Creating Blueprints

A blueprint is a model of the application’s topology and its operations implementation.

Managing the Blueprint Canvas

You add and move node types on the canvas using drag and drop actions. The buttons on the top right of the canvas assist you in creating and viewing the topology.

zoom in button Enables you to zoom in.

zoom out button Enables you to zoom out.

center map button Enables you to center the topology.

drag canvas mode Enables you to switch to drag canvas mode.

drag to select mode Enables you to switch to drag to select mode.

create node group Enables you to group the nodes that you selected.

Using and Managing Stencils

Cloudify Composer includes built-in node types, but you can also import your own.

  1. To add new node types, click Import a new node type below the stencils in the Stencils catalog.
  2. Enter the URL to a YAML file, or click Choose File to navigate to your YAML archive.
  3. Click Save.
    The imported node type is saved in the list of imports on the Import tab, and appears in your Stencils catalog. Each type is displayed with an icon that is derived from its parent type.

Adding Nodes to a Blueprint

Editing a Node

  1. Double-click the node to display its properties. You also see properties for node-affected relationships.
  2. Clicking in the relevant properties field to make your changes.
  3. Press Enter to apply your changes.
    To exit without applying your changes, press Esc.

Node Properties

The node property panel includes the following components:

Node Relationships

To define a relationships between nodes, where the connector icon is displayed, draw a connecting line from the edge of one node type to the edge of another. Note that the connector icons show either relationships in or relationships out of a node type.
You can pull the relationship line so that it is displayed in the topology according to your preferences.

Double-click a relationship to display its properties for editing and configuring the relationship parameters.

Network Types

Source Tab

Source tab provides a representation of the generated TOSCA code behind the application modeling.

Topology Source Code

It works two ways:

  1. Allows to see the currently generated blueprint based on all of the user inputs:

    • TOSCA definitions version
    • imports
    • blueprint description
    • inputs and outputs
    • custom node/relationship types created by user
    • nodes added to topology, including their properties, interfaces, network configuration and relationships between nodes

  2. Provides a possibility to edit or paste the blueprint source code directly. Composer will parse it and reflect in the UI accordingly.
    To save a modified source press the Save Source button in the top right corner of the editor.
    Composer will then run a 2-step validation:

    1. If the syntax of your source code is correct you should see

      Source Saved

    2. If it is valid Cloudify-wise you should see

      Blueprint Validated Successfully

Warning

If you write some illegal code, it will either not be reflected in the topology and anywhere in the Composer or will throw an error.