Method and System For Network Configuration And/Or Provisioning Based On Metadata

Abstract

Disclosed are various embodiments for configuring a virtual machine. A template for a virtual machine may be generated. The template may include metadata that references data for port profiles for the virtual machine. The template for the virtual machine may be stored in a template repository, and the data for the port profiles may be stored in a port profile database that is separate from the template.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 generating, using at least one computing device, a template for a virtual machine, the template comprising metadata that references data for a plurality of port profiles for the virtual machine;   storing, using the at least one computing device, the template for the virtual machine in a template repository; and   storing, using the at least one computing device, the data for the port profiles for the virtual machine in a port profile database that is separate from the template.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the template repository is in a first device, and the port profile database is in a second device that is separate from the first device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing an updated version of the data for the port profiles in the port profile database. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing an updated version of the data for the port profiles in the port profile database without modifying the template for the virtual machine. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata comprises an identifier that references the port profile database. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata comprises a configuration parameter for a virtual switch, a physical switch, a network interface controller, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the port profiles comprise a networking attribute, a storage attribute, a quality of service attribute, a medium access control identification, a virtual local area network identification, a bandwidth allocation, a traffic priority, a flow control attribute, an access control list, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 . A system, comprising:
 at least one computing device configured to:
 obtain a template for a virtual machine from a virtual machine template repository, the template comprising metadata; 
 obtain data for a plurality of port profiles for the virtual machine from a port profile database using the metadata in the template, the port profile database being separate from the virtual machine template repository; and 
 configure the virtual machine using the port profiles. 
   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the template is an open virtualization format template. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the virtual machine template repository is an open virtualization format templates repository. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one computing device is configured to:
 obtain the template for the virtual machine from a first device; and   obtain the data for the port profiles for the virtual machine from a second device that is separate from the first device.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one computing device is configured to:
 generate the template; and   store the template in the virtual machine template repository.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising configuring a virtual switch, a physical switch, a network interface controller, or any combination thereof using the metadata. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the metadata comprises an identifier that references the port profile database. 
     
     
         15 . A method, comprising:
 generating, using at least one computing device, a template for a virtual machine, the template comprising metadata that references data for a plurality of port profiles;   storing, using the at least one computing device, the data for the port profiles in a port profile database; and   storing, using the at least one computing device, the template in a template repository, the template repository being separate from the port profile database.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , comprising:
 storing the data for the port profiles in the port profile database in a first device; and   storing the template in the template repository in a second device that is separate from the first device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the template is an open virtualization format template. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising storing an updated version of the data for the port profiles in the port profile database. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the metadata comprises an identifier that references the port profile database. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the metadata comprises a configuration parameter for a virtual switch, a physical switch, a network interface controller, or any combination thereof.