# vmware_vmkernel – Manages a VMware VMkernel Adapter of an ESXi host

- Synopsis
- Requirements
- Parameters
- Notes
- Examples
- Return Values
- Status

## 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.

## Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

- python >= 2.6
- PyVmomi

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
device string added in 2.8 |  | Search VMkernel adapter by device name. The parameter is required only in case of `type` is set to `dhcp`.
dvswitch_name string added in 2.8 |  | The name of the vSphere Distributed Switch (vDS) where to add the VMKernel interface. Required parameter only if `state` is set to `present`. Optional parameter from version 2.8 and onwards. aliases: dvswitch

enable_ft
boolean

Choices:
- no
- yes

Enable Fault Tolerance traffic on the VMKernel adapter.
This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

enable_mgmt
boolean

Choices:
- no
- yes

Enable Management traffic on the VMKernel adapter.
This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

enable_provisioning
boolean
added in 2.8

Choices:
- no
- yes

Enable Provisioning traffic on the VMKernel adapter.
This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

enable_replication
boolean
added in 2.8

Choices:
- no
- yes

Enable vSphere Replication traffic on the VMKernel adapter.
This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

enable_replication_nfc
boolean
added in 2.8

Choices:
- no
- yes

Enable vSphere Replication NFC traffic on the VMKernel adapter.
This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

enable_vmotion
boolean

Choices:
- no
- yes

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.

enable_vsan
boolean

Choices:
- no
- yes

Enable VSAN traffic on the VMKernel adapter.
This option is only allowed if the default TCP/IP stack is used.

esxi_hostname string / required added in 2.5 |  | Name of ESXi host to which VMKernel is to be managed. From version 2.5 onwards, this parameter is required.
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.
ip_address string |  | The IP Address for the VMKernel interface. Use `network` parameter with `ip_address` instead. Deprecated option, will be removed in version 2.9.
mtu integer | Default: 1500 | The MTU for the VMKernel interface. The default value of 1500 is valid from version 2.5 and onwards.

network
dictionary
added in 2.5

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

A dictionary of network details.
The following parameter is required:
- `type` (string): Type of IP assignment (either `dhcp` or `static`).
The following parameters are required in case of `type` is set to `static`:
- `ip_address` (string): Static IP address (implies `type: static`).
- `subnet_mask` (string): Static netmask required for `ip_address`.
The following parameter is optional in case of `type` is set to `static`:
- `default_gateway` (string): Default gateway (Override default gateway for this adapter).
The following parameter is optional:
- `tcpip_stack` (string): The TCP/IP stack for the VMKernel interface. Can be default, provisioning, vmotion, or vxlan. (default: default)

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 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 Ansible 2.6.
portgroup_name string / required |  | The name of the port group for the VMKernel interface. aliases: portgroup
proxy_host string added in 2.9 |  | 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 added in 2.9 |  | 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
added in 2.5

Choices:
- present ←
- absent

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.

subnet_mask string |  | The Subnet Mask for the VMKernel interface. Use `network` parameter with `subnet_mask` instead. Deprecated option, will be removed in version 2.9.
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

Choices:
- no
- yes ←

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 `yes`, please make sure Python >= 2.7.9 is installed on the given machine.

vswitch_name string |  | The name of the vSwitch where to add the VMKernel interface. Required parameter only if `state` is set to `present`. Optional parameter from version 2.5 and onwards. aliases: vswitch

## 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.
- Tested on vSphere 5.5 and 6.5

## Examples

    -  name: Add Management vmkernel port using static network type
       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
       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
       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
       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
       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
       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 | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
result dictionary | always | metadata about VMKernel name Sample: {'changed': False, 'msg': 'VMkernel Adapter already configured properly', 'device': 'vmk1', 'ipv4': 'static', 'ipv4_gw': 'No override', 'ipv4_ip': '192.168.1.15', 'ipv4_sm': '255.255.255.0', 'mtu': 9000, 'services': 'vMotion', 'switch': 'vDS'}

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Joseph Callen (@jcpowermac)
- Russell Teague (@mtnbikenc)
- Abhijeet Kasurde (@Akasurde)
- Christian Kotte (@ckotte)

Hint

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