Does Opalis have an Integration Pack for __________?

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<edited on 05/23/2013 to reflect new naming>

No video today. But I do have some important content to share.

As Orchestrator becomes more and more popular, one thing is for sure, people are going to start thinking of new use cases and new integration targets. Another “for sure” thing will be the emergence of the question, “Does Orchestrator have an Integration Pack for __________? ”, where you can fill in the blank with whatever product that may exist out there.

First and foremost, I am glad to see that the footprint for Orchestrator is growing so fast. It is an exciting time! :)

Because this question continues to come up, let me level-set, at least for now.

Current list of Integration Packs: Integration Packs for System Center 2012 - Orchestrator

Just because a product is not on this list, does not mean that Orchestrator cannot Integrate, Automate or Orchestrate to that product.

In many cases, Orchestrator can integrate to just about any product (including the ones on the list) WITHOUT an Integration Pack. Instead, Orchestrator would utilize one of its various “Extensibility” objects. These objects all exist within the base offering for Opalis, also known as, the Foundation Objects. Some great examples of “Extensibility Foundation Objects” are:

  • Run Program
  • Query Database
  • Run SSH Command
  • Query WMI
  • Invoke Web Services
  • Run .Net Script
  • Get/Monitor/Create SNMP Trap

Each of these can be used to GENERICALLY connect to a system. Once connected, different actions can be taken, depending on the integration surface you are connecting to and the method in which you are connecting.

If these objects cannot satisfy the requirements of the integration, Orchestrator ships with a fully functional and very powerful SDK. This portion of the product is called the “Quick Integration Kit” or “QIK” (now "Orchestrator Integration Toolkit" or "OIT". With this SDK, you can BUILD YOUR OWN Integration Pack Objects and Integration Packs.

For more information on the usage of many of the “Extensibility” items I listed above, as well as QIK, please refer to the following links:

enJOY!