We have had automation for years in the ability to run batch files in MS-DOS, or a shell script in UNIX/Linux. Now however, we have the ability to go a stage further. We can now co-ordinate automation actions across different systems, which is what we call orchestration. We can now map business IT process to a orchestrated set of actions that co-ordinate activities across different systems.

In 2007 VMware acquired a company called Dunes who had a great process orchestration product VSO? There are a number of excellent orchestration engines available, Novell Platespin Orchestrator & Computer Associates IT Process Automation Manager are good examples.

VMware LifeCycle Manager was one of the first packaged products VMware released after the Dunes acquisition. The best description of LifeCycle Manager is that it is the vOrchestrator engine supplied with some pre-defined workflows that can be customised for your environment.

Deployment of a new server may not be simply an IT administrator choosing deploy VM from template, but rather a managed process that covers approval, capacity management, performance management as well as the actual actions, e.g. presenting storage or adding virtual hardware to a VM.

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