The Tool Desk
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What does CloudForms do?
Red Hat organizes CloudForms’ capabilities into four areas: Insight, Control, Automate, and Integrate. Together, they cover visibility into managed infrastructure, policy enforcement, lifecycle workflows, and connections to other IT systems.
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Hybrid Cloud Management with Red Hat CloudForms | $30.39 | Buy on Amazon |
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- Insight: Discovery, monitoring, utilization and performance analysis, reporting, analytics, chargeback, and trending.
- Control: Security and compliance controls, alerting, and policy-based enforcement of resource and configuration rules.
- Automate: IT process, task, and event automation; provisioning; workload management; and orchestration.
- Integrate: Systems management, event consoles, configuration management databases (CMDBs), role-based administration, and web services.
These are management capabilities, not a replacement for the hypervisors or cloud platforms being managed. The exact functions available depend on the CloudForms release and provider integration.
How is CloudForms deployed?
CloudForms is delivered as a preconfigured virtual appliance. The appliance runs the CloudForms server and Virtual Management Database (VMDB), which Red Hat describes as the definitive source for collected virtual-infrastructure intelligence and appliance-task status. Administrators work through a web console, while SmartProxy components communicate with managed locations over HTTPS.
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This architecture means deployment planning involves more than importing an appliance: teams need to consider appliance sizing, where the VMDB will reside, SmartProxy placement, and the HTTPS and network paths between CloudForms and managed environments. Requirements can differ by release, so use documentation for the exact version rather than carrying sizing assumptions forward.
Can CloudForms manage VMware, OpenStack, or public clouds?
Red Hat’s support matrix lists the providers below. Support and available capabilities vary by provider and CloudForms release; the matrix should be checked for the exact versions and operations required.
| Provider listed by Red Hat | Provider category | Scope qualification |
|---|---|---|
| VMware vCenter | Virtualization management | Supported capabilities depend on the CloudForms release; consult Red Hat’s support matrix. |
| Red Hat virtualization and OpenStack | Virtualization and private cloud | Supported capabilities depend on the CloudForms release; consult Red Hat’s support matrix. |
| Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) | Virtualization management | Supported capabilities depend on the CloudForms release; consult Red Hat’s support matrix. |
| Amazon EC2 | Public cloud | Listed under Red Hat’s Certified Cloud Providers program; support is release-specific. |
| Microsoft Azure | Public cloud | Listed in the support matrix; supported capabilities depend on the CloudForms release. |
Do not treat the provider list as a blanket promise that every feature works with every provider version. Before adopting or extending an integration, confirm that the target CloudForms release supports the specific provider version and the functions your workflows need.
What can CloudForms automate?
CloudForms lifecycle management can coordinate work across the life of a virtual machine or cloud instance, from a request through retirement. Its documented workflow coverage includes:
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- Provisioning and customization.
- Reconfiguration and policy- or resource-based enforcement.
- CMDB updates and related management tasks.
- Aging, cleanup, and retirement of virtual machines or cloud instances.
How much of a process can be automated depends on the provider integration, configured policies, and connections to existing systems. Map the workflow end to end—including approvals and cleanup—before assuming a task is fully automated.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is Red Hat CloudForms still supported?
Red Hat’s lifecycle policy describes Full Support and Maintenance Support phases for CloudForms. Technical support is governed by the customer’s subscription agreement, and Red Hat states: “Red Hat at this time is no longer recommending new installations or major upgrades of CloudForms.” That warning does not, by itself, establish that every existing installation is unsupported: an existing customer must check the lifecycle phase for its exact release and the terms of its subscription.
Also verify the support status of the underlying operating system and database. An application’s lifecycle position does not automatically establish that every component beneath it remains supported.
Should you deploy CloudForms now or plan a migration?
For a new environment, Red Hat’s recommendation weighs against choosing CloudForms for a new installation. For an existing environment, the decision is more specific: establish the supported state of the installed release, assess the operational value of the integrations and automation already in use, and plan a migration path before expanding reliance on it.
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When evaluating continued use or an alternative, compare the same practical dimensions:
- Provider and version coverage: Confirm support for the exact hypervisor and cloud versions in scope.
- Governance: Check whether compliance, policy enforcement, approvals, chargeback, and configuration controls meet your requirements.
- Automation: Compare provisioning, orchestration, retirement, and integration with current process tools.
- Operations: Account for appliance sizing, VMDB placement, SmartProxy topology, and network requirements.
- Lifecycle risk: Verify vendor support phase, security-fix policy, underlying component support, and a practical migration route.
For an existing deployment, confirm release-specific support and subscription eligibility directly with Red Hat or the organization’s Red Hat support provider before making a change.
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