About Platform Manager Blueprints

A Blueprint is a plan that describes to Platform Manager how to configure a platform. A platform instance is a group of Mitel servers and applications that are configured as a set, for a single end customer of a Service Provider.

The blueprint contains application configuration, licensing, and hardware information. After you create a blueprint, you use it to create platform instances. At deploy time, you can override network-related configuration properties and some VMware OVA properties, including time zone and domain.

There are three types of blueprints: a platform type blueprint (parent), and two child blueprint types (resource and ARID). A platform blueprint describes a group of software applications configured to work together as a package. A resource blueprint describes a single instance of a software application and the hardware that it will run on. A platform blueprint contains one or more resource blueprints.

You will find sample blueprint files for MiVoice Business Multi Instance and MiVoice Business Express-based platforms available here: /opt/dist_oria-bim-setup/reference/. Access this directory through the Linux command line interface.

Platform blueprints

A platform blueprint describes a Service Provider's offering to its end customer. It describes resources, licensing, MiVoice Business Cluster options, and MiCollab Multi-Tenant options.

A Platform Blueprint will be used when deploying a Platform Instance/Group. The blueprint contains a description of how the deployed platform is to be configured. When deploying, you may override Network-related configuration properties and some VMware OVA properties including time zone and domain.

A platform blueprint contains a list of resources, each described by a resource and ARID blueprint.

The following sections describe the components of a platform blueprint.

Resources

A platform requires at least one resource description entry. The resource description describes a single MiVoice Business Multi-Instance tenant or a single Mitel Virtual Application (VMware) such as MiVoice Business, MiVoice Border Gateway, or MiCollab..

For each resource, you must supply:

  • A resource blueprint

  • (optional) An ARID blueprint. The ARID blueprint describes AMC part numbers to be applied to a generated ARID for this resource. If an ARID blueprint is not supplied, then you must supply appropriate ARIDs for every instance you build.

  • (optional) SDS Role. If the resource is to participate in a MiVoice Business SDS cluster, then specify resource role as SDS MASTER or SLAVE.

  • (optional) Role Label. You may enter a short descriptive string describing the role of this resource in the system.

AMC group licensing

If you are using a AMC ULM or a MiCollab, you must add AMC group parts to the blueprint.

Under Group Licensing, you describe ULM parts and any License parts that are to be applied to the Group (such as UCCv3 and UCCv4 parts). Group parts are bundles of popular features that you allocate to more than one licensable resource.

If you indicate that the Platform will be using a MiCollab Multi-Tenant, the MiVoice Business instances are placed in the same UCC License Manager (ULM) as the MiCollab Multi-Tenant server. The MiCollab Multi-Tenant server used is selected from the pool of MiCollab Multi-Tenant servers in the Blueprint that have been registered with Platform Manager.

In the " Basic telephony using MiVoice Business Express" example here (Platform Blueprint Examples), we have specified a platform consisting of a MiCollab Multi-Tenant and some MiVoice Business instances. All of the ARIDs associated with these instances are in the same ULM, and all of the group license parts are applied to this ULM.

Allocation

AMC Group parts must be allocated to specific MiVoice Business instances or DLM. In the Platform Blueprint you will indicate the resources to which the group part is to be allocated. Either allocate to a DLM or indicate the resource IDs to which the parts are to be allocated.

Group parts sometimes contain licenses for a MiCollab. If this is the case, the MiVoice Business instances are in a ULM with a single MiCollab. The MiCollab will get the appropriate license from the group.

Designated License Manager (DLM)

DLM capabilities are NOT currently supported. Management Portal Platform blocks creation of a blueprint with DLM features.
If one or more of your resources are DLM members then you must supply a DLM License part. You will add this to the list of AMC Group Parts and indicate that it is a DLM part type.

An example of an AMC DLM part is

54006152 MITEL_DLM SP Subscript License -Enterprise Lic Grp

Deleting and modifying platform blueprints

After a platform instance is built, the blueprint can no longer be modified. A blueprint may be deleted only if there are no existing platform instances that were created from that blueprint.

Blueprints describe the initial configuration of existing and future instances. Modification of blueprints would mean that the blueprint no longer describes the instances that were created from it.

Rather than modifying blueprints, use the blueprint cloning feature to create a copy of the blueprint that you can modify. You would then deprecate the old blueprint to block its continued use.

Resource Blueprints

A resource blueprint is a sub-component of a platform blueprint, and may be used by multiple platform blueprints. A resource blueprint describes the configuration and hardware for a single Mitel application. A resource blueprint cannot be directly instantiated, but must be included in a platform blueprint.

Platform Manager currently supports MiVoice Business Multi-Instance (MiVB-MI), MiVoice Business Virtual, MiCollab Virtual, MiVoice Border Gateway Virtual, and MiVoice Business Express (MiVB-X) type resources. The MiVB-X resource is a virtual application that is deployed on a Virtual Machine (VM) in a VMware environment.

Resource types infer and describe an infrastructure that host application instances. Platform Manager currently supports the MiVoice Business Multi Instance and VMware vCenter infrastructures.

The following sections describe how to create blueprints for the supported resource types.

MiVoice Business Multi-Instance

The MiVoice Business Multi-Instance resource blueprint type describes how to create and configure a single MiVoice Business Multi-Instance tenant. The configuration description includes the MiVoice Business software image file and optionally, a Mitel Integrated Configuration Wizard configuration file or a MiVoice Business golden database file. The blueprint contains answers to most of the questions that you would answer when creating a MiVoice Business Multi-Instance manually.

When these answers are saved in a blueprint, they can be reused across many MiVoice Business Multi-Instance servers.

For more information about this configuration, see the MiVoice Business Multi-Instance Server documentation.

IP Address assignment

Every MiVoice Business instance needs one or more IP addresses that are appropriate for the network into which the instance is deployed. The MiVoice Business Multi-Instance Server has a network pool feature to make this assignment easy. You configure the network pool on every MiVoice Business Multi-Instance server that you have registered with Platform Manager.

There are two ways to assign the IP addresses. See

Network Pool - Auto address generation

You may configure the MiVoice Business Multi-Instance network pool on every MiVoice Business Multi-Instance server that you register with Platform Manager. See Tenant Address from IP Address Pool.

The MiVB-MI network pool is not used if the MiVoice Business Multi Instance server is in VLAN mode. For VLAN mode, use the Tenant IP Addresses from Resource Blueprint method described in Add Infrastructure servers.

MiVoice Business Software Image

This is the MiVoice Business software version that is installed in the MiVoice Business Multi-Instance tenant. This is a MiVoice Business installation packaged for Linux. Example file name: ICP3300_13.2.1.26.tar.gz

Golden Database or Mitel Integrated Configuration Wizard (MICW) file

After creating the MiVoice Business tenant on the MiVoice Business Multi-Instance, Platform Manager can apply the initial configuration database. This requires an ARID with part numbers appropriate for the golden database content. ARIDS are described in the parent Platform Blueprint. You can supply either a Mitel Integrated Configuration Wizard (MICW) file or a golden database configuration file, but not both. If you do not supply a golden database, resource instances created from the blueprint will have their MiVoice Business System Administration Tool password set to the password provided in the blueprint (assuming that resource has a MiVoice Business).

MiVoice Business System Administration Tool credentials

Supply a MiVoice Business System Administration Tool user name and password for use by Management Portal to configure the MiVoice Business. For example, you need to supply the System Administration Tool credentials that are valid on the MiVoice Business from which the golden database was created.

If you are using an MICW configuration file, then an account with the required credentials is added to the MiVoice Business instance. If you are using a golden database configuration, these credentials are already in the golden database. Platform Manager requires the user name and password to allow Management Portal and Platform Manager to configure this tenant.

Caution

If the MiVoice Business System Administration Tool account credentials are incorrect, Management Portal and Platform Manager will not be able to manage any of the instances created.

Example MiVoice Business Multi-Instance (MiVB-MI) type resource blueprint

The following image shows an MiVoice Business Multi-Instance type resource blueprint. Note the following:

  • Blueprint name: primary_20160606

  • MiVoice Business Software image file: ICP3300_13.2.1.27.tar.gz

This file was previously uploaded: Configuration > Files; Type = MiVB Image.

  • Backup file: ReferenceGoldenDb_SB_primary_13.2.1.27_20160606152000.tar

This file was previously uploaded: Configuration > Files; Type = MiVB Backup File.

  • MiVoice Business System Administration Tool credentials: system/(hidden)

  • MiVoice Business Multi-Instance Server pool

This pool was previously created: Configuration > MiVB

Mitel Virtual Appliance Blueprints

Mitel Virtual Appliances supported by Platform Manager are MiVoice Business Virtual, MiCollab Virtual, MiVoice Border Gateway Virtual, and MiVoice Business Express. MiVoice Business Express is a multi-application virtual appliance that includes MiVoice Business, MiCollab, and MiVoice Border Gateway.

In the Resource blueprint, specify VMware network names and default IP addresses (optional). When you create a Platform instance, you can override the blueprint network properties.

Remote Network Address

A virtual machine (VM) must be reachable from the Platform Manager on the network. By default, MSL-based machines are reachable only via their local network. If the Platform Manager server is not on the same network as the Virtual Machine, Platform Manager is not able to configure the VM. You can remedy this by configuring the Remote Network setting (in MSL) on the virtual machine to include all management computers (like the Platform Manager and MiCloud Management Portal).

The Remote Network property setting is located on the virtual appliance resource blueprint, under OVA Settings. The Mitel MiVoice Business Express OVA is configured with local network addressing: 10.0.0.0/8.

Golden Database

If a golden MSL database is supplied then Platform Manager restores a customized version of this database to MSL immediately after the VM is created. The database is customized by injecting in the actual ARID and IP addresses of the resource instance.

ARID Blueprints

Use an ARID blueprint to specify a list of Mitel AMC license parts to be assigned to an ARID. This list must include a product Base part number.

In a platform blueprint, you associate an ARID blueprint to every resource blueprint. You can associate the same ARID blueprint to more than one resource blueprint in the platform.

If ARID blueprints are included in a platform blueprint, an ARID is built during the instance building stage. The completed ARID contains the listed parts. When creating a platform instance, Platform Manager creates the ARID before creating the associated resource instance. A couple of rules to keep in mind:

  • The ARID blueprint does not contain any group parts. Group parts are specified in the platform blueprint.

  • An ARID blueprint cannot be directly instantiated. It must be included in a platform blueprint.

Example

A sample ARID Blueprint is shown in Platform Blueprint Examples. Note the following:

  • ARID Blueprint name: mivbmi_sp_sub_base. This can only be applied to a resource of Type MiVoice Business Multi-Instance (MiVB-MI).

  • For every resource instantiated from this blueprint, Platform Manager creates an ARID containing part number 54006021. This is a Base Kit part for MiVoice Business tenants on a MiVoice Business Multi-Instance server.

Blueprint availability

You can determine whether there are enough parts and resources in inventory to create an instance of a blueprint.

The Platform Blueprint page shows the breakdown of part and resource availability. In this example, you could create 15 instances of this particular Platform Blueprint with the available resources.