You use a Web browser to communicate with the VMware Aria Operations analytics engine, either through the product user interface or through API calls.
The adapter instance collects data from objects in your monitored environment. The VMware Aria Operations analytics engine processes the data and displays the complete model in the graphical interface.
Why Use the API
The API is most useful when there is a need to automate a well-defined workflow, such as repeating the same tasks to configure access control for new VMware Aria Operations users. The API is also useful when performing queries on the VMware Aria Operations data repository, such as retrieving data for particular assets in your virtual environment. In addition, you can use the API to extract all data from the VMware Aria Operations data repository and load it into a separate analytics system.
VMware Aria Operations Terminology
The XML syntax you use to describe the objects for an adapter corresponds to the API code syntax but differs from what you find in the user interface. The following terms appear in the user interface. Included with the description of each term is the corresponding XML syntax used in an API call.
| Adapter types | Defines the adapter used to discover particular object types. For example, the vCenter adapter discovers objects connected to vSphere datacenters. The AWS adapter discovers AWS services and objects. XML syntax: adapterkinds. |
| Object types | The class of entities that represent objects or information sources. Objects report data to the VMware Aria Operations analytics engine. Virtual machines, datastores, and host systems are examples of object types defined in a vCenter adapter model. XML syntax: resourcekinds. |
