This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title       :   Ansible Inventory from VMWare
Author      :   Remy van Elst
Date        :   06-01-2014
URL         :   https://raymii.org/s/software/Ansible__Dynamic_Inventory_From_VMware_vCenter.html
Format      :   Markdown/HTML
---



This is a simple script which lets you use VMWare vCenter as a dynamic inventory
for Ansible.

[Github repository][1]
[Official Website][2]

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### Installation

Install PySphere:



   pip install -U pysphere


Edit the script's login data and VCenter server FQDN:



   server_fqdn = "vcenter.example.org"
   server_username = "jdoe"
   server_password = "secure_passw0rd"


### Test it:

Get all powered on VM's:



   python2 query.py --list


Output:



   {
       "no_group": {
           "hosts": [
               "vm0031",
               "vm0032",
               [...]
               "vm0999"
           ]
       },
       "local": [
           "127.0.0.1"
       ]
   }


Get one VM:



   python2 query.py --host vm0032


Output:



   {
       "admin": "[email protected]",
       "source_database": "VMWare"
   }


Nonexistent VM:



   python2 query.py --host nonexist


Output:



   [Error]: [Object Not Found]: Could not find a VM named 'notexist'


Do a simple ansible ping:



   ANSIBLE_HOSTS="/home/remy/git/vmware-ansible/query.py" ansible all -m ping


Result:



   vm0032 | success >> {
       "changed": false,
       "ping": "pong"
   }

   vm0034 | success >> {
       "changed": false,
       "ping": "pong"
   }


### Usage

Either export the ANSIBLE_HOSTS variable to always use the VMWare inventory:



   export ANSIBLE_HOSTS="/home/remy/git/vmware-ansible/query.py"


Or preface each ansible command:



   ANSIBLE_HOSTS="/home/remy/git/vmware-ansible/query.py" ansible all -m apt -a "upgrade=safe"


### Notes

Tested with both vCenter 5.1 and 5.5, Python 2.

Does not support grouping by datacenter or resource group

Thanks to [JP Mens][4]'s article for the inspiration.

  [1]: https://github.com/RaymiiOrg/ansible-vmware
  [2]: https://raymii.org/s/software/Ansible__Dynamic_Inventory_From_VMware_vCenter.html
  [3]: https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212
  [4]: http://jpmens.net/2013/06/18/adapting-inventory-for-ansible/

---

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