Getting Started with VMware vCenter Integration in AAP
Setting up VMware vCenter integration with Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) is a straightforward process that enables you to manage your virtual infrastructure seamlessly. Here's how to get everything configured and running.
Setting Up Your VMware Credentials
The first step is accessing your AAP interface and establishing the connection credentials for your VMware environment. Once you've logged into the AAP GUI, you'll need to create a new credential specifically for VMware vCenter integration. When creating this credential, make sure to select "VMware vCenter" as the credential type, as this ensures the proper authentication parameters are configured for your vCenter server.
Building Your Inventory Foundation
With your credentials in place, the next step involves creating a new inventory that will house your VMware resources. This inventory serves as the container for all the virtual machines and infrastructure components that AAP will discover and manage from your vCenter environment.
After creating your inventory, you'll need to configure it to pull data from your VMware infrastructure. Navigate to the newly created inventory and access the Sources section. This is where you'll establish the connection between your inventory and the actual VMware environment.
Connecting to Your VMware Environment
Creating a new source within your inventory is where the magic happens. Select "VMware vCenter" as your source type, which tells AAP exactly how to communicate with your virtual infrastructure. The crucial step here is linking this source to the VMware vCenter credential you created earlier. This connection provides AAP with the necessary authentication details to access your vCenter server securely.
Synchronising Your Infrastructure
Once everything is configured, initiating the sync process brings your VMware environment into AAP's view. The sync operation discovers all your virtual machines, their configurations, and relevant metadata, making them available for automation tasks.
During the synchronisation process, AAP uses the community VMware inventory plugin to process your infrastructure data. You'll see confirmation messages indicating that the inventory import has completed successfully, such as "Inventory import completed for vCenter_inventory". This confirms that your VMware resources are now available within AAP for automation workflows.
What Happens Next
With your VMware vCenter integration complete, you can now leverage AAP's automation capabilities across your virtual infrastructure. Your virtual machines will appear in the inventory, ready for configuration management, deployment automation, and operational tasks. The synchronisation process can be run regularly to ensure your AAP inventory stays current with changes in your VMware environment.
This integration opens up powerful possibilities for automating routine tasks, standardising configurations, and managing your virtual infrastructure at scale through Ansible's proven automation framework.
- Login to AAP GUI
- Create New Credential - Credential Type: VMware vCenter
- Create new inventory
- Edit newly Created inventory - Click Sources
- Create new source - Select Source: VMware vCenter
- Select Source details: Credential, which created in Step 2
- Click "Sync" to Start Sync Process
Using inventory plugin 'ansible_collections.community.vmware.plugins.inventory.vmware_vm_inventory' to process inventory source '/runner/inventory/vmware_vm_inventory.yml'
INFO: Inventory import completed for vCenter_inventory
Top comments (0)