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community.vmware.vmware_export_ovf module – Exports a VMware virtual machine to an OVF file, device files and a manifest file

Note

This module is part of the community.vmware collection (version 1.18.2).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install community.vmware.

To use it in a playbook, specify: community.vmware.vmware_export_ovf.

Synopsis

• This module can be used to export a VMware virtual machine to OVF template from vCenter server or ESXi host.

Requirements

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

• python >= 2.6

• PyVmomi

Parameters

Parameter	Comments
datacenter string	Datacenter name of the virtual machine to export. This parameter is case sensitive. Default: “ha-datacenter”
download_timeout integer	The user defined timeout in second of exporting file. If the vmdk file is too large, you can increase the value. Default: 30
export_dir path / required	Absolute path to place the exported files on the server running this task, must have write permission. If folder not exist will create it, also create a folder under this path named with VM name.
export_with_images boolean	Export an ISO image of the media mounted on the CD/DVD Drive within the virtual machine. Choices: no ← (default) yes
folder string	Destination folder, absolute path to find the specified guest. The folder should include the datacenter. ESX datacenter is ha-datacenter. This parameter is case sensitive. If multiple machines are found with same name, this parameter is used to identify 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 Ansible 2.6.
moid string	Managed Object ID of the instance to manage if known, this is a unique identifier only within a single vCenter instance. This is required if name or uuid is not supplied.
name string	Name of the virtual machine to export. This is a required parameter, if parameter uuid or moid is not supplied.
password aliases: pass, pwd 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.
port integer	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. Default: 443
proxy_host string	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	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.
username aliases: admin, user 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.
uuid string	Uuid of the virtual machine to export. This is a required parameter, if parameter name or moid is not supplied.
validate_certs boolean	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 true, please make sure Python >= 2.7.9 is installed on the given machine. Choices: no yes ← (default)

Notes

Note

• All modules requires API write access and hence is not supported on a free ESXi license.

Examples

- community.vmware.vmware_export_ovf:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ vcenter_username }}'
    password: '{{ vcenter_password }}'
    name: '{{ vm_name }}'
    export_with_images: true
    export_dir: /path/to/ovf_template/
  delegate_to: localhost

Return Values

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

Key	Description
instance dictionary	list of the exported files, if exported from vCenter server, device file is not named with vm name Returned: always Sample: “None”

Authors

• Diane Wang (@Tomorrow9)

Collection links

Issue Tracker Homepage Repository (Sources)