CREATING CENTOS VM ON NUTANIX USING ANSIBLE
INTRODUCTION
Nutanix Prism is a management solution for virtualized data center environments. Prism manages the entire stack from the storage and computes infrastructure up to virtual machines (VMs).
Here, we'll discuss how to create a CentOS VM on Nutanix using the Ansible playbook. Ansible is a high-level automation engine that automates cloud provisioning, configuration management, and application deployment.
Fig: Stages of creating CentOS VM on Nutanix using Ansible
PREREQUISITES
- Nutanix Prism login credentials
- Nutanix cluster URL, cluster name, subnet name, and disk image name
ANSIBLE FOR NUTANIX VM CREATION
Ansible roles are sets of Ansible defaults, files, tasks, templates, variables, and other Ansible components that work together. 'nutanix_vm_provisioner*' is a fundamental Ansible role to provision VMs on a Nutanix AHV using APIv3.
Variables Required:
- api_version: # Add API version, it's best to use v3 (if available)
- cluster_url: # IP address where you would typically log in to PRISM
- prism_user: # An account with permissions to provision on the cluster
- prism_password: # The password to your account
- cluster_name: # Name of the cluster to provision against
- subnet_name: # Name of the Subnet to add VMs to
- image_name: # Name of the disk image or ISO to use
- vm_defs: # The list of dicts that defines the VMs to be created
Ansible Roles Required
A single role, 'nutanix_vm' is required for the VM creation.
'nutanix_vm' role deals with creating a VM with the provided subnet, cluster, and the OS image by authenticating with a session cookie for logging into the Prism. The variables used in the code are placed in the 'defaults' folder of the role *'nutanix_vm'. *The 'defaults/main.yaml' file used is shown below:
Filename: defaults/main.yaml
global_debug: true
api_version: "3.0"
host_name: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_INVENTORY_HOST')}}"
cluster_url: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_PRISM_ADDRESS')}}"
api_url_v3: "https://{{ cluster_url }}:9440/api/nutanix/v3"
cluster_port: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_PRISM_PORT')}}"
prism_user: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_PRISM_USER_NAME')}}"
prism_password: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_PRISM_USER_PASSWORD')}}"
cluster_name: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_PRISM_CLUSTER_NAME')}}"
subnet_name: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_SUBNET_NAME')}}"
image_name: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_IMAGE')}}"
vm_net_domain: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_DOMAIN')}}"
root_disk_size: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_ROOT_DISK_SIZE')}}"
data_disk_size: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_DATA_DISK_SIZE')}}"
vm_name: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_NAME')}}"
vm_ram: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_RAM') }}"
vm_num_cpu_per_socket: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_CPU_PER_SOCKET')}}"
vm_num_sockets: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_CPU_SOCKET')}}"
ansible_user: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_ANSIBLE_USER_NAME')}}"
ansible_key: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_ANSIBLE_KEY')}}"
ansible_pub: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_ANSIBLE_PUB_KEY')}}"
vm_root_password: "{{ lookup('env','NUTANIX_VM_ROOT_PASSWORD')}}"
vm_defs:
- {vm_name: "{{ vm_name }}",vm_ram: "{{ vm_ram }}", vm_num_cpu_per_socket: "{{ vm_num_cpu_per_socket }}", vm_num_sockets: "{{ vm_num_sockets }}"}
ansible_ssh_public_key: "{{ lookup('file', '{{ ansible_pub }}') }}"
The templates used for the playbook are placed in the 'templates' folder of the role 'nutanix_vm'. Each of the template files ( which is passed as Jinja2 file/j2 file ) are listed below:
J2 Filename 1: templates/cloud-init.yml.j2
#cloud-config
# Hostname Configuration
hostname: {{ vm_name }}.{{ vm_net_domain }}
# Group/User Configuration
groups:
- cloud-users
users:
- default
- name: {{ ansible_user }}
groups: [ wheel ]
shell: /bin/bash
sudo: ['ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL']
lock_passwd: false
ssh-authorized-keys:
- {{ ansible_ssh_public_key }}
#sshd Configuration
chpasswd:
list: |
root:{{ vm_root_password }}
expire: False
ssh_pwauth: False
power_state:
delay: now
mode: reboot
condition: True
J2 Filename 2: templates/nutanix.py.j2
#!/usr/bin/env python
import os
import sys
from time import time
import argparse
import socket
import requests
import yaml
try:
import json
except ImportError:
import simplejson as json
class NutanixInventory(object):
def __init__(self):
''' Main execution path '''
requests.packages.urllib3.disable_warnings()
self.session = requests.Session()
# Parse CLI arguments
self.parse_cli_args()
# Get environment variable
nutanix_mode = os.environ.get('NUTANIX_MODE')
if self.args.host:
self.nutanix_inventory('host')
elif self.args.names or bool(nutanix_mode == 'names'):
self.names = True
if self.args.refresh_cache:
self.nutanix_cache('refresh')
else:
self.nutanix_cache('cache')
else:
self.names = False
if self.args.refresh_cache:
self.nutanix_cache('refresh')
else:
self.nutanix_cache('cache')
if self.args.pretty:
print(json.dumps(self.inventory, sort_keys=True, indent=2))
else:
print(json.dumps(self.inventory, sort_keys=True, indent=2))
#print(self.inventory)
def parse_cli_args(self):
''' Command line argument processing '''
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description='Produce an Ansible inventory file from Nutanix')
parser.add_argument('--list', action='store_true', default=True ,
help='List instances by IP address (default: True)')
parser.add_argument('--host', action='store',
help='Get all variables about a VM')
parser.add_argument('--names', action='store_true',
help='List instances by VM name')
parser.add_argument('--pretty', action='store_true',
help='Pretty-print results')
parser.add_argument('--refresh-cache', action='store_true',
help='Force refresh of cache by making API requests to Nutanix (default: False - use cache files)')
self.args = parser.parse_args()
@staticmethod
def get_settings():
''' Retrieve settings from nutanix.yml '''
nutanix_default_yml_path = '/tmp/nutanix.yml'
nutanix_yml_path = os.path.expanduser(
os.path.expandvars(
os.environ.get('NUTANIX_YML_PATH', nutanix_default_yml_path)))
try:
with open(nutanix_yml_path) as nutanix_yml_file:
config = yaml.safe_load(nutanix_yml_file)
except IOError:
print('Could not find nutanix.yml file at {}'
.format(nutanix_yml_path))
sys.exit(1)
return config
def authenticate(self):
''' Authenticate to the Nutanix cluster API '''
payload = {
'j_username': self.nutanix_username,
'j_password': self.nutanix_password
}
response = self.session.post(
'https://{}:{}/PrismGateway/j_spring_security_check'
.format(self.nutanix_address, self.nutanix_port),
data=payload, verify=self.verify_ssl)
if response.status_code == 401:
print("Failed to authenticate to {}.".format(self.nutanix_address))
sys.exit(1)
@staticmethod
def validate_auth(data):
''' Validate API authentication '''
if 'An Authentication object was not found in the SecurityContext' not in data:
return True
def get_ahv_list(self):
''' Pull from the Nutanix Acropolis API '''
ahv = self.session.get(
'https://{}:{}/api/nutanix/v0.8/vms'
.format(self.nutanix_address, self.nutanix_port),
verify=self.verify_ssl)
if not self.validate_auth(ahv.text):
self.authenticate()
self.get_ahv_list()
else:
self.ahv_list = json.loads(ahv.text)
def get_prism_list(self):
''' Pull from the Nutanix Prism API '''
prism = self.session.get(
'https://{}:{}/PrismGateway/services/rest/v1/vms'
.format(self.nutanix_address, self.nutanix_port),
verify=self.verify_ssl)
if not self.validate_auth(prism.text):
self.authenticate()
self.get_prism_list()
else:
self.prism_list = json.loads(prism.text)
def get_vm_details(self):
''' Get details of a VM '''
vm = self.session.get(
'https://{}:{}/PrismGateway/services/rest/v1/vms/{}'
.format(self.nutanix_address, self.nutanix_port, self.vm_uuid),
verify=self.verify_ssl)
if not self.validate_auth(vm.text):
self.authenticate()
self.get_vm_details()
else:
self.vm_details = json.loads(vm.text)
def get_host_info(self):
''' Return information about a VM '''
# Needed for VM IP and name
self.get_prism_list()
host = self.args.host
# Check if --host arg is IP or VM name
try:
socket.inet_aton(host)
host_by_ip = True
except socket.error:
host_by_ip = False
# Find host by IP
if host_by_ip:
for entity in self.prism_list['entities']:
for address in entity['ipAddresses']:
if address == host:
self.vm_uuid = entity['uuid']
self.get_vm_details()
self.inventory.update(self.vm_details)
break
else:
continue
break
# Find host by VM name
else:
for entity in self.prism_list['entities']:
if entity['vmName'].lower() == host.lower():
self.vm_uuid = entity['uuid']
self.get_vm_details()
self.inventory.update(self.vm_details)
break
return self.inventory
def get_cluster_info(self):
''' Get details of a cluster '''
cluster = self.session.get(
'https://{}:{}/PrismGateway/services/rest/v1/cluster'
.format(self.nutanix_address, self.nutanix_port),
verify=self.verify_ssl)
if not self.validate_auth(cluster.text):
self.authenticate()
self.get_cluster_info()
else:
self.cluster_info = json.loads(cluster.text)
def build_cluster_inventory(self):
''' Generate inventory per cluster '''
# Needed for VM IPs
self.get_prism_list()
# Needed for VM descriptions
self.get_ahv_list()
# Needed to get the cluster name
self.get_cluster_info()
for prism_entity in self.prism_list['entities']:
for ahv_entity in self.ahv_list['entities']:
if prism_entity['uuid'] == ahv_entity['uuid']:
# Only build inventory by VM name, or by IP when IPs present
if (self.names is True) or (self.names is False and prism_entity['ipAddresses']):
if '_meta' not in self.inventory:
self.inventory['_meta'] = {'hostvars': {}}
if self.cluster_info['name'].lower() not in self.inventory:
self.inventory[self.cluster_info['name'].lower()] = {'hosts': []}
if self.names:
# Only add unique VM names to inventory
if prism_entity['vmName'].lower() not in self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars']:
self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars'][prism_entity['vmName'].lower()] = {}
self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars'][prism_entity['vmName'].lower()].update(prism_entity)
self.inventory[self.cluster_info['name'].lower()]['hosts'].append(prism_entity['vmName'].lower())
# Fail otherwise
else:
print('{} exists more than once. Stopping.'.format(prism_entity['vmName'].lower()))
sys.exit(1)
# Group VMs by power state
if ('powerstate_{}'.format(prism_entity['powerState'])) not in self.inventory:
self.inventory['powerstate_{}'.format(prism_entity['powerState'])] = {'hosts': []}
self.inventory['powerstate_{}'.format(prism_entity['powerState'])]['hosts'].append(prism_entity['vmName'].lower())
else:
for address in prism_entity['ipAddresses']:
# Only add unique IPs to inventory
if address not in self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars']:
self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars'][address] = {}
self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars'][address].update(prism_entity)
self.inventory[self.cluster_info['name'].lower()]['hosts'].append(address)
# Fail otherwise
else:
print('{} exists more than once. Stopping'.format(address))
sys.exit(1)
# Look for VMs with a description field
if 'description' in ahv_entity['config']:
# Look for non-empty descriptions
if ahv_entity['config']['description']:
# Look for a JSON object in the description
try:
# Strip outer quotes, if present
description = json.loads(ahv_entity['config']['description'].strip('"'))
# Register any specified groups
if 'groups' in description:
for group in description['groups']:
if group.lower() not in self.inventory:
self.inventory[group.lower()] = {'hosts': []}
if self.names:
self.inventory[group.lower()]['hosts'].append(prism_entity['vmName'].lower())
else:
for address in prism_entity['ipAddresses']:
self.inventory[group.lower()]['hosts'].append(address)
# Register any specified hostvars
if 'hostvars' in description:
if '_meta' not in self.inventory:
self.inventory['_meta'] = {'hostvars': {}}
if self.names:
for var in description['hostvars']:
self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars'][prism_entity['vmName'].lower()].update({var: description['hostvars'][var]})
else:
for var in description['hostvars']:
self.inventory['_meta']['hostvars'][address].update({var: description['hostvars'][var]})
# Ignore VMs whose description is not in JSON
except ValueError:
pass
return self.inventory
def nutanix_inventory(self, inventory_type):
''' Generate inventory from one or more configured clusters '''
config = self.get_settings()
self.inventory = {}
try:
cluster_list = config.get('clusters')
for cluster in cluster_list:
cluster_details = cluster_list.get(cluster)
# Get cluster address
try:
self.nutanix_address = cluster_details['address']
except KeyError:
print('An address must be configured for cluster {}.'
.format(cluster))
sys.exit(1)
# API port defaults to 9440 unless specified otherwise
if 'port' in cluster_details:
self.nutanix_port = cluster_details['port']
else:
self.nutanix_port = 9440
# Get cluster username
try:
self.nutanix_username = cluster_details['username']
except KeyError:
print('A username must be configured for cluster {}.'
.format(cluster))
sys.exit(1)
# Get cluster password
try:
self.nutanix_password = cluster_details['password']
except KeyError:
print('A password must be configured for cluster {}.'
.format(cluster))
sys.exit(1)
# SSL verification defaults to True unless specified otherwise
if 'verify_ssl' in cluster_details:
self.verify_ssl = cluster_details['verify_ssl']
else:
self.verify_ssl = True
if inventory_type == 'all':
self.inventory.update(self.build_cluster_inventory())
elif inventory_type == 'host':
self.inventory.update(self.get_host_info())
return self.inventory
except TypeError:
print('No cluster found in the nutanix.yml configuration file.')
sys.exit(1)
def validate_cache(self, filename):
''' Determines whether cache file has expired '''
if os.path.isfile(filename):
mod_time = os.path.getmtime(filename)
current_time = time()
if (mod_time + int(self.cache_max_age)) > current_time:
return True
return False
@staticmethod
def write_to_cache(data, filename):
''' Writes inventory data to a file '''
cache = open(filename, 'w')
cache.write(json.dumps(data))
cache.close()
def load_from_cache(self, filename):
''' Reads inventory data from cache file '''
cache = open(filename, 'r')
json_data = cache.read()
cache.close()
self.inventory = json.loads(json_data)
def nutanix_cache(self, status):
''' Retrieve or refresh cache '''
config = self.get_settings()
try:
cache_settings = config.get('caching')
try:
self.cache_max_age = cache_settings['cache_max_age']
except KeyError:
print('A caching time must be set, even if set to 0.')
sys.exit(1)
try:
self.cache_path = cache_settings['cache_path']
except KeyError:
print('A path must be set for cached inventory files.')
sys.exit(1)
try:
self.cache_base_name = cache_settings['cache_base_name']
except KeyError:
print('A base name must be set for cached inventory files.')
sys.exit(1)
except TypeError:
print('Could not load caching settings from nutanix.yml.')
sys.exit(1)
if self.names:
file_extension = '-names'
else:
file_extension = '-list'
# Pull from cache or update cache if expired
if status == 'cache':
if self.validate_cache(self.cache_path
+ self.cache_base_name
+ file_extension):
self.load_from_cache(self.cache_path
+ self.cache_base_name
+ file_extension)
else:
self.nutanix_inventory('all')
try:
self.write_to_cache(self.inventory, self.cache_path
+ self.cache_base_name
+ file_extension)
except IOError as error:
print(error)
sys.exit(1)
self.nutanix_cache('cache')
# Force refresh
elif status == 'refresh':
self.nutanix_inventory('all')
try:
self.write_to_cache(self.inventory, self.cache_path
+ self.cache_base_name
+ file_extension)
except IOError as error:
print(error)
sys.exit(1)
self.nutanix_cache('cache')
NutanixInventory()
Given below is the sample template we used to create the VM:
J2 Filename 3: templates/nutanix.yml.j2
# Cluster settings
clusters:
"{{ cluster_name }}":
address: "{{ cluster_url }}"
port: "{{ cluster_port }}"
username: "{{ prism_user }}"
password: "{{ prism_password }}"
verify_ssl: False
# Global caching settings
caching:
cache_max_age: 300
cache_path: '/tmp/'
cache_base_name: 'ansible-nutanix.cache'
J2 Filename 3: templates/vm-body.yml.j2
api_version: '3.0'
metadata:
kind: vm
spec:
cluster_reference:
kind: cluster
uuid: {{ cluster_uuid }}
name: {{ vm.vm_name }}
resources:
disk_list:
- data_source_reference:
kind: image
uuid: {{ image_uuid }}
device_properties:
device_type: DISK
disk_address:
adapter_type: SCSI
device_index: 0
- disk_size_mib: {{ root_disk_size }}
- disk_size_mib: {{ data_disk_size }}
memory_size_mib: {{ vm.vm_ram }}
nic_list:
- nic_type: NORMAL_NIC
subnet_reference:
kind: subnet
uuid: {{ subnet_uuid }}
num_sockets: {{ vm.vm_num_sockets }}
num_vcpus_per_socket: {{ vm.vm_num_cpu_per_socket }}
power_state: 'ON'
guest_customization:
cloud_init:
user_data: {{ lookup('template','cloud-init.yml.j2') | b64encode }}
Once the above setup and configuration are done, the following tasks (by default, tasks are available in the tasks folder) are executed by Ansible one by one. The 'tasks' for the role 'nutanix_vm' are explained below:
TASK 1: LOG IN TO NUTANIX PRISM VIA SESSION COOKIE
This step shows how to log in to the Prism by creating a session cookie. A session cookie is used to store information in temporary memory and is deleted after the login is completed. This makes the authentication process more secure. The following task is executed by Ansible to log in to the Prism using a session cookie.
Filename: tasks/session_cookie.yml
- name: Auth to the cluster
uri:
url: "{{ api_url_v3 }}/clusters/list"
body:
kind: cluster
sort_order: ASCENDING
offset: 0
length: 10
sort_attribute: ''
method: POST
validate_certs: no
force_basic_auth: yes
body_format: json
user: "{{ prism_user }}"
password: "{{ prism_password }}"
status_code: 200
return_content: yes
register: login
ignore_errors: yes
- name: Debug | Print Auth Cookie
debug:
var: login.set_cookie
when: global_debug
- name: Set fact for session cookie
set_fact:
session_cookie: "{{ login.set_cookie}}"
register: cookie
- debug: var=cookie.failed
TASK 2: FIND THE NUTANIX CLUSTER LISTS AND UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS
The following task shows how to get the list of clusters and their unique identifiers (UUIDs). It also shows you how to find the required cluster name and the corresponding UUID for creating the VM.
Filename: ***tasks/cluster_uuid.yml ***
- name: Get clusters list
uri:
url: "{{ api_url_v3 }}/clusters/list"
body:
kind: cluster
sort_order: ASCENDING
offset: 0
length: 10
sort_attribute: ''
method: POST
validate_certs: no
body_format: json
status_code: 200
headers:
Cookie: "{{ session_cookie }}"
register: json_cluster_result
ignore_errors: yes
- name: Stash the Cluster UUIDs
set_fact:
cluster_uuids: "{{ cluster_uuids|default([]) + [{'name': item.spec.name, 'uuid': item.metada.uuid} ] }}"
with_items: "{{ json_clusters_result.json.entities }}"
no_log: True
- name: Debug|Printcluster name/UUIDs
debug:
var: cluster_uuids
when: global_debug
TASK 3: FIND THE NUTANIX SUBNET LISTS AND UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS
This task shows how to get the list of subnets and their unique identifiers (UUIDs). It also shows you how to find the required subnet name and the corresponding UUID for creating the VM.
Filename: tasks/subnet_uuid.yml
- name: Get Subnet List
uri:
url: "{{ api_url_v3}}/subnets/list"
body:
length: 100
offset: 0
filter: ""
method: POST
validate_certs: no
body_format: json
status_code: 200
headers:
Cookie: "{{ session_cookie }}"
register: json_images_result
ignore_errors: yes
- debug: var=json_images_result.json.entities.0.status
- debug: var=json_images_result.json.entities.1.status
- debug: var=json_images_result.json.entities.2.status
- name: Stash the subnet UUIDs
set_fact:
subnet_uuids: "{{ subnet_uuids|default([]) + [ {'name': item.spec.name, 'uuid': item.metadata.uuid } ] }}"
with_items: "{{ json_images_result.json.entities }}"
no_log: True
- name: Debug | Print Subnet name/UUIDs
debug:
var: subnet_uuids
when: global_debug
TASK 4: FIND THE NUTANIX OS IMAGE FOR THE VM CREATION
This task shows how to get the list of OS images and their unique identifiers (UUIDs). It also shows you how to find the required image name and the corresponding UUID for creating the VM.
Filename: tasks/image_uuid.yml
- name: Get Images list
uri:
url: "{{ api_url_v3 }}/images/list"
body:
length: 100
offset: 0
filter: ""
method: POST
validate_certs: no
body_format: json
status_code: 200
headers:
Cookie: "{{ session_cookie }}"
register: json_images_result
ignore_errors: yes
- name: Stash the image UUIDs
set_fact:
image_uuids: "{{ image_uuids | default([]) + [ {'name': item.spec.name, 'uuid': item.metadata.uuid } ] }}"
with_items: "{{ json_images_result.json.entities }}"
no_log: True
- name: Debug | Print image name/UUIDs
debug:
var: image_uuids
when: global_debug
TASK 5: CONFIGURE THE CLUSTER, IMAGE, AND SUBNET UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS
This step shows you how to configure and use the universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) of the cluster, image, and subnet found from the previous steps for the VM creation.
Filename: tasks/configure_uuids.yml
- name: Define Cluster UUID to use from name
set_fact:
cluster_uuid: "{{ item['uuid'] }}"
when: "item['name'] == cluster_name"
loop: "{{ cluster_uuids }}"
register: cluster_uuid
- debug: var=cluster_uuid
- name: Define Image UUID to use from name
set_fact:
image_uuid: "{{ item['uuid'] }}"
when: "item['name'] == image_name"
loop: "{{ image_uuids }}"
register: image_uuid
- debug: var= image_uuid
- name: Define Subnet UUID to use from name
set_fact:
subnet_uuid: "{{ item['uuid'] }}"
when: "item['name'] == subnet_name"
loop: "{{ subnet_uuids }}"
register: subnet_uuid
- debug: var= subnet_uuid
TASK 6: PROVISION NUTANIX VM WITH CENTOS IMAGE
This task shows how to provision a new VM (uses CentOS image here) in the Nutanix cluster. You can do this by running the python script 'nutanix.py' (referred to above in the templates section), after providing the configuration parameters and image template as defined above.
'nutanix.py' is a Python script that generates a dynamic inventory that Ansible can understand by making API requests to related Nutanix clusters. To get a better idea about this, please refer: https://github.com/mattkeeler/ansible-nutanix-inventory
Filename: tasks/provision_vm.yml
- name: Copy python with owner and permissions
template:
src: nutanix.py.j2
dest: /tmp/nutanix.py
owner: root
group: root
mode: u=rwx,g=rx,o=r
- name: Copy yaml with owner and permissions
template:
src: nutanix.yml.j2
dest: /tmp/nutanix.yml
owner: root
group: root
mode: u=rwx,g=rx,o=r
- name: run python script
shell: /tmp/nutanix.py --host {{ vm_name }}
register: output
- debug: var=output.stdout
- name: Debug | Print VM definitions
debug:
var: vm_defs
when: global_debug
- name: Create fact with VM template contents
set_fact:
vm_body: "{{ lookup('template', 'vm-body.yml.j2') | from_yaml }}"
loop: "{{ vm_defs }}"
register: templates
loop_control:
loop_var: vm
- name: Debug | Print Template lookup result
debug:
msg: "{{ item.ansible_facts.vm_body }}"
when: global_debug
with_items: "{{ templates.results }}"
- name: Create a VM from a template
uri:
url: "{{ api_url_v3 }}/vms"
body:
"{{ template.ansible_facts.vm_body }}"
method: POST
validate_certs: no
body_format: json
headers:
Cookie: "{{ session_cookie }}"
status_code: 202
register: json_create_result
with_items: "{{ templates.results }}"
loop_control:
loop_var: template
when: 'output.stdout_lines == [
"{}"
]'
- name: Debug | Print VM creation result
debug: msg="{{json_create_result}}"
- name: Debug | Display VM creation response
debug:
msg: "{{ item.json.metadata.uuid }}"
when: 'output.stdout_lines == [
"{}"
]'
with_items: "{{ json_create_result.results }}"
- name: Register the created vm uuid's for future use
set_fact:
_uuids: "{{ item.json.metadata.uuid }}"
with_items: "{{ json_create_result.results }}"
register: vm_uuids
when: 'output.stdout_lines == [
"{}"
]'
no_log: True
- name: Debug | Print VM uuids
debug:
var: vm_uuids
when: 'output.stdout_lines == [
"{}"
]'
TASK 7: MAIN TASK TO RUN OTHER TASKS AND CREATE CENTOS VM
This is the main task, which will initiate and execute other tasks defined in the tasks folder (as explained above) to create the CentOS VM.
Filename: tasks/main.yaml
# tasks file for nutanix_provisioner
- import_tasks: get_session_cookie.yml
- import_tasks: get_cluster_uuids.yml
- import_tasks: get_subnet_uuids.yml
- import_tasks: get_image_uuids.yml
- import_tasks: define_uuids_from_names.yml
- import_tasks: provision_vm.yml
- import_tasks: inventory.yml
HOW TO CALL THE ROLE
This step shows how to execute the role 'nutanix_vm'. Create a yaml file 'call.yaml' in the location where the 'nutanix_vm' role is present. Then, add the code given below in the yaml file.
- become: true
hosts: localhost
name: playbook for running nutanix_vm
tasks:
- include_role:
name: nutanix_vm
name: task for nutanix_vm
Execute the role by running the command given below:
ansible-playbook call.yaml
When the CentOS creation is completed, the IP address and name of the new CentOS will be printed in the terminal as follows:
CONCLUSION
Ansible is an efficient and relatively simple tool for automating infrastructure (IaC – Infrastructure as Code). In this tutorial, I used the Ansible role '**nutanix_vm_provisioner' *to create a CentOS VM on the Nutanix cluster. Ansible can also help with tasks like app deployments, configuration management, and workflow orchestration.
REFERENCES
About The Author
Sreedevi J S
Cloud Dev-Ops Engineer | Cloud Control
Cloud DevOps Engineer with more than three years of experience supporting, automating and optimizing deployments to hybrid cloud platforms using DevOps processes, tools, CI/CD, containers, and Kubernetes in both Production and Development environments.