You can create a local library as the source for content you want to save or share. Create the local library on a single vCenter Server instance. You can add items to a local library or remove them. You can publish a local library and as a result this content library service endpoint can be accessed by other vCenter Server instances in your virtual environment. When you publish a library, you can configure the authentication method, which a subscribed library must use to authenticate to it.

You can create a subscribed library and populate its content by synchronizing to a local library. A subscribed library contains copies of the local library files or just the metadata of the library items. The local library can be located on the same vCenter Server instance as the subscribed library, or the subscribed library can reference a local library on a different vCenter Server instance. You cannot add library items to a subscribed library. You can only add items to the source library. After synchronization, both libraries will contain the same items.