:, and enter the regions you want to add under :additional_regions:.

    Example. To add hypothetical `lunar-base-1` `lunar-base-2` regions:

:ems_ibm_cloud_vpc:
  :additional_regions:
    :lunar-base-1:
      :name: Lunar Base 1
      :hostname: lunar-base-1.iaas.cloud.ibm.com
      :description: Lunar Base 1
    :lunar-base-2:
      :name: Lunar Base 2
      :hostname: lunar-base-2.iaas.cloud.ibm.com
      :description: Lunar Base 2

  5. Click Save.

Disabling IBM Cloud VPC Regions

Infrastructure Automation allows administrators to disable IBM Cloud VPC regions on the appliance server. You can use this capability to disable certain classified regions. Once disabled, the region will not be available when adding a new IBM Cloud VPC provider.

  1. Browse to config gear Settings > Application Settings.

  2. Click on the Settings accordion, then click Infrastructure Automation: Region at the top. Optionally, a server can be selected (within Zones) to limit the disabled region to that server only.

  3. Click on the Advanced tab.

  4. Search for :ems_ibm_cloud_vpc, and enter the regions you want to disable under :disabled_regions:.

    Example. To disable the `au-syd` and `br-sao` regions:

:ems_ibm_cloud_vpc:
  :disabled_regions:
  - au-syd
  - br-sao

  5. Click Save.