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Non-Functional Requirements

Overview

This document defines the non-functional requirements (NFRs) for the VMware vRA CLI, including performance, scalability, security, usability, maintainability, and other quality attributes that the system must satisfy.

Performance Requirements

Response Time

  • NFR-001: CLI commands must respond within 2 seconds for simple operations (authentication status, configuration display)
  • NFR-002: API-dependent operations must complete within 10 seconds under normal conditions
  • NFR-003: Bulk operations (export, delete multiple deployments) must provide progress indicators for operations exceeding 30 seconds
  • NFR-004: File I/O operations (configuration, export) must complete within 5 seconds for files up to 10MB

Throughput

  • NFR-005: Support concurrent execution of up to 10 parallel API requests without degradation
  • NFR-006: Handle export operations for up to 1000 deployments within 5 minutes
  • NFR-007: Process bulk tag operations for up to 500 resources within 2 minutes

Resource Utilization

  • NFR-008: Memory usage must not exceed 512MB during normal operations
  • NFR-009: Peak memory usage must not exceed 1GB during large bulk operations
  • NFR-010: CPU usage must remain below 25% during idle state
  • NFR-011: Disk space usage for logs and cache must not exceed 100MB

Scalability Requirements

Data Volume

  • NFR-012: Support environments with up to 10,000 deployments
  • NFR-013: Handle catalog with up to 1,000 available items
  • NFR-014: Support up to 100 concurrent workflow executions
  • NFR-015: Manage up to 50,000 resource tags across all deployments

User Load

  • NFR-016: Support multiple CLI instances per user without conflict
  • NFR-017: Handle shared configuration scenarios in team environments
  • NFR-018: Support concurrent access to the same vRA environment by multiple users

Availability Requirements

Uptime

  • NFR-019: CLI must be available for operation 99.9% of the time
  • NFR-020: Graceful handling of vRA API unavailability with appropriate error messages
  • NFR-021: Offline mode capability for configuration management and help documentation

Recovery

  • NFR-022: Automatic recovery from transient network failures within 30 seconds
  • NFR-023: Resume interrupted operations where possible (bulk exports, large downloads)
  • NFR-024: Maintain operation continuity during token refresh cycles

Security Requirements

Authentication and Authorization

  • NFR-025: Implement secure token storage using platform-native keyring services
  • NFR-026: Support multi-factor authentication when required by vRA
  • NFR-027: Automatic token cleanup on logout or application termination
  • NFR-028: Session timeout handling with graceful re-authentication prompts

Data Protection

  • NFR-029: Encrypt all sensitive data at rest (tokens, cached credentials)
  • NFR-030: Use TLS 1.2+ for all network communications
  • NFR-031: Mask sensitive information in logs and output
  • NFR-032: Implement secure memory handling for credentials

Compliance

  • NFR-033: Adhere to VMware security guidelines and best practices
  • NFR-034: Support audit logging for compliance requirements
  • NFR-035: Implement role-based access control consistent with vRA permissions

Usability Requirements

User Experience

  • NFR-036: Provide consistent command syntax across all operations
  • NFR-037: Offer comprehensive help documentation for all commands
  • NFR-038: Support command-line completion and suggestions
  • NFR-039: Provide meaningful error messages with suggested resolutions

Accessibility

  • NFR-040: Support screen readers and accessibility tools
  • NFR-041: Provide text-only output options for automated processing
  • NFR-042: Support high-contrast terminal themes

Internationalization

  • NFR-043: Support UTF-8 encoding for international character sets
  • NFR-044: Handle timezone-aware date/time operations
  • NFR-045: Provide English language interface (baseline requirement)

Compatibility Requirements

Platform Support

  • NFR-046: Support Windows 10/11, macOS 10.15+, and Linux (Ubuntu 18.04+)
  • NFR-047: Compatible with Python 3.8+ runtime environments
  • NFR-048: Support both x86_64 and ARM64 architectures

Integration

  • NFR-049: Compatible with VMware vRA 8.x and vRA Cloud
  • NFR-050: Integration with common CI/CD platforms (Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions)
  • NFR-051: Shell integration for bash, zsh, and PowerShell environments

Maintainability Requirements

Code Quality

  • NFR-052: Maintain minimum 80% unit test coverage
  • NFR-053: Adhere to PEP 8 Python coding standards
  • NFR-054: Implement comprehensive logging for debugging and monitoring
  • NFR-055: Use static code analysis tools to maintain code quality

Documentation

  • NFR-056: Maintain comprehensive API documentation
  • NFR-057: Provide architecture and design documentation
  • NFR-058: Include troubleshooting guides and FAQ
  • NFR-059: Maintain up-to-date user guides and examples

Deployment

  • NFR-060: Support automated testing and continuous integration
  • NFR-061: Provide automated build and packaging processes
  • NFR-062: Enable easy installation through package managers (pip, conda)

Reliability Requirements

Error Handling

  • NFR-063: Graceful degradation when optional features are unavailable
  • NFR-064: Comprehensive error logging without exposing sensitive information
  • NFR-065: Automatic retry mechanisms for transient failures
  • NFR-066: Consistent error reporting across all operations

Data Integrity

  • NFR-067: Validate all input data before processing
  • NFR-068: Implement checksums for exported data files
  • NFR-069: Atomic operations for configuration changes
  • NFR-070: Backup and recovery mechanisms for configuration data

Monitoring and Observability

Logging

  • NFR-071: Implement structured logging with configurable levels
  • NFR-072: Support log rotation and archival policies
  • NFR-073: Provide performance metrics for key operations
  • NFR-074: Enable debug logging for troubleshooting

Metrics

  • NFR-075: Track API response times and success rates
  • NFR-076: Monitor authentication token lifecycle events
  • NFR-077: Collect usage statistics for feature optimization
  • NFR-078: Provide health check capabilities for monitoring systems

Installation and Configuration

Installation

  • NFR-079: Installation process must complete within 2 minutes
  • NFR-080: Support silent/unattended installation modes
  • NFR-081: Minimal system requirements: 100MB disk space, 256MB RAM
  • NFR-082: No administrative privileges required for user installation

Configuration

  • NFR-083: Zero-configuration startup for basic operations
  • NFR-084: Configuration wizard for initial setup
  • NFR-085: Import/export configuration for environment migration
  • NFR-086: Validation of configuration settings with helpful error messages

Testing and Quality Assurance

Test Coverage

  • NFR-087: Automated unit tests with 80%+ code coverage
  • NFR-088: Integration tests for all API interactions
  • NFR-089: End-to-end tests for critical user workflows
  • NFR-090: Performance tests for scalability validation

Quality Metrics

  • NFR-091: Static code analysis with zero critical issues
  • NFR-092: Security scanning with no high-severity vulnerabilities
  • NFR-093: Dependency vulnerability scanning and updates
  • NFR-094: Regular quality gate reviews and approvals

Compliance and Standards

Industry Standards

  • NFR-095: Comply with OWASP security guidelines
  • NFR-096: Follow RFC standards for HTTP/HTTPS communications
  • NFR-097: Adhere to JSON Schema standards for data validation
  • NFR-098: Implement OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect standards where applicable

Organizational Standards

  • NFR-099: Follow VMware development and security guidelines
  • NFR-100: Comply with enterprise logging and monitoring requirements

Measurement and Validation

These non-functional requirements will be validated through:

  1. Performance Testing: Load testing, stress testing, and benchmark measurements
  2. Security Testing: Penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and security audits
  3. Usability Testing: User experience evaluation and accessibility testing
  4. Compatibility Testing: Multi-platform testing across supported environments
  5. Reliability Testing: Chaos engineering and failure scenario testing

Each requirement will be assigned measurable criteria and validated through automated testing and manual verification processes.