VMware VCLOUD API 1.0 - API User Manual

vCloud API Programming Guide
142 VMware, Inc.
Schema Validation
ThisreleaseofCloudDirectorusesavalidatingXMLparserthatrequireselementsinXMLdocumentstoagree
inbothorderandnumberwiththeschema.Requiredelementsmustappearinrequestbodies.Allelements
thatappearinrequestbodiesmustappearintheorderestablishedbytheschema,andwith
contentthat
conformstothetypeconstraintspecifiedintheschema.Defaultvalues,wheredefined,aresuppliedfor
elementsthatareempty.
IfarequestcontainselementsfrommultipleXMLnamespaces,namespaceidentifiersmustbesuppliedin
requestbodiesandprependedtoelementnames.See“XMLNamespaceIdentifiers”onpage 145.
Content Type
AllrequeststhathaveabodymustincludeanHTTPContent‐Typeheaderthatspecifiesthecontenttypeof
thebody.Contenttypeshavebeendefinedforanyelementthatcanbeusedasarequestbody,andareshown
alongwiththeschemaandotherreferenceinformationfortheelement.
Object Reference Prototype
EveryobjectinavCloudisuniquelyidentifiedbyaURL.ThisURLisconstructedbytheserverandreturned
inthevalueofthehrefattributeoftheXMLelementthatrepresentstheobject.ItalsoappearsinvariousLink
andReferenceTypeelementsthatprovidereferencestotheobject.This
URLservesasauniqueidentifierthat
persistsforthelifeoftheobjectandisneverre‐used.WhenaclientmakesanHTTPGETrequesttoanobject
href,theserverreturnsthecurrentXMLrepresentationofthatobject.
AlthoughURLshaveawell‐knownsyntaxanda
well‐understoodinterpretation,aclientshouldtreateach
hrefasanopaquestring.Therulesthatgovernconstructionofhrefstringsbytheserverarenotguaranteed
toremainineffectinfuturereleases.Inthisrelease,theyyieldpredictablecontentthatconformstooneoftwo
prototypes:
 Objectssuchasorganizations,vDCs,networks,andcatalogshavehrefvaluesoftheform
API‐URL/object‐type/id
 ObjectssuchasvApptemplates,vApps,andVmshavehrefvaluesoftheformAPI‐URL/xxxxxx/yyy‐id
Foreachprototype,API‐URLhastheformhttp://vcloud.example.com/api/v1.0,andidisaninteger.An
objecthrefprototypeisincludedinthereferenceinformationforeachobjecttypethathasanhrefattribute.
Common Datatypes
ThevCloud APIusesanumberofprimitiveXMLdatatypes,asdefinedinW3CRecommendation28
(http://www.w3.org/TR/xmlschema‐2/).Italsodefinesanumberofcomplextypes,ofwhichvCloud API
elementsareinstances.
Primitive XML Datatypes
AttributesandsomeelementcontentarerepresentedbyprimitiveXMLdatatypes,whichareshownin
Table 8‐2.
N
OTEInthereferencematerial,elementsthataresimplycontainersarelistedbyname,alongwithan
explanationofthepurposeofthecontainer,butdonotincludeaschemareference.
Table 8-2. Primitive XML Data Types Used by the vCloud API
Value Description
xs:boolean Alogicalvalue,includingtrue,false,0,and1.
xs:date Datevalues.
xs:dateTime Date/timevalues(timestamps).
xs:double NumericvaluethatcorrespondstotheIEEEdouble‐precision64‐bitfloatingpointtype
definedinIEEE754‐1985.

VMware VCLOUD API 1.0 - API Specifications

General

Brand	VMware
Model	VCLOUD API 1.0 - API
Category	Software
Language	English

Summary

Introducing the VMware vCloud API

Links and Link Relations

vCloud Client Workflow Overview

Describes the RESTful workflow for clients interacting with the vCloud API.

Hello vCloud: A Structured REST Workflow Example

Instantiating the Template in the vDC

Deploying and Powering On the vApp

Provisioning

Upload OVF to Create a vApp Template

Describes the workflow for uploading OVF packages to create vApp templates.

Copy or Move a vApp Template

Datacenter Operations

Instantiate a vApp Template

Creates a vApp from a template by allocating vDC-specific resources and bindings.

Reconfigure a vApp

Modifies vApp configurations, including lease settings, startup order, and network settings.

Deploy a vApp or Virtual Machine

Initiates the deployment of a vApp or individual virtual machine.

Administrative Operations

Role Administration

VMware vSphere Platform Operations

List Provider vDCs in a vCloud

Create a Provider vDC

Describes the process of creating a provider vDC using vSphere resources.

Create an External Network

Details how to add external networks to a vCloud, linking them to vSphere portgroups.

Administrative API Reference

Organization Administration

Provides administrative views and management of organization settings, quotas, and policies.

User Administration

vSphere Platform Extensions Reference

VimServer

VMWProviderVdc

Represents provider vDC objects, specifying resources like compute, storage, and networks from vSphere.

Appendix B An Introduction to REST for vCloud API Users

How REST Works

Using the vCloud REST API