Additional Resources¶

In addition to supplemental packs, a variety of mechanisms are available for partners to interface with XenServer, and add value to the user experience. This chapter overviews the mechanisms, and provides web links to further information.

If pack authors have any questions concerning what should (or should not) be included in a pack, or how a particular customization goal might be achieved, they are encouraged to contact their Citrix technical account manager.

Xen API plug-ins¶

Whilst the Xen API provides a wide variety of calls to interface with XenServer, partners have the opportunity to add to the API by means of XAPI plug-ins. These consist of Python scripts that are installed as part of supplemental packs, that can be run by using the host.call_plugin XAPI call. These plug-ins can perform arbitrary operations, including running commands in dom0, and making further XAPI calls, using the XAPI Python language bindings.

For examples of how XAPI plug-ins can be used, please see the example plug-ins in the /etc/xapi.d/plugins/ directory of a standard XenServer installation.

XenCenter plug-ins¶

XenCenter plug-ins provides the facility for partners to add new menus and tabs to the XenCenter administration GUI. In particular, new tabs can have an embedded web browser, meaning that existing web-based management interfaces can easily be displayed. When combined with Xen API plug-ins to drive new menu items, this feature can be used by partners to integrate features from their supplemental packs into one centralized management interface for XenServer.

For further information, please see http://community.citrix.com/display/xs/XenCenter+Plugins.

XenServer SDK¶

The XenServer SDK VM is a virtual machine appliance, ready to be imported into a XenServer host. It contains the complete set of XenServer SDKs, plus a complete Linux-based development environment. Language bindings are available for C, C#, Python, and Java, and a Windows PowerShell snap-in is also available. The SDK VM allows partners to easily develop solutions that utilize the rich API exposed by all XenServer hosts. The SDK VM is intended only as a convenient development environment: for an application developed against the appropriate language bindings to be distributed, only the relevant bindings are required (not the entire SDK VM).

For further information, please see http://community.citrix.com/display/xs/Download+SDKs.