# What is a 'Catalog' and how to create one

## Overview

This guide covers what a 'Catalog' is and how you can create a new Catalog in your vCloud Director account.

This guide does require you to have 'Organization Admin' access to your vCloud Organization. 

## What is a 'Catalog'?

A 'Catalog' in vCloud Director is a container within your Organization that you can use to upload your own ISO files, vApp Templates and OVA/OVF templates for exclusive use within your vCloud Organization.

The primary use for this Catalog is to allow you to upload your own unique ISOs/Template to our platform to use with VMs or deploy new VMs. \
You can also create a VM template from an existing VM within our platform and upload it to your Catalog, then use that VM as a base template for all other deployed VMs within your Virtual Datacenters. 

The created Catalog is not available to any other vCloud Organizations within the platform, the only Catalog available to everyone is the 'Public Catalog' that Hosted network maintains. 

**NOTE:** Uploading/Creating templates that are stored in the catalog does consume storage in a Virtual Datacenter that you can select when creating the catalog. 

## How do I create a new 'Catalog'?

1. Login to your vCloud Director Web Interface, this URL will look similar to "**<https://vdc.syd.mhn.net.au/tenant/HN-Demo>**". \
   \&#xNAN;*If you are unsure what your URL is or what your login details are please reach out to our support team.*<br>

   <figure><img src="/files/t2AjE6AV6TytMd725EUA" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
2. Click on the "Libraries" tab at the top of the web page<br>

   <figure><img src="/files/9OfMyLt8ICstrBHjxHHm" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
3. Select "Catalogs" from the menu along the left side of the web page<br>

   <figure><img src="/files/nRUMu2rjNgxg2nn67Nvf" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
4. Click on the "NEW" button at the top of the page<br>

   <figure><img src="/files/R7DPKwuCKcdBPN04Jan8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
5. Enter the "Name" and "Description" of the Catalog in the pop-up, and to ensure the correct storage is used enable the "Pre-provision on specific storage policy" option and select a VDC to use. Click "OK" to create the catalog<br>

   <figure><img src="/files/bcQErPWOuK7K1MPyQ7H3" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
6. Now you can go into the "Media & Other" tab and upload ISOs to the portal, or convert a vApp to a template


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://kb.hostednetwork.com.au/support/services/cloud/infrastructure-as-a-service/administrative-tasks/what-is-a-catalog-and-how-to-create-one.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.