Fulfill Service Requests

This topic explains how to fulfill service requests. It also explains service request management tasks that are primarily handled through the Request Details dialog.

Fulfill approved service requests

By default, when a new service request is fulfilled, the person who made the request will receive an email with many details about the VM that has been deployed. However, the email doesn't include a direct link to the deployed VM, but you can configure completion workflows to include a direct link. For more information, see Completion Workflows.

• To find all service requests (new service requests and change requests) that are outstanding and require action, click Service Requests, filter down to all approved requests, and follow this procedure. For more information on request states, see Track Service Requests.
• Any filter you set up for service requests is saved automatically when you sign out of Commander. The next time you sign in, clear the filter to see the unfiltered list. For more information about searching and filters, see Filter Searches on Tables

1. For an outstanding new service request or change request with a state of "Approved," click Request Details.
2. In the Request Details dialog, make the appropriate configuration choices.

   What you can do depends on where you are in the request tree, as well as the cloud account type (for example, vCenter or SCVMM).

• For a new request, if a user has requested changes from the default settings configured in the service catalog, these changes are displayed in the Request Details dialog.
• When a Commander or Service Portal user shares a VM, "(Shared)" is appended to the service name in the Request Details. When a Service Portal user requests a VM clone, (Clone) is appended to the service name.
3. You can click Add Comment at any level of the tree to add a comment that will be visible to everyone who has access to the service request. You can specify deployment parameters in the comments. For more information, see Specify Deployment Parameters for Services.

Link VMs to service requests

You can link a service request to an existing VM (for example, a VM that has been created through a third-party commissioning process).

1. Select a VM and select Actions > Provisioning > Link To Service Request.
2. In the Link VM to Service Request dialog, select a service request from the list.

Only single-VM service requests are available for selection.

3. If you want to prevent the VM from being immediately available to the user (for example, if you need to perform additional manual steps before the VM becomes available), clear the Release option.
4. Click OK.

Manage workflows in service requests

For some requests, you can perform tasks on the workflows associated with them. For example, you may be able to skip a workflow step, skip the entire workflow, or repeat a step.

You may also be able to edit a step listed in the Steps section after the workflow has started. This may be necessary when:

• a script used in the step is incorrect, causing the step to fail
• the timeout period in a workflow step has been exceeded
• an approver isn't available to approve a request and the entire workflow process is halted
• an incorrect email address was added to the step

For details about editing the workflow steps, see Workflow Steps Reference.

You can also access these tasks from the Workflow Management dialog (click Tools > Workflow Status, then click Manage Workflow) or, when a workflow is running, click the Workflows tab at the bottom of the Commander window and right-click a workflow in the list.

1. Select a service request from the list of requests.
2. Click Request Details.
3. In the request tree, select a workflow.
4. On the Details tab, the following options may be available:
   • Skip Step — Bypass a step in the workflow. For example, skip the first level of approval.
   • Skip Workflow — Bypass the entire workflow.
   • Repeat Step — Repeat the same step.
   • Edit Step — Adjust the step, as required in the Edit Step dialog and click Save or Save and Repeat Step.
5. Enter any comments or instructions in the Comment field.
6. Perform any other required tasks in the Service Details dialog, and click Close.
7. If the Publish Modification to Source Workflow dialog appears, click Yes, to apply your changes to the original workflow, or No, to apply this change only to the workflow for the current service request.

Manage components in service requests

For some requests, you can perform tasks on the components associated with the service requests.

1. Select a service request from the list of requests.
2. Click Request Details.
3. In the request tree, select a component.
4. On the Details tab, the following options may be available:
   • Deploy Linked Clone — Once a request is approved, you can deploy vCenter VMs as linked clones. A linked clone is created from a snapshot of the parent, and the linked clone consists of the snapshot plus the metadata and the delta between the snapshot and the deployed image. So the parent or snapshot location should be on a very fast SAN (SSD), especially if multiple linked clones are created from the same parent. Commander always uses the most recent snapshot to create the linked clone.
   • Deploy — Once a request is approved, you can deploy a service, a VM or a virtual service through the deployment wizard.
   • Fulfill Request — Fulfill an approved change request as follows:
     • To change request details, click Change. The options that appear depend upon the Change Request form, the changes requested, and the component type (for example, resource settings can only be changed for VMs). See Manually Reconfigure VM Resources for more information on changing requested resources.
     • To fulfill the request as originally submitted or with any changes you've made, click Apply Changes.
     • To make changes in an maintenance window, click Schedule in Maintenance Window.

       This option only appears if the VM has an active maintenance window. A pop-up will indicate the time of the next maintenance window; click Yes to confirm. A scheduled task is then created. It can be deleted if necessary, but not edited (go to Tools > Scheduled Tasks). If it's deleted, the request must be manually fulfilled again. For more information, see Configure Maintenance Windows.

     • To make the changes later, click Schedule Changes and complete the wizard. On the Scheduling page, select the date and time for the change to occur.
   • Release — Manually releases a deployed VM or virtual service that hasn't been released through the deployment wizard or as part of a service change request.
   • Dismiss Failure — Dismisses a service request with a Failed state because a component has been deployed but is still in progress. This type of failure can occur if a post-deployment step (for example, adding a disk) has failed. Dismiss Failure causes the request to advance to completion, but without any of the requested changes to disks, CPU or memory.
   • Manually Advance Request — Manually advance the request to completion if all components have been successfully deployed, but the service request is stuck in the Pending Completion or In Progress state.
5. Enter any comments or instructions in the Comment field. This may be required for some actions.
6. Perform any other required tasks in the Service Details dialog, and click Close.

Deploy services

Once a request is approved, you can deploy the entire service through the deployment wizard.

For more information on how to deploy requested services for specific cloud types, see Manually provision services.

1. Select an approved service request from the list of requests.
2. Click Request Details.
3. On the Details tab, click Deploy.