Operating systems
In the Operating systems section, you manage all operating systems that serve as the foundation for virtual machines and VM templates in OpenVLE.
Here you define which systems are available and can assign them to specific vendors to document the software landscape in a structured way.
Where can I find this section?
Via main menu: Infrastructure → Operating systems
Alternatively accessible via: Linked from Vendors, Virtual Machines, or VM templates
Features at a glance
- View, create, edit, and delete operating system entries
- Assign a vendor to an operating system
- Capture names, versions, and architectures
- Link operating systems to VM templates or virtual machines
- Serves as a basis for categorization and filtering within OpenVLE
Important fields at a glance
| Field name | Description |
|---|---|
Description | Free-text field for description or version, e.g. "64-bit, LTS Release 2024" or "Education Edition". |
Name | The name of the operating system, e.g. "Debian", "Windows 11", or "macOS Ventura". Displayed throughout the system. |
Vendor | Relationship to the vendor that develops or distributes the operating system. Serves for structured assignment. |
Creating an operating system
- Open the Infrastructure → Operating systems section from the main menu.
- Click Add to create a new operating system.
- Enter a name, a vendor, and a description for the operating system.
- Save the operating system.
- From now on, you can select the operating system when creating VMs or VM templates.
The required vendor must exist before creating the operating system.
Editing an operating system
- Open the Infrastructure → Operating systems section from the main menu.
- Find the desired operating system in the list.
- Click Edit, or open the context menu of the operating system and select Edit.
- The form displays all current data of the operating system.
- Adjust the desired fields -- for example Name or Description.
- Save the changes.
If an operating system version has been updated, e.g. from Debian 12 to Debian 13, it is recommended to create a new operating system.
This prevents already assigned VMs and VM templates from being affected by this version change.
Otherwise, it would appear in OpenVLE as though all assigned systems had been upgraded to the new version.
Deleting an operating system
- Open the Infrastructure → Operating systems section from the main menu.
- Find the desired operating system in the list.
- Click Delete, or open the context menu of the operating system and select Delete.
- Confirm the deletion in the displayed dialog.
- The operating system is then permanently removed.
Only operating systems that are no longer assigned to any VM or VM template can be deleted.
Example or use case
An administrator wants to add a new operating system to the infrastructure.
She opens the Infrastructure → Operating systems section, clicks Add, and enters:
- Name: Debian 12 (LTS)
- Vendor: Debian Project
- Description: Standard Linux distribution for training environments
She then assigns this operating system to the appropriate VM templates so that all VMs based on them are correctly classified.
Notes / special considerations
- Operating systems are not automatically installed -- they serve exclusively for inventory management.
- An operating system can be linked to multiple VM templates or VMs.
- Vendors must exist in advance to be assignable to an operating system.
- Unambiguous naming facilitates filtering and later analysis.
Relationships to other objects
Many objects in OpenVLE are related to other elements within the system. The following overview shows which relationships exist and whether they trigger certain automations.
| Object | Description | Automatic behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Changelogs | All changes to the object are automatically logged. | Automatic removal when the object is deleted. |
| Permissions | Object-specific permissions can be assigned directly to the object. | Automatic removal when the object is deleted. |
| Tags | Objects can be tagged with any number of tags to categorize or filter them. | Automatic removal when the object is deleted. |
| Vendor | Exactly one vendor can be assigned to an operating system. | No automations. |
| VM templates | Any number of VM templates can be assigned to an operating system. | No automations. |
| VMs | Any number of VMs can be assigned to an operating system. | No automations. |
Required permissions
The permissions required for actions can be assigned via roles or individually. If you lack certain rights, the corresponding functions in the user interface are hidden or disabled.
| Action | Required permission | Path | Additional information |
|---|---|---|---|
| View operating systems | os_read | / or /<objectID> | |
| Create operating systems | os_create | / | |
| Edit operating systems | os_update | / or /<objectID> | |
| Delete operating systems | os_delete | / or /<objectID> | |
| View vendors | vendors_read | / |
Example:
/4a3bc312-d1af-4b3f-b222-f5e9cecbf007 – This gives the user access to this single object only.If the path / is used, the permission applies globally to all objects of this type.
For *_create permissions, only the global path / is allowed.