How to request a Virtual Appliance?

What is a Virtual Appliance?
A preconfigured VM that runs the OS and applications together. Many software vendors provide a Virtual Appliance that simplifies management and streamlines deployments and updates, as it is pre-configured.

How is a VM different than a Virtual Appliance?
With a standard VM, you can customize the operating system, install additional software, and have full permissions to the OS. With a Virtual Appliance, you cannot do these things.

Supported Virtual Appliances formats:

• Open Virtualization Format (OVF)
• Open Virtual Appliance (OVA)

How Virtual Appliances are used in our bIT Virtual Environment -
The Cloud Team treats Virtual Appliances just like virtual machines (VMs). They are self-service and supported by the teams that request them, since a vendor manages the software. We will assist with creation, firewall configuration, and IP setup. You may also bring your IP and Firewall if you already have one set up in our environment.  Recharge costs are the same as VM charges: https://technology.berkeley.edu/rates


How to order a VM appliance -

• Place your order at https://estimator.berkeley.edu/.
• Make sure to select "Self-managed" for the OS Management type.
• Backups are not available by default.  You'll need to contact the bIT backup team (ucbackup-ticket@berkeley.edu) after your appliance if you require backups.
• In the next section, select "Blank VM" as the VPS Template.  Include a comment in the "Additional Info" field to let us know you would like to deploy an OVF/OVA.
• A public or private IP address will be provided from one of our general subnets unless you mention otherwise in the "Additional Info" section.