vmware_vmkernel – Manages a VMware VMkernel Adapter of an ESXi host¶

New in version 2.0.

Synopsis
Requirements
Parameters
Notes
Examples
Return Values
Status

Synopsis ¶

This module can be used to manage the VMKernel adapters / VMKernel network interfaces of an ESXi host.
The module assumes that the host is already configured with the Port Group in case of a vSphere Standard Switch (vSS).
The module assumes that the host is already configured with the Distributed Port Group in case of a vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS).
The module automatically migrates the VMKernel adapter from vSS to vDS or vice versa if present.

Requirements ¶

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

python >= 2.6
PyVmomi

Parameters ¶

Parameter	Choices/Defaults	Comments
device - added in 2.8		Search VMkernel adapter by device name. The parameter is required only in case of `type` is set to `dhcp`.
dvswitch_name string added in 2.8		The name of the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) where to add the VMKernel interface. Required parameter only if `state` is set to `present`. Optional parameter from version 2.8 and onwards. aliases: dvswitch
enable_ft boolean	Choices: no yes	Enable Fault Tolerance traffic on the VMKernel adapter. This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.
enable_mgmt boolean	Choices: no yes	Enable Management traffic on the VMKernel adapter. This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.
enable_provisioning boolean added in 2.8	Choices: no yes	Enable Provisioning traffic on the VMKernel adapter. This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.
enable_replication boolean added in 2.8	Choices: no yes	Enable vSphere Replication traffic on the VMKernel adapter. This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.
enable_replication_nfc boolean added in 2.8	Choices: no yes	Enable vSphere Replication NFC traffic on the VMKernel adapter. This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.
enable_vmotion boolean	Choices: no yes	Enable vMotion traffic on the VMKernel adapter. This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used. You cannot enable vMotion on an additional adapter if you already have an adapter with the vMotion TCP/IP stack configured.
enable_vsan boolean	Choices: no yes	Enable VSAN traffic on the VMKernel adapter. This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.
esxi_hostname - / required added in 2.5		Name of ESXi host to which VMKernel is to be managed. From version 2.5 onwards, this parameter is required.
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.
ip_address -		The IP Address for the VMKernel interface. Use `network` parameter with `ip_address` instead. Deprecated option, will be removed in version 2.9.
mtu -	Default: 1500	The MTU for the VMKernel interface. The default value of 1500 is valid from version 2.5 and onwards.
network dictionary added in 2.5	Default: {"tcpip_stack": "default", "type": "static"}	A dictionary of network details. The following parameter is required: - `type` (string): Type of IP assignment (either `dhcp` or `static`). The following parameters are required in case of `type` is set to `static`: - `ip_address` (string): Static IP address (implies `type: static`). - `subnet_mask` (string): Static netmask required for `ip_address`. The following parameter is optional in case of `type` is set to `static`: - `default_gateway` (string): Default gateway (Override default gateway for this adapter). The following parameter is optional: - `tcpip_stack` (string): The TCP/IP stack for the VMKernel interface. Can be default, provisioning, vmotion, or vxlan. (default: default)
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.
portgroup_name - / required		The name of the port group for the VMKernel interface. aliases: portgroup
state - added in 2.5	Choices: present ← absent	If set to `present`, the VMKernel adapter will be created with the given specifications. If set to `absent`, the VMKernel adapter will be removed. If set to `present` and VMKernel adapter exists, the configurations will be updated.
subnet_mask -		The Subnet Mask for the VMKernel interface. Use `network` parameter with `subnet_mask` instead. Deprecated option, will be removed in version 2.9.
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.
vswitch_name string		The name of the vSwitch where to add the VMKernel interface. Required parameter only if `state` is set to `present`. Optional parameter from version 2.5 and onwards. aliases: vswitch

Notes ¶

Note

The option device need to be used with DHCP because otherwise it’s not possible to check if a VMkernel device is already present
You can only change from DHCP to static, and vSS to vDS, or vice versa, in one step, without creating a new device, with device specified.
You can only create the VMKernel adapter on a vDS if authenticated to vCenter and not if authenticated to ESXi.
Tested on vSphere 5.5 and 6.5

Examples ¶

-  name: Add Management vmkernel port using static network type
   vmware_vmkernel:
      hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
      password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
      esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      vswitch_name: vSwitch0
      portgroup_name: PG_0001
      network:
        type: 'static'
        ip_address: 192.168.127.10
        subnet_mask: 255.255.255.0
      state: present
      enable_mgmt: True
   delegate_to: localhost

-  name: Add Management vmkernel port using DHCP network type
   vmware_vmkernel:
      hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
      password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
      esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      vswitch_name: vSwitch0
      portgroup_name: PG_0002
      state: present
      network:
        type: 'dhcp'
      enable_mgmt: True
   delegate_to: localhost

-  name: Change IP allocation from static to dhcp
   vmware_vmkernel:
      hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
      password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
      esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      vswitch_name: vSwitch0
      portgroup_name: PG_0002
      state: present
      device: vmk1
      network:
        type: 'dhcp'
      enable_mgmt: True
   delegate_to: localhost

-  name: Delete VMkernel port
   vmware_vmkernel:
      hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
      password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
      esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      vswitch_name: vSwitch0
      portgroup_name: PG_0002
      state: absent
   delegate_to: localhost

-  name: Add Management vmkernel port to Distributed Switch
   vmware_vmkernel:
      hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
      username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
      password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
      esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      dvswitch_name: dvSwitch1
      portgroup_name: dvPG_0001
      network:
        type: 'static'
        ip_address: 192.168.127.10
        subnet_mask: 255.255.255.0
      state: present
      enable_mgmt: True
   delegate_to: localhost

-  name: Add vMotion vmkernel port with vMotion TCP/IP stack
   vmware_vmkernel:
      hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
      username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
      password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
      esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
      dvswitch_name: dvSwitch1
      portgroup_name: dvPG_0001
      network:
        type: 'static'
        ip_address: 192.168.127.10
        subnet_mask: 255.255.255.0
        tcpip_stack: vmotion
      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 dictionary	always	metadata about VMKernel name Sample: {'changed': False, 'msg': 'VMkernel Adapter already configured properly', 'device': 'vmk1', 'ipv4': 'static', 'ipv4_gw': 'No override', 'ipv4_ip': '192.168.1.15', 'ipv4_sm': '255.255.255.0', 'mtu': 9000, 'services': 'vMotion', 'switch': 'vDS'}

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)
Abhijeet Kasurde (@Akasurde)
Christian Kotte (@ckotte)

Hint

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

vmware_vmkernel – Manages a VMware VMkernel Adapter of an ESXi host¶

Synopsis¶

Requirements¶

Parameters¶

Notes¶

Examples¶

Return Values¶

Status¶