8.1 Provisioning Management
In IT, generally, and in vCloud, provisioning typically refers to one of the following:
P
rovisioning virtual machines or vCloud
components (vApps, b
usiness a
pplications, s
ervices) as a result of a consumer request.
P
rovisioning underlying infrastructure that support
s virtualization or vCloud
platforms.
Provisioning resulting from a consumer request is evolving in vCloud computing. A primary goal when implementing a vCloud computing environment is to lower ongoing OpEx costs. Provisioning that results from a consumer’s request is an activity from which significant OpEx savings can be realized. Savings are realized by the following:
Providing a self-service portal through which a consumer can make requests from a service catalog.
Automating the resulting provisioning process to satisfy the consumer’s request.