{"id":1299,"date":"2021-05-25T18:10:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T18:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicktailor.com\/?p=1299"},"modified":"2021-05-26T12:38:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T12:38:48","slug":"create-snapshots-with-ansible-vmware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/create-snapshots-with-ansible-vmware\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create snapshots with Ansible (VMware)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Okay, so lots of folks ask me about this, and there are a number of ways you can do this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re using vmware and redhat satellite for central patch management for your redhat environment. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Then depending on how you patch your systems. If you snapshot every group prior to patching. Then this post will be perfect for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patching Processes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
1.<\/span>Snapshot every vm in your group using ansible<\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a02.\u00a0 \u00a0Update your host content-views in satellite and clear yum caches –
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 – (these are not in this <\/span>post)\u00a0<\/span>part 2
\n<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
3.<\/span>Patch all your servers using ansible – (these are not in this <\/span>post)<\/span> part 3<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
4..<\/span>Reboot all your servers (these are not in this post)<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>part 4<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
5..<\/span>Test to ensure they all came back up (<\/span>these <\/span>not in this post for now)<\/span> part 5<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Note: There is a step to change the content view of all your hosts and cleaning your yum repos on all the hosts. I have not written a post on this step yet, but you should obviously automate that. I will eventually get around to including it, when I have some time.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Pre-requisites: Assumed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Ansible 2.9 <\/span>installed and configured with python3<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>VMware<\/span> Community modules configured<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>VMware<\/span> group variables previously defined for VM<\/span>ware<\/span> deployments(<\/span>Is helpful)<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>VMware<\/span> user\/password configure with being able to create <\/span>snaphots<\/span> in either <\/span>datacenters<\/span> you have<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Step by Step:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
1.<\/span>Create a roles directory inside \/etc\/ansible\/roles<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n
\n
a.<\/span>mkdir -p \/etc\/ansible\/roles\/create-snapshot\/tasks<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

b.<\/span>mkdir -p \/etc\/ansible\/roles\/create-snapshot\/defaults<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

2.<\/span>Now you want to create a task for the snapshots.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
c.<\/span>Inside \/etc\/ansible\/roles\/create-snapshot\/tasks\/<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

d.<\/span>Create a file called main.yml<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

3.<\/span>Add the following code and save the file<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

– name: Login into vCenter and get cookies<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0delegate_to: localhost<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0uri:<\/h2>\n

url: https:\/\/{{ vcenter_host }}\/rest\/com\/vmware\/cis\/session<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0force_basic_auth: yes<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0validate_certs: no<\/h2>\n

method: POST<\/h2>\n

user: ‘{{ vcenter_username }}’<\/h2>\n

password: ‘{{ vcenter_password }}’<\/h2>\n

register: login<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note: Okay so what we want to do is find the virtual machine in <\/em><\/span>vsphere<\/em><\/span> by name and then grab its folder value and pass it as a variable so you don\u2019t need to define it statically in your <\/em><\/span>host_var<\/em><\/span>. The main reason is, say you deployed a <\/em><\/span>vm<\/em><\/span> and months later moved it to another folder, your code will likely have the origin folder which would be <\/em><\/span>annoying, and the ansible documentation doesn\u2019t really cover this approach, you basically figure it out as you do it. So <\/em><\/span>im<\/em><\/span> going to save you all time. Here is how you do it. The below will gather <\/em><\/span>vm_facts<\/em><\/span> based on the <\/em><\/span><\/strong>inventory_hostname<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

– name: Find Guest’s Folder using name<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0vmware_guest_find:<\/h2>\n

hostname: “{{ vcenter_host }}”<\/h2>\n

username: “{{ vcenter_username }}”<\/h2>\n

password: “{{ vcenter_password }}”<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0validate_certs: no<\/h2>\n

name: “{{ inventory_hostname }}”<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0delegate_to: localhost<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0ignore_errors: true<\/h2>\n

register: vm_facts<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note: It will than gather those facts and find the folder value<\/span>. You then register the facts to a variable \u201c<\/span>vm_facts<\/span>\u201d Now it will spit out what it finds when you do –<\/span>vvvv<\/span> when you do your play. From there you can see the folder setting. You now want to set that that folder setting as its own variable that you can pass to another task as indicated below.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

ok: [<\/span>ansible-server<\/span>] => {<\/span><\/p>\n

“changed”: false,<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>“folders”: [<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“\/<\/span>SysUnix<\/span>\/<\/span>Test<\/span>stuff<\/span>“<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

],<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

“invocation”: {<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>module_args<\/span>“: {<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>datacenter<\/span>“: null,<\/span><\/p>\n

“hostname”: “<\/span>vmware.nicktailor.com<\/span>“,<\/span><\/p>\n

“name”: “<\/span> ansible-server<\/span>“,<\/span><\/p>\n

“password”: “VALUE_SPECIFIED_IN_NO_LOG_PARAMETER”,<\/span><\/p>\n

“port”: 443,<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>proxy_host<\/span>“: null,<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>proxy_port<\/span>“: null,<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>use_instance_uuid<\/span>“: false,<\/span><\/p>\n

“username”: “admin<\/span>“,<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>uuid<\/span>“: null,<\/span><\/p>\n

“<\/span>validate_certs<\/span>“: false<\/span><\/p>\n

}<\/span><\/p>\n

}<\/span><\/p>\n

}<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

– name: “vm_folder – setting folder value”<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0set_fact:<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0folder : “{{ vm_facts.folders }}”<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Note:<\/span> So you can see that the facts has a sub fact called \u201cfolders\u201d. We want to pass that by setting that value as its own variable by making it a fact. Ansible way to set variables is setting facts. So we make that value above into a variable \u201c<\/span>vm_<\/span>facts.folders<\/span>\u201d and then pass that into the next task where it asks for folders.<\/span> This will get around the having to provide the exact folder the <\/span>vm_resides<\/span><\/em><\/strong> to create snapshotting for an array of hosts.<\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

– name: Create Snapshot<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0vmware_guest_snapshot:<\/h2>\n

hostname: “{{ vcenter_host }}”<\/h2>\n

username: “{{ vcenter_username }}”<\/h2>\n

password: “{{ vcenter_password }}”<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0datacenter: “{{ vcenter_dc }}”<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0validate_certs: no<\/h2>\n

name: “{{ inventory_hostname }}”<\/h2>\n

state: present<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0snapshot_name: “Ansible Managed Snapshot”<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0folder: “‘{{ vm_facts.folders }}'”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

description: “This snapshot is created by Ansible Playbook”<\/h2>\n

\u00a0\u00a0delegate_to: localhost<\/h2>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
4.<\/span>Save the file<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
5.<\/span>You can either have group_vars<\/span> set up for individual datacenters, but for now just define the variables under \/etc\/ansible\/roles\/create-snapshot\/defaults<\/strong><\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Note: You will likely have a <\/em><\/span>group_var<\/em><\/span> from you <\/em><\/span>vmdeploy<\/em><\/span> role that you can use for here.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
e.<\/span>Create a file called main.yml and the following variables<\/strong><\/div>\n

vcenter_username<\/span>: <\/span>admin<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

vcenter_password<\/span>: <\/span>should be vault encrypted variable<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

vcenter_host<\/span>: <\/span>vmware.nicktailor.com<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

vcenter_dc<\/span>: <\/span>London<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
f.<\/span>Save the file<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Note: Ensure your host<\/span> \u201cnicktest1\u201d<\/span> is listed in your inventory host file. <\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\n\/etc\/ansible\/inventory\/TEST\/hosts<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Run your playbook: from <\/span>\/etc\/ansible<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
1.<\/span>ansible-playbook –<\/span>i<\/span> inventory\/TEST\/hosts <\/span>justcreatevmsnap.yml<\/span> –ask-vault-pass –limit=’<\/span>nicktest1<\/span>‘ <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Playbook log:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

[<\/span>root@ansible<\/span>–<\/span>server<\/span>]#<\/span> ansible-playbook –<\/span>i<\/span> inventory\/TEST\/hosts <\/span>justcreatevmsnap.yml<\/span> –ask-vault-pass –limit=’<\/span>nicktest1<\/span>‘<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vault password:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

PLAY [all] **********************************************************************************************************************************<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

TASK [<\/span>create_<\/span>snapshot<\/span> :<\/span> Login into vCenter and get cookies] *********************************************************************************<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ok: [<\/span>nicktest1<\/span>]<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

TASK [<\/span>create_<\/span>snapshot<\/span> :<\/span> Find Guest’s Folder using name] *************************************************************************************<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ok: [<\/span>nicktest1<\/span>]<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

TASK [<\/span>create_<\/span>snapshot<\/span> :<\/span> vm_folder<\/span> – setting folder value] ***********************************************************************************<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ok: [<\/span>nicktest1<\/span>]<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

TASK [<\/span>create_<\/span>snapshot<\/span> :<\/span> Create Snapshot] ****************************************************************************************************<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

ok: [<\/span>nicktest1<\/span>]<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

PLAY RECAP **********************************************************************************************************************************<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

nicktest1<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> :<\/span> ok=4 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
2.<\/span>Go log into <\/span>vsphere<\/span> and check to see the <\/span>vm<\/span> has a snapshot name \u201cansible created snapshot\u201d if it does it worked.<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Note: This uses the snapshot name to create. If another snapshot exists with a different name it will ignore it entirely. If you pass snapshot variable with another name and run the book again, it will create another snapshot. The same <\/em><\/span>applies to removing snapshots, it will remove based on the name. We will cover that in my post to remove snapshots.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Okay, so lots of folks ask me about this, and there are a number of ways you can do this. But if you\u2019re using vmware and redhat satellite for central patch management for your redhat environment. Then depending on how you patch your systems. If you snapshot every group prior to patching. Then this post will be perfect for you.Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,133,129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ansible","category-snapshots","category-vmware"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1299"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1352,"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1299\/revisions\/1352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nicktailor.com\/tech-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}