vmware_vm_shell – Run commands in a VMware guest operating system
New in version 2.1.
Synopsis
- Module allows user to run common system administration commands in the guest operating system.
Requirements
The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.
- python >= 2.6
- PyVmomi
Parameters
| Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| cluster - | The cluster hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search. | |
| datacenter - | The datacenter hosting the virtual machine. If set, it will help to speed up virtual machine search. | |
| folder - added in 2.4 | Destination folder, absolute or relative path to find an existing guest or create the new guest. The folder should include the datacenter. ESX's datacenter is ha-datacenter. 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 version 2.6. | |
| 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 version 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 version 2.6. |
| timeout - added in 2.7 | Default: 3600 | Timeout in seconds. If set to positive integers, then wait_for_process will honor this parameter and will exit after this timeout. |
| 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 version 2.6. aliases: admin, user | |
| 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 version 2.6. If set to yes, please make sure Python >= 2.7.9 is installed on the given machine. |
| vm_id - / required | Name of the virtual machine to work with. | |
| vm_id_type - |
| The VMware identification method by which the virtual machine will be identified. |
| vm_password - / required | The password used to login-in to the virtual machine. | |
| vm_shell - / required | The absolute path to the program to start. On Linux, shell is executed via bash. | |
| vm_shell_args - | Default: " " | The argument to the program. The characters which must be escaped to the shell also be escaped on the command line provided. |
| vm_shell_cwd - | The current working directory of the application from which it will be run. | |
| vm_shell_env - | Comma separated list of environment variable, specified in the guest OS notation. | |
| vm_username - / required | The user to login-in to the virtual machine. | |
| wait_for_process boolean added in 2.7 |
| If set to True, module will wait for process to complete in the given virtual machine. |
Notes
Note
- Tested on vSphere 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5.
- Only the first match against vm_id is used, even if there are multiple matches.
Examples
- name: Run command inside a virtual machine
vmware_vm_shell:
hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
vm_username: root
vm_password: superSecret
vm_shell: /bin/echo
vm_shell_args: " $var >> myFile "
vm_shell_env:
- "PATH=/bin"
- "VAR=test"
vm_shell_cwd: "/tmp"
delegate_to: localhost
register: shell_command_output
- name: Run command inside a virtual machine with wait and timeout
vmware_vm_shell:
hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
vm_id: NameOfVM
vm_username: root
vm_password: superSecret
vm_shell: /bin/sleep
vm_shell_args: 100
wait_for_process: True
timeout: 2000
delegate_to: localhost
register: shell_command_with_wait_timeout
- name: Change user password in the guest machine
vmware_vm_shell:
hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
vm_username: sample
vm_password: old_password
vm_shell: "/bin/echo"
vm_shell_args: "-e 'old_password\nnew_password\nnew_password' | passwd sample > /tmp/$$.txt 2>&1"
delegate_to: localhost
- name: Change hostname of guest machine
vmware_vm_shell:
hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
validate_certs: no
datacenter: "{{ datacenter }}"
folder: /"{{datacenter}}"/vm
vm_id: "{{ vm_name }}"
vm_username: testUser
vm_password: SuperSecretPassword
vm_shell: "/usr/bin/hostnamectl"
vm_shell_args: "set-hostname new_hostname > /tmp/$$.txt 2>&1"
delegate_to: localhost
Return Values
Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:
| Key | Returned | Description |
|---|---|---|
| results dictionary | on success | metadata about the new process after completion with wait_for_process Sample: {'cmd_line': '"/bin/sleep" 1', 'end_time': '2018-04-26T05:03:21+00:00', 'exit_code': 0, 'name': 'sleep', 'owner': 'dev1', 'start_time': '2018-04-26T05:03:19+00:00', 'uuid': '564db1e2-a3ff-3b0e-8b77-49c25570bb66'} |
Status
- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]
Authors
- Ritesh Khadgaray (@ritzk)
- Abhijeet Kasurde (@Akasurde)
Hint
If you notice any issues in this documentation you can edit this document to improve it.
© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2019 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.7/modules/vmware_vm_shell_module.html