The default Data Service interface can access data from

vCenter Server

. The Data Service accesses various services on

vCenter Server

, including the Inventory and Property Collector services.

User interface components, such as Flex data views, act as Data Service clients. These clients retrieve information by creating Data Service queries. The Data Service processes each query and returns a set of result objects.

If your

vSphere Web Client

or

vSphere Client

extensions require data from a different source, either within

vCenter Server

or outside

vCenter Server

, you can extend the Data Service by creating a Data Service Adapter. A Data Service Adapter provides a way for you to use Data Service queries to retrieve a data from custom objects or to extend VMware managed objects.