Cloud Resource Name (CRN) provides a unique way to reference and identify cloud resources.
The CRN values were originally available for PowerVS workspaces and the support has been now extended to compute, network and storage resources deployed within PowerVS workspaces.
Please refer https://test.cloud.ibm.com/docs/power-iaas?topic=power-iaas-pricing-virtual-server-on-cloud#granular-crns for more details.
We can deploy PowerVS resources with user-defined tags to organize and track the resources.
Each of these resources get created with CRN values following the format crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:{location}:a/{tenant id}: {Cloud instance id}:{resource type}:{resource UUID}.
For example, a VM deployed in a PowerVS workspace can be identified using the CRN crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:lon04:a/abcdefghijklmno: 121d5ee5-b87d-4a0e-86b8-aaff422135478:pvm-instance:33fc7213-450b-46ec-8c94-83f1f6478a44
We can locate the PowerVS resources using IBM Cloud resource commands.
> ibmcloud resource service-instance 04_testvm1
Retrieving service instance 04_testvm1 in all resource groups under account ACCOUNT1's Account as username@in.ibm.com...
OK
Name: 04_testvm1
ID: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:dal12:a/abcdefghijklmno:32615753-4a14-4765-b9fe-f0b9b0d2b0b4:pvm-instance:0519622c-ab8c-45a1-9457-35c7bb019866
GUID: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:dal12:a/abcdefghijklmno:32615753-4a14-4765-b9fe-f0b9b0d2b0b4:pvm-instance:0519622c-ab8c-45a1-9457-35c7bb019866
Location: dal12
Service Name: power-iaas.pvm-instance
Service Plan Name: power-virtual-server-pvm-instance-group
Resource Group Name: Default
State: active
Type: service_instance
Sub Type:
Locked: false
One-time credentials: false
Created at: 2025-02-04T06:59:57Z
Created by: iam-ServiceId-XXXXX-8c68-yyyy-a9cb-zzzzz
Updated at: 2025-02-04T06:59:57Z
Last Operation:
Status create succeeded
Message Instance provisioning is completed.
IBM Cloud resource search commands with appropriate query filter (name, CRN, tags etc.) can be alternatively used as mentioned below.
Search using resource name:
> ibmcloud resource search "name:*testvm1"
Name: netInterface-04_testvm1
Location: dal12
Family: resource_controller
Resource Type: network-interface
Resource Group ID: b55449fed99d4071b236f987547c826a
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:dal12:a/abcdefghijklmno:32615753-4a14-4765-b9fe-f0b9b0d2b0b4:network-interface:4884ac34-471c-4205-9970-97385eb050be
Tags:
Service Tags:
Access Tags:
Name: netInterface-0302_testvm1
Location: dal12
Family: resource_controller
Resource Type: network-interface
Resource Group ID: b55449fed99d4071b236f987547c826a
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:dal12:a/abcdefghijklmno:32615753-4a14-4765-b9fe-f0b9b0d2b0b4:network-interface:f31e8e72-415a-451f-856b-38caa9e0aa22
Tags:
Service Tags:
Access Tags:
Name: 04_testvm1
Location: dal12
Family: resource_controller
Resource Type: pvm-instance
Resource Group ID: b55449fed99d4071b236f987547c826a
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:dal12:a/abcdefghijklmno:32615753-4a14-4765-b9fe-f0b9b0d2b0b4:pvm-instance:0519622c-ab8c-45a1-9457-35c7bb019866
Tags:
Service Tags:
Access Tags:
Search using resource CRN:
> ibmcloud resource search "crn:*pvm-instance\:0519622c-ab8c-45a1-9457-35c7bb019866"
Name: 04_testvm1
Location: dal12
Family: resource_controller
Resource Type: pvm-instance
Resource Group ID: b55449fed99d4071b236f987547c826a
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:dal12:a/abcdefghijklmno:32615753-4a14-4765-b9fe-f0b9b0d2b0b4:pvm-instance:0519622c-ab8c-45a1-9457-35c7bb019866
Tags:
Service Tags:
Access Tags:
Search using user tags:
> ibmcloud resource search "tags:tag_ibmi"
Name: IBMi-74-10-2984-1
Location: dal12
Family: resource_controller
Resource Type: image
Resource Group ID: b55449fed99d4071b236f987547c826a
CRN: crn:v1:staging:public:power-iaas:dal12:a/abcdefghijklmno:32615753-4a14-4765-b9fe-f0b9b0d2b0b4:image:1e54641f-f9dc-4e33-b006-3dac70a6d684
Tags: tag_ibmi
Service Tags:
Access Tags:
Operations performed on the PowerVS resources, such as provisioning, name change, and deletion will be reflected accurately in the IBM Cloud.
In summary, the Granular CRN support for PowerVS offers multiple advantages such as accurate billing & resource identification, integration with security systems for access control and API integration.