vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_guest_customization module – Applies a customization specification on the virtual machine

Note

This module is part of the vmware.vmware_rest collection (version 4.2.0).

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 vmware.vmware_rest. You need further requirements to be able to use this module, see Requirements for details.

To use it in a playbook, specify: vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_guest_customization.

New in vmware.vmware_rest 0.1.0

Synopsis

  • Applies a customization specification on the virtual machine in {@param.name vm}. The actual customization happens inside the guest when the virtual machine is powered on. If there is a pending customization for the virtual machine and a new one is set, then the existing customization setting will be overwritten with the new settings.

Requirements

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

  • vSphere 7.0.3 or greater

  • python >= 3.6

  • aiohttp

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

configuration_spec

dictionary / required

Settings to be applied to the guest during the customization. This parameter is mandatory.

Valid attributes are:

  • windows_config (dict): Guest customization specification for a Windows guest operating system

If unset, ConfigurationSpec.linux-config or ConfigurationSpec.cloud-config must be set. Otherwise, an appropriate fault will be thrown. ([‘set’])

  • Accepted keys:

  • reboot (string): This option specifies what should be done to the guest after the customization.

Accepted value for this field:

  • NO_REBOOT

  • REBOOT

  • SHUTDOWN

  • sysprep (object): Customization settings like user details, administrator details, etc for the windows guest operating system. Exactly one of WindowsConfiguration.sysprep or WindowsConfiguration.sysprep-xml must be specified.

If unset, sysprep settings will not be applied to the windows guest operating system.

If unset, sysprep settings will not be applied to the windows guest operating system.

  • linux_config (dict): Guest customization specification for a linux guest operating system

If unset, ConfigurationSpec.windows-config or ConfigurationSpec.cloud-config must be set. Otherwise, an appropriate fault will be thrown. ([‘set’])

  • Accepted keys:

  • hostname (object): The computer name of the (Windows) virtual machine. A computer name may contain letters (A-Z), numbers(0-9) and hyphens (-) but no spaces or periods (.). The name may not consist entirely of digits. A computer name is restricted to 15 characters in length. If the computer name is longer than 15 characters, it will be truncated to 15 characters. Check HostnameGenerator for various options.

  • domain (string): The fully qualified domain name.

  • time_zone (string): The case-sensitive time zone, such as Europe/Sofia. Valid time zone values are based on the tz (time zone) database used by Linux. The values are strings (string) in the form “Area/Location,” in which Area is a continent or ocean name, and Location is the city, island, or other regional designation.

See the https://kb.vmware.com/kb/2145518 for a list of supported time zones for different versions in Linux.

If unset, time zone is not modified inside guest operating system.

  • script_text (string): The script to run before and after Linux guest customization.

The max size of the script is 65536 bytes. As long as the script (shell, perl, python…) has the right “#!” in the header, it is supported. The caller should not assume any environment variables when the script is run.

The script is invoked by the customization engine using the command line: 1) with argument “precustomization” before customization, 2) with argument “postcustomization” after customization. The script should parse this argument and implement pre-customization or post-customization task code details in the corresponding block.

A Linux shell script example:

#!/bin/sh

if [ x$1 == x”precustomization” ]; then

echo “Do Precustomization tasks”

#code for pre-customization actions…

elif [ x$1 == x”postcustomization” ]; then

echo “Do Postcustomization tasks”

#code for post-customization actions…

fi

If unset, no script will be executed.

  • cloud_config (dict): Guest customization specification with cloud configuration.

If unset, ConfigurationSpec.windows-config or ConfigurationSpec.linux-config must be set. Otherwise, an appropriate fault will be thrown. ([‘set’])

  • Accepted keys:

  • type (string): This option specifies different types of the cloud configuration.

Accepted value for this field:

  • CLOUDINIT

  • cloudinit (object): cloud-init configuration

This field is optional and it is only relevant when the value of CloudConfiguration.type is CLOUDINIT.

global_DNS_settings

dictionary / required

Global DNS settings constitute the DNS settings that are not specific to a particular virtual network adapter. This parameter is mandatory.

Valid attributes are:

  • dns_suffix_list (list): List of name resolution suffixes for the virtual network adapter. This list applies to both Windows and Linux guest customization. For Linux, this setting is global, whereas in Windows, this setting is listed on a per-adapter basis.

If unset, no DNS suffixes are set. ([‘set’])

  • dns_servers (list): List of DNS servers, for a virtual network adapter with a static IP address. If this list is empty, then the guest operating system is expected to use a DHCP server to get its DNS server settings. These settings configure the virtual machine to use the specified DNS servers. These DNS server settings are listed in the order of preference.

If unset, no DNS servers are set. ([‘set’])

interfaces

list / elements=dictionary / required

IP settings that are specific to a particular virtual network adapter. The AdapterMapping structure maps a network adapter’s MAC address to its IPSettings. May be empty if there are no network adapters, else should match number of network adapters configured for the VM. This parameter is mandatory.

Valid attributes are:

  • mac_address (str): The MAC address of a network adapter being customized.

In vSphere 7.0 series, the MAC addresses must be specified in the ascending order of pciSlotNumber, otherwise a MAC address mismatch error will be reported. For further details, see the https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/87648

If unset, the customization process maps the the settings from the list of i_p_settings in the CustomizationSpec.interfaces to the virtual machine’s network adapters, in PCI slot order. The first virtual network adapter on the PCI bus is assigned interfaces[0].IPSettings, the second adapter is assigned interfaces[1].IPSettings, and so on. ([‘set’])

  • adapter (dict): The IP settings for the associated virtual network adapter. ([‘set’])

This key is required with [‘set’].

  • Accepted keys:

  • ipv4 (object): Specification to configure IPv4 address, subnet mask and gateway info for this virtual network adapter.

If unset, no IPv4 addresses are set.

  • ipv6 (object): Specification to configure IPv6 address, subnet mask and gateway info for this virtual network adapter.

If unset, no IPv6 addresses are set.

  • windows (object): Windows settings to be configured for this specific virtual Network adapter. This is valid only for Windows guest operating systems.

If unset, no specific Windows settings are set.

session_timeout

float

added in vmware.vmware_rest 2.1.0

Timeout settings for client session.

The maximal number of seconds for the whole operation including connection establishment, request sending and response.

The default value is 300s.

state

string

Choices:

  • "set" ← (default)

vcenter_hostname

string / required

The hostname or IP address of the vSphere vCenter

If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_HOST will be used instead.

vcenter_password

string / required

The vSphere vCenter password

If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_PASSWORD will be used instead.

vcenter_rest_log_file

string

You can use this optional parameter to set the location of a log file.

This file will be used to record the HTTP REST interaction.

The file will be stored on the host that runs the module.

If the value is not specified in the task, the value of

environment variable VMWARE_REST_LOG_FILE will be used instead.

vcenter_username

string / required

The vSphere vCenter username

If the value is not specified in the task, the value of environment variable VMWARE_USER will be used instead.

vcenter_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.

Choices:

  • false

  • true ← (default)

vm

string / required

The unique identifier of the virtual machine that needs to be customized.

The parameter must be the id of a resource returned by vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_info. This parameter is mandatory.

Notes

Note

  • Tested on vSphere 7.0.3

Examples

##########
#
# VM customization can be difficult to troubleshoot, since each environment is different. Here are some general tips:
#
# 1. Make sure perl is installed on the Linux systems. Make sure cloud-init is installed if using cloud-init
# 2. Custom script execution is disabled by default. To enable it, you can run as root: vmware-toolbox-cmd config set deployPkg enable-custom-scripts  true
# 3. VMware tools must be installed and recognized by vCenter before you can apply customization. See the example below for one approach to this.
# 4. On Linux (RHEL specifically), customization script logs can be found at /var/log/vmware-imc/toolsDeployPkg.log
# 5. Once the VM is started, the pending customization is applied. Even if that fails, the customization is then cleared. Meaning, you need to re-apply
#    the customization spec in order to try again. Simply rebooting the VM will not change anything.
#
##########

# Here is the basic workflow for creating a new VM and then customizing it
- name: Deploy a new VM based on a template
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vmtemplate_libraryitems:
    name: vm-from-template
    library: "{{ library_id }}"
    template_library_item: "{{ template_id }}"
    placement:
      cluster: "{{ lookup('vmware.vmware_rest.cluster_moid', '/my_dc/host/my_cluster') }}"
    state: deploy
  register: my_new_vm

- name: Power on the VM to register VMware tools
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_power:
    state: start
    vm: "{{ my_new_vm.id }}"

- name: Wait until my VMware tools are recognized
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_tools_info:
    vm: "{{ my_new_vm.id }}"
  register: vm_tools_info
  until:
    - vm_tools_info is not failed
    - vm_tools_info.value.run_state == "RUNNING"
  retries: 60
  delay: 5

- name: Power Off VM
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_power:
    state: stop
    vm: "{{ my_new_vm.id }}"

- name: Customize the VM
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_guest_customization:
    vm: "{{ my_new_vm.id }}"
    global_DNS_settings:
      dns_suffix_list:
        - lan
        - foo.internal
      dns_servers:
        - "8.8.8.8"
    interfaces:
      - adapter:
          ipv4:
            type: DHCP
    configuration_spec:
      linux_config:
        domain: test
        hostname:
          fixed_name: myhost
          type: FIXED

# Here is an example using the Linux script text. The script shebang can be anything (bash, perl, python), so long as the script will actually run
# There is also size and length limitation on the script text, as described in the module documentation.
# Finally, note the script is run twice. Once before all of the other customization and once after.
- name: Customize the VM
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_guest_customization:
    vm: "{{ my_new_vm.id }}"
    global_DNS_settings:
      dns_suffix_list:
        - lan
        - foo.internal
      dns_servers:
        - "8.8.8.8"
    interfaces:
      - adapter:
          ipv4:
            type: DHCP
    configuration_spec:
      linux_config:
        domain: test
        hostname:
          fixed_name: myhost
          type: FIXED
        script_text: |
          #!/bin/sh
          if [ x$1 == x"precustomization" ]; then
            echo "PRE" >> /tmp/vmware_rest_init_script.log
            # add any other pre-customization tasks here
          fi

          if [ x$1 == x"postcustomization" ]; then
            echo "POST" >> /tmp/vmware_rest_init_script.log
            # add any other post-customization tasks here
          fi

# Here is a simple example using cloud-init
# See also:
#   https://developer.broadcom.com/xapis/vsphere-automation-api/latest/vcenter/data-structures/Guest_CloudinitConfiguration/
#   https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/311895/how-to-customize-virtual-machine-using-c.html
#   https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/reference/examples.html
#   https://cloudinit.readthedocs.io/en/23.4.1/reference/datasources/vmware.html#walkthrough-of-guestinfo-keys-transport
#
#   cloud-init required: metadata as plain-text JSON/YAML, maximum 512KB file size
#   cloud-init optional: userdata as plain-text in raw cloud-init format with no compression / no base64 encoding, maximum 512KB file size
- name: Customize the VM
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_guest_customization:
    vm: "{{ my_new_vm.id }}"
    global_DNS_settings:
      dns_suffix_list: []
      dns_servers:
        - "8.8.8.8"
    interfaces:
      - adapter:
          ipv4:
            type: DHCP
    configuration_spec:
      cloud_config:
        type: CLOUDINIT
        cloudinit:
          metadata: |
            instance-id: cloud-vm-example-1
            local-hostname: cloud-vm
            network:
              config: disabled
          userdata: |
            #cloud-config
            disable_root: 0
            write_files:
              - content: |
                  This is a test
                path: /root/cloud-init-example

# Here is a more complex cloud-init example
- name: Set cloud-init variables for customization specification
  ansible.builtin.set_fact:
    metadata_yaml:
      instance-id: "{{ vm_name }}"
      hostname: "{{ vm_name }}"
      local-hostname: "{{ vm_name }}"
      network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
          nics:
            match:
              name: e*
            dhcp4: true
            dhcp6: false
      public_ssh_keys:
        - "{{ lookup('ansible.builtin.file', vmware_vm_ssh_public_key_file_path) }}"

    userdata_yaml_text: |
      #cloud-config
      hostname: {{ vm_name }}
      fqdn: {{ vm_name }}.{{ vm_domain }}

      disable_root: false
      ssh_pwauth: false
      ssh_deletekeys: true
      ssh:
        emit_keys_to_console: false
      no_ssh_fingerprints: false
      ssh_authorized_keys:
        - {{ lookup('ansible.builtin.file', vmware_vm_ssh_public_key_file_path) }}

      users:
        - name: root
          ssh_authorized_keys:
            - {{ lookup('ansible.builtin.file', vmware_vm_ssh_public_key_file_path) }}
          lock_passwd: false

      write_files:
        - path: /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled
          permissions: "0644"
          content: ""

- name: Apply customization specification to the VM in Powered Off state
  vmware.vmware_rest.vcenter_vm_guest_customization:
    vm: "{{ my_new_vm.id }}"
    configuration_spec:
      cloud_config:
        type: CLOUDINIT
        cloudinit:
          metadata: "{{ metadata_yaml | to_json(ensure_ascii=true) }}"
          userdata: "{{ userdata_yaml_text | trim }}" # remove last newline character
    interfaces: []
    global_DNS_settings: {}

Return Values

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

Key

Description

value

dictionary

Customize the VM

Returned: On success

Sample: {}

Authors

  • Ansible Cloud Team (@ansible-collections)