This is a technical preview of reworked vRealize Orchestrator plug-in for vSphere Client. It is not ready for production use. Any feedback is much appreciated. This re-work was needed because of change in the plug-ins architecture towards remote plugin architecture in vSphere Client.
What is it in for you?
The vRealize Orchestrator Plug-in provides integration between vRealize Orchestrator (vRO) and vSphere Client.
The plug-in enables users logged in to the vSphere Client to run, schedule and monitor Orchestrator workflows from within the vSphere Client. With this plug-in you can select one or more inventory objects and run or schedule an Orchestrator workflow with its input parameters being automatically pre-populated with the selected context objects.
You can define custom set of workflows which can be run on different inventory objects, depending on their type: virtual machines, clusters, datastores etc. With the plug-in you can also monitor the execution of a workflow, re-run a workflow, delete or cancel workflow executions, pause and resume scheduled workflows and answer or cancel workflows which expect user interaction.
The plug-in supports:
- vSphere v7 U1 or newer
- vRO VA 8.8.1 or newer
Code name for the plug-in is vCOIN
Configuration
The vRO Plugin for vSphere Client (vCOIN) comes with the vRO standalone distribution. By default it is not active. You need to explicitly activate it if its usage is required.
Prerequisite
The vRO must be configured with vSphere Authentication provider. The authentication provider must be from the same vSphere domain where you will use vRO Plugin for vSphere Client to add automation through vRO.
Activate vCOIN service
Once the vSphere authentication is successfully configured the vCOIN plugin service can be activated. This is achieved through vracli command line.
Establish SSH session to the vRO appliance and run following commands:
vracli capabilities vcoin --enable
Following successful activation the vRO services need to be redeployed:
/opt/scripts/deploy.sh
Manage vCOIN vSphere extension
Once the vCOIN service is successfully enabled it is possible to register it with vCenter instances. Depending on the vSphere domain there are different topology which can be configured using one or more vCOIN plugin instances and one or more vCenter servers. The following general restrictions are applicable in any configuration:
Only one vCOIN can be registered per vCenter Server.
In vSphere deployments with multiple vCenters (in Enhanced Linked Mode), you can register a single vCOIN plug-in with multiple vCenters (maximum one plug-in installation per vCenter), or you can register multiple vCOIN instances with multiple vCenter servers.
Registration of vCOIN plugin as vSphere extension
The registration of vCOIN extension is done through vracli command.
Establish SSH session to the vRO appliance and run following command:
vracli vro vcoin register --insecure -p password -u username -vcu https://vSphere_FQDN/sdk
You can also add the following optional parameters after the main command.
-pu https://vRO_FQDN/vcoin/plugin.json
-st vRO-server-certificate-thumbprint
If the --insecure parameter is not used, the vCenter certificate thumbprint must be passed with the -vct parameter.
Note: After the vCOIN plug-in extension is registered, verify that the plug-in is visible in the vSphere Client. You might have to refresh your browser. For troubleshooting information, see the VMware vSphere documentation.
Unregister of vCOIN plugin vSphere extension
When no longer the vCOIN extension is needed it can be unregistered.
Establish SSH session to the vRO appliance and run following command:
vracli vro vcoin unregister --insecure -p password -u username -vcu https://vSphere URL/sdk
Additionally you can pass the optional --force parameter. You can use the parameter when the vCenter server is unavailable.
Note: Failing to unregister the plug-in properly when re-configuring your environment might cause unexpected behavior if your vRO instance is registered with a different vCenter server.
Context Actions
You can add vRO workflows as context actions in the vSphere Client. With context actions, you can map a particular workflow to a specific vSphere item and run or schedule the workflow directly from the vSphere inventory.
Group Assignments
Administrators can use group assignments to assign context actions to specific vRO groups. Users in these groups can then use context actions in vSphere. Users can run only the workflows that are assigned to their group.
When a user logs into the vSphere Client, they have the same views and/or permissions in the vCOIN plug-in as in vRO. For example, if a user has the Viewer role in vRO, they can't run workflows in the vSphere Client.
To use group assignments, you must have at least one group defined in vRO. If you want to leverage specific user roles, such as Designer or Administrator, your vRO environment must use a vRealize Automation license.
Auto-filling of Context Action Workflows
To enable auto-filling for context action inputs, add the vCenter Server as an endpoint to the vSphere plug-in in vRO.
