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Registering a virtual server image

Registering a virtual server image

Onboarding virtual server images with Terraform is deprecated. After 29 March 2024, onboarding virtual server images with Terraform is no longer supported as a delivery method, which means that no new virtual server images with Terraform can be onboarded. Existing VSIs in the IBM Cloud catalog will be available to use, but to take advantage of version updates and ensure continued support, onboard virtual server images for Virtual Private Cloud directly. For more information, see Onboarding a virtual server image for VPC.

This tutorial walks you through how to register a virtual server image with Terraform in IBM Cloud® Partner Center. By completing this tutorial, you learn how to provide the company details, create a test environment, and set up access for your team to help with the onboarding process.

This tutorial is one of four in a series that demonstrates how to onboard and publish a sample virtual server image with Terraform. It uses a fictitious company that's called Example Corp. As you complete the tutorial, adapt each step to fit your product's needs.

Before you begin

  1. Verify that you're using a Pay-As-You-Go or Subscription account by going to Manage > Account > Account settings in the IBM Cloud console.
  2. Verify that you're assigned the administrator role on all account management services and all IAM-enabled services. For more information, see Assigning access to account management services and Managing access to resources.

Provide the company name

  1. In the IBM Cloud console, click the Navigation Menu icon Navigation Menu icon > Partner Center > Overview > Get started.
  2. Enter the name of your company as you want it to be displayed in the catalog, and click Save. For the purpose of this tutorial, enter Example Corp as the company name.

Create your test environment

You, or a member of your team, uses the test environment to onboard the virtual server image and validate that it can be deployed to your VPC. Your test environment includes a private catalog in which you import the virtual server image from an external repository.

  1. Click Create in the Create your test environment section.
  2. Enter Example Corp Catalog as the name of the private catalog, and click Create.

Set up access for your team

You can enlist team members to help with the onboarding process by assigning them specific levels of IBM Cloud Identity and Access Management (IAM) access. To streamline the process of assigning access, complete the following steps to create your access group:

  1. Click Assign in the Assign access section.

  2. Enter Example Corp Virtual Server Image as the name of the access group, and click Assign. The following roles are assigned to the access group by default:

    • Administrator on the Catalog Management service
    • Editor on the Partner Center - Sell service
    • Editor on the User Management service
    • Editor on the IAM Access Groups service
    • Viewer on all account management services

    For more information about the actions associated with each role, see Actions and roles for account management services.

Invite team members to your account

After you create the Example Corp Virtual Server Image access group, you're ready to invite team members to your account and add them to your access group. Team members are granted the following editor permissions by default:

  • Partner Center - Sell: Complete onboarding tasks, update the visibility of products at the account level, and request approval to publish products to the IBM Cloud catalog.
  • Private catalog: Onboard products to private catalogs, update the visibility of products at the account and private catalog levels, and restrict the visibility of products in the IBM Cloud catalog.
  1. Click Invite in the Invite team members section.

  2. Select the user type:

    • Business: A team member who can provide certain details, such as the product logo, description, and customer support experience.
    • Technical: A team member who can import the product to your test environment, configure the deployment details, and validate it's ready for use.
  3. Enter the email address of each team member.

  4. Click Invite.

Next steps

You're ready to start the onboarding process. In the Onboard your product section, click Let's go, and define the product details for the virtual server image.