In version 8.3 vRealize Orchestrator has introduced a new set of capabilities around usability and security, here they are some of the highlights:
- Viewer role.
- References and usage of content items.
- Usability improvements.
- Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Support.
Let’s take a closer look:
- Viewer role.
This new role includes view-only access to all vRealize Orchestrator objects and pages. Viewers cannot create, edit, or run workflows and other vRealize Orchestrator objects, such as actions, configurations, resources, policies, and scheduled tasks. The Viewer role is supported for vRealize Orchestrator deployments authenticated with vRealize Automation.
When assigning Service Roles at the vRealize Automation 8.3‘s Identity & Access Management section, you will notice the newly introduced Orchestrator View Role for the Orchestrator Service:
Now, when logged in as a user which has been assigned the Orchestrator View Role, you will gain access to vRealize Orchestrator but be subjected to “view-only” objects, such as actions, configurations, resources, policies, and scheduled tasks. Essentially only the option “Open” is going to be available to you for most part:
Including the Scripting Editor
This Orchestrator View Role can be useful for auditing and/or giving access to Operations teams that can monitor the system and benefit from the Dashboards exposed by this role.
- References and usage of content items.
You can find object references and object usage in the vRealize Orchestrator Client. For more details about this feature check out the blog: vRealize Orchestrator (8.2+ Feature Set) Integration in vRealize Automation Cloud.
- Usability improvements.
You can now filter by Name, Type, and Description in the data grids of the Variables and Input/Output tabs. You can also sort for workflow parameters and variables.
Take this as an example, for the workflow “Create a Snapshot” I have the following Input/Output :
Now I can sort them out by Name:
then, let’s say I am interested only in boolean data types
All this is possible by simply clicking on the Name or Type Headers in the table and by selecting the Filter icon, then typing the data type name I want to filter with
The very same applies to the Workflow’s Variables tab making it easier to work with Variables and Input/Output especially in more complex and extensive Workflows.
- Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Support
vRealize Orchestrator now ships with cryptographic modules that have successfully passed NIST FIPS 140-2 Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) testing. When these modules are configured to run in ‘FIPS-mode’, they will cover all cryptographic operations in the product that perform a security function and/or process sensitive data.
NOTE: Users will be able to choose whether to be in FIPS-mode only during installation and before content in vRealize Orchestrator is generated. Also, FIPS mode will be available only for greenfield vRealize Orchestrator environments.
Conclusion:
vRealize Orchestrator new capabilities enhance the platform security and usability for providing extensibility, agility, and consistent remediation of issues.
Related Links:
- Announcing General Availability of VMware vRealize Automation 8.3
- What’s New with vRealize Automation 8.3 – Technical Overview
- Introducing VMware vRealize Automation 8.3 Standard Plus
- What’s New in vRealize Log Insight 8.3
- What’s New in vRealize Network Insight 6.1
- What’s New in vRealize Operations 8.3
