Proxmox VM Automation Role

This Ansible role simpifies and automates the process of spinning up VMs on Proxmox. It leverages Proxmox API and Ansible modules to streamline VM deployment.

Inventory Configuration

Example inventory file:

node-example-01 ansible_host=10.0.100.1 vm_host=n1 storage=N1-NVME cpu_cores=24 memory_size_mb=65536 data_drive_fs=ext4 data_drive_size_gb=8000 data_drive_mount_path=/mnt/db data_drive_discard=on

^^^^^ the explanation

node-example-01 # VM name
ansible_host=10.0.100.1 # VM FUTURE ip
vm_host=n1 # The name of the Proxmox NODE where the VM will be located
storage=N1-NVME # The name of the LOCAL STORAGE of Proxmox NODE where the VM will be located
cpu_cores=24 # VM cores
memory_size_mb=65536 # VM memory in Mb
data_drive_fs=ext4 # VM data drive FS type
data_drive_size_gb=1000 # VM data drive size
data_drive_mount_path=/mnt/db # VM data drive mountpoint
data_drive_discard=on # VM data drive discard option

Variables

The proxmox-vms-automation-vars.yml file contains the following variables:

api_host: '172.16.0.1' # Proxmox NODE ip address
api_user: 'root@pam' # Proxmox API user name
api_token_id: 'deploy' # Proxmox API token name
api_token_secret: 'xxxxxxxxxxx-proxmoxtoken-xxxxxxxxxxx' # Proxmox api access token, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMWqrdH8S1w for the details
vm_template_name: 'ubuntu-22.04-server-cloudimg-template' # VM template name must be located on a common NFS/iSCSI/etc. volume for all proxmox nodes (if more than one node is in the cluster)
vm_name: '{{ inventory_hostname }}' # VM name
vm_cpu_cores: '{{ cpu_cores | default(4) }}' # number of VM cores
vm_memory_size_mb: '{{ memory_size_mb | default(4096) }}' # The VM memory in Mb
vm_storage: '{{ storage | default("CLUSTER-NFS") }}' # shared storage inventory name
vm_data_drive_fs: '{{ data_drive_fs | default("xfs") }}' # FS type
vm_data_drive_size_gb: '{{ data_drive_size_gb | default(100) }}' # data drive size (default is 100Gb)
vm_data_drive_discard: '{{ data_drive_discard | default("ignore") }}' # discard option
vm_data_drive_mount_path: '{{ data_drive_mount_path | default("/mnt") }}' # data drive mount path
bridge_name: '{% if "10.0.100" in ansible_host %}vmbr100{% elif "10.0.200" in ansible_host %}vmbr200{% endif %}' # VM bridge name
#bridge_name: 10.0.100.XX -> vmbr100; 10.0.200.XX -> vmbr200; etc; the bridge must be configured and exist on the Proxmox node
vm_ip: '{{ ansible_host }}' # VM ip
vm_netmask: '24' # VM netmask
vm_gw: '{% if "10.0.100" in ansible_host %}10.0.100.254{% elif "10.0.200" in ansible_host %}10.0.200.254{% endif %}' # VM gateway
#vm_gw: 10.0.100.XX -> 10.0.100.254; 10.0.200.XX -> 10.0.200.254; etc; 
vm_dnsdomain: 'proxmox.example' # VM DNS search domain name
vm_user: 'automation' # VM tech user for future automation
vm_user_password: 'pAsSw0Rd' # VM tech user password
vm_user_ssh_key: 'ssh-ed25519 AAAAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX' # VM tech user ssh key
nameservers: # VM nameservers
  - '1.1.1.1'
  - '8.8.8.8'

Role Structure

The role is divided into three parts to handle different stages of VM creation:

Part 1: Template Retrieval

This part retrieves information about the VM template and the specific VM.

  - prox-vm-spinup-part1

Part 2: VM Cloning and Configuration

This part ensures the template is placed on the target node and clones the template to create the VM.

  - prox-vm-spinup-part2

Part 3: Final Configuration

This part configures the cloned VM and completes the setup.

  - prox-vm-spinup-part3

Usage

1. Update the inventory file with the target node details.
2. Modify the variables in proxmox-vms-automation-vars.yml as needed.
3. Run the Ansible playbook:

ansible-playbook -i inventory proxmox-vms-automation.yml

Spinning Up a VM

To spin up a VM, update the inventory file with the target node details. Modify the variables in proxmox-vms-automation-vars.yml as needed. Run the Ansible playbook:

ansible-playbook -i inventory proxmox-vms-automation.yml

Authors

• Evgenii Sudlenkov