vmware_vmkernel – Manages a VMware VMkernel Adapter of an ESXi host

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
string
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
string / 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
string
The IP Address for the VMKernel interface.
Use network parameter with ip_address instead.
Deprecated option, will be removed in version 2.9.
mtu
integer
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
string / required
The name of the port group for the VMKernel interface.

aliases: portgroup
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.
state
string
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
string
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

Authors

  • Joseph Callen (@jcpowermac)
  • Russell Teague (@mtnbikenc)
  • Abhijeet Kasurde (@Akasurde)
  • Christian Kotte (@ckotte)

Hint

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