Templates are used to name machines created on a cloud type and zone along with machine type and image, if available. Once created, a template can be applied while adding an Instance of a Compute option.

Template is organized by Name, Cloud Type, Zone, Machine Type and Image

• Template Name is a unique name used for identification.
• Cloud types are Amazon and Azure(Microsoft).
  1. Depending on the Cloud provider, Zone and Machine Type options are shown. If a particular Machine Type or Zone is preferred, that could dictate the choice of Cloud Type.
  2. Another factor that could dictate the choice of Cloud Type is pricing, performance and availability of the desired Machine Type.
  3. If your company already has setup machines in one or more of the Cloud Types, it is good to add those here for creating them, when needed.
• Zone refers to the location of the data center where the data is stored. Having Compute Instance in proximity to Disks and Network zones could be helpful for delivering better performance, in general.
• The availability of Machine Type differs based on the Cloud Type provider and Zone selected. They could have different configurations of processors and memory settings, thereby delivering different levels of performance. Some types could be pre-installed with application software.

 

Cloud Provider	Machine Type ($)	Information	Recommendation
Amazon	T2.micro / small / medium / large	Moderate baseline performance with capability to burst to higher performance. Low cost.	Use for general purpose web servers, development environments, small databases
Amazon	M4.large / xlarge	Latest generation of general purpose instances with storage optimized at no additional cost	Good choice for many applications.
Google	F1-micro	Offers bursting capabilities to use additional CPU for short periods, comes with 1 virtual CPU, 0.60 GB of memory, backed by a shared physical core.	For applications where CPU spikes can occur periodically, where CPU performance is not required
Google	G1-small	Offers bursting capabilities to use additional CPU for short periods, comes with 1 virtual CPU, 1.70 GB of memory, backed by a shared physical core. Compute units are guaranteed.	For applications with constant CPU usage and periodic spikes
Google	N1-highcpu-16 / 8/ 4/ 2	High-CPU machine types have 0.90 GB of RAM per virtual CPU.	For tasks that require more virtual CPUs relative to memory.
Google	N1-highmem-16 / 8/ 4/ 2	High-memory machine types have 6.50GB of RAM per virtual CPU.	For tasks that require more memory relative to virtual CPUs
Google	N1-standard-16 / 8/ 4/ 2/ 1	Suitable for tasks that have a balance of CPU and memory needs	Use for applications

For Amazon, please refer https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/

For Azure, please refer https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-windows-sizes/

For Google, please refer https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/machine-types

$ – Please review your cloud provider pricing details

Add Template

Add Template shows options to name it, select a machine type and select an image.

Machine Type (based on cloud selection) allows us to select from system types offered by the cloud provider.

Select Image lists the images available for the cloud provider.

For Azure, Images can be searched by different options like region (zone), vendor (Microsoft, RedHat, etc.), and version.

In case of Amazon, Images are organized by Platform, Architecture, and Volume Type apart from Zone.

Template – Add Amazon – Select Image

• Image usually refers to a point in time configuration of a system. It could have a certain set of patches/programs configured so as to meet certain processing requirements. Rather than repeat configuration steps on new systems being created, saved images can be used to create a new system.

• Platform refers to the Operating System type installed on the image

 

Platform	Information	Cloud Platforms
CentOS	The CentOS Linux distribution is a stable, predictable, manageable and reproducible platform derived from the sources of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Since March 2004, CentOS Linux has been a community-supported distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public by Red Hat. As such, CentOS Linux aims to be functionally compatible with RHEL. We mainly change packages to remove upstream vendor branding and artwork. CentOS Linux is no-cost. Refer https://www.centos.org/about/	Google
CoreOS	A lightweight Linux operating system designed for clustered deployments providing automation, security, and scalability for your critical applications. Refer https://coreos.com/why/	Google
Debian	Debian is a free operating system (OS) and comes with over 43000 packages, precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine	Google
openSUSE	The openSUSE distribution is a stable, easy to use and complete multi-purpose distribution. It is aimed towards users and developers working on the desktop or server. It is great for beginners, experienced users and ultra-geeks alike. The latest release features versions of all useful server and desktop applications. It comes with more than 1,000 open source applications. Refer https://en.opensuse.org/Main_Page	Google
RHEL	Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® delivers military-grade security, 99.999% uptime, support for business-critical workloads, and so much more. Ultimately, the platform helps you reallocate resources from maintaining the status quo to tackling new challenges. Refer https://www.redhat.com/en/technologies/linux-platforms/enterprise-linux	Azure, Google
SUSE	Compete more effectively through improved uptime, better efficiency and accelerated innovation using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, a versatile server operating system for deploying highly available enterprise-class IT services in mixed IT environments with best-of-breed performance and reduced risk. Key Features – Increase reliability & reduce costs with Advanced RAS, Achieve zero downtime with Live Patching, Easily customize your system using YaST, Stay ahead with cloud-ready networking using Wicked, Gain operational advantage with standards-based SolidDriver program. Refer https://www.suse.com/products/server	Google
Ubuntu	Ubuntu comes with everything you need to run your organisation, school, home or enterprise. All the essential applications, like an office suite, browsers, email and media apps come pre-installed and thousands more games and applications are available in the Ubuntu Software Centre. Refer http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop	Azure, Google
Windows Server	Server OS for hosting websites, web applications, database servers, mail servers, file servers, etc. Depending on application software setup requirements, select available OS version like 2003 R2/ 2008/ 2008 R2/ 2012/ 2012 R2. Windows Server is the platform for building an infrastructure of connected applications, networks, and web services, from the workgroup to the data center. Refer https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb625087.aspx	Amazon, Azure, Google
Amazon Linux	Server OS with no additional charge to EC2 users, Repository access to multiple versions of MySQL, PostgreSQL, Python, Ruby, Tomcat.	Amazon

For Amazon, please refer http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/AMIs.html and http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/AMIs.html

For Azure, please refer https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/services/virtual-machines/linux/ and https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/services/virtual-machines/windows/

For Google, please refer https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/images

• Version is the Operating System version installed on the image
• Root Device Name – Each instance that you launch has an associated root device volume, either an Amazon EBS volume or an instance store volume. This and the Volume setting is for that.

Image Search result shows the available images.

Select the desired image to continue adding a Template.

Finally, Add is used to create the new Template based on the selections.

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