Add softlayer getting started
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* [OpenStack](openstack)
* [ProfitBricks](profitbricks)
* [Rackspace](rackspace)
+* [SoftLayer](softlayer)
Use these guides for more in depth usage:
diff --git a/guides/softlayer.md b/guides/softlayer.md
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+---
+layout: page
+title: "SoftLayer: Getting Started Guide"
+permalink: /guides/softlayer/
+---
+This page helps you get started using the jclouds API with SoftLayer.
+
+Currently, *SoftLayer* offers 3 main “cloud” flavours:
+
+- `Bare Metal Server` (*BMS*): SoftLayer dedicated servers give you options from entry-level single processor servers to quad proc, hex-core, and even GPU-powered workhorses.
+- `Virtual Server` (*BMI*): Single-tenant environment with SoftLayer managed hypervisor, ideal for applications with stringent resource requirements. It can be considered as a specialized configuration of Bare Metal Servers with limited options.
+- `Public Cloud Instances` (*CCI*): Multi-tenant environment with SoftLayer managed hypervisor, ideal for rapid scalability and higher-cost effectiveness.
+
+Starting from 1.8.0, Jclouds supports officially only Public Cloud Instances (CCI).
+
+## Getting Started
+1. Sign up for [SoftLayer Cloud](https://www.softlayer.com/cloud-servers/).
+2. Log in to the
+2. Get your Username and API Key:
+ - Sign in to [SoftLayer Customer Portal](https://control.softlayer.com)
+ - Navigate to [Users](https://control.softlayer.com/account/users)
+ - Click on "View" under `API Key` to see the API credential.
+3. Ensure you are using a recent version of Java 6.
+4. Setup your project to include `softlayer`.
+ * Get the dependencies `org.jclouds.provider/softlayer` using jclouds [Installation](/start/install).
+5. Start coding.
+
+## SoftLayer Compute
+
+{% highlight java %}
+// Get a context with softlayer that offers the portable ComputeService API
+ComputeServiceContext computeServiceContext = ContextBuilder.newBuilder("softlayer")
+ .credentials("username", "apiKey")
+ .modules(ImmutableSet.<Module> of(new Log4JLoggingModule(),
+ new SshjSshClientModule()))
+ .buildView(ComputeServiceContext.class);
+
+ComputeService computeService = computeServiceContext.getComputeService();
+
+// List availability zones
+Set<? extends Location> locations = computeService.listAssignableLocations();
+
+// List nodes
+Set<? extends ComputeMetadata> nodes = computeService.listNodes();
+
+// List hardware profiles
+Set<? extends Hardware> hardware = computeService.listHardwareProfiles();
+
+// List images
+Set<? extends org.jclouds.compute.domain.Image> image = computeService.listImages();
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+NB: "computeService.listImages()" returns `operatingSystems` from [SoftLayer_Container_Virtual_Guest_Configuration](http://sldn.softlayer.com/reference/datatypes/SoftLayer_Container_Virtual_Guest_Configuration).
+
+{% highlight java %}
+// Create nodes with templates
+Template template = computeService.templateBuilder().osFamily(OsFamily.UBUNTU).build();
+Set<? extends NodeMetadata> groupedNodes = computeService.createNodesInGroup("myGroup", 2, template);
+
+// Reboot images in a group
+computeService.rebootNodesMatching(inGroup("myGroup"));
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+### TemplateOptions and SoftLayerTemplateOptions
+In jclouds, the standard mechanism to specify template options is by using the TemplateBuilder. This supports a number of configuration supported by all the api/provider jclouds
+
+For example, the location id is used to specify the "region" provider where to spin your VM:
+{% highlight java %}
+TemplateBuilder templateBuilder = context.getComputeService().templateBuilder();
+templateBuilder.locationId("ams01");
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+If you need to specify a public image supported by SoftLayer can be referenced as follows:
+{% highlight java %}
+templateBuilder.imageId("CENTOS_6_64");
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+If you want instead to specify a `private` image, you need to set the `globalIdentifier` of a VirtualGuestBlockDeviceTemplateGroup, like:
+{% highlight java %}
+templateBuilder.imageId("3d7697d8-beef-437a-8921-5a2a18bc116f");
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+Notice, if you don't know the globalIdentifier upfront you can use the following curl command:
+{% highlight java %}
+curl -uusername:apiKey https://api.softlayer.com/rest/v3/SoftLayer_Account/getBlockDeviceTemplateGroups?objectMask=children.blockDevices.diskImage.softwareReferences.softwareDescription
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+and use the globalIdentifier desired
+
+jclouds is able to leverage SoftLayer CCI specific-options described at [createObject](http://sldn.softlayer.com/reference/services/SoftLayer_Virtual_Guest/createObject) by doing the following:
+{% highlight java %}
+SoftLayerTemplateOptions options = template.getOptions().as(SoftLayerTemplateOptions.class);
+// domain
+options.domainName("live.org");
+// multi-disk
+options.blockDevices(ImmutableList.of(25, 400, 400));
+// disk type (SAN, LOCAL)
+options.diskType("SAN");
+//tags
+options.tags(ImmutableList.of("jclouds"));
+// primaryNetworkComponent.networkVlan.id
+options.primaryNetworkComponentNetworkVlanId(vlanId);
+// primaryBackendNetworkComponent.networkVlan.id
+options.primaryBackendNetworkComponentNetworkVlanId(backendVlanId);
+{% endhighlight %}
+NB: notice, vlandId and backendVlanId should be the internal IDs and not the vlan number! One can easily retrieve it from the SoftLayer web UI by clicking on VLAN number link of `https://control.softlayer.com/network/vlans`
+The url will show something like `https://control.softlayer.com/network/vlans/1234567` where the vlanId is *1234567*
+
+### Provider-specific APIs
+When you need access to SoftLayer features, use the provider-specific context
+{% highlight java %}
+SoftLayerApi api = computeServiceContext.unwrapApi(SoftLayerApi.class);
+// and then get access to the delegate API groups
+api.getVirtualGuestApi();
+api.getDatacenterApi();
+api.getSoftwareDescriptionApi();
+api.getVirtualGuestBlockDeviceTemplateGroupApi();
+api.getAccountApi();
+
+// Be sure to close the context when done
+computeServiceContext.close();
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+## SoftLayer Object Storage
+SoftLayer Object Storage is an OpenStack® based blobstore storage system.
+
+{% highlight java %}
+// Get a context with softlayer that offers the portable BlobStore API
+BlobStoreContext context = ContextBuilder.newBuilder("swift")
+ .credentials("tenantName:accessKey", "apiKey)
+ .endpoint("https://<locationId>.objectstorage.softlayer.net/auth/v1.0")
+ .buildView(BlobStoreContext.class);
+
+// Create a container in the default location
+context.getBlobStore().createContainerInLocation(null, container);
+
+// Be sure to close the context when done
+context.close();
+{% endhighlight %}
+
+For more examples, see <a href="/guides/openstack/">Openstack</a> documentation.
diff --git a/reference/providers.md b/reference/providers.md
index 868bd03..08d6477 100644
--- a/reference/providers.md
+++ b/reference/providers.md
@@ -145,9 +145,9 @@
<td>MY-10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
- <td>SoftLayer</td>
+ <td><a href="/guides/softlayer/">SoftLayer</a></td>
<td>softlayer</td>
- <td></td>
+ <td>SG,US-CA,US-TX,US-VA,US-WA,<p/>NL,HK,NSFTW-IL,AU,CA-ON,GB</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
