Creating a WildFly 11.0 Blueprint in vRA (with sample application)

Installing WildFly 11.0 application server (formally JBOSS) in stand-alone mode using vRA is a simple process.  You basically just need to do the following steps:

  1. Download artifacts
  2. Load vRA blueprint
  3. Prepare Template
  4. Edit the Blueprint
  5. Prepare repo (optional)

I have also included a sample application in war file format that you can create a separate software component for to demonstrate one-way to install WildFly applications using vRA blueprints.

First I will walk you through the easy cookbook version of the installation and then I will discuss some of the options that you can use to customize as needed.

Requirements:

  • vRA7.x+ (fully configured)
  • vCenter endpoint
  • A linux template and valid vCenter customization spec
  • CloudClient 4.x installed and configured (to use the cookbook method)

Download the Artifacts

Download the following files from https://github.com/v-arcade/wildfly_vRA

  • TemperatureConverterj2EEAppllication-composite-blueprint.zip
  • Wildfly11-composite-blueprint.zip
  • temperature-converter.war

Download the WildFly 11.0 installable from http://www.wildfly.org/downloads/

The filename should be wildfly-11.0.0.CR1.tar.gz

NOTE: The blueprint expects this filename.  If you download another version, you will need to either rename or edit the install script for the software component in vRA.

I have also created a war file for a demo application.  This application is the temperature converter from the WildFly QuickStart here.  For convenience, I used Maven to compile into an easy to install .war file.  You can get the ready-to-go .war file here.  You do not need to install this application unless you just want to ensure everything is working and/or want a demo application.

Load the vRA Blueprint using CloudClient

After you have installed the CloudClient in your environment, launch it using the icon to access the CloudClient CLI

You will need to authenticate to your vRA instance.  The CloudClient command to do that is:

CloudClientLogin

CloudClient> vra login userpass –user <vRA Admin User> — tenant <tenant> –server <server URL> –password <password>

Where:

  • vRA Admin User – is a user with the ability to create Blueprints and Software Components for the tenant.  (Application and Software Architect Roles)
  • tenant – The tenant you want to import the blueprints into, typically vsphere.local by default
  • server URL – The URL for the vRA appliance in the form https://FQDN
  • password – The password for the Admin user specificed in clear text

You should get a message similiar to the one above in the screenshot that shows the login is ACTIVE.  You don’t need the IaaS Model Manger login to be active for this process.

Next, import the Blueprint using the CloudClient

CloudClient>vra content import –path <path to .zip file> –resolution OVERWRITE –precheck WARN –verbose

where

  • path to .zip file – is the WildFly-composite-blueprint.zip file you downloaded in the previous step (i.e C:\temp\WildFly11-composite-blueprint.zip)

Once the blueprint is loaded, you can optionally import the blueprint with the sample application

CloudClient>vra content import –path <path to app blueprint> –resolution OVERWRITE –precheck WARN –verbose

where

  • path to app blueprint – is the path to the sample application blueprint, TemperatureConverterJ2EEApplication-composite-blueprint.zip

Once complete, close the CloudClient.

Prepare the Template

To prepare the template, all you need to do is convert the template to a VM.  Start the VM and copy the source files to /root on the template VM.

  • For the WilFly 11 Blueprint, copy the wildfly-11.0.0.CR1.tar.gz source file to /root on the template VM
  • For the optional Temperature Converter Application, also copy the temperature-converter.war to /root on the template VM

Once copied, shut down the VM and save as a template.

NOTE: For quicker deployments, we are staging the source code on the templates, however you can use an external software repo for these files if required.  See the additional notes below on how to configure the blueprint to use an external repository.

Edit the Blueprint

You will need to update the newly imported blueprints to use the template you created in the previous step.

  1. Log into vRA as an administrator with Application and Software Architect roles
  2. Click on the Design tab to see your new Blueprints
  3. Select the WildFly11 Blueprint to edit it.
  4. In the Blueprint Design Canvas, select the Vsphere_Machine_1 object to open the configuration pane
  5. Select the Build Information tab
  6. Update the Clone from and Customization spec fields to reflect the template you modified in the previous step
  7. Click Save

NOTE: You may also need to update the network settings on the external network object to use a different network profile

Do the same procedure for the Temperature Converter Application blueprint if required

Publish and entitle all blueprints based on your environment.

Testing the deployment

Deploy the application through the service catalog.

You need to set the Wildfly Administrator user and password on the request

Once the request completes, you can verify the deployment by navigating to the WildFly homepage at https://<server_ip>:8080

If you also installed the temperature-converter Application, you can test it by navigating to http://<server IP>:8080/temperature-converter

Congratulations!  You have successfully installed WildFly!