VMware vSphere SDKs and Tools 8.0

8.0 7.0 6.7 6.5

Create a Local Content Library
Last Updated December 16, 2024

You can create a local content library programmatically by using the
vSphere Automation
 API. The API allows you to populate the content library with OVF and vApp templates. You can use these templates to deploy virtual machines or vApps in your virtual environment.
Required privileges:
  • Content library
    Create local library
     on the
    vCenter Server
     instance where you want to create the library.
  • Datastore
    Allocate space
     on the destination datastore.
  1. Access the
    LocalLibrary
     service that provides support for creating local content libraries.
  2. Create a
    StorageBacking
     instance and define the storage location.
  3. Create a
    SecurityPolicies
     instance to define the security policy rules for the library. For vSphere 7.0 Update3, you can only define rules for an OVF and OVA templates in the library by using the
    OVF_STRICT_VERIFICATION
     security rule. When the OVF security policy is configured for a local content library, an OVF or OVA template can be synchronized or imported to the library only after its certificate is validated against a trusted certificate authority.
  4. Create a
    LibraryModel
     instance and set the properties of the new local library.
    If you want to apply a security policy on the local library, you must use the
    setSecurityPolicyId(java.lang.String securityPolicyId)
     method or the
    security_policy_id
     parameter of the
    LibraryModel
     instance.
  5. Call the create function on the
    LocalLibrary
     object and pass the
    LibraryModel
     as a parameter.
A local content library is created on the
vCenter Server
 instance and you can edit its contents.
You maintain the contents of the local library by managing its library items. See How To Use Library Items and Content Library Support for OVF and OVA Packages. You can also share the library content by publishing the local library. See Publish an Existing Content Library.
Java
This example is based on the code in the
LibraryCrud.java
 sample file.
This example uses the steps that are described in the Create a Local Content Library procedure.
For a complete and up-to-date version of the Java sample code, see the
vsphere-automation-sdk-java
 VMware repository at GitHub. 
...

// Create a StorageBacking instance to back the library content on the local file system.
    StorageBacking libraryBacking = new StorageBacking();
    libraryBacking.setType(Type.OTHER);
    libraryBacking.setStorageUri(URI.create("file:///tmp"));
    libraryModel.setStorageBackings(Collections.singletonList(libraryBacking));

// Create a LibraryModel that represents a local library.
    LibraryModel libraryModel = new LibraryModel();
    libraryModel.setType(LibraryModel.LibraryType.LOCAL);
    libraryModel.setName("AcmeLibrary");

// Access the LocalLibrary service by using the  endpoint.
    LocalLibrary localLibraryService = this.vapiAuthHelper.getStubFactory().createStub(LocalLibrary.class, sessionStubconfig);

// Call the create method of the LocalLibrary service passing as an
// argument the LibraryModel instance.
    String libraryId = localLibraryService.create(UUID.randomUUID().toString(), libraryMod
Python
This example creates a local library with name
AcmeLibrary
 , which is stored on the local file system where
vCenter Server
 runs.
This example uses the steps that are described in the Create a Local Content Library procedure.
For related code samples, see the
vsphere-automation-sdk-python
 VMware repository at GitHub. 
...

# 1 - Create a storage backing instance on a local file system.
library_backing = library_client.StorageBacking()
library_backing.type = library_client.StorageBacking.Type.OTHER
library_backing.storage_uri = ’file:///tmp’

# 2 - Create a Library model to specify properties of the new library.
library_model = content_client.LibraryModel()
library_model.type = content_client.LibraryModel.LibraryType.LOCAL
library_model.name = ’AcmeLibrary’
library_model.storage_backings = [library_backing]

# 3 - Call the create() method, passing the library model as a parameter.
idem_token = str(uuid.uuid4())
local_library_stub = content_client.LocalLibrary(my_stub_config)
library_id = local_library_stub.create(create_spec=library_model,
                                      client_token=idem_token)

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