About this Course

This training course focuses on installing, configuring, and managing VMware vCloud® Automation Center™. This course covers the configuration and use of vCloud Automation Center as a platform for self-service provisioning of virtual, cloud, and physical machines to create and manage on-demand multivendor cloud infrastructures.

Audience Profile

• VMware vCloud Director: Install, Configure, Manage v5.1
• VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage v5.1

At Course Completion

By the end of the course, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

• Understand the vCloud Automation Center architecture and use case in multivendor cloud environments
• Install and configure vCloud Automation Center 5.2
• Manage vCloud Automation Center 5.2 entities on VMware® and third-party hardware and cloud infrastructures
• Configure and manage provisioning groups and blueprints
• Configure and manage enterprise groups and reservations for compute resources on VMware, Microsoft, Citrix, and more
• Use the Self-Service portal to request and manage machines according to vCloud Automation Center approval policies
• Use the Report portal to monitor vCloud Automation Center configuration and managed resources
• Understand and configure vCloud Automation Center workflows
• Manage and monitor machines and resource reclamation

Course Outline

Module 1: Course Introduction

• Introductions and course logistics
• Course outline
• Course goals
• Course objectives

Module 2: Architecture and Components

• Identify the benefits of the software-defined data center
• Explore the architecture for deploying vCloud Automation Center as a cloud management platform for a multivendor hybrid cloud
• Identify the components of vCloud Automation Center
• Identify vCloud Automation Center design options
• Define network ports and protocols required for communication between vCloud Automation Center components
• Define the user interface elements of vCloud Automation Center
• Explain how vCloud Automation Center integrates with other VMware products

Module 3: Installation

• Explain the vCloud Automation Center installation prerequisites
• Identify the vCloud Automation Center appliances and component installers
• Define the vCloud Automation Center installation procedure

Module 4: Configuring IaaS

• Define relationships between vCloud Automation Center entities
• Identify and configure vCloud Automation Center endpoints
• Identity how vCloud Automation Center discovers compute resources
• Define the vCloud Automation Center roles
• Identify fabric groups, business groups, and reservations
• Create tenants
• Create and manage reservations for compute resources

Module 5: Blueprints and Catalog Services

• Create and manage single-machine and multimachine blueprints
• Manage service catalog items with entitlements and approval policies

Module 6: Provisioning Services

• Provision new machines and services
• Manage self-provisioned machines
• Create approval policies
• Identify approval policy levels and approval phases
• Use custom properties
• Use build profiles
• Use the property dictionary

Module 7: Extensibility

• Identify extensibility and customization options
• Use vCloud Automation Designer to edit an existing workflow
• Use vCenter Orchestrator
• Configure plug-ins for external integration
• Use Advanced Service Designer

Module 8: Monitoring and Reclamation

• Identify and verify inactive and abandoned resources
• Manage machine leases
• Manage machine reclamation

Module 9: Operational Management

• Configure VMware® IT Business Management Suite™ Standard Edition
• Report financial data for a cloud infrastructure
• Troubleshoot common ITBM problems

Module 10: Managing Applications

• Define the role of vCloud Application Director
• Identify the vCloud Application Director infrastructure components and requirements
• Deploy and manage vCloud Application Director
• Configure application provisioning
• Create, manage, and update applications
• Manage catalog services