vmware_guest_snapshot – Manages virtual machines snapshots in vCenter

New in version 2.3.

Synopsis

  • This module can be used to create, delete and update snapshot(s) of the given virtual machine.
  • All parameters and VMware object names are case sensitive.

Requirements

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

  • python >= 2.6
  • PyVmomi

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
datacenter
- / required
Destination datacenter for the deploy operation.
description
-
Default:
""
Define an arbitrary description to attach to snapshot.
folder
-
Destination folder, absolute or relative path to find an existing guest.
This is required parameter, if name is supplied.
The folder should include the datacenter. ESX's datacenter is ha-datacenter.
Examples:
folder: /ha-datacenter/vm
folder: ha-datacenter/vm
folder: /datacenter1/vm
folder: datacenter1/vm
folder: /datacenter1/vm/folder1
folder: datacenter1/vm/folder1
folder: /folder1/datacenter1/vm
folder: folder1/datacenter1/vm
folder: /folder1/datacenter1/vm/folder2
folder: vm/folder2
folder: folder2
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 version 2.6.
memory_dump
boolean
added in 2.4
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to true, memory dump of virtual machine is also included in snapshot.
Note that memory snapshots take time and resources, this will take longer time to create.
If virtual machine does not provide capability to take memory snapshot, then this flag is set to false.
name
-
Name of the virtual machine to work with.
This is required parameter, if uuid is not supplied.
name_match
-
    Choices:
  • first ←
  • last
If multiple VMs matching the name, use the first or last found.
new_description
-
added in 2.5
Value to change the description of an existing snapshot to.
new_snapshot_name
-
added in 2.5
Value to rename the existing snapshot to.
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 version 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 version 2.6.
quiesce
boolean
added in 2.4
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to true and virtual machine is powered on, it will quiesce the file system in virtual machine.
Note that VMWare Tools are required for this flag.
If virtual machine is powered off or VMware Tools are not available, then this flag is set to false.
If virtual machine does not provide capability to take quiesce snapshot, then this flag is set to false.
remove_children
boolean
added in 2.4
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to true and state is set to absent, then entire snapshot subtree is set for removal.
snapshot_name
-
Sets the snapshot name to manage.
This param is required only if state is not remove_all
state
- / required
    Choices:
  • present ←
  • absent
  • revert
  • remove_all
Manage snapshot(s) attached to a specific virtual machine.
If set to present and snapshot absent, then will create a new snapshot with the given name.
If set to present and snapshot present, then no changes are made.
If set to absent and snapshot present, then snapshot with the given name is removed.
If set to absent and snapshot absent, then no changes are made.
If set to revert and snapshot present, then virtual machine state is reverted to the given snapshot.
If set to revert and snapshot absent, then no changes are made.
If set to remove_all and snapshot(s) present, then all snapshot(s) will be removed.
If set to remove_all and snapshot(s) absent, then no changes are made.
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 version 2.6.

aliases: admin, user
uuid
-
UUID of the instance to manage if known, this is VMware's unique identifier.
This is required parameter, if name is not supplied.
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 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: Create a snapshot
  vmware_guest_snapshot:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
    folder: /"{{ datacenter_name }}"/vm/
    name: "{{ guest_name }}"
    state: present
    snapshot_name: snap1
    description: snap1_description
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Remove a snapshot
  vmware_guest_snapshot:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
    folder: /"{{ datacenter_name }}"/vm/
    name: "{{ guest_name }}"
    state: absent
    snapshot_name: snap1
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Revert to a snapshot
  vmware_guest_snapshot:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
    folder: /"{{ datacenter_name }}"/vm/
    name: "{{ guest_name }}"
    state: revert
    snapshot_name: snap1
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Remove all snapshots of a VM
  vmware_guest_snapshot:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
    folder: /"{{ datacenter_name }}"/vm/
    name: "{{ guest_name }}"
    state: remove_all
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Take snapshot of a VM using quiesce and memory flag on
  vmware_guest_snapshot:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
    folder: /"{{ datacenter_name }}"/vm/
    name: "{{ guest_name }}"
    state: present
    snapshot_name: dummy_vm_snap_0001
    quiesce: yes
    memory_dump: yes
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Remove a snapshot and snapshot subtree
  vmware_guest_snapshot:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
    folder: /"{{ datacenter_name }}"/vm/
    name: "{{ guest_name }}"
    state: absent
    remove_children: yes
    snapshot_name: snap1
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Rename a snapshot
  vmware_guest_snapshot:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter_name }}"
    folder: /"{{ datacenter_name }}"/vm/
    name: "{{ guest_name }}"
    state: present
    snapshot_name: current_snap_name
    new_snapshot_name: im_renamed
    new_description: "{{ new_snapshot_description }}"
  delegate_to: localhost

Return Values

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

Key Returned Description
instance
dictionary
 always
metadata about the new virtual machine snapshot

Sample:
None


Status

Authors

Hint

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