---
title: "Using Extensible Attributes in VMware Aria Automation Provider for NIOS DDI"
canonical: "https://docs.infoblox.com/space/ipamvmware8x/399704133/Using%20Extensible%20Attributes%20in%20VMware%20Aria%20Automation%20Provider%20for%20NIOS%20DDI"
format: markdown
---
VMware Aria Automation Provider for NIOS DDI uses extensible attributes to tag in NIOS the objects such as host records, fixed addresses, and networks that belong to the VMware platform. They are manually created by admins in NIOS Grid Manager. Each attribute tracks specific information about the object. It allows the plug-in to locate and track objects related to VMware Aria Automation Provider in NIOS and synchronize the data with VMware Aria Automation.

You can use extensible attributes for searching and filtering data or grouping objects in NIOS. 

> ⚠️ **Note**
> ⚠️ 
> ⚠️ Create the required extensible attributes in NIOS before integrating VMware Aria Automation Assembler with VMware Aria Automation Provider for NIOS DDI to ensure workflows execute successfully.
> ⚠️ 
> ⚠️ For more information, see *About Extensible Attributes* in the *[Infoblox NIOS Documentation](https://docs.infoblox.com/space/NIOS/35400616/NIOS)*. For integration steps, see *[Installing VMware Aria Automation Provider for NIOS DDI](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ipamvmware8x/pages/52593807)*.

Create the following extensible attributes in NIOS:

| **Extensible Attribute** | **Type** |
| --- | --- |
| VMware resource ID | String |
| VMware NIC index | Integer |
| VMware On-Demand Network | String |

If the connection type used is Cloud API, ensure that the following set of Cloud extensible attributes have been automatically created in NIOS:

| **Extensible Attribute** | **Type** |
| --- | --- |
| Tenant ID | String |
| VM ID | String |
| VM Name | String |

These attributes become visible only when the Cloud Network Automation license is applied.

> ⚠️ **Note**
> ⚠️ 
> ⚠️ - The cloud extensible attributes are not required for the WAPI connection type that is used by default.
> ⚠️ - If you upgraded VMware Aria Automation from version 7.x to 8.8.2, the new VMs that you deploy will be assigned a new Tenant ID in NIOS.