VMware Communities : Document List - vSphere Client Plug-ins

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Creating vSphere Client Plug In - Tech Ex Developer Day Session

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:52:55 GMT

I managed to post the MP3 on our Blog. This should work. Please let me know.
http://blogs.vmware.com/developer/2009/10/vsphere-client-plugins-pdf-and-mp3.html

Registering VI Client Plugin without a single line of code

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:45:41 GMT

This technote describes how to register and manage the VI Client plugin configuration using the MOB. Details steps and screenshots are included.

GUI based tool for plugin registration management

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:39:23 GMT

Chat Room Demo Resources

cshanklin@vmware.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:33:04 GMT

Details coming soon.

Developing a Complete VI Client Plug-in with Tomcat and VI Java API

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:16:00 GMT

Quick start guide

cshanklin@vmware.com — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:00:05 GMT

Quick start with VI Client Plug-ins.

This document shows you a quick way to get started with VI Client Plug-ins. All that is required is downloading and running one of our registration utilities. Once you've done that, the Google Maps demo shown in the product documentation is available to you in VirtualCenter.

Step 1: Download a registration utility.

This document gives examples using either the Perl utility or the PowerShell utility.

Step 2: Register the plug-in.

When you install a plug-in, VirtualCenter must be able to download the plug-in XML. In this case, the plug-in XML is accessible from anywhere, which means you don't have to stage the XML on a local server before registering it.

If you use the Perl registration utility:

perl registerPlugin.pl --server=<vc server> --username user --password pass --description="Google Maps Plug-in" --key="com.vmware.cde.sdk.demo" --pluginversion="1.0.0" --pluginurl="http://communities.vmware.com/servlet/JiveServlet/downloadBody/4860-102-1-3006/simpleDemo.xml" --company="test" --adminMail="test@test.com" --action=install

If you use the PowerShell registration utility:

New-Plugin -description "Google Maps Plug-in" -key com.vmware.cde.sdk.demo -version 1.0.0 -url "http://communities.vmware.com/servlet/JiveServlet/downloadBody/4860-102-1-3006/simpleDemo.xml" -company test -adminEmail "test@test.com"

Step 3: Exit VI Client and log back in to VirtualCenter.

Step 4: Select a Datacenter and click on the MapIt tab.

You should now see a Google Maps interface.

Google Maps Demo XML File

cshanklin@vmware.com — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:51:22 GMT

Sharing sessions among multiple clients in VI

cshanklin@vmware.com — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:18:33 GMT

VI Client Plug-ins Technical FAQs

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:58:20 GMT

Technical FAQs for VI Client Plug-ins

General

Q: What software is needed for developing VI Client Plug-in?
A: You will need VI infrastructure 3.5 and other software tools depending on the platform you use for development. For example, if you use a Java-based backend, you will need JDK, Tomcat (or other application server) and a related IDE.

Q: Does a VI Client Plug-in work without VC server?
A: No. VI Client Plug-ins require VC server.

Q: Can I develop or use a plug-in with VI 3.0 or earlier?
A: No. VI Client Plug-ins is a new feature (experimental) since VI 3.5 (VirtualCenter 2.5).

Q: Do I have to develop registration code to register my plug-in?
A: Registration utilities are available in Perl, Java, and PowerShell. You can take extend one of these examples or build your own from scratch.

Development

Q: Do I need to restart the VC server to activate a VI Client Plug-in?
A: No. Once you register a VI Client Plug-in via the registration API, it's available right away. When a VI Client Plug-in is registered, any active VI Clients will need to be restarted.

Q: Is it possible to show an extension point based on some attribute of the selected object?
A: Yes. You can do this by using the customAttribute tag in the configuration file with the extension point. For example,

<customAttribute name="Attr1">My VM</customAttribute>

Under this configuration, the extension point will only be available if the selected object has a custom attribute called Attr1 with the value "My VM".

Q: How can I get the name and IP address of the selected item?
A: You cannot get the information directly. However the VI client sends you enough information, including sessionId, moref, and serviceUrl, to retrieve them from the VC server. In fact, you can ask much more than name and IP address. See next question for more detail.

Q: How can I use the sessionID to login back to the VC server?
A: The sessionId is essentially an HTTP cookie. The following Java code shows how to use the session ID to share a login session with VI Client.

VimBindingStub vimStub = (VimBindingStub) vimService;
vimStub._setProperty(org.apache.axis.transport.http.HTTPConstants.HEADER_COOKIE, "vmware_soap_session=\"B3240D15-34DF-4BB8-B902-A844FDF42E85\"");

For more information, please check the tech note: Sharing sessions among multiple clients in VI SDK.

Q: Can I change the default size of the popup window?
A: No. The default popup window size is width - 714 pixels, Height - 601 pixels.

Q: Can I change the title of the popup window?
A: Yes. You can call window.external.SetTitle(title) using javascript to set the title.

Q: Can clicking a button in the popup window close the window?
A: No. This feature is planned for a future release.
Update: associate window.external.CloseWindow(); JavaScript with a button to close it.

Q: When I register my plug-in, some fields are empty. What are these fields used for?
A: These parameters are reserved for future use. Please provide empty values for these fields when registering your plug-in.

Troubleshooting

Q: How can I troubleshoot my plug-in?
A: First, make sure your configuration file is complies with the schema. You can validate your configuration file against the schema using a XML tool. Note that in some rare cases, the configuration looks fine in some XML editors, but fails due to invisible characters inserted by the editor into the configuration file. In such cases, we recommend using a plain text editor or a hex editor to examine every byte of the configuration file.
On the VI client machine, open a browser and verify the URLs in your configuration file are valid links.
Check the log file. See the next question for its location.

Q: Is there a log file available?
A: The VI Client log file has some debug information. The log files can be found in:

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\VMware\vpx

There might be several log files with names like viclient-?.log, where ? is a digit. viclient-index.xml file in the same directory indicates which file is the current active one: (a little math needed to subtract the NextIndex by 1.)

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<LogSettings xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns="www.vmware.com">
  <MaxLogFiles>10</MaxLogFiles>
  <NextIndex>3</NextIndex>
</LogSettings>

Q: Some URLs open fine in my browser but don't work when I put them in my XML configuration file.
A: Since URLs are included inside the configuration XML file, any special characters within the URL string must be escaped. To avoid this problem, use the CDATA tag around the URL if it has any special characters. The following is a small sample showing how to wrap the URL string.

<url><![CDATA[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=3210+Porter,+Palo+Alto,+CA]]></url>

Internationalization and Localization

Q: How can I localize my VI Client Plug-in?
A: There are several different things you will need to do:

In the configuration file, find the title tag and provide all the locales you intend to support. For example, if you plan to support English and Chinese, then you should provide respective locale entries.

<title locale="en">VMware Communities</title>
<title locale="cn">VMware社区</title>

NOTE: there is no default locale, so you have to provide all the locale entries; otherwise the extension point won't show up.
If you are using a backend web application, it should parse the URL sent from VI client to get locale information and serve a page in that locale. The real URL that is going to be sent to the server could be:

http://dev:8000/vmAction.cgi?cmd=powerOn&moref=VirtualMachine:16&sessionId=9241E7B8-A37B-4264-A8D1-945628F9E0D6&locale=en&serviceUrl=https://localhost/sdk

Check the links on each localized page to make sure it links to corresponding localized pages as well.

Java registration utility for VI Client Plug-ins

cshanklin@vmware.com — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:53:13 GMT

The attached software allows you to register a plug-in with VirtualCenter using the VMware SDK.

The software allows you to list, register and unregister plug-ins.

After registering a plug-in, log out of the VI Client (if you are logged into VirtualCenter) and log back in, and you should see your plug-in registered under the Plugins tab.

Perl registration utility for VI Client Plug-ins

cshanklin@vmware.com — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:47:24 GMT

The attached script allows you to register a plug-in with VirtualCenter using the VI Perl Toolkit.

The script allows you to list, register and unregister plug-ins.

After registering a plug-in, log out of the VI Client (if you are logged into VirtualCenter) and log back in, and you should see your plug-in registered under the Plugins tab.

PowerShell registration utility for VI Client Plug-ins.

cshanklin@vmware.com — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:24:51 GMT

The attached script allows you to register a plugin with VirtualCenter using the VI Toolkit (for Windows).

You can either paste it into your PowerShell session window or you can "source" it into your environment using the . operator (i.e. ". .\registerExtension.ps1").

The script provides 3 functions,

Get-Plugin: List all installed plug-ins.
Remove-Plugin: Remove an installed plug-in.
New-Plugin: Define a new plug-in.

After registering a plug-in, log out of the VI Client (if you are logged into VirtualCenter) and log back in, and you should see your plug-in registered under the Plugins tab.

VI Client Plug-ins FAQ

cromero@vmware.com — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:21:51 GMT

Overview

This document explains VI client plug-in functionality as provided by the VMware 3.5 / VirtualCenter 2.5 platform.

You can find technical information about developing VI client plug-ins by reading the VI Client Plug-in Technote.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are VI client plug-ins?
A: VI client plug-ins provide an experimental means of extending the VI Client when used in conjunction with VMware VirtualCenter. VI client plug-ins allow you to create custom menus and tabs within VirtualCenter that can be integrated with 3rd-party applications.

Q: What does it mean that VI client plug-ins are experimental?
A: Since the VI client plug-in API is experimental, it is subject to change in a future release of VMware Virtual Infrastructure.

Q: Where can I get technical information on VI client plug-ins?
A: Documentation for the VI client plug-in feature is available as a VMware tech note.

Q: I am trying to develop a VI client plug-in. How can I get support?
A: Support is available through the VMware VI client plug-in community.

Q: Will I be able to integrate my application with VMware VirtualCenter?
A: You may be able to integrate your application with VirtualCenter provided the following two conditions are met:

Your application must integrate with VMware VirtualCenter or VMware ESX using the VMware APIs.
Your application must have a web interface, or be distributed with a web server that is capable of communicating with VirtualCenter.

Q: How does this plug-in interface compare to the plug-in interface as documented on viplugins.com?
A: VI Client Plug-ins do not use client-side code. Instead, VI client plug-ins rely on an external web server to communicate with VMware VirtualCenter.

Q: If I install a plug-in, how does it affect my service contract?
A: A plug-in is considered third party software, as defined in the VMware Third Party Hardware and Software Support Policy.