6.0.1

Automating Management Tasks by
Using vRealize Orchestrator 14
VMware™ vRealize Orchestrator is a development- and process-automation platform that provides a
library of extensible workows. By using the workow library you can create and run automated,
congurable processes to manage the vSphere infrastructure as well as other VMware and third-party
technologies.
Orchestrator exposes every operation in the vCenter Server API and so that you can integrate all of these
operations into your own automated processes.
To run and schedule workows on the objects in your vSphere infrastructure by using the
vSphere Web Client, make sure that you congure the Orchestrator server to work with the same Single
Sign-On instance to which both the vCenter Server and vSphere Web Client point. You must also ensure that
Orchestrator is registered as a vCenter Server extension. You register Orchestrator as a vCenter Server
extension when you specify a user (by providing the user name and password), who has the privileges to
manage vCenter Server extensions. For more information, see Installing and Conguring vRealize Orchestrator.
This chapter includes the following topics:
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“Concepts of Workows,” on page 147
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“Performing Administration Tasks on the vSphere Objects,” on page 148
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“Congure the Default vRealize Orchestrator,” on page 149
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“Managing Associations of Workows with vSphere Inventory Objects,” on page 149
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“Managing Workows,” on page 152
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“Workows for Managing Inventory Objects,” on page 158
Concepts of Workflows
A workow is a series of actions and decisions that you run sequentially. Orchestrator provides a library of
workows that perform common management tasks according to best practices.
Basics of Workflows
Workows consist of a schema, aributes, and parameters. The workow schema is the main component of
a workow as it denes all the workow elements and the logical connections between them. The workow
aributes and parameters are the variables that workows use to transfer data. Orchestrator saves a
workow token every time a workow runs, recording the details of that specic run of the workow. This
token contains all parameters related to the running of the workow. For example, if you run a workow
three times, three workow tokens are created.
VMware, Inc.
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