To initiate the OVF upload, a client makes a POST request to an action/upload link in the target catalog. The type of this link is application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.uploadVAppTemplateParams+xml. The request body is an UploadVAppTemplateParams element.

The first step in uploading an OVF package is to request vCloud Director to create a catalog item in the target catalog and a corresponding vAppTemplate object to represent the template that will be constructed from the upload.

Prerequisites

Verify that the following are true:

■

You have an OVF package to upload.

■

You are logged in as a user who has permission to upload OVF packages and create vApp templates.

■

You know the URL of the target catalog that will receive the upload. Retrieve the XML representation of your organization to see a list of the catalogs that it contains.

Procedure
1

Find the action/upload link for vApp templates in the target catalog.

Retrieve the XML representation of the catalog using a request like the one shown in the request portion of Example: Deployment Information in a VDC. The response contains an action/upload link, which has the following form:

<Link
   rel="add"
   type="application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.uploadVAppTemplateParams+xml"
   href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalog/32/action/upload" />
2

Create an UploadVAppTemplateParams element that specifies the parameters for the vApp template that this request creates.

See the request portion of Example: Initiating the Upload.

3

(Optional) If the OVF package includes a manifest, include a manifestRequired="true" attribute in the UploadVAppTemplateParams element.

Some OVF packages include a manifest document, which provides a checksum for each file in the package. When the UploadVAppTemplateParams element includes a manifestRequired="true" attribute, the set of File elements returned after you upload the OVF descriptor includes one for the manifest itself.

4

Make an HTTP POST request to the upload link that you retrieved in Step 1, supplying the UploadVAppTemplateParams element in the request body.

See the request portion of Example: Initiating the Upload.

5

Examine the response.

The response, a CatalogITem element, contains an Entity element that contains a reference to the vApp template that will be constructed from the uploaded OVF. See the response portion of Example: Initiating the Upload.

The server creates a VAppTemplate object and a corresponding CatalogItem in the target catalog, and returns an XML representation of the CatalogItem. See the response portion of Example: Initiating the Upload.

Example: Initiating the Upload

This example assumes an OVF package that has no manifest.

Request:

POST https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalog/32/action/upload
Content-Type: application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.uploadVAppTemplateParams+xml
...
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<UploadVAppTemplateParams
   name="Ubuntu Template"
   xmlns="http://www.vmware.com/vcloud/v1.5"
   xmlns:ovf="http://schemas.dmtf.org/ovf/envelope/1">
   <Description>Ubuntu vApp Template</Description>
</UploadVAppTemplateParams>

Response:

201 Created
Content-Type: application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.catalogItem+xml
...
<CatalogItem
   xmlns="http://www.vmware.com/vcloud/v1.5"
   name="Ubuntu Template"
   id="urn:vcloud:catalogitem:221"
   href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalogItem/221" ... >
  <Link
      rel="up"
      type="application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.catalog+xml"
      href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalog/32" />
   <Link
      rel="down"
      type="application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.metadata+xml"
      href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalogItem/221/metadata" />
   <Link
      rel="edit"
      type="application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.catalogItem+xml"
      href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalogItem/221" />
   <Link
      rel="remove"
      href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/catalogItem/221" />
   <Description>Approved template for public FTP sites</Description>
   <Entity
      href="https://vcloud.example.com/api/vAppTemplate/vappTemplate-111"
      type="application/vnd.vmware.vcloud.vAppTemplate+xml"
      name="Ubuntu vApp Template"/>
</CatalogItem>
Next topic: Retrieving the Upload URL for the OVF Descriptor