Introduction to Motadata Plugin

What is a Plugin?

A plug-in is a piece of code that integrates with our main server to perform a specific function. In the context of our product, a plugin is nothing but a .fp bundle (i.e. Kind of app, zip).

What is a Plugin Server?

Plugin server is a server which hosts/runs plugins. It is like our main server with a specialized purpose of running plugins. The main server will call a plugin server to execute specific plugin and get the desired output.

Plugin Architecture

figure 1

Why use a Plugin Architecture?

Different users have different needs as customization is the reality of our market. It not possible to accommodate all different needs in the form of a product feature, which is why we have introduced the concept of plugin architecture.

Benefits of a Plugin Architecture

  • Gives the ability to add business specific functions to the ITSM tool; for example, a user might want to send a notification to his CRM when a ticket is created.
  • Provides a great deal of flexibility when it comes to customization without burdening the tool.
  • New functions can be added without changing the code base of the main product.

Some of the Types of Plugin We Support

  1. Notification Plugin

    1. Web Call to 3rd Party System (i.e. SMS Server, ERP System, NMS System etc.)
    2. Mobile Push Notification
    3. NMS

  2. Discovery Plugin

    1. Proprietary Device (i.e. For Testing, We’ll use SNMP with more custom Prop)

  3. Report Plugin (Stretch Goal)

    1. Complex Request Report Export
    2. Complex Asset Report Export
    3. Complex Widget

  4. Pull Plugin (i.e. Pull Data from Other System and Push to Motadata.)

    1. Pull Asset Data and Merge those data in our inventory.

  5. Any Other Plugin.

Plugin Deployment Workflow

When deploying a plugin the following steps need to be executed in the given below sequence:

  • Develop a {your-plugin-name} Plugin.
  • Build {your-plugin-name} Plugin (.fp file).
  • Deploy in Plugin Server.
  • Restart Plugin Server.
  • In Main-Server : Register Test Plugin.
  • In Main-Server : Configure Test Plugin.
  • In Main-Server: Define Mapping.
  • Execute Plugin by Test Execute Call or Workflow Action.