How do I set up a simple tagging structure

This topic describes a basic approach and options for a logical Automation Assembler tagging strategy. You can use these examples as a starting point for an actual deployment, or you can devise a different strategy that better suits your needs.

Typically, the cloud administrator is the primary individual responsible for creating and maintaining tags.

This topic refers to the WordPress use case described elsewhere in the Automation Assembler documentation to illustrate how tags can be added to some key items. It also describes possible alternatives and extensions to the tagging examples that appear in the WordPress use case.

See Tutorial: Setting up and testing multi-cloud infrastructure and deployments in Automation Assembler for more information about the WordPress use case.

The WordPress use case describes how to place tags on cloud zones and storage and network profiles. These profiles are like organized packages of resources. Tags placed on profiles apply to all items within the profile. You can also create and place tags on storage resources and individual network items as well as on compute resources, but these tags apply only to the specific resources on which they are placed. When setting up tags, it is usually best to begin by tagging compute resources, and then you can add tags to profiles and cloud zones later. Also, you use these tags to filter the list of compute resources for a cloud zone.

For example, while you can place tags on storage profiles as shown in this use case, you can also place tags on individual storage policies, data stores, and storage accounts. Tags on these resources enable you to exercise finer control over how storage resources are deployed. During processing in preparation for deployment, these tags are resolved as a next level of processing after the profile tags.

As an example of how you might configure a typical customer scenario, you could place a tag of region: eastern on a network profile. This tag would apply to all resources within that profile. Then you could place a tag of networktype:pci on a pci network resource within the profile. A cloud template with constraints of eastern and pci would create deployments that use this pci network for the eastern region.

Procedure

1. Tag your compute infrastructure resources in a logical and appropriate manner.
   It is particularly important that you tag compute resources in a logical manner so that you can find them using the search function on the Compute tab of the Create Cloud Zone page. Using this search function, you can quickly filter the compute resources associated with a cloud zone. If you tag Storage and Networks at the profile level, you may not need to tag individual storage and network resources.
   1. Select Resources > Compute to view the compute resources that have been imported for your Automation Assembler instance.
   2. Select each compute resource as appropriate and click Tags to add a tag to the resource. You can add more than one tag to each resource if appropriate.
   3. Repeat the previous step for storage and network resources as appropriate.
2. Create cloud zone and network profile capability tags.
   You can use the same tags for both cloud zones and network profiles, or you can create unique tags for each item if that makes more sense for your implementation.

   In network profiles, you can place tags on the entire profile as well as on subnets within the profile. Tags applied at the profile level apply to all components, such as subnets, within that profile. Tags on subnets apply only to the specific subnet on which they are placed. During tag processing, the profile level tags take precedence over the subnet level tags.

   For information about adding tags to cloud zones or network profiles, see the cloud zone and network sections of the WordPress infrastructure example.

   In this example we create three simple tags that appear throughout the use case documentation for Automation Assembler cloud zone and network profile tags. These tags identify the environment for the profile components.

   • zone:test
   • zone:dev
   • zone:prod
3. Create storage profile tags for your storage components.

   Typically, storage tags identify the performance level of storage items, such as tier1 or tier2, or they identify the nature of storage items, such as pci.

   For information about adding tags to storage profiles, see the storage section of the WordPress infrastructure example.

   • usage:general
   • usage:fast

Results

After you create a basic tagging structure, you can begin working with it and add or edit tags as appropriate to refine and extend your tagging capabilities.