7. Configuring CloudBlue commerce¶
To make a product available to an end user, ensure the following steps are completed:
The vendor versions a product.
The vendor submits a request to include the product in a distributor’s product list.
The distributor accepts the product.
The distributor adds the product to an end user’s marketplace.
You must complete the following steps for the PowerPanel user account and virtual environment (virtual machine or container) products.
7.1. Version a product¶
The vendor must version a product before submitting a request to include it in a distributor’s product list.
7.1.1. To create a product version¶
Go to your CloudBlue Connect vendor portal and click the Products icon.
Select the product.
Go to the Versions tab and click the Fork master button in the upper-right corner.
In Fork master into the new version, specify a description and choose Public as visibility mode. Click Fork.
7.2. List a versioned product¶
The vendor must submit a request to include a versioned product in a distributor’s product list.
7.2.1. To add a versioned product to a distributor’s product list¶
Go to your CloudBlue Connect vendor portal and click the Listings icon.
Click the Manage listings button in the upper-right corner.
In the dialog that appears, do the following:
In Manage Listing—Step - 1 Introduction, read general information about a product listing and click Next.
In Manage Listing—Step - 2 Product, select the desired product and click Next.
In Manage Listing—Step - 3 Distributor, select a distributor and click Next.
In Manage Listing—Step - 4 Marketplace, select a marketplace and click Next.
Manage Listing—Step - 5 Action is skipped by default. This step is available when a product is listed.
In Manage Listing—Step - 6 Price List, No price list is selected by default. Click Next.
In Manage Listing—Step - 7 Offer, No offer is selected by default. Click Next.
In Manage Listing—Submit, click Submit.
In Manage Listing—Summary, view the details and status of the request. Click Go to details to view all the details and status of your listing. Otherwise, click Close.
Thus, the product will appear on the distributor’s side.
7.3. Accept a product by a distributor¶
Before a distributor can publish a product for their end users, they must accept it on their CloudBlue Connect distributor portal.
7.3.1. To accept a product¶
Go to your CloudBlue Connect distributor portal and click the Listings icon.
Go to the Requests tab and select a product in the reviewing status.
Click the Mark as deploying button in the upper-right corner.
Click the Mark as completed button in the upper-right corner.
Once accepted, the product is added to the list of applications on the CloudBlue Commerce portal.
7.4. Add a product to end user’s marketplace¶
After accepting a product on the CloudBlue Connect distributor portal, the distributor must complete the following steps to make it available to an end user:
Create a persistent connection via CloudBlue Connection Extension between the CloudBlue Connect and CloudBlue Commerce portals for synchronizing product information.
Create a service plan, which is an offer including prices, terms, etc., applicable to an end user.
Set resource rates applicable to the product to view the number and quantity of system resources used by an end user.
Publish the product to an end user, i.e., the selected user categories.
7.4.1. To create connection¶
Go to your CloudBlue Commerce portal.
On the Operations menu, select System > Connect.
Click Manage next to the desired product.
Click Create connection.
Click Install to start importing the product and creating service templates.
On the Operations menu, select Products > Service Templates to view automatically created service templates. A service template is a template of an offer made to an end user.
Create a service plan based on the service templates as instructed below.
7.4.2. To create a service plan¶
Go to your CloudBlue Commerce portal.
On the Billing menu, select Products > Service Plans.
Click Add New Service Plan.
Choose Generic Service Plan as a service plan type and click Next.
Complete all the steps specified in the wizard.
7.4.3. To set resource rates¶
Note
Resource rates do not apply to the PowerPanel user account product.
Go to your CloudBlue Commerce portal.
On the Billing menu, select Products > Service Plans.
Select the desired service plan.
Go to the Resource Rates tab and click Add New Resource Rate.
In the MPN drop-down list, select CPU_limit, CPU_MHz_limit, RAM_limit, Storage_limit, and floating_ip_limit.
After adding the resource rate, you will have the following list:
7.4.4. To publish a product¶
Go to your CloudBlue Commerce portal.
On the Billing menu, select Products > Service Plans.
Select the desired service plan.
Go to the Publication Settings tab and choose the categories to which you want to publish the product.
Once published, the product will appear on an end user’s marketplace.