Plug-ins allow you to use Orchestrator to access and control external technologies and applications. Exposing an external technology in an Orchestrator plug-in allows you to incorporate objects and functions in workflows that access the objects and functions of that external technology.

The external technologies that you can access by using plug-ins can include virtualization management tools, email systems, databases, directory services, and remote control interfaces.

Orchestrator provides a set of standard plug-ins that you can use to incorporate into workflows such technologies as the VMware vCenter Server API and email capabilities. In addition, you can use the Orchestrator open plug-in architecture to develop plug-ins to access other applications.

The Orchestrator plug-ins that VMware develops are distributed as .vmoapp files, which you can obtain from the VMware Web site at http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vcenter-orchestrator/plugins.html. For more information about the Orchestrator plug-ins that VMware develops and distributes, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vco_plugins_pubs.html.