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)
 Default:
/vm
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
folder: vm/folder2
folder: folder2
hostname
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 supported added in version 2.6.
password
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 supported added in version 2.6.

aliases: pass, pwd
port
(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 supported added in version 2.6.
username
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 supported added in version 2.6.

aliases: user, admin
validate_certs
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes
Default:
True
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 supported added in version 2.6.
vm_id
required
Name of the virtual machine to work with.
vm_id_type
    Choices:
  • uuid
  • dns_name
  • inventory_path
  • vm_name ←
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.
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.

Notes

Note

  • Tested on vSphere 5.5
  • Only the first match against vm_id is used, even if there are multiple matches

Examples

- name: Run command inside a vm
  vmware_vm_shell:
    hostname: myVSphere
    username: myUsername
    password: mySecret
    datacenter: myDatacenter
    folder: /vm
    vm_id: NameOfVM
    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

Status

This module is flagged as preview which means that it is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface.

Author

  • 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/2.5/modules/vmware_vm_shell_module.html