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Reserve the IBM Technology Zone environment

While some of the modules in the IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions for Technical Sales Level 3 Demonstration Guide use click-through demonstrations, other modules use pre-provisioned VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) as a Service instances in IBM Cloud in an IBM Technology Zone (ITZ) owned IBM Cloud account. The resources in this IBM Cloud account are shared by all users with an active ITZ reservation for the environment. To access these resources, you must first create a reservation in the ITZ for the environment. Detailed steps for creating the reservation and accessing the environment are provided.

About the IBM Technology Zone (ITZ) environment

Before proceeding, read and understand the details about the ITZ environment and your access in the ITZ IBM Cloud account.

  • You must first accept the invitation to join the ITZ IBM Cloud account before you will be able to access it.

  • Your user ID in the ITZ IBM Cloud account is limited. You will not be able create new IBM Cloud resources (for example you will not be able to provision an VCF as a Service instance). You will not be able to delete, or modify the pre-provisioned resources.

  • Your user ID will have permission to create, delete, and modify resources in the provisioned VCF as a Service instances using VMware vCloud Director (VCD).

  • In the VCF as a Service instances, do not delete or modify any of the pre-provisioned resources as described in the demonstration guide.

  • In the VCF as a Service instances, you are responsible for deleting any resources you create. Do this before your ITZ reservation expires.

  • Remember, that the environment is shared by all users of the environment. Do not delete or modify resources created by other users.

Creating a reservation

Follow these steps to create a reservation in ITZ.

  1. Click the following link to open a browser to the reservation page of the IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions - Level 3.

    You may be asked to authenticate to IBM Technology Zone

    These steps are not detailed here.

    IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions - Level 3 - reservation page

  2. Click Reserve now.

    The Reserve now option requests that the reservation be created now. Optionally, schedule the reservation for late.

  3. Complete the form and click Submit.

    a. Optionally, change the Name field for the reservation.

    b. Select the Education purpose tile.

    c. Enter a Purpose description.

    d. Select any geography in the Preferred Geography drop-down.

    e. The End date and time will be set to 2 days after the current date and time.

    Extending a reservation

    The initial reservation duration is set by ITZ at 2 days and cannot be extended at the time the reservation is created. You can, and are encouraged to, extend the reservation once it is in the Ready state. Two extensions of 2 day increments is allowed. Steps to extend the reservation are shown below.

    f. Accept the IBM Technology Zone's terms and conditions and security policies.

    g. When satisfied with the parameters, click Submit.

Extend the reservation

The ITZ provisioning process takes approximately 10 minutes. During this process, your user ID is created in the ITZ IBM Cloud account and added to the appropriate security access group.

Multiple emails are sent from ITZ as the provisioning process runs. One email states the reservation is provisioning and the other email states that the environment is Ready.

In rare cases, the provisioning process may fail. If you receive and email stating the reservation failed, try again by repeating steps 1-3.

When the reservation is in the Ready state, you can extend the reservation to a total of 6 days. Remember, IBM sellers need the environment to record their Stand and Deliver, and Business Partners need it while taking the quiz.

  1. Click My reservations or if the button doesn't work, expand My Library and select My Reservations.

    With some browsers the My reservations button does not always work.

  2. Click the overflow icon () on the reservation tile and select Extend.

  3. Click the Select a date option, specify the date to extend to, and then click Extend.

If you anticipate needing more time, repeat steps 5 and 6 to extend the reservation to the maximum of 6 days.

Accept the invitation to join the ITZ IBM Cloud account

In addition to the ITZ emails, an email from IBM Cloud inviting you to join the ITZ IBM Cloud account is sent. This email will arrive just before or after you receive the ITZ email stating the reservation is ready. If you do not receive the email from IBM Cloud, log in to the IBM Cloud portal and skip to step 8.

  1. Open the email from IBM Cloud, and click Join now.

    A new browser window should open.

Clicking the Join now link should open a browser window to an IBM Cloud portal log-in page. Follow the directions to log in and proceed to step 11.

If you are not directed to a page to accept to join the account and land on the main page of the IBM Cloud portal for another IBM Cloud account, follow the next steps.

  1. Click the Notifications icon ().

  2. Click the most recent notification with the subject Action required: You are invited to join an account in IBM Cloud.

  3. Click Join now in the notification.

  4. Select I accept the product Terms and Conditions of this registration form in the Account notice tile.

  5. Click Proceed to switch to the ITZ IBM Cloud account.

  6. Verify that you are logged in to the ITZ IBM Cloud account (2326338 - ITZ-VMWARE).

    Note, if your browser window is small, the Account drop-down list in the top menu may be replaced if the Switch account icon (). Click the Switch account icon to verify the 2326338 - ITZ-VMWARE is selected as the active account.

Your ITZ reservation is now active, and you have access to the IBM Cloud account and shared, pre-provisioned resources that are required to complete the IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions for Technical Sales Level 3 learning plan.