community.vmware.vmware_vmkernel module – Manages a VMware VMkernel Adapter of an ESXi host.

Note

This module is part of the community.vmware collection (version 5.1.0).

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_vmkernel.

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.

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

device

string

Search VMkernel adapter by device name.

The parameter is required only in case of network.type=dhcp.

dvswitch_name

aliases: dvswitch

string

The name of the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) where to add the VMKernel interface.

Required parameter only if state=present.

Optional parameter from version 2.8 and onwards.

enable_backup_nfc

boolean

added in community.vmware 4.2.0

Enable vSphere Backup NFC traffic on the VMKernel adapter.

This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

enable_ft

boolean

Enable Fault Tolerance traffic on the VMKernel adapter.

This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

enable_mgmt

boolean

Enable Management traffic on the VMKernel adapter.

This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

enable_provisioning

boolean

Enable Provisioning traffic on the VMKernel adapter.

This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

enable_replication

boolean

Enable vSphere Replication traffic on the VMKernel adapter.

This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

enable_replication_nfc

boolean

Enable vSphere Replication NFC traffic on the VMKernel adapter.

This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

enable_vmotion

boolean

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.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

enable_vsan

boolean

Enable VSAN traffic on the VMKernel adapter.

This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

esxi_hostname

string / required

Name of ESXi host to which VMKernel is to be managed.

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.

mtu

integer

The MTU for the VMKernel interface.

The default value of 1500 is valid from version 2.5 and onwards.

Default: 1500

network

dictionary

A dictionary of network details.

Default: {"tcpip_stack": "default", "type": "static"}

default_gateway

string

Default gateway (Override default gateway for this adapter).

ip_address

string

Static IP address.

Required if network.type=static.

subnet_mask

string

Static netmask required.

Required if network.type=static.

tcpip_stack

string

The TCP/IP stack for the VMKernel interface.

Choices:

  • "default" ← (default)

  • "provisioning"

  • "vmotion"

  • "vxlan"

type

string

Type of IP assignment.

Choices:

  • "static" ← (default)

  • "dhcp"

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

portgroup_name

aliases: portgroup

string / required

The name of the port group for the VMKernel interface.

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.

state

string

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.

Choices:

  • "present" ← (default)

  • "absent"

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)

vswitch_name

aliases: vswitch

string

The name of the vSwitch where to add the VMKernel interface.

Required parameter only if state=present.

Optional parameter from version 2.5 and onwards.

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.

  • 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: Add Management vmkernel port using static network type
   community.vmware.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
   community.vmware.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
   community.vmware.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
   community.vmware.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
   community.vmware.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
   community.vmware.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

Description

result

dictionary

metadata about VMKernel name

Returned: always

Sample: {"changed": false, "device": "vmk1", "ipv4": "static", "ipv4_gw": "No override", "ipv4_ip": "192.168.1.15", "ipv4_sm": "255.255.255.0", "msg": "VMkernel Adapter already configured properly", "mtu": 9000, "services": "vMotion", "switch": "vDS"}

Authors

  • Joseph Callen (@jcpowermac)

  • Russell Teague (@mtnbikenc)

  • Abhijeet Kasurde (@Akasurde)

  • Christian Kotte (@ckotte)

  • Nina Loser (@Nina2244)