Get Started!

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Use the Workflow Validation tool in vCO!

One of the first things I got teached during my studies was: Always deliver code that compiles with

0 Warnings, 0 Errors“!

We had to follow that principle while trying to let LEDs blink (I miss a vCO-Plugin for MPC555 :-D) , but I still remember my Prof.’s words when I develop workflows.

The vCenter Orchestrator provides a Workflow validation mechanism, which checks the workflow for

  • open ends
  • unreachable workflow elements
  • unused workflow Attributes
  • unbound IN- and OUT parameters of workflow elements
  • formal errors in scriptable tasks (JavaScript)
  • unbound Exceptions (if you use an Exception connector)
  • Unset parameters in Configuration Elements

You can run the validation by pressing the “Validate”-Button in the Workflow editor, or in the context menu of a workflow in the workflowlList.

The results of the validation is shown in a popup window. There are two kinds of validation issues:
Errors are hard formal violations which prevent the workflow from running sucessful.
Warnings are “soft” violations: Your workflow can be started, but it likely has some bugs.

For some of the validation results “Quick Fix actions” are recommended. They might fix the issue, but do not trust them blindly!

When you ran the validation at least once, errors and warnings are also shown as small red or yellow symbols directly at the related workflow element in the schema. This is very helpful for larger workflows!

By default a workflow is also validated before you start it (only when you try to start the workflow in the vCO Client, not via weboperator nor the SOAP API!). If your workflow has an error (warnings don’t matter), you cannot start the workflow, and you’ll get this error message:

You can change this behavior in the menue “Tools / User Preferences… ” of the vCO client, there in the “Workflows”-section (the checkbox is labeled with “Validate workflow before running it”). I recommend to only do this in your development environment, when you want to start workflows with errors (e.g. while they’re not developed completely yet)!

Also be aware:
The Workflow Validation only can check for formal errors. Semantic errors in your workflow and its JavaScript parts can not be detected by the validation.
A valid workflow is not necessarily error-free!

In very rare caes you also might get some false positives in the validation results. The only situation I remember is, when you need a workflow attribute only for input presentation processing, but not in the workflow: You’ll get a “Attribute XYZ is never used!” warning (, and the quick-fix would delete it and break the processing of input presentation!).

In sum: Always end up with a workflow that shows “0 Warnings, 0 Errors“! :mrgreen:

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Recommended Reading: Eloquent JavaScript

or: How to learn JavaScript as Workflow Developer?

When you’re new to vCenter Orchestrator, chances are that you are new to JavaScript as well. Usually not that big problem, JavaScript (at least the level you need for Actions and Scripting Elements in vCO) is quite easy to learn.

There are a lot of books about JavaScript out there. Unfortunately, most of them focus on JavaScript as language for the web, so there is a lot of web-related stuff inside, which is not necessary and very distracting for vCO Workflow Developers.

The book

One rare exception is “Eloquent JavaScript” by Marjin Haverbeke. This book really focuses on JavaScript itself and teaches the language together with an introduction in Programming in general. So you do not need any prior knowledge, neither about JavaScript nor about Programming. This makes it a perfect fit for the most new Workflow developer!

In addition to the good content, the book is written and edited very well (in fact, it’s one of the best programming books I’ve ever read (and these are some :-D)). All topics, basics like datastructures and advanced topics like the introduction in object-oriented programming, are explained along small, good and funny source-code examples in JavaScript. So you really enjoy reading while you learn programming in general and JavaScript in special!

And, that’s by far not all:

The online “lab”

Besides the hard-copy there is a free digital version of the book, available online or as downloadable .zip-archive!

On http://eloquentjavascript.net/ you can find the download links, the (very rare) errata and an online JavaScript Programming Console, where you can run and modify the examples directly in your browser:

Eloquent JavaScript Online Environment

Get Started!

This combination, written book and the online “lab environment”, really allows to learn that level of JavaScript you need for Orchestrator Workflows in a very quick way!
(And you might even use the online environment to test/”dry-run” some of your vCO Scripting Element, like confirming the semantics of a loop or some String handling (only without vCO/vSphere related objects of course))

Find more details about the book on the publisher’s homepage and on Amazon:

There is only one drawback: The fluent style of the book makes it not that useful as a reference. So if your already can programming JavaScript and you look for a reference to quickly remember how to concatenate arrays, other books like The old Rhinocerus might fit better.

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VMwareTV: Getting Started with Workflow Development

The Orchestrator Developer Team at VMware created a great series of video tutorials on youtube how to “Develop your first workflow” with vCenter Orchestrator:

Find more links on the Resources Page

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Get trained on vCO: Class Schedule for the “vCenter Orchestrator – Develop Workflows” Training

VMware provides an official instructor-led training to get you started with Workflow development for the Orchestrator (see more details here…). Finally there are some classes scheduled now. If you want to enroll, register via VMware’s mylearn-portal, or a VATC (VMware Authorized Training Center) in your area.

If you have demand for a course geographically closer to you, or if you want some customized training, feel free to contact me!

Always make sure that you see the current schedule from the source on http://mylearn.vmware.com/portals/www/search/results.cfm?ui=www_edu&menu=search-results&searchtype=simple&category=schedule&id_subject=24347&deliveryType=1&filters=deliveryType

See you soon 😎 !

Class Schedule for: VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]

Results 1 – 10 of 10
1. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

28 Nov – 30 Nov

Register Now
09:00 AM (UTC)
Classroom
Frimley Camberley, United Kingdom
VMware Training
2. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

05 Dec – 07 Dec

Register Now
09:30 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Language: Deutsch (German)
München, Germany
Tech Data Azlan – GY
3. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

25 Jan – 27 Jan

Register Now
09:00 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Paris, France
VMware Training
4. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

06 Feb

Register Now
09:30 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Language: Deutsch (German)
Hamburg, Germany
Tech Data Azlan – GY
5. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

29 Feb – 02 Mar

Register Now
09:00 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Johannesburg, South Africa
VMware Training
6. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

12 Mar – 14 Mar

Register Now
09:30 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Language: Deutsch (German)
München, Germany
Tech Data Azlan – GY
7. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

19 Mar – 21 Mar

Register Now
09:00 AM (ECT)
Classroom
PN Vianen (Utrecht), The Netherlands
VMware Training
8. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

02 May – 04 May

Register Now
09:30 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Language: Deutsch (German)
Leipzig, Germany
Tech Data Azlan – GY
9. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

02 May – 04 May

Register Now
09:30 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Language: Deutsch (German)
Hannover, Germany
Tech Data Azlan – GY
10. VMware vCenter Orchestrator: Develop Workflows [V4.1]
Products: VMware vCenter Orchestrator, VMware vSphere

04 Jun – 06 Jun

Register Now
09:30 AM (ECT)
Classroom
Language: Deutsch (German)
München, Germany
Tech Data Azlan – GY
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Orchestrator Workflow Development Best Practices @vmworld2011

See our presentation at VMworld 2011 in Las Vegas about Workflow Development Best Practices…:

Link: http://portal.sliderocket.com/vcoportal/WorkflowDevelopment

Download the Audio-Recording: tex2923.mp3 (ca. 24 MB)