5.5.1

Introduction to Orchestrator Plug-Ins 1
With the Orchestrator plug-ins, you can access and control external technologies and applications. Exposing
an external technology in an Orchestrator plug-in lets you incorporate objects and functions in workflows
and run workflows on the objects of that external technology.
The external technologies that you access by using plug-ins include virtualization management tools, email
systems, databases, directory services, and remote control interfaces.
Orchestrator provides a standard set of preinstalled plug-ins, which expose the VMware vCenter Server
API, email and authentication capabilities, and other technologies. In addition, the Orchestrator open plug-
in architecture lets you to develop plug-ins to access other applications. Orchestrator implements open
standards to simplify integration with external systems. For information about developing custom content,
see Developing with VMware vCenter Orchestrator.
The standard set of plug-ins is automatically installed with the Orchestrator server. You might need to
configure some of the plug-ins, for example the vCenter Server plug-in, before start using them.
Plug-ins extend the Orchestrator scripting engine with new object types and methods, and plug-ins publish
notification events from the external system that triggers events in Orchestrator and in the plugged-in
technology. Plug-ins provide an inventory of JavaScript objects that you can access on the Inventory tab of
the Orchestrator client. Each plug-in contains packages of workflows and actions that you can run on the
objects in the inventory to automate the typical use cases of the integrated product.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“Orchestrator Architecture,” on page 9
n
“Plug-Ins Installed with the Orchestrator Server,” on page 10
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“Access the Orchestrator API Explorer,” on page 15
Orchestrator Architecture
Orchestrator contains a workflow library and a workflow engine to allow you to create and run workflows
that automate orchestration processes. You run workflows on the objects of different technologies that
Orchestrator accesses through a series of plug-ins.
Orchestrator provides a standard set of plug-ins, including a plug-in for vCenter Server, to allow you to
orchestrate tasks in the different environments that the plug-ins expose.
Orchestrator also presents an open architecture to allow you to plug in external third-party applications to
the orchestration platform. You can run workflows on the objects of the plugged-in technologies that you
define yourself. Orchestrator connects to a directory services server to manage user accounts, and to a
database to store information from the workflows that it runs. You can access Orchestrator, the Orchestrator
workflows, and the objects it exposes through the Orchestrator client interface, through a Web browser, or
through Web services.
VMware, Inc.
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