Global View
Extensions
In the
vSphere Client
,
you can create global view extensions to create custom solutions for the user
interface.
A global view extension can have
nearly any function, including aggregating data about different types of
vSphere objects onto a single screen, or displaying data from sources outside
the vSphere environment. A global view can be a simple single-level data view
that uses the entire
vSphere Client
main workspace, or a complex nested view with its own internal navigation
structure and organization. Creating a global view extension has a few
restrictions:
- Global views are displayed in thevSphere Clientmain workspace, but exist outside of the virtual infrastructure hierarchy. The user selects a global view directly, either through a pointer in the object navigator or a shortcut on thevSphere Clienthome screen.
- To create a global view extension, you must define the extension by using the XML elements in the plug-in module manifest file, and create the HTML code that appears in the main workspace.
Use Cases
You can use global view
extensions to create dashboard-style data views or console-style applications.
A dashboard aggregates data
from different sources in the vSphere environment together in one unified data
view. For example, you can create a dashboard that brings together status
information about vSphere objects from different vCenter Servers.
Console-style applications are
displayed in the
vSphere Client
main content area. For example, the
vSphere Client
Task Console and Event Console are console-style applications.
Creating Global View
Extensions
You create global view
extensions by using the
vise.global.views
extension point. To define a global
view extension, you need only the view name and the content URL.
Since there is no context
object for a global view extension, the global view document is opened with a
request that contains only the
locale
parameter.