User's Manual

Plug-ins
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A plug-in provides support for a specific appliance type (model) in the Rack Power Manager
software. A plug-in is packaged into a single archive file that can be shipped and added
independently of the Rack Power Manager software. Rack Power Manager supports 3rd party
rack PDUs using an appliance plug-in.
Although plug-ins are created independently, a particular Rack Power Manager software release
may include one or more plug-ins that have already been added to the software. The release notes
will indicate if any plug-ins are included. If a plug-in is included, you will not need to add it to
the hub or spoke servers.
This chapter describes how to add and manage plug-ins in the Rack Power Manager software.
Once you successfully complete the sequence for adding a plug-in, you may add appliances of
that type and initiate other operations from the Rack Power Manager software that are supported
in that plug-in.
NOTE: You must have Rack Power Manager software administrator access rights to view, add and manage plug-ins.
Plug-ins are created using the Plug-in API in the Rack Power Manager Software Development Kit
(SDK).
Recommended Sequence for Adding/Upgrading Plug-ins
To add or upgrade a plug-in:
1. Ensure that scheduled replication will not occur during the adding or upgrading of plug-ins -
you may need to change the replication schedule temporarily.
2. Perform a replication operation on every spoke server. See Replication on page 78.
3. Perform a backup of the Rack Power Manager software database. See Backing up and
Restoring Hub Servers Manually on page 71.
4. Add or upgrade the plug-in on the hub server.
• To add a plug-in, see Adding Plug-ins on page 292.