Vmware Cloud Foundation as Code… Part 2. Importantly! Introduction. Transparency and code reuse. SDDCconceptDiagramV2. Draw-VisioDiagram. Conceptual Architecture of a SDDC as Code V2. Bill Of Materials. Brief Summary.

Posted on April 26, 2020 by airra
Contents Hide
1 Importantly!
2 Introduction
3 Transparency and code reuse
4 SDDCconceptDiagramV2
5 Draw-VisioDiagram
6 Conceptual Architecture of a SDDC as Code V2
7 Bill Of Materials
8 Brief Summary

Importantly!

The series of articles “Vmware Cloud Foundation as Code…” are organized and digitized notes from the author’s paper diary. Russian hybrid military aggression and invasion prevented the timely publication of the collected and processed material. The author’s military service, the evacuation of his home mini-data center and blog away from the fighting, and later problems with power supply due to the destruction of infrastructure by Russian missiles, all this forced this activity to be suspended.

Now we are all used to and adapted to living in these difficult times, and I am returning to this work. For the opportunity to write and publish this article, I am indebted to many fallen comrades! Eternal memory to them!

The publication date of the article in the title is based on the original entries in the author’s diary.

Final revision of the material of this article: September 11, 29 and December 5, 2024.

Introduction

Hello to all readers of the blog about IT Architecture and Education.

We continue the series of articles “Vmware Cloud Foundation as Code…”.

This series of publications aims to reflect the author’s approach to working with the components of the Vmware Cloud Foundation ecosystem versions 4.x, 5.x and necessary third-party services throughout the entire lifecycle of a cloud solution using only code.

In the previous post, we looked at the initial steps of the author’s approach to the storyline “Vmware Cloud Foundation as code…”.

We reminded ourselves of the understanding of the life cycle of any IT solution. The PSVisio Powershell script module was described, which will be actively used to visualize various architectural levels of the VMware Cloud Foundation ecosystem and third-party systems necessary for its operation.

We have completed the first step: creating a visual diagram of the conceptual architecture of a software-defined data center using code.

It is clear that this approach when using this code example has a significant drawback – it is a large number of parameters that form the properties of the diagram objects among the code functions. This creates a problem with code transparency and reusability.

Therefore, in this publication of the series “Vmware Cloud Foundation as code…” we will first focus on this point.

Transparency and code reuse

We will start optimizing the code for transparency and ease of use by transforming SDDCconceptDiagram.ps1, which was described in the previous part of this series of articles. Let me remind you that it was written to create a Conceptual Architecture of a Software-Defined Data Center Visio diagram using PowerShell code.

First, we will output a description of all Visio diagram objects and their parameters into an XML variable, which will be passed to the input of the Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1 function, the task of which is to create the desired Visio diagram. Then, by manipulating only the input parameters, which are much easier to understand and change, we achieve the appropriate level of code purity.

SDDCconceptDiagramV2

The result of the transformation is displayed in the following code:

$DiagramParameters = [xml]@'
<Diagram Name = "SDDC Conceptual Architecture">
    <Stensils>
	<Stensil Name="Basic" File="BASIC_M.vss" AlternativePath="false"/>
        <Stensil Name="VMware" File="vmw_Icons.vssx" AlternativePath="true"/>
        <Stensil Name="VMwareVCO" File="VMware_vCenter_Orchestrator_Shapes.vssx" AlternativePath="true"/>
    </Stensils>
    <MasterItems>
        <MasterItem Stensil="Basic" Item="Rectangle"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Public Cloud"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="vRealize Automation"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="vRealize Orchestrator"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="VM Server"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Resource Pool"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="vCenter Server"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Rack Server"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Datastore"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Physical NIC"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Calendar"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="vRealize Operations"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="vRealize log Insight"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="VMware Cloud Solution"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="vCloud Availability"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Site Recovery"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Data Protection"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="VR"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Secure State"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Identity"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="Book"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMware" Item="License"/>
        <MasterItem Stensil="VMwareVCO" Item="OK"/>        
    </MasterItems>
    <Items>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="7.3125" Y="7.2733" Width="14.125" Height="7.0467" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" Text="Software Defined Data Center Conceptual Diagram" VerticalAlign="0" ParaHorzAlign="0" CharSize="30 pt" CharColor="RGB(0,112,192)"/>
        <Item Type="Line" BeginX="0.25" BeginY="10.229" EndX="14.25" EndY="10.2294" LineWeight="1 pt" LineColor="RGB(0,112,192)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="2.8675" Y="9.0947" Width="5.2344" Height="1.9801" FillForegnd="RGB(152,203,225)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="1.1043" Y="9.7391" Width="1.7085" Height="0.6912" Text="Cloud Automation" CharSize="18 pt" CharStyle="17" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="1.125" Y="8.8089" Width="1.5" Height="1.1804" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Public Cloud" X="1.1043" Y="9.047" Width="0.5612" Height="0.5612"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="vRealize Automation" X="0.7436" Y="8.5256" Width="0.4531" Height="0.4531"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="vRealize Orchestrator" X="1.3621" Y="8.5256" Width="0.4531" Height="0.4531"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6749" Y="9.7286" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(152,203,225)" LinePattern="1" Text="Service Catalog" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6749" Y="9.1083" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(152,203,225)" LinePattern="1" Text="Self-Service Portal" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6749" Y="8.4769" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(152,203,225)" LinePattern="1" Text="Orchestration" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="2.8675" Y="6.9564" Width="5.2344" Height="1.9801" FillForegnd="RGB(58,158,207)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="1.1043" Y="7.6008" Width="1.7085" Height="0.6912" Text="Virtual Infrastructure" CharSize="18 pt" CharStyle="17" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="1.125" Y="6.6648" Width="1.5" Height="1.1804" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="VM Server" X="1.1043" Y="6.9285" Width="0.5612" Height="0.5612"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Resource Pool" X="0.7436" Y="6.356" Width="0.4531" Height="0.4531"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="vCenter Server" X="1.3621" Y="6.3565" Width="0.4531" Height="0.4531"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6748" Y="7.5903" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(58,158,207)" LinePattern="1" Text="Hypervisor" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6748" Y="6.97" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(58,158,207)" LinePattern="1" Text="Pools of Resources" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6748" Y="6.3386" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(58,158,207)" LinePattern="1" Text="Hypervisor" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="2.8625" Y="4.8378" Width="5.2344" Height="1.9801" FillForegnd="RGB(0,105,143)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="1.1043" Y="5.4822" Width="1.7085" Height="0.6912" Text="Physical Infrastructure" CharSize="18 pt" CharStyle="17" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="1.125" Y="4.5462" Width="1.5" Height="1.1804" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rack Server" X="0.8125" Y="4.8583" Width="0.5612" Height="0.1837"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rack Server" X="1.4694" Y="4.8583" Width="0.5612" Height="0.1837"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Datastore" X="0.789" Y="4.375" Width="0.4531" Height="0.4531"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Physical NIC" X="1.4375" Y="4.375" Width="0.4531" Height="0.4531"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6748" Y="5.4717" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(0,105,143)" LinePattern="1" Text="Compute" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6748" Y="4.8514" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(0,105,143)" LinePattern="1" Text="Storage" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="3.6748" Y="4.22" Width="3.3828" Height="0.5174" FillForegnd="RGB(0,105,143)" LinePattern="1" Text="Network" VerticalAlign="1" ParaHorzAlign="1" CharSize="18 pt" LineWeight="1 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.9729" Y="6.9684" Width="2.7531" Height="6.2451" FillForegnd="RGB(226,232,241)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="6.9859" Y="9.7286" Width="1.9719" Height="0.2878" Text="Cloud Operations" CharSize="18 pt" CharStyle="17" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.9674" Y="8.6529" Width="2.5312" Height="1.1808" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Calendar" X="6.9688" Y="8.7695" Width="0.9375" Height="0.8359"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="OK" X="7.4375" Y="8.375" Width="0.4363" Height="0.4363"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.97" Y="7.3064" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(226,232,241)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.1352" Y="7.3064" Width="0.5937" Height=" 0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="vRealize Operations" X="6.1333" Y="7.3064" Width="0.4708" Height="0.4708"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="7.2812" Y="7.3064" Width="1.3725" Height="0.2878" Text="Monitoring" CharSize="18 pt" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.97" Y="5.8955" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(226,232,241)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.1352" Y="5.8955" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="vRealize log Insight" X="6.1333" Y="5.8788" Width="0.4708" Height="0.5102"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="7.2812" Y="5.8955" Width="1.3725" Height="0.2878" Text="Logging" CharSize="18 pt" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.97" Y="4.4952" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(226,232,241)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.1352" Y="4.524" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Public Cloud" X="6.1347" Y="4.5453" Width="0.5431" Height="0.5102"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="6.1438" Y="4.3984" Width="0.3682" Height="0.0781" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="VMware Cloud Solution" X="6.1408" Y="4.4053" Width="0.3214" Height="0.3105"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="7.2969" Y="4.5227" Width="1.7813" Height="0.5102" Text="Life Cycle Management" CharSize="18 pt" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.9231" Y="6.9741" Width="2.7531" Height="6.2451" FillForegnd="RGB(29,62,125)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="9.8831" Y="9.7286" Width="1.2663" Height="0.5174" Text="Business Continuity" CharSize="18 pt" CharStyle="17" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>    
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.9208" Y="8.6529" Width="2.5312" Height="1.1808" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="vCloud Availability" X="9.9677" Y="8.7447" Width="0.956" Height="0.8166"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.9232" Y="7.3064" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(29,62,125)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.1094" Y="7.3064" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Site Recovery" X="9.1104" Y="7.3007" Width="0.4708" Height="0.4708"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="10.3125" Y="7.3192" Width="1.6875" Height="0.9875" Text="Fault Tolerance & Disaster Recovery" CharSize="18 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.9232" Y="5.8955" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(29,62,125)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.1094" Y="5.8955" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Data Protection" X="9.1227" Y="5.8822" Width="0.4708" Height="0.4708"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="10.3404" Y="5.9019" Width="1.3725" Height="0.5102" Text="Backup & Restore" CharSize="18 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>    
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.9232" Y="4.5227" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(29,62,125)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="9.1094" Y="4.5227" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="VR" X="9.1083" Y="4.5227" Width="0.4708" Height="0.4708"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="10.3737" Y="4.5215" Width="1.3725" Height="0.2878" Text="Replication" CharSize="18 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>    
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.8734" Y="6.9741" Width="2.7531" Height="6.2451" FillForegnd="RGB(100,177,69)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="12.8512" Y="9.7286" Width="1.4225" Height="0.5174" Text="Security and Compliance" CharSize="18 pt" CharStyle="17" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>    
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.8734" Y="8.6529" Width="2.5312" Height="1.1808" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Secure State" X="12.8863" Y="8.7447" Width="0.956" Height="0.8166"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.8607" Y="7.3064" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(100,177,69)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.0544" Y="7.3064" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Identity" X="12.0505" Y="7.3062" Width="0.4708" Height="0.3668"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="13.2012" Y="7.3192" Width="1.6875" Height="0.9875" Text="Identity and Access Management" CharSize="18 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>     
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.8607" Y="5.8955" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(100,177,69)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.0544" Y="5.8955" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Book" X="12.0521" Y="5.8947" Width="0.4708" Height="0.4708"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="13.2291" Y="5.9019" Width="1.3725" Height="0.5102" Text="Industry Regulations" CharSize="18 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>    
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.8607" Y="4.5227" Width="2.5312" Height="1.0825" FillForegnd="RGB(100,177,69)" LinePattern="1" LineWeight="1 pt" LineColor="RGB(255,255,255)"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="Rectangle" X="12.0544" Y="4.5227" Width="0.5937" Height="0.5937" FillForegnd="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0"/>
        <Item Type="General" Master="License" X="12.0625" Y="4.5227" Width="0.4708" Height="0.4708"/>
        <Item Type="Text" X="13.2513" Y="4.5215" Width="1.3725" Height="0.5102" Text="Security Policies" CharSize="18 pt" CharColor="RGB(255,255,255)" LinePattern="0" FillForegndTrans="100%"/>    
    </Items>
</Diagram>
'@
.\Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1 -VCFasCodeHomeFolder "D:\VCFasCode" -DiagramFileName "SDDCConceptDiagramV2.vsd" -DiagramParameters $DiagramParameters

Draw-VisioDiagram

The code for the Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1 function is given below:

<#
.SYNOPSIS
    Microsoft Powershell functions for generate Visio Drawing from xml variable parameters.

.DESCRIPTION
    Microsoft Powershell functions for generate Visio Drawing from xml variable parameters.
    Using PSVisio.ps1 script functions and input parameters for create and rendering Visio Drawing.

.PARAMETER VCFasCodeHomeFolder
    Folder Path for VCF as Code scripts and others artefacts.

.PARAMETER DiagramFileName
    Name of Visio Diagram file.

.PARAMETER DiagramParameters
    XML Variable Parameters for create and rendering Visio Drawing.
  
.NOTES
    Version:        0.1
    Author:         Andrii Romanenko
    Website:        blogs.airra.net
    Creation Date:  28.09.2007
    Purpose/Change: Initial script development
    
...

    Version:        3.2
    Author:         Andrii Romanenko
    Website:        blogs.airra.net
    Creation Date:  07.09.2022
    Purpose/Change: Begin Reorganize script.

...
   
.EXAMPLE

    Generate Visio Drawing with xml variable and others parameters: 

    .\Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1 -VCFasCodeHomeFolder "D:\VCFasCode" -DiagramFileName "SDDCConceptDiagramV2.vsd" -DiagramParameters $DiagramParameters
#>

Param ( 
    [Parameter(Mandatory)]
    [string]$VCFasCodeHomeFolder,
        
    [Parameter(Mandatory)]
    [string]$DiagramFileName,
    
    [Parameter(Mandatory)]
    [xml]$DiagramParameters        
)

# Step 1.
# Set Location
# Load Script Functions
Set-Location $VCFasCodeHomeFolder
. .\PSVisio.ps1 # Warning! Running scripts must be enabled on your system.

# Step 2.
# Create Visio Application
# Create Document from Blank Template
# Set Active Page
New-VisioApplication | Out-Null
New-VisioDocument | Out-Null
Set-VisioPage | Out-Null

# Step 3.
# Add All Visio Stensils
$StensilsNodes = $DiagramParameters.Diagram.Stensils.ChildNodes
ForEach ($StensilNode in $StensilsNodes) {

    If ($StensilNode.Attributes['AlternativePath'].value -eq 'true') {

        $StensilFilePath = $VCFasCodeHomeFolder + "\" + $StensilNode.Attributes['File'].value
        Add-VisioStensil -Name $StensilNode.Attributes['Name'].value -File $StensilFilePath
    }
    
    Else {
   
        Add-VisioStensil -Name $StensilNode.Attributes['Name'].value -File $StensilNode.Attributes['File'].value
 
    }

}

# Step 4.
# Set Masters Items
$MasterItemsNodes = $DiagramParameters.Diagram.MasterItems.ChildNodes
ForEach ($MasterItemsNode in $MasterItemsNodes) {
 
        Set-VisioStensilMasterItem -Stensil $MasterItemsNode.Attributes['Stensil'].value -Item $MasterItemsNode.Attributes['Item'].value

}

# Step 5.
# Draw items
$ItemsNodes = $DiagramParameters.Diagram.Items.ChildNodes
ForEach ($ItemNode in $ItemsNodes) {

    Switch ($ItemNode.Attributes['Type'].value) {

        "General" { 
                
            Draw-VisioItem -Master $ItemNode.Attributes['Master'].value `
                -X $ItemNode.Attributes['X'].value `
                -Y $ItemNode.Attributes['Y'].value `
                -Width $ItemNode.Attributes['Width'].value `
                -Height $ItemNode.Attributes['Height'].value `
                -FillForegnd $ItemNode.Attributes['FillForegnd'].value `
                -LinePattern $ItemNode.Attributes['LinePattern'].value `
                -Text $ItemNode.Attributes['Text'].value `
                -VerticalAlign $ItemNode.Attributes['VerticalAlign'].value `
                -ParaHorzAlign $ItemNode.Attributes['ParaHorzAlign'].value `
                -CharSize $ItemNode.Attributes['CharSize'].value `
                -CharColor $ItemNode.Attributes['CharColor'].value `
                -LineColor $ItemNode.Attributes['LineColor'].value
        }

        "Line" { 
                
            Draw-VisioLine -BeginX $ItemNode.Attributes['BeginX'].value `
                -BeginY $ItemNode.Attributes['BeginY'].value `
                -EndX $ItemNode.Attributes['EndX'].value `
                -EndY $ItemNode.Attributes['EndY'].value `
                -LineWeight $ItemNode.Attributes['LineWeight'].value `
                -LineColor $ItemNode.Attributes['LineColor'].value 
                
        }
                
        "Text" { 
                
            Draw-VisioText -X $ItemNode.Attributes['X'].value `
                -Y $ItemNode.Attributes['Y'].value `
                -Width $ItemNode.Attributes['Width'].value `
                -Height $ItemNode.Attributes['Height'].value `
                -Text $ItemNode.Attributes['Text'].value `
                -CharSize $ItemNode.Attributes['CharSize'].value `
                -CharStyle $ItemNode.Attributes['CharStyle'].value `
                -CharColor $ItemNode.Attributes['CharColor'].value `
                -LinePattern $ItemNode.Attributes['LinePattern'].value `
                -FillForegndTrans $ItemNode.Attributes['FillForegndTrans'].value 
                
        }
    }

}

# Step 6.
# Resise Page To Fit Contents
Resize-VisioPageToFitContents | Out-Null

# Step 7.
# Save Document
$SaveDiagramFileName = $VCFasCodeHomeFolder + "\" + $DiagramFileName
Save-VisioDocument -File $SaveDiagramFileName | Out-Null

# Step 8.
# Quit Application
Close-VisioApplication | Out-Null

Since the creation of the module in 2007 and until today, the code has hardly changed, only cosmetic changes have been made. You are free to use any fragments of this code in your activity.

The current version of the code is available on the GitHub resource at this link: Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1

Conceptual Architecture of a SDDC as Code V2

Based on the previous work, we will recreate a visual diagram of the Conceptual Architecture of the Software-Defined Data Center V2 using the code:

Figure 1: The result of visualization of the Conceptual Architecture of a Software-Defined Data Center V2 using Powershell code and Microsoft Visio.

As we can see, the result fully meets our expectations. Later, of course, we will need to optimize the logic of the Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1 script, but for now, let’s focus on other tasks.

Bill Of Materials

During the work on this article was used:

  • Dell Vostro 3500 notebook with Microsoft Windows 10 Pro version 22H2 Operating system, 64 bit;
  • Software: Microsoft Visio 2021 MSO (Version 2407 Build 16.0.17830.20166) 64-bit;
  • Task automation and configuration management scripting language: Powershell 5.1.19041.4780;
  • Powershell script module: PSVisio v3.7;
  • Powershell script module: Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1 v3.2;
  • Code for creating the diagram Conceptual Architecture of a Software Defined Data Center: SDDCconceptDiagramV2.ps1;
  • Visio stensils icon libraries: vmw_icons.vssx and VMware_vCenter_Orchestrator_Shapes.vssx files.

All used artifacts are located on the VCFasCode GitHub resource.

Brief Summary

The main theses of this article and the previous one were the initial steps of the author’s approach to the storyline “Vmware Cloud Foundation as code…”.

We optimized the first step: re-created the visual diagram of the Conceptual Architecture of the Software-Defined Data Center using the code SDDCconceptDiagramV2.ps1 and using the new Powershell script module: Draw-VisioDiagram.ps1.

The goal of this step is to optimize the code to achieve transparency and ease of use.

Building on previous work, in the next publications of the “Vmware Cloud Foundation as Code…” series, we will focus on the following topics:

  • VCF Architecture Diagram: Management and Workload Domains as Code;
  • Architecture diagram of the third-party services required to build the VCF solution, as code;
  • Architecture diagram of the initial lab environment model for deploying VCF solution services, as code;
  • Deploying and configuring the initial lab environment components using code;
  • etc.

Follow the news until the meeting is on air in a few days.
Sincerely, AIRRA.

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