A service is a container for IT assets that can be requested, approved, deployed, and completed as a unit. A service can consist of anything from a single resource, such as a VM, to a combination of service components, such as:
- Multi-cloud templates
- VM templates
- Amazon Marketplace AMIs
- Virtual service templates
- Cloud templates (CloudFormation templates, ARM templates, and GCP deployment configurations)
- OVA/OVF templates
- Custom components — These are used to represent both non-virtual assets (such as a phone) and tasks that modify existing assets (such as the installation of a database instance on an existing server).
Custom components differ from resources, such as VMs, and virtual service components in that once a request for a custom component is completed, the custom component isn't displayed or tracked in Commander or the Service Portal.
A service can be predefined (for example, as a vApp in vCenter). You can also configure a service from individual components in Commander, for example:
- A new hire service, which includes everything a new hire needs, such as a desktop machine, installed software applications, and a phone.
- A lab service, which includes everything required to set up a software testing lab environment.
