The Storage Policy API is implemented with Web Services Description Language (WSDL), as an XML file describing how to communicate with it. The WSDL is usable with toolkit bindings by many programming languages, including Java.

SPBM Managed Objects

The Storage Policy API is structured like the vSphere API, and is likewise suitable for Java programming. Managed object types include the following:

  • PbmProfileProfileManager supports operations on virtual machine storage profiles.
  • PbmPlacementSolver identifies locations that support requested capabilities for storing virtual machine files.
  • PbmComplianceManager verifies compliance of virtual machine and virtual disk requirement profiles.
  • PbmReplicationManager deals with replication of virtual machine and virtual disk requirement profiles.
  • PbmServiceInstance is the root object of Storage Policy service, created connecting to SPBM.

Storage Policy API and vSphere API

The following table shows the correspondence between SPBM managed objects and vSphere API methods.

Table 1. Storage Policy Operations and Virtual Machine Provisioning
SPBM Operation (Storage Policy API) Virtual Machine Provisioning (vSphere API)
Use the PbmProfileProfileManager methods to create and update storage profiles. Associate storage profiles with virtual machines and virtual disks. See the description of the vSphere API data object properties VirtualMachineConfigSpec.vmProfile and FileBackedVirtualDiskSpec.profile in the vSphere API Reference. You can also use the vSphere Web Client to associate a storage profile with a virtual machine or virtual disk.
Use the PbmPlacementSolver methods to identify candidate datastores for storage locations. Specify the datastores when you create virtual machines and virtual disks. See the description of the vSphere API data object properties VirtualMachineFileInfo.vmPathName and VirtualDeviceFileBackingInfo.datastore in the vSphere API Reference.
Use the PbmComplianceManager methods to check compliance between storage requirements and capabilities. After you associate a storage profile with a virtual machine or virtual disk, the Server will identify non-compliance if the datastore does not satisfy the requirements of the profile.