vmware_vm_shell – Run commands in a VMware guest operating system

New in version 2.1.

Synopsis

  • Module allows user to run common system administration commands in the guest operating system.

Requirements

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

  • python >= 2.6
  • PyVmomi

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
cluster
-
The cluster hosting the virtual machine.
If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search.
datacenter
-
The datacenter hosting the virtual machine.
If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search.
folder
-
added in 2.4
Destination folder, absolute or relative path to find an existing guest or create the new guest.
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
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.
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.
timeout
-
added in 2.7
 Default:
3600
Timeout in seconds.
If set to positive integers, then wait_for_process will honor this parameter and will exit after this timeout.
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
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.
vm_id
- / required
Name of the virtual machine to work with.
vm_id_type
-
    Choices:
  • uuid
  • dns_name
  • inventory_path
  • vm_name ←
The VMware identification method by which the virtual machine will be identified.
vm_password
- / required
The password used to login-in to the virtual machine.
vm_shell
- / required
The absolute path to the program to start.
On Linux, shell is executed via bash.
vm_shell_args
-
Default:
" "
The argument to the program.
The characters which must be escaped to the shell also be escaped on the command line provided.
vm_shell_cwd
-
The current working directory of the application from which it will be run.
vm_shell_env
-
Comma separated list of environment variable, specified in the guest OS notation.
vm_username
- / required
The user to login-in to the virtual machine.
wait_for_process
boolean
added in 2.7
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
If set to True, module will wait for process to complete in the given virtual machine.

Notes

Note

  • Tested on vSphere 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5.
  • Only the first match against vm_id is used, even if there are multiple matches.

Examples

- name: Run command inside a virtual machine
  vmware_vm_shell:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
    folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
    vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
    vm_username: root
    vm_password: superSecret
    vm_shell: /bin/echo
    vm_shell_args: " $var >> myFile "
    vm_shell_env:
      - "PATH=/bin"
      - "VAR=test"
    vm_shell_cwd: "/tmp"
  delegate_to: localhost
  register: shell_command_output

- name: Run command inside a virtual machine with wait and timeout
  vmware_vm_shell:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
    folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
    vm_id: NameOfVM
    vm_username: root
    vm_password: superSecret
    vm_shell: /bin/sleep
    vm_shell_args: 100
    wait_for_process: True
    timeout: 2000
  delegate_to: localhost
  register: shell_command_with_wait_timeout

- name: Change user password in the guest machine
  vmware_vm_shell:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
    folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
    vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
    vm_username: sample
    vm_password: old_password
    vm_shell: "/bin/echo"
    vm_shell_args: "-e 'old_password\nnew_password\nnew_password' | passwd sample > /tmp/$$.txt 2>&1"
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Change hostname of guest machine
  vmware_vm_shell:
    hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
    username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
    password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
    validate_certs: no
    datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
    folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
    vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
    vm_username: testUser
    vm_password: SuperSecretPassword
    vm_shell: "/usr/bin/hostnamectl"
    vm_shell_args: "set-hostname new_hostname > /tmp/$$.txt 2>&1"
  delegate_to: localhost

Return Values

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

Key Returned Description
results
dictionary
 on success
metadata about the new process after completion with wait_for_process

Sample:
{'cmd_line': '"/bin/sleep" 1', 'end_time': '2018-04-26T05:03:21+00:00', 'exit_code': 0, 'name': 'sleep', 'owner': 'dev1', 'start_time': '2018-04-26T05:03:19+00:00', 'uuid': '564db1e2-a3ff-3b0e-8b77-49c25570bb66'}


Status

Authors

  • Ritesh Khadgaray (@ritzk)
  • Abhijeet Kasurde (@Akasurde)

Hint

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