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

New in version 2.0.

Synopsis
Requirements
Parameters
Notes
Examples
Return Values
Status

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.
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 ¶

This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

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.

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

Synopsis¶

Requirements¶

Parameters¶

Notes¶

Examples¶

Return Values¶

Status¶