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community.vmware.vmware_cfg_backup – Backup / Restore / Reset ESXi host configuration
Note
This plugin is part of the community.vmware collection (version 1.15.0).
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.
 
Requirements
The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.
- python >= 2.6
 - PyVmomi installed
 
Parameters
| Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments | 
|---|---|---|
| dest
        
        path
         | 
      
        
        The destination where the ESXi configuration bundle will be saved. The dest can be a folder or a file.
        
       
        If dest is a folder, the backup file will be saved in the folder with the default filename generated from the ESXi server.
        
       
        If dest is 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.
       
        Environment variable support added in Ansible 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 Ansible 2.6.
        
       aliases: pass, pwd  | 
     |
| port
        
        integer
         | 
      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 Ansible 2.6.
         | 
     
| 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.
       
        This feature depends on a version of pyvmomi greater than v6.7.1.2018.12
         | 
     |
| 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.
        | 
     
| 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 Ansible 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 Ansible 2.6.
        
       
        If set to  true, please make sure Python >= 2.7.9 is installed on the given machine.
        | 
     
Notes
Note
- Tested on ESXi 6.0
 - 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.
 
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 | Returned | Description | 
|---|---|---|
| dest_file
        
        string
         | 
      changed | 
        
        The full path of where the file holding the ESXi configurations was stored
         Sample:
        
       
        /tmp/configBundle-esxi.host.domain.tgz
         | 
     
Authors
- Andreas Nafpliotis (@nafpliot-ibm)
 
© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2021 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
 https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/vmware/vmware_cfg_backup_module.html