vmware_host - Add / Remove ESXi host to / from vCenter

New in version 2.0.

Synopsis

Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

  • python >= 2.6
  • PyVmomi

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
add_connected
bool

(added in 2.6)
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
If set to True, then the host should be connected as soon as it is added.
This parameter is ignored if state is set to a value other than present.
cluster_name
Name of the cluster to add the host.
If folder is not set, then this parameter is required.
Aliases added in version 2.6.

aliases: cluster
datacenter_name
required
Name of the datacenter to add the host.
Aliases added in version 2.6.

aliases: datacenter
esxi_hostname
required
ESXi hostname to manage.
esxi_password
ESXi password.
Required for adding a host.
Optional for reconnect.
Unused for removing.
No longer a required parameter from version 2.5.
esxi_ssl_thumbprint
(added in 2.5)
Default:
Specifying the hostsystem certificate's thumbprint.
Use following command to get hostsystem certificate's thumbprint -
# openssl x509 -in /etc/vmware/ssl/rui.crt -fingerprint -sha1 -noout
esxi_username
ESXi username.
Required for adding a host.
Optional for reconnect.
Unused for removing.
No longer a required parameter from version 2.5.
folder
(added in 2.6)
Name of the folder under which host to add.
If cluster_name is not set, then this parameter is required.
For example, if there is a datacenter 'dc1' under folder called 'Site1' then, this value will be '/Site1/dc1/host'.
Here 'host' is an invisible folder under VMware Web Client.
Another example, if there is a nested folder structure like '/myhosts/india/pune' under datacenter 'dc2', then folder value will be '/dc2/host/myhosts/india/pune'.
Other Examples:
- '/Site2/dc2/Asia-Cluster/host'
- '/dc3/Asia-Cluster/host'
hostname
str
The hostname or IP address of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_HOST will be used instead.
Environment variable supported added in version 2.6.
password
str
The password of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_PASSWORD will be used instead.
Environment variable supported added in version 2.6.

aliases: pass, pwd
port
int

(added in 2.5)
Default:
443
The port number of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_PORT will be used instead.
Environment variable supported added in version 2.6.
state
    Choices:
  • present ←
  • absent
  • add_or_reconnect
  • reconnect
If set to present, then add the host if host is absent.
If set to present, then do nothing if host already exists.
If set to absent, then remove the host if host is present.
If set to absent, then do nothing if host already does not exists.
If set to add_or_reconnect, then add the host if it's absent else reconnect it.
If set to reconnect, then reconnect the host if it's present else fail.
username
str
The username of the vSphere vCenter or ESXi server.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_USER will be used instead.
Environment variable supported added in version 2.6.

aliases: admin, user
validate_certs
bool
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
Allows connection when SSL certificates are not valid. Set to false when certificates are not trusted.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_VALIDATE_CERTS will be used instead.
Environment variable supported added in version 2.6.
If set to yes, please make sure Python >= 2.7.9 is installed on the given machine.

Notes

Note

  • Tested on vSphere 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5

Examples

- name: Add ESXi Host to vCenter
  vmware_host:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
    password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
    datacenter_name: datacenter_name
    cluster_name: cluster_name
    esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
    esxi_username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
    esxi_password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
    state: present
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add ESXi Host to vCenter under a specific folder
  vmware_host:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
    password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
    datacenter_name: datacenter_name
    folder: '/Site2/Asia-Cluster/host'
    esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
    esxi_username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
    esxi_password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
    state: present
    add_connected: True
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Reconnect ESXi Host (with username/password set)
  vmware_host:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
    password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
    datacenter_name: datacenter_name
    cluster_name: cluster_name
    esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
    esxi_username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
    esxi_password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
    state: reconnect
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Reconnect ESXi Host (with default username/password)
  vmware_host:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
    password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
    datacenter_name: datacenter_name
    cluster_name: cluster_name
    esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
    state: reconnect
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Add ESXi Host with SSL Thumbprint to vCenter
  vmware_host:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
    password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
    datacenter_name: datacenter_name
    cluster_name: cluster_name
    esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
    esxi_username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
    esxi_password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
    esxi_ssl_thumbprint: "3C:A5:60:6F:7A:B7:C4:6C:48:28:3D:2F:A5:EC:A3:58:13:88:F6:DD"
    state: present
  delegate_to: localhost

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key Returned Description
result
str
on successful addition
metadata about the new host system added

Sample:
'vim.ComputeResource:domain-s222'


Status

This module is flagged as preview which means that it is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface.

Maintenance

This module is flagged as community which means that it is maintained by the Ansible Community. See Module Maintenance & Support for more info.

For a list of other modules that are also maintained by the Ansible Community, see here.

Author

  • Joseph Callen (@jcpowermac)
  • Russell Teague (@mtnbikenc)
  • Maxime de Roucy (@tchernomax)

Hint

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