community.vmware.vmware_cfg_backup module – Backup / Restore / Reset ESXi host configuration

Note

This module is part of the community.vmware collection (version 4.8.0).

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 community.vmware.

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

Synopsis

  • This module can be used to perform various operations related to backup, restore and reset of ESXi host configuration.

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

dest

path

The destination where the ESXi configuration bundle will be saved. Can be a folder or a file.

If a folder, the backup file will be saved in the folder with the default filename generated from the ESXi server.

If a file, the backup file will be saved with that filename. The file extension will always be .tgz.

esxi_hostname

string

Name of ESXi server. This is required only if authentication against a vCenter is done.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

src

path

The file containing the ESXi configuration that will be restored.

state

string / required

If saved, the .tgz backup bundle will be saved in dest.

If absent, the host configuration will be reset to default values.

If loaded, the backup file in src will be loaded to the ESXi host rewriting the hosts settings.

Choices:

  • "saved"

  • "absent"

  • "loaded"

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.

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)

Notes

Note

  • Works only for ESXi hosts

  • For configuration load or reset, the host will be switched automatically to maintenance mode.

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

  • All variables and VMware object names are case sensitive.

Examples

- name: Save the ESXi configuration locally by authenticating directly against the ESXi host
  community.vmware.vmware_cfg_backup:
    hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
    password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
    state: saved
    dest: /tmp/
  delegate_to: localhost

- name: Save the ESXi configuration locally by authenticating against the vCenter and selecting the ESXi host
  community.vmware.vmware_cfg_backup:
    hostname: '{{ vcenter_hostname }}'
    esxi_hostname: '{{ esxi_hostname }}'
    username: '{{ esxi_username }}'
    password: '{{ esxi_password }}'
    state: saved
    dest: /tmp/
  delegate_to: localhost

Return Values

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

Key

Description

dest_file

string

The full path of where the file holding the ESXi configurations was stored

Returned: changed

Sample: "/tmp/configBundle-esxi.host.domain.tgz"

Authors

  • Andreas Nafpliotis (@nafpliot-ibm)