Create a subscribed content library (to access remote resources) on VMware vSphere 6.7

3. Add a subscription

Now that your 2 linked content libraries are created, you will see how to create subscriptions to be able to manage the distribution of VM templates from your published local content library.
To do this, on your local vCenter Server (in our case "brux-vcsa"), go to the "Subscriptions" tab of your local published content library.

As you can see, by default there is none.
Indeed, creating a subscribed content library from a published content library has nothing to do with this notion of subscriptions.

To create a new subscription, click: Actions -> New Subscription.

Important : this option is only available on the published content library. Not on the subscribed one.

As you can see in the "Create Subscription" window, you have the choice between 2 types of subscriptions:

• Create a new subscription to a new Subscriber library: allows you to automatically create a subscribed library on a remote vCenter Server linked to your vCenter Server.
  A subscription will also be created on the published content library to be able to send content to the content library which will be automatically created.
  This is faster, but is only possible if your published content library is not password protected.
• Create a new subscription to an existing Subscriber library: allows you to create a subscription on this published content library for an already created subscribed content library.

If you have created a published content library, as well as a subscribed content library as explained previously, then you will need to select the "Create a new subscription to an existing Subscriber library" option.

Select the vCenter Server where the previously created subscribed content library is located.

Note: in the case of the other option (Create a new subscription to a new Subscriber library), this will be the vCenter Server on which you want to create the subscribed content library.

Note that if you click the small "i" next to "vCenter Server", the wizard will tell you that subscriptions are only supported accross local and linked vCenter servers.

Once the remote vCenter Server is selected, the list of discovered subscribed libraries will appear.
In our case, we select our subscribed content library created on our server "paris-vcsa.informatiweb.lan".

Select a target location for the subscription.
In other words, where the VM templates from this content library will appear in the "VMs and Templates" tab of your remote vCenter Server inventory (where the subscribed library is located).

Indeed, the VM templates present in a content library (whether local, published or subscribed) also appear in the inventory of the corresponding vCenter Server.
Unlike OVF templates which only appear in the relevant content library.

Select the compute resource (the VMware ESXi host) that will be used for subscriber library operations.

Note that only hosts with access to the storage used by your subscribed content library will appear.
Hence the fact that only our host "esxi1" appears in our case.

Select the virtual network that should be used for this subscribed library.

A summary of the configuration of this subscription appears.
Click Finish.

The new subscription created appears in the list of subscriptions of your published content library.
In our case, from our published content library "Brux_ShareContentLibrary" created on our server "brux-vcsa.informatiweb.lan", we can see the subscription concerning the subscribed content library "ContentLibraryFromBrux" present on our server "paris-vcsa .informatiweb.lan".

4. Add a VM template to the published content library

To add a VM template to your published content library, you must select the desired virtual machine on the vCenter Server where this published content library is located.
In our case, we will use our "Win 10 v2004 x64" virtual machine which is located on our vCenter Server "brux-vcsa".

To add this virtual machine as a template in your content library, click: Actions -> Clone -> Clone as Template in Library.

Note: for more information about copying virtual machines as a template into a content library, refer to our tutorial: VMware vSphere 6.7 - Clone virtual machines to a content library.

In the "[VM name] - Clone Virtual Machine To Template" wizard that appears:

• select "Template Type: VM Template"
• indicate under what name you want to create this model.
• select in which data center or folder it will appear.
  Indeed, VM templates (not those in OVF format) appear in the desired content library, as well as in the "VMs and Templates" tab of your vCenter Server inventory.

Important : it is essential to select "VM Template" as the template type in this case if you want to manage the distribution of these virtual machine templates via subscriptions.
You will see the reason a little later.

Select the published local content library where you want to store this VM template.
In our case, our published content library "Brux_SharedContentLibrary" created on our server "brux-vcsa.informatiweb.lan".

As you can see when you go to the "Templates" tab of a published content library, VMware informs you that you can publish VM templates to subscriptions.
However, this is not yet available for OVF templates.
Hence the importance of selecting "VM Template" in the VM Cloning Wizard so that you can manage the distribution of these VM templates to your subscribed content library.