Infrastructure as Code with VMware Cloud

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is a method used to provision and manage IT infrastructure using code, rather than relying on manual configuration. IaC allows for greater automation, consistency, and the ability to recreate infrastructure management tasks. By leveraging IaC with VMware Cloud (VMC), users can programmatically provision and manage virtual infrastructure on the VMC on AWS platform, leading to enhanced efficiency in automating and handling their cloud environments.

The following are the main topics that will be covered in this chapter:

• Introduction to the VMware Cloud APIs
• Cloud Services Platform APIs
• Consuming Console APIs via the Developer Center
• NSX-T Data Center REST API

Introduction to the VMware Cloud APIs

VMware Cloud, a leading provider of cloud solutions, offers a suite of powerful APIs that empower organizations to harness the full potential of their cloud environments.

In this chapter, we will delve into the VMware Cloud APIs, exploring their significance, capabilities, and the opportunities they present for businesses and developers alike. VMware APIs help simplify manual tasks, facilitate the effective administration of complex environments at a significant scale, and provide code samples and language support for popular programming languages, enabling developers to initiate their projects promptly and with ease.

Whether customers are looking to streamline their cloud operations, optimize resource allocation, or build innovative applications, understanding and leveraging VMware Cloud APIs can be a game-changer. These APIs have the potential to transform your approach to interacting with and overseeing your cloud infrastructure, leading...

Cloud Services Platform APIs

The Cloud Services Platform (CSP) APIs provide customers with a programmatic method to access and manage the capabilities provided by VMware. When working with VMware’s cloud services, such as VMC on AWS, the CSP APIs enable customers to automate and manage their cloud environments with greater efficiency. The CSP APIs are the primary mechanism for authentication and user management for VMC on AWS. These APIs provide an authentication endpoint that allows users to access VMC on AWS services. Once authenticated, users are issued an authorization token to be able to access the CSP and VMC on AWS APIs. Furthermore, the CSP APIs offer functionality within the VMware Cloud console for managing users and organizations, including displaying, adding, and removing users. Additionally, CSP APIs include methods for managing permissions, roles, and policies for both organizations and users in VMC on AWS.

VMware Cloud on AWS API

The VMC on AWS API is the...

Consuming Console APIs via the Developer Center

The Developer Center offers various tools to manage the API structure and capture user actions that can be translated into executable code. Developers, automation engineers, and DevOps engineers can access the tools to manage the API structures and capture vSphere Client actions that can be translated into PowerCLI.

Using the API Explorer, you can navigate and execute vSphere REST APIs supported by the system, while also obtaining information and context related to the API requests. The API Explorer simplifies the navigation and execution of vSphere REST API calls. Users first choose an API endpoint from their environment and retrieve a detailed list of vSphere REST APIs. The available APIs depend on the selected endpoint. Further, users can review specific details such as available parameters, expected responses, and response status codes before executing the APIs against a VMware Cloud SDDC environment. Figure 9.5 shows the available...

NSX-T Data Center REST API

NSX-T is the new default networking stack for VMC on AWS, replacing NSX-V. It offers additional networking and security capabilities and can be controlled using the NSX-T Policy API. To get started with the new API, customers can refer to the official documentation and tutorials provided by VMware.

Unlike NSX-T deployments on premises where the NSX-T API is used, VMC on AWS uses a new NSX-T Policy API that has been introduced to simplify the consumption of NSX-T. Both on-premises and VMware Cloud environments can be consumed using the NSX-T Policy API.

The core of NSX network automation centers around the primary access point into NSX via REST APIs. Like conventional REST APIs, NSX-T APIs facilitate the following API verbs: GET, PATCH, POST, PUT, and DELETE. The table displayed as follows outlines their usage:

Figure 9.6 – NSX-T Policy API verbs

The updated NSX Policy APIs reduce the configuration steps by allowing...

Summary

This chapter provided an overview of VMware APIs, which encompassed the Cloud Service Platform API, VMware Cloud API, and vSphere API. It guided you through the process of generating an API token directly from the VMware Cloud Console, and additionally explained how to effectively consume the Console API using the Developer Center. The chapter also provided a brief overview of the NSX-T Data Center REST API. Furthermore, it delved into the strategic use of Terraform for optimizing VMware Cloud on AWS. Finally, it touched upon the significance of vSphere Automation SDKs within the context of VMware Cloud on AWS.

In the next chapter, we will learn about VMware Cloud on AWS Outposts, a fully managed VMware Cloud experience that is tailored to meet the specific requirements of low latency and data residency use cases for customers looking to run VMware Cloud in their on-premises data centers or colocation facilities.