Register a CloudStack Private Cloud with RightScale

Register a Private Cloud

Once you've installed and set up your private CloudStack cloud, you need to register the cloud itself with RightScale so that it can be accessed through the RightScale platform.

• Go to Settings > Account Settings > Administered Clouds. 

Note: If you do not see this tab, your RightScale account is not enabled for adding a private cloud. You must also have 'admin' user role privileges in a RightScale account to register a cloud. Please contact your account manager for details.

• Under "Register Your Private Cloud" select CloudStack from the dropdown menu.
• Click Register Cloud

Next, you will need to provide your CloudStack admin credentials in order to verify that you are the administrator of the private cloud.

• Name - Provide a name for your private cloud. Since the name of the cloud will appear in the Dashboard under the Clouds menu, it's recommended that you use a short name.
• Description - Provide a brief description about your private cloud. You might want to include a reference link or contact information.
• Registration URL - The URL of the private cloud itself. Also called the "API URL" —e.g http://server_ip:8080/client/api. This is the cloud endpoint that RightScale is registering against based on a zone —e.g http://99.95.251.172:8080/client/api...8-d1a51065ec02.)  Important!  It is highly recommended that your endpoint support HTTPS.>
• Admin Api Key - This value is provided by CloudStack management console.
• Admin Secret Key - This value is provided by CloudStack management console.
• Verify cloud endpoint server certificate - If checked, RightScale will check for the cloud's CA server certificate that's used for HTTPS and report any errors. If unchecked, RightScale will still check for a server certificate, but will ignore any errors.

Click Request Registration to submit your private cloud information for verification purposes. Upon successful registration, you will see the following message: "Cloud Registration succeeded. Cloud <CloudName> is now registered within RightScale."

Post Tutorial Steps

• At this point, your cloud will display under the 'Administered Clouds' tab on the 'Account Settings' page.  If you would like to use the cloud in this account, you should continue on and provide non-Admin user credentials to make this cloud available within the current RightScale account. When you register a cloud with a RightScale account, that does not automatically enable it for using the cloud in the same account. You must add the cloud to the RightScale account the same way that another account must add a cloud to their account. 
• To share this cloud to another RightScale account, you will see a Cloud Token that enables users in other accounts to 'Add a private cloud'.  (Namely, the cloud that you just registered.  See the value for Cloud Token under Settings > Account Settings > Administered Clouds tab.)  The Cloud Token is a pre-requisite for others to add your cloud.
• If the private cloud has already been registered with RightScale and you want to enable your account to be able to use that private cloud's resources in your RightScale account, see Add a CloudStack Cloud to a RightScale Account.  

Register as a non-Admin User

Now that RightScale knows about your private cloud, the next step in the registration process is to register yourself as a non-Admin user. It's important that you register as a non-Admin user because if you used your Admin user credentials, you would see all of your cloud's resources, which would make it very difficult to decipher and manage the resources that are relevant for your own purposes. Obviously, if you're the only one using the private cloud's resources it's not going to be a problem, but you're most likely going to grant other trusted users access to use your private cloud's resources.  

If you haven't already done so, you will need to create non-Admin user credentials for yourself at using the CloudStack management console. Provide the non-Admin user credentials.

• Username - Important!  Use the Account Name to which the user has access to. 
• Api Key - This value is provided by the CloudStack management console.
• Secret Key - This value is provided by the CloudStack management console.

If you have successfully registered your private cloud, it will appear under Settings -> Account -> Administered Clouds,  as well as in the navigation menu of the Dashboard under Clouds. 

Since you are the administrator who registered your private cloud with RightScale, you will see the private cloud's Cloud Token, which you can provide to other users so that they can add your private cloud to their RightScale account and use your cloud's resources. See Add a CloudStack to RightScale. As the cloud administrator, you will also be the only user to see the "Delete Cloud" action button.