Extending the Java
Service Layer
You can add new
Java services to the service layer. The Java services you add can perform any
of the functions of a typical Java Web service.
The Java services you add to
the Java service layer are used to retrieve data from the vSphere environment
and display the data in the user interface layer, or to make changes to the
vSphere environment in response to actions in the user interface layer.
Getting Data from the
vSphere Environment
Service plug-in modules that
gather data from the vSphere environment usually extend the native services on
the
and the
vSphere Web Client
application servers, such as the Data Service. You can
create standalone custom Java services for data gathering, but a best practice
is to extend the built-in services in the
vSphere Web Client
SDK. Extensions to the built-in services in the
vSphere Web Client
SDK are often simple wrappers around existing Java
services that you create.
In general, you must extend
the Data Service if your extension solution meets any of the following
criteria.
- Your extension provides new data about existing vSphere objects. If your extension provides a GUI element to display data that the or thevSphere Web Clientservices do not already provide, you must extend the Data Service to provide such data.
- You want to add a new type of object to the vSphere environment. If you are adding a new type of object to the vSphere environment, you can extend the Data Service to provide data for objects of the new type.
The service extensions you
create can access data from any source, either inside or outside of the vSphere
environment. For example, you can create an extension to the Data Service that
retrieves data from an external Web server, rather than from
vCenter Server
.
Making Changes to the
vSphere Environment
Service plug-in modules that
make changes to the vSphere environment are standalone Java services that you
create. These services are used when the user starts an action in the
or the
vSphere Web Client
user interfaces. If you create an action extension, you
must also create the Java service that performs the action operation on the
vSphere environment as a service plug-in module.