Overview

The SovLabs Custom Naming module can help simplify and  dynamically create VM server prefixes. Using the Custom Naming module reduces  the dependency on the built in vRA naming machine prefix creations which are  assigned

A PDF version of this guide is attached to the bottom for download

 

Considerations

This write up will focus on a simplistic end-user driven naming  standard. The guide’s dependency is solely on using the Custom Naming module  itself with no cross-dependency on other SovLabs modules.

 

Procedure

Plan the  user driven inputs

Many naming  standards driven by businesses today may contain multiple “sections” or  “variables” to their naming standard. Meaning that the naming standards are  broken up by either environmental or user driven inputs. The first step of  setting up the SovLabs naming standard is to first identify what the variables  are and in what order are they applied. The example naming scheme below focuses  on a user driven format, with some hard-coded variables that are not seen by  the end user at submission.

 

Naming Standard Breakout

1. Variable 1: Datacenter  Location

a. Example(s): Detroit, Atlanta, Site A, Site B…

2. Variable 2: Server  Use

a. Example(s): Prod | Dev | Test | POC…

3. Variable 3: Application  Type

a. Example(s): Application Server, Web Server, SQL  Server

4. Variable 3: User  Input field

a. Example(s):

i.       Business Identifier – Business Unit or Cost Code

ii.       Server Role Type – Example: Primary, Backup,  Tertiary

iii.       User Identifier – Custom characters of user’s  choosing

 

Example Matrix

Datacenter    Location

Server    Use

Application    Type

Misc.    Input

DET

PRD

APP

PRI

ATL

DEV

WEB

BAK

SITEA

TST

SQL

SALES

SITEB

POC

 

IT

 

 

 

 

 

Note: You may notice  that the numerical incremental count that normally would follow a common  naming standard is not in this list, that is done because those settings would  be configured in the SovLabs Naming Sequence configuration later in this guide

 

Create the vRA Property Definition(s) – Variables

1. For each variable,  create a Property Definition in  vRealize by Navigating to Administration>Property Dictionary>Property  Definitions

a. Create a unique custom property for each variable.  See the example below.

 

Property Definition: namingDatacenter

 

Property Definition: namingUsage

 

Property Definition: namingAppType

 

Property Definition: namingMisc

 

 

2. The result will be  4 new Property Definitions that will be used when creating the SovLabs Naming  Sequence and SovLabs Naming Standard

 

Create  the SovLabs Naming Sequence

The SovLabs  naming sequence is what applies the unique numbering to each custom hostname 

1. In vRA, navigate to  Catalog and browse or search for Add  Naming Sequence – SovLabs Modules and click Request

2. Create the naming  sequence using the following settings

a. Sequence type: Decimal (Base 10)

b. Max sequence length: 3

       Note: Sequence length refers to the number of  numerals used to increment, not the max numerals to count to

c. Initial value: 1

d. Unique key:{{namingDatacenter}}{{namingUsage}}{{namingAppType}}{{namingMisc}}

 Note: Insert your  custom properties surrounded by curly  brackets. Anything inside the unique key field will be taken as literal if not  enclosed

 

 

Create  the SovLabs Naming Standard

The SovLabs  naming standard is what builds the custom hostname using the SovLabs Naming  Sequence configuration  

1. In vRA, navigate to  Catalog and browse or search for Add  Naming Standard – SovLabs Modules and click Request

2. Create the naming standard  using the following settings

a. Naming Sequence: select the naming sequence  created from the previous section

b. Template: {{namingDatacenter}}{{namingUsage}}{{namingAppType}}{{namingMisc}}{{sequence.tutorial_naming}}

        Note: The template property is the same as the  Unique sequence field from the previous section, with the exception that you  are now inserting the sequence configuration

3. The result will be  a new Property Group created in Administration>Property  Dictionary>Property Groups with the name of SovLabs-NamingStandard-%tenant%_%naming_standard_label%

 

Apply the SovLabs Naming Standard

The SovLabs  naming module will override any machine prefix setting configured from vRA when  applied to a blueprint, reservation, compute resource, business group, or  endpoint. This section will showcase 2 methods for applying the naming standard  and custom properties for consumption.

 

Option  1 – Applied directly to the blueprint

 

Apply the SovLabs Property Group/Custom Property

1. In vRA Navigate to the Design tab and select a blueprint to apply the configurations

2. In the blueprint,  add a vSphere (vCenter) Machine  component and select it

3. Navigate to the Properties>Property Groups section

4. Add the naming standard property group created  from the previous section

5. Alternatively, the Property Group  contains a Custom Property named SovLabs_NamingStandard. This property and the value assigned,  could also be assigned directly as a Custom Property instead of adding the  entire Property Group

 

 

Apply the vRA Custom Property Definitions for User Input

1. In the blueprint,  add a vSphere (vCenter) Machine  component and select it

2. Navigate to the Properties>Custom Properties section

3. Add the Property Definitions for use with the  SovLabs custom naming configuration created from the previous section

Note: When adding the Custom Property  Definitions, be sure to select “Show  in Request” to allow the user to select/input values used for naming.  If the input is [blank], the  naming standard will blank that variable as well

4. The result is a catalog request blueprint that generates  a custom name based on input date driven by the requester

5. The VM component utilizes the end user driven  input to build the custom name

 

 

 

Option 2 – Applied to Business Group with custom  property values statically set

 

Plan the SovLabs Custom Naming property assignments with static values  attached to vRA Entities

1. Instead of allowing the properties to be  selected by the end user on request, the properties can be set with static  values on other vRA properties which are passed through when the build is  submitted. 

 

Mapping of Properties to Entity

Property    Name

Value

Mapped    vRA Entity

SovLabs_NamingStandard

lab-001_tutorial_naming_standard

Blueprint Component

namingDatacenter

ATL

vCenter Endpoint

namingAppType

SQL

Reservation

namingUsage

PRD

Blueprint

namingMisc

IDM

Blueprint Component

 

Configure the SovLabs Custom Naming properties to assigned vRA Entities

1. Set the namingDatacenter  property on the vCenter Endpoint

2. Navigate to Infrastructure>Endpoints

3. Select the target vCenter Endpoint and assign  the value

4. Set the namingUsage  property on the Reservation

5. Navigate to Infrastructure>Reservations

6. Select the target Reservation and assign the  value

 

7. Set the namingAppType  and SovLabs_NamingStandard property in  the Blueprint properties

8. Navigate to Design and open the target  blueprint

9. Open the blueprint properties window and assign  the values

Note: The SovLabs_NamingStandard  property is what triggers the custom naming for the build. Without this, the  request will not attempt to generate a custom hostname

 

10. Set the namingMisc  property in the Blueprint Component properties

11. Navigate to Design and open the target  blueprint

12. Open the blueprint component custom properties tab  and assign the value

Note: Be sure to leave the Show in Request field as unchecked

 

13. The result is a catalog request blueprint that  generates a custom name based on static property values that are set across  multiple vRA Entities. The SovLabs naming standard will pull those values at  build time and apply for the custom name

 

 

Additional Information regarding the SovLabs Custom Naming module

· The module is not limited in any way to new custom properties that are created. Any vRA property can be inserted into the naming sequence and standard to generate a custom hostname. Examples of custom properties for vRA can be found here    (vRA 7.5 Reference)

· Manipulation of the custom properties can be    done via the Template Engine with documentation located here. With the SovLabs template engine, specific characters or configurations can be created to create a unique naming standard

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