IONOS Private Cloud: Subscribing to the ISO content library in vSphere

This article explains how to subscribe to the ISO content library to provide the latest operating systems on your virtual machines in the private cloud. To do this, complete the following:

Open vSphere Client

To establish a VPN connection to your IONOS Private Cloud.

1. Log in to your IONOS CLOUD account.

2. In the Data Center Designer (DCD), go to Menu > Private Cloud > Login.

3. Log in to the Cloud Panel with your credentials.

4. Make a note of the username and password that are displayed in the Private Cloud > Administration area in the Access > vSphere section.

5. To open the vSphere Client, click on vSphere Client in the Private Cloud > Administration area in the Access > vSphere > Admin Client section. A new tab opens.

6. In the new tab, click on Advanced....

7. Click on Accept risk and continue.

8. Click on START VSPHERE CLIENT (HTML5). The login page opens in a new tab.

9. Enter the user name and password.

10. Click on LOGIN.

Add content library

1. In the vSphere Client, click on the menu icon with the three horizontal lines in the top left of the menu bar.

The menu icon

1. Click on Content Libraries. The Content Libraries area opens.

The Content Libraries menu option on the vSphere Client page

1. Click on Create. The Name and location window opens.

The Create option is highlighted on the Content Libraries page of the vSphere Client

1. Enter a name for the new library in the Name: field.

2. Optional: Enter a description in the Notes: field.

3. Click on Next. The Configure content library window opens.

The Next button is highlighted on the Name and location window of the vSphere Client

1. Select the Subscribed content library option.

2. Enter the following address in the Subscription URL field: https://pc-content.ionoscloud.tools/ISOs/lib.json

3. In the Download content section, select the setting when needed.

4. Click on Next. The Apply security policy window opens.

The Next button is highlighted on the Configure content library window of the vSphere Client

1. Click Next in Apply security policy window. The Add storage window opens.

2. Select the storage in which the downloaded ISOs are to be saved.

3. Click on Next. The Ready to complete window opens.

The Next button is highlighted on the Add storage window of the vSphere Client

1. Click on Finish.

The Finish button is highlighted on the Ready to complete window of the vSphere Client

Create a new virtual machine using an ISO file from the content library

1. In the vSphere Client, click on the menu icon with the three horizontal lines in the top left of the menu bar.

The menu button is highlighted on the vSphere Client page

1. Click on Inventory.

The Inventory menu option is highlighted on the vSphere Client page

1. Select your vSphere cluster.

2. Click on Actions > New Virtual Machine... and follow the steps of the wizard.

The New Virtual Machine menu option is highlighted within the Actions menu of the vSphere Client

1. When the Customize Hardware window is displayed, click on the New CD/DVD Drive list.

2. Select the Content Library ISO File option. The Choose an ISO image to mount window is then displayed.

The Content Library ISO File list item is highlighted in the New CD/DVD Drive list

1. Select the desired ISO image from the list.

2. Click on OK. The Customize hardware window is displayed again.

3. Click on Next.

4. Click Finish in the Ready to complete window.

The new virtual machine is created.

Troubleshooting

The creation of a VM may fail if the ISO content library is still downloading or synchronising the ISO image at the time of creation. If the creation of your VM fails, cancel the process and check whether the library is synchronised. To do this, click on Recent Tasks in the menu bar at the bottom and then on the arrow pointing upwards.

Wait until the synchronisation is displayed as completed in the task window. Then repeat the creation of the VM.