Overview

Plugins are the way you can enhance the functionality of RapidDeploy by simply installing a zip file in the plugin directory or for older version a jar file in lib directory under $MV_HOME. RapidDeploy, out of the box, is shipped with a number of plugins for open source tools and products.

A plugin file may contain a number of features for different APIs in RapidDeploy. For example the WebSphere 7 plugin contains functionality for running WebSphere tasks on WebSphere targets (such as installing applications, configuration etc), for taking snapshots of WebSphere cells via Jmx, for controlling (stop/start/restart) WebSphere application servers. Plugins data can also be created/updated/deleted via UI, Command line or Web Services.

Installing plugins

Plugins can be downloaded and installed into RapidDeploy via the Plugin Manager (System menu -> Plugin Manager). Plugin zip files may be downloaded and installed automatically from the MidVision download site, or uploaded from the users desktop. Plugins are installed into various locations under the Midvision install directory ($MV_HOME).

Plugins fall into a number of categories, as detailed in the links.

Interacting with plugins

Once installed, a plugin may become visible on a number of screens in RapidDeploy. They may also include templates that can be selected from the project new target panel.

Migration to new framework version/Updating plugin versions

In order to update all your plugin configuration data from a previous version to a later version, navigate to System menu -> Plugin Manager. You can call the update operations from here using the Update Plugin Data button (spanner icon).

You can also update plugins for the Server, Library or Project objects on their respective list pages (spanner icon in the top right of the list view).