Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Jamcracker Appliance capable of auto updates ?

Ans: No, currently updates are manual, auto updates feature would be available in the near future.

Q: Does Jamcracker Appliance support MSCSP tier 1/2 services.

Ans: Yes

Q: Can a Azure stack be created similar to AWS and define pricing for it ?

Ans: Yes

Q: Can new widgets be created on Jamcracker Appliance ?

Ans: New widgets can be created that can access third party APIs to collect data, and then display them using Google charts API. Additionally Jamcracker can make APIs available to access other data held in the platform, via professional services effort, as a customization.

Q: Can widgets be customized ?

Ans: Widgets can be customized using controls to resize and change the graph type from line to bar chart or pie chart. Click here to know more.

Q: What is the minimum hardware requirement to set up Jamcracker Appliance on AWS ?

Ans: T2.Large (2 vCPUs, 8 GB memory, 60 GB HD)

Q: What is the minimum hardware requirement to set up Jamcracker Appliance on Azure ?

Ans: DS2 V2 Promo/Std (2 vCPUs, 7.5 GB memory, 60 GB HD)

Q: How do I create and manage policies?

Ans: Click here to know how to create and manage policies.

Q: How can I auto scale using policies ?

Ans: Click here to know how to auto scale using policies.

Q: What are the Cloud Services in which I can launch the product:

Ans: As of now, you can launch the product only in AWS. Soon you will be able to launch the product in Azure as well.

Q: How do I launch the product in AWS?

Ans: Launching the product in AWS Console and AWS Marketplace.

Q: What is the duration of the trial package?

Ans: The duration of the trial package is 30 days.

Q: How much does it cost to run the trial package in AWS?

Ans: To run the trial package in AWS, you need t2.large instance type. It will cost approximately 0.13$ / hour. Click here to find the latest price information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of AWS cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of Google Cloud Platform credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of Azure cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of Azure EA cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of IBM Bluemix (Softlayer) cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: Can I add multiple VMs in an AppStack?

Ans: Yes you can add VMs and other applications onto your AppStack.

Q: When I terminate a VM, does all the resources associated with it will also be terminated?

Ans: When you terminate a VM, attached volume blocks, and NICs are automatically terminated. Static Public IP and root volume will be added back to the pool.

Q: What will happen to static public IP associated with the VM, when I terminate the VM?

Ans: When you terminate a VM, the Static Public IPs associated with it will be added back to the IP pool. You have to manually terminate Static Public IP (Manage > Static Public IP > Select Static Public IP > Actions > Terminate). Static Public IPs are billed until you terminate them manually.

Q: What will happen to the attached block volume when I terminate the VM?

Ans: When you terminate a VM, the block volume will also be terminated. If you want to retain the block volume then, you have to manually detach the block volume (Manage > Volumes > Select the volume > Actions > Detach) before terminating the instance.

Q: When I terminate a VM, what will happen to the root volume?

Ans: Root volume will be added back to the pool.

Q: What will happen to the associated NIC when I terminate the VM?

Ans: Network Interface Cards(NICs) will be terminated automatically when you terminate the instance.

Ans: Information on cloud usage, cloud costs based on provider, tags, resources, VM counts and cost, reserved instance details and other details are displayed in graphical format. Click here for more information.

Q: How often are dashboards updated?

Ans: All the dashboards are updated once a day, except for IaaS resource dashboard. IaaS resource dashboard is updated every 5 minutes.

Q: I have added cloud service credentials, but nothing shows up in the dashboard?

Ans: After adding cloud service credentials, it will take around 5 – 10 minutes to extract data to IaaS resource dashboard and about 24 hours for other dashboards.

Q: Is there a reason why I see 'Reserved Instances' tab only sometimes and it is not displayed other times?

Ans: Reserved Instances are specific to AWS and appear only if the Cloud Provider selected is 'AWS'. Other Cloud Providers do not support Reserved Instances and hence this tab will be hidden.

Q: Is there a difference between the IaaS Resource Dashboard and the other Dashboards (like Executive Summary/Cost Analytic/Tag Analytic)

Ans: The IaaS Resource Dashboard displays details and status of important IaaS Resources of the selected provider. The data displayed in this dashboard is real time (with a maximum latency of 5 minutes). The other Dashboards display data with a latency of a day or two. Also these dashboards can be configured to view the data for a specific or historical date range. Sometimes the Tag related widgets are blank especially if I select the provider as Google Cloud. The appliance currently does not retrieve tagging data for Google resources and hence tag related widgets will be blank when Google is selected as a provider.

Q: Can I move or re-size the widgets?

Ans: No, currently moving or re-sizing is not supported.

Q: What is the period ranges that I can select to view the Dashboard?

Ans: By default, the current month is selected in the period range. However, you can select any date ranging between 90 days. Also, you have Year to date option. With Year to date option, you can set the dashboard to display information starting from the first day of the current year to present.

Q: What are the Chart types supported?

Ans: Line, column and table chart types are supported. You can also download the chart data in the CSV format.

Q: Why do I see different statuses for IaaS resources (sometimes running, sometimes active etc)?

Ans: Different statuses represent the current status of the IaaS resources. For example. If you have 10 volumes that are running out of which 3 volumes are in use and 7 volumes are available. The information is pulled from your respective cloud service provider.

Q: Can I save multiple report templates?

Ans: Yes, each custom report can be configured with a different set of fields and saved as different templates. For example: Daily Consumption Report - Template 1 can be created to display quantity details while the Daily Consumption Report - Template 2 can be created to display cost, quantity details with the fields in a specific sequence while Daily Consumption Report - Template 3 can be created to display only IaaS resource IDs, Names and their associated tags.

Q: Sometimes I get a message stating that the report is generated offline? What does this mean?

Ans: It is because the reports are generated offline. When you try to execute or run any report and if that report has more than 1000 rows, or beyond date range (these settings are defined by your administrator), such reports won’t be displayed on screen rather it will be listed in Offline Request Reports page. Once the report is available in Requested Reports List page, you will receive an email notification, then you can download the report. These reports will be in .csv format.

Q: What are the widgets that will be displayed for each cloud provider?

Q: What is recommendation dashboard?

Ans: Recommendations dashboard helps you to optimize your cloud cost by identifying underutilized or unused instances/images/snapshots/database/IPs. By downsizing or turning off instances that have been forgotten or overlooked, recommendation dashboard ensures you don’t end up paying for resources that are not in use.

Q: Is recommendation dashboard available for all ISVs?

Ans: To know dashboard and widget availability by ISV, refer to the Vendor matrix document of respective product version.

Q: Is it possible to know about untagged resources?

Ans: Yes, with “Resource count by Tag” and “Cost of Untagged Resources” widget in Tag Analytic dashboard you can keep track and analyse the cost of untagged resources.

Q: Which are the cloud services that Jamcracker Appliance - Cloud Analytic support?

Ans: Jamcracker Appliance - Cloud Analytic provides cost analytic for AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and IBM Bluemix (Softlayer).

Q: How does Jamcracker Appliance - Cloud Analytic display information?

Ans: Jamcracker Appliance – Cloud Analytic displays information over 16 graphs. Each of these graphs acts as a widget. Click here for more information.

Q: What are the widgets that are available for supported cloud service?

Ans: We progressively implement different widgets for every cloud service. However, some of the cloud service providers do not provide all the information required for a widget. Click here for more information on widget availability by cloud service providers.

Q: How can I try the product?

Ans: Please send an email to information@jamcracker.com. We will help you get started.

Q: What are the cloud services in which I can launch the product?

Ans: As of now, you can launch the product only in AWS. Soon you will be able to launch the product in Azure as well.

Q: How do I launch the product in AWS?

Ans: Click here for more information on launching the product in AWS.

Q: What is the duration of the trial package?

Ans: The duration of the trial package is 30 days.

Q: How much does it cost to run the trial package in AWS?

Ans: To run the trial package in AWS, you need t2.large instance type. It will cost approximately 0.13$ / hour. Click here to find the latest price information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of AWS cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of Google Cloud Platform credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of Azure cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of Azure EA cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: What details do I need to provide as part of IBM Bluemix (Softlayer) cloud service credentials?

Ans:Click here for more information.

Q: How many accounts can be added per cloud service?

Ans: One payee account can be added per cloud service. If you are looking for linked accounts or more than one payee account per cloud service, you will have to upgrade to our control package.

Q: How do I sell a CSP subscription to a customer that already has a tenant?

Ans: When a customer with an existing tenant places an order for a CSP Microsoft SaaS service, they will have an option to add their existing tenant domain. The platform automatically sends a Reseller Relationship Request to the customer on your behalf. Once the customer accepts the request, you will be associated with the customer as a CSP Partner. You are now the CSP Partner for all the CSP subscriptions bought by the customer from your store.

Q: When a customer increases their license quantity for a subscription, how do I update the platform?

Ans: When your customer increases the license quantity for a subscription, the platform is automatically updated.

Q: When a customer reduces their license quantity for a subscription, how do I update the platform?Ans: When your customer reduces the license quantity for a subscription, the platform automatically sends an email to the marketplace admin with the details of the new quantity and the order from which the licenses are to be reduced. A partially fulfilled order gets created with the negative quantity.

Execute the following actions to update the platform,

1. Update billing subscription: Log into the marketplace URL as the marketplace admin navigate to the Billing >> Subscriptions. Search for the customer’s subscription for which the license quantity should be reduced and edit the subscription to reflect the updated quantity. Save the updates.
2. Fulfill order: In the marketplace navigate to Administration >> Order Management and search for the Order based on the Order number. Click on Modify icon. Under Item Details, in the Actions column, click on the “Update the status to Fulfilled” icon. In the pop-up, add your comments and click on “Fulfill” button.

You have successfully updated the reduced license quantity and the order will be in Fulfilled status.

Ans: When a customer unsubscribes from a service, the platform requires the customer to add their reason for cancellation. The request for cancellation along with the reason is automatically sent to the marketplace admin via email. Once you discuss with the customer and confirm that the subscription needs to be cancelled, you need to drop an email to the Jamcracker support team with the following details to cancel the service.

• Company Name
• Company ID / Acronym
• Primary Admin email address
• Store Name
• Service Name
• Offer Name

Q: Is it necessary to set up public IP to enable Monitoring?

Ans: Yes.

Q: Does attaching a new or existing volume will cost extra?

Ans: Yes, attaching new volumes will cost extra based on the configuration and ISV. Attaching existing volumes will not be charged.

Q: Can Life cycle management action be performed on VMs of all ISVs?

Ans: Basic life cycle management tasks like Start, Stop and terminated can be performed on VMs of all ISVs. However, a few extended life cycle management functionalities are available based on the ISV.

Q: Does creating Image costs extra? If Yes, where can I see the additional cost?

Ans: Yes, creating images will be charged extra. The cost will appear in the respective invoice.

Q: What are the images supported currently?Ans: As of now we support following images -

Azure:

• WindowsServer 2008
• WindowsServer 2012
• CentOS 7.1

• CentOS7

• CentOS 6.5
• CentOS 7.0

Q: What are the default policies available out of the box as part of the appliance?

Ans: The following default policies are available as part of the appliance to control usage and alert administrators:

a. Alert if the usage for each AWS Account exceeds the pre-defined threshold

b. Alert if the usage for the following AWS - EC2 exceeds the pre-defined threshold

c. Alert if the usage for the following AWS - S3 exceeds the pre-defined threshold

d. Alert if the usage for each Azure Account exceeds the pre-defined threshold

e. Alert if the usage for the Azure -Virtual Machines exceeds the pre-defined threshold

f. Alert if the usage for the Azure -Storage exceeds the pre-defined threshold

g. Shutdown VMs over the weekend

h. Re-starting VMs that have been shut down over the weekend

Ans: Yes, by creating a 'Usage' based policy and selecting a specific service, it is possible to alert the Admin if the usage exceeds a specified limit.

Q: What are the Azure services that can be configured to alert the Admin if the usage exceeds a pre-defined threshold.

Ans: The following services can be configured for sending out alerts based on their usage

• Virtual Machines
• App Service
• SQL Database
• Storage
• Cloud Services
• Document DB
• Backup
• Visual Studio Team Services
• Virtual Network

Ans: It is possible to create policies to monitor, generate alarms and take actions for

• Instances
  • To start a server
  • To stop a server
  • To create images of the instance
• Volumes
  • To automatically delete un-used volumes (volumes not associated certain set number of the days)
  • To send out alerts if there are un-used volumes (volumes not associated certain set number of the days)
  • To create snapshots of the volume
• Usage
  • To send out alerts if the usage for an account exceeds pre-defined threshold
  • To send out alerts if the usage for a specific cloud service exceeds pre-defined threshold

Q: Can Virtual Machines be tagged from the appliance portal?

Ans: It is possible to tag Virtual Machines for Cloud Providers that can be provisioned from the appliance.

Q: What are the resources that can be tagged from the appliance portal?

Ans: Block Volumes associated to the VMs automatically consider the tags associated to the VM.

Q: Are tag associated in the vendor console displayed in the appliance?

Ans: Yes, once the resource details are imported into the appliance, the tags associated to the VMs are displayed.

Q: Are tags associated in the vendor console displayed as part of the Dashboard ?

Ans: Yes all Tags associated to the resources in the vendor console are also retrieved by the appliance and displayed in the relevant widgets in the IaaS Dashboard. Exception:Tags associated to Google Cloud resources in the vendor console are not retrieved into the appliance. However, Projects associated to the Google Cloud resources in the vendor console are retrieved into the appliance and displayed in the 'Tags' related widgets.

Q: Are tag details displayed in any report?

Ans: Yes, all tag details are displayed in the Daily Consumption Report generated at the Administrative portal. This allows the Admin to view the tags associated to each cloud resource, identify the owner and make them accountable for using the resource.

Q: Is it mandatory to tag every cloud resource in the appliance?

Ans: No, while it is not mandatory to tag every cloud resource but is highly recommended to tag them.

Q: What are the rules to be followed while creating tags in the appliance?

Ans: Tags can be created in JSDN and the same can be used as a reference to be created in the ISV portal. Tags are generic name but can be referred with different names by the ISV. Few ISVs may not support tagging a resource, in such cases, tags are specific to JSDN.

Q: What are Tag Keys and Tag Values?

Ans: Tags are created as a key value pair. For example Tag Key can be Project name and Value can be the name of the project. Essentially you can group resources and analyse based on cost, usage and any such pre-defined factor for further analysis.