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Setting up catalogs and locations for hybrid workloads

Setting up catalogs and locations for hybrid workloads

In this tutorial, you learn how to set up an account for managing hybrid workloads in IBM Cloud. You set up a private catalog that includes only the services that users and applications need and define the locations that users can deploy workloads.

Let's say that you're the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of a retail company. Your current provider is ending support for the Power Systems that you're using to run your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) workloads. You come to IBM for a solution and discover that you can get IBM Power Systems Hardware installed in your data center that plugs in to IBM Cloud for managing workload deployments, usage monitoring, and billing. You decide that you can run your core business logic on IBM Power Virtual Server Private Cloud while your front-end services and databases run on a virtual server on IBM Cloud.

IBM Power Virtual Server Private Cloud is on your premises, which is more secure. Running core business logic here uses the performance, security, and reliability of IBM® Power Systems.

IBM is a public cloud environment where the front-end services and databases can be easily scaled and managed. Public clouds are designed to handle large-scale and dynamic workloads, making them ideal for services that face external users and might need to scale up or down quickly.

Before you begin

Make sure that you are logged in as the account owner or a user with the Administrator role on all account management services or Administrator role on the IAM Identity Service. For more information, see IAM Identity service.

Setting the visibility of the IBM Cloud catalog

To restrict user visibility to just products in a private catalog, turn off the IBM Cloud catalog in the account. This way, users in your account can use the console to create only instances of products that you give them access to in a private catalog.

  1. In the IBM Cloud, go to Manage > Catalogs > Settings.
  2. Set the IBM Cloud catalog toggle to Off.

Create a private catalog

A curated private catalog makes it easier for teams to find and deploy the resources that they need and can help avoid unnecessary resource usage.

In this scenario, ABC services are needed for managing the infrastructure, and XYZ services are needed for development team to build a retail application.

  1. Go to Manage > Catalogs in the IBM Cloud® console, and click Create a catalog.
  2. Enter a name and description of your catalog.
  3. Select to exclude all products in the IBM Cloud catalog in your private catalog. For more information about how this setting affects visibility in the catalog, see Managing catalog settings.
  4. Click Create.

Set workload deployment locations

Enforce deployment location restrictions and help ensure that all deployments comply with regulatory and business requirements. This restriction is important in hybrid cloud setups where teams are managing both on-premises and cloud-based workloads.

  1. Go to Manage > Catalogs in the IBM Cloud® console, and click Locations.
  2. Allow deployments to Satellite locations or public locations in the United States. Use the following syntax: kind:location | (country:us ^ public:true).

Allowing deployments to Satellite locations is necessary to deploy workloads on Power Virtual Server on-premises. Restricting deployments to public locations in the United States helps ensure data sovereignty.

Next steps

Next, set up access profiles for Power Virtual Server administrators in your organization. For more information, see Customizing access for hybrid workloads.