You can use the Automation Orchestrator plug-in for vSphere Web Client (also known as the vCOIN plug-in) to perform operations on certain Automation Orchestrator content from your vSphere Client.

The content that the plug-in exposes in the vSphere Client includes workflows, workflow runs, scheduled workflows, and workflows waiting for input. In the vSphere Client, users can see workflow details, run or schedule workflows, and manage workflow runs.

Context Actions

You can add Automation Orchestrator workflows as context actions in the vSphere Web 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.

When you use the vCOIN plug-in for the first time, a configuration element is created in Automation Orchestrator. You must not change or edit the location and any configuration items in that location because they are managed by the vCOIN service.

Group Assignments

Administrators can use group assignments to assign context actions to specific Automation Orchestrator 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 Automation Orchestrator. For example, if a user has the Viewer role in Automation Orchestrator, they can't run workflows in the vSphere Client.

To use group assignments, you must have at least one group defined in Automation Orchestrator. If you want to leverage specific user roles, such as Designer or Administrator, your Automation Orchestrator environment must use a VMware Cloud Foundation license.

When you assign context actions to a group, all of the mapped workflows are added as group items in the assigned group, along with the configuration item.

Functional Requirements for the vCOIN Plug-In

The Automation Orchestrator plug-in for vSphere Web Client supports the following:
  • Standalone Automation Orchestrator environments only. The plug-in is not supported for instances of Automation Orchestrator that are embedded in VMware Aria Automation.
  • The vCOIN plug-in is available only with Automation Orchestrator. To upgrade the plug-in, you must upgrade Automation Orchestrator.
  • vSphere 7.0 U1 and later. Versions 7.0 and earlier are not supported.
  • Maximum 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 vCOINs with multiple vCenter servers.
  • Before you can use the plug-in, you must configure the plug-in by enabling the service on the Automation Orchestrator appliance. See Configure the vCOIN plug-in.