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vmware_host – Add, remove, or move an ESXi host to, from, or within vCenter

Synopsis

  • This module can be used to add, reconnect, or remove an ESXi host to or from vCenter.
  • This module can also be used to move an ESXi host to a cluster or folder, or vice versa, within the same datacenter.

Requirements

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

  • python >= 2.6
  • PyVmomi
  • ssl
  • socket
  • hashlib

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
add_connected
boolean
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
string
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
string / required
Name of the datacenter to add the host.
Aliases added in version 2.6.

aliases: datacenter
esxi_hostname
string / required
ESXi hostname to manage.
esxi_password
string
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
string
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
Only used if fetch_thumbprint isn't set to true.

aliases: ssl_thumbprint
esxi_username
string
ESXi username.
Required for adding a host.
Optional for reconnect. If both esxi_username and esxi_password are used
Unused for removing.
No longer a required parameter from version 2.5.
fetch_ssl_thumbprint
boolean
added in 2.8
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
Fetch the thumbprint of the host's SSL certificate.
This basically disables the host certificate verification (check if it was signed by a recognized CA).
Disable this option if you want to allow only hosts with valid certificates to be added to vCenter.
If this option is set to false and the certificate can't be verified, an add or reconnect will fail.
Unused when esxi_ssl_thumbprint is set.
Optional for reconnect, but only used if esxi_username and esxi_password are used.
Unused for removing.
folder
string
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'

aliases: folder_name
force_connection
boolean
added in 2.8
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
Force the connection if the host is already being managed by another vCenter server.
hostname
string
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 support added in Ansible 2.6.
password
string
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 support added in Ansible 2.6.

aliases: pass, pwd
port
integer
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 support added in Ansible 2.6.
proxy_host
string
added in 2.9
Address of a proxy that will receive all HTTPS requests and relay them.
The format is a hostname or a IP.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_PROXY_HOST will be used instead.
This feature depends on a version of pyvmomi greater than v6.7.1.2018.12
proxy_port
integer
added in 2.9
Port of the HTTP proxy that will receive all HTTPS requests and relay them.
If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_PROXY_PORT will be used instead.
reconnect_disconnected
boolean
added in 2.8
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
Reconnect disconnected hosts.
This is only used if state is set to present and if the host already exists.
state
string
    Choices:
  • present ←
  • absent
  • add_or_reconnect
  • reconnect
If set to present, add the host if host is absent.
If set to present, update the location of the host if host already exists.
If set to absent, remove the host if host is present.
If set to absent, do nothing if host already does not exists.
If set to add_or_reconnect, add the host if it's absent else reconnect it and update the location.
If set to reconnect, then reconnect the host if it's present and update the location.
username
string
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 support added in Ansible 2.6.

aliases: admin, user
validate_certs
boolean
    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 support added in Ansible 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, 6.5 and 6.7

Examples

- name: Add ESXi Host to vCenter
  vmware_host:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
    password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
    datacenter: datacenter_name
    cluster: 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: 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: datacenter_name
    cluster: 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: datacenter_name
    cluster: 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: datacenter_name
    cluster: 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
string
on successful addition
metadata about the new host system added

Sample:
Host already connected to vCenter 'vcenter01' in cluster 'cluster01'


Status

Authors

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

Hint

If you notice any issues in this documentation, you can edit this document to improve it.

© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2019 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.9/modules/vmware_host_module.html