The vSphere SDK provides a set of APIs that you can use to create extensions for vCenter Server. The key SDK objects for extension development are ExtensionManager and Extension.
Use the ExtensionManager managed object in your vCenter Server instance to register a new extension. Extensions can add new objects to the vCenter inventory. Extensions define tasks, events, and faults that relate to actions that the solution performs on the objects, the events that occur in the extension, and the problems that the objects encounter. You can also use ExtensionManager to add user interface elements to the vSphere Web Client to allow users to interact with the objects that your extension provides to vCenter Server.
vCenter Solutions Manager adds data objects to the vSphere Extension APIs that integrate extensions as vCenter solutions that you can manage in Solutions Manager. Solutions Manager adds properties to the Extension object that obtains Solutions Manager integration information from the Solutions Manager data objects.
For information about how to develop vSphere Web Client extensions, see the VMware vSphere Web Client Extensions Programming Guide.
For information about developing vSphere applications, see the vSphere Web Services SDK Programming Guide and the VMware vSphere API Reference documentation.
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| A vSphere solution must register with vCenter Server as an extension. If you register a solution with vCenter Server, you can mark virtual machines as belonging to that solution, and integrate it with the Solutions Manager and ESX Agent Manager. |
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| You must provide information about an extension when you register it with vCenter Server. |