vRealize Automation Software Service API

Software Service API Specification

What Is the Software Service REST API?

The software service:

• Triggers the execution lifecycle of software components using the software agent.

• Is responsible for registering all software agents for use with the software service.

• Manages the creation, modification and deletion of software components.

Typical Use Cases

You can use the software service API to:

• Automate adding software components to the system.

• Create and trigger software components run by the software agent independently of the blueprint.

The internal API is used to implement the software agent. There are additional prerequisites for implementing a software agent other than the API calls: access to EBS and to the contents of the appd.properties file.

Key Concepts

Software Agent

Software components lifecycle task scripts are executed by the software agent. This agent is configured using the contents of the appd.properties file, which is delivered to the VM during provisioning of the VM. The properties required by each script are delivered to the software agent and transformed for use by the script.

Node

An internal type representing a machine before it is created. The included metadata makes it possible for the contents of the appd.properties file for the software agent to be specified before the machine is created. When the software agent registers with the software service, the node and the machine are associated.

ScriptType

Describes the kinds of scripts the software agent will execute. The complexity of the information allows the software component script to be written without knowing how input properties and computed properties are provided and collected from the script execution environment. The software agent uses this information in order to run the software component script in the proper context.

SoftwareComponentType

Specifies the software component scripts for each supported lifecycle task script. It also specifies the properties, or schema, used and computed by the the contained software component lifecycle task scripts.

SoftwareResource

Software component lifecycle tasks can be collected into groups in order for each lifecycle task script to be run in sequence. For example, a provision request results in a single SoftwareResource for each software component. Each provision request causes the combined INSTALL, CONFIGURE, START lifecycle tasks to be included in a single SoftwareResource.

TaskDescriptor

Describes the software component lifecycle tasks available to a software component for eventual execution by the software agent.

Additional Information

For more detailed information on using the API, refer to the vRA Programming Guide.