Feature Request Overview

Currently, the VMware Migration Kit creates OpenStack resources (instances, volumes, network ports, flavors) individually during the migration process. When migrating multiple VMs or when migration fails, there is no unified way to manage, track, or clean up all related resources as a single unit. Users need a way to:

1. Group all migration-related OpenStack resources under a single Heat stack for better resource management
2. Have a single point of reference for all resources created during a migration batch
3. Simplify cleanup operations by deleting the entire stack instead of individual resources
4. Enable better cost tracking and resource governance through Heat stack tagging

Business justification

• Improved Resource Management: Heat stacks provide a unified view of all resources created during migration, making it easier to track and manage complex multi-VM migrations
• Enhanced Reliability: Heat's built-in rollback capabilities ensure that failed migrations can be cleanly reverted, preventing orphaned resources
• Simplified Operations: Operators can manage entire migration batches through a single Heat stack instead of tracking individual resources
• Better Cost Control: Heat stack tagging enables better cost allocation and tracking for migration projects
• Compliance & Governance: Organizations can apply consistent policies and tags across all migration resources through Heat templates
• Reduced Manual Effort: Eliminates the need for manual cleanup of individual resources when migrations fail or need to be rolled back

Functional Requirements

1. Heat Stack Creation: The migration kit should create a Heat stack for each migration batch, with the stack name derived from a configurable pattern (e.g., vmware-migration-{batch-id} or vmware-migration-{timestamp})

2. Resource Grouping: All OpenStack resources created during migration should be managed within the Heat stack:

• Nova instances (servers)
• Cinder volumes (boot and data volumes)
• Neutron ports
• Nova flavors (when created dynamically)
• Security groups (if created)

3. Heat Template Generation:
Automatically generate Heat templates that include:

• All VM instances with their configurations
• Associated volumes with proper dependencies
• Network ports with security group assignments
• Flavor definitions (when dynamically created)
• Proper resource dependencies and relationships

(Optional) Point of contact Provide any additional points of contact for this feature request, such as an account executive, SA, or TAM:

Greg Procunier
 
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