Seeking Guidance with the vmware_guest Module

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1

Ive only resently started using Ansible (about 3 weeks). Ive gotten the hang of the basics; however, im having some challanges with deploying a VM and getting it to domain join. The error seems to reference domain_ou which im specifying and the OU does exist. The account im using is a domain admin as well.

If i remove all the domain join related stuff the VM deploys without issue. I suspect that it may be formating? Ive searched just about every where and tried different methods but same results.

Here is the playbook:

---
- name: Create a new VM from a template
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
    - name: Deploy VM from template "{{ vm_template }}"
      community.vmware.vmware_guest:
        hostname: "{{ vcenter_hostname }}"
        username: "{{ vcenter_username }}"
        password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
        validate_certs: false
        name: "{{ vm_hostname }}"
        template: "{{ vm_template }}"
        datacenter: "{{ vcenter_datacenter }}"
        cluster: "{{ vm_dest }}"
        datastore: "{{ vm_datastore }}"
        convert: thin
        folder: "{{ vm_folder }}"
        annotation: "{{ vm_notes }} "
        state: "{{ vm_pstate }}"
        networks:
          - name: "{{ vm_network }}"
            connected: true
            start_connected: yes
            device_type: vmxnet3
            ip: "{{ vm_address }}"
            netmask: "{{ vm_netmask }}"
            gateway: "{{ vm_gateway }}"
            dns_suffix: myplayground.com
            domain: myplayground.com
            dns_servers:
              - "{{ dns_server1 }}"
              - "{{ dns_server2 }}"
            wait_for_ip_address: true
        customization:
          autologon: true
          autologoncount: 1
          fullname: LocalAdmin
          hostname: "{{ vm_hostname }}"
          domain: myplayground.com
          joindomain: myplayground.com
          domain_ou: "OU=AnsibleTest,OU=TargetOU,OU=TO,OU=PATH,DC=MYPLAYGROUND,DC=COM"
          domainadmin: "{{ domain_admin }}"
          domainadminpassword: "{{ domain_adminpass }}"
          orgname: AnsibLab
          password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
          productid: 'NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43'
          timezone: '004'
        wait_for_customization: true

I get this error when attempting to domain join:

{
“module_stdout”: “”,
“module_stderr”: “Traceback (most recent call last):\n File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 463, in GetPropertyInfo\n while name not in type._propInfo:\n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\nAttributeError: type object ‘object’ has no attribute ‘_propInfo’\n\nDuring handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:\n\nTraceback (most recent call last):\n File "/home/runner/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1744309730.6326966-25-43156245065951/AnsiballZ_vmware_guest.py", line 107, in \n _ansiballz_main()\n File "/home/runner/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1744309730.6326966-25-43156245065951/AnsiballZ_vmware_guest.py", line 99, in _ansiballz_main\n invoke_module(zipped_mod, temp_path, ANSIBALLZ_PARAMS)\n File "/home/runner/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1744309730.6326966-25-43156245065951/AnsiballZ_vmware_guest.py", line 47, in invoke_module\n runpy.run_module(mod_name=‘ansible_collections.community.vmware.plugins.modules.vmware_guest’, init_globals=dict(_module_fqn=‘ansible_collections.community.vmware.plugins.modules.vmware_guest’, _modlib_path=modlib_path),\n File "", line 226, in run_module\n File "", line 98, in _run_module_code\n File "", line 88, in _run_code\n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 3682, in \n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 3671, in main\n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 3052, in deploy_vm\n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 2380, in customize_vm\n File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 663, in setattr\n CheckField(self._GetPropertyInfo(name), val)\n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\n File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 468, in GetPropertyInfo\n raise AttributeError(name)\nAttributeError: domainOU\n”,
“exception”: “Traceback (most recent call last):\n File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 463, in GetPropertyInfo\n while name not in type._propInfo:\n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\nAttributeError: type object ‘object’ has no attribute ‘_propInfo’\n\nDuring handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:\n\nTraceback (most recent call last):\n File "/home/runner/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1744309730.6326966-25-43156245065951/AnsiballZ_vmware_guest.py", line 107, in \n _ansiballz_main()\n File "/home/runner/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1744309730.6326966-25-43156245065951/AnsiballZ_vmware_guest.py", line 99, in _ansiballz_main\n invoke_module(zipped_mod, temp_path, ANSIBALLZ_PARAMS)\n File "/home/runner/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1744309730.6326966-25-43156245065951/AnsiballZ_vmware_guest.py", line 47, in invoke_module\n runpy.run_module(mod_name=‘ansible_collections.community.vmware.plugins.modules.vmware_guest’, init_globals=dict(_module_fqn=‘ansible_collections.community.vmware.plugins.modules.vmware_guest’, _modlib_path=modlib_path),\n File "", line 226, in run_module\n File "", line 98, in _run_module_code\n File "", line 88, in _run_code\n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 3682, in \n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 3671, in main\n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 3052, in deploy_vm\n File "/tmp/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload_79q0j9el/ansible_community.vmware.vmware_guest_payload.zip/ansible_collections/community/vmware/plugins/modules/vmware_guest.py", line 2380, in customize_vm\n File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 663, in setattr\n CheckField(self._GetPropertyInfo(name), val)\n ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\n File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 468, in GetPropertyInfo\n raise AttributeError(name)\nAttributeError: domainOU\n”,
“msg”: “MODULE FAILURE\nSee stdout/stderr for the exact error”,
“rc”: 1,
“_ansible_no_log”: false,
“changed”: false,
“_ansible_delegated_vars”: {
“ansible_host”: “localhost”,
“ansible_port”: null,
“ansible_user”: “root”,
“ansible_connection”: “local”
}
}

2

Here is what Grok thinks about it…

# Fixing the Ansible Playbook Error for VMware VM Domain Join

The error you're encountering in your Ansible playbook is related to the `customization` section of the `vmware_guest` module, specifically with the `domain_ou` parameter. The traceback indicates an `AttributeError: domainOU`, which suggests that the `domain_ou` parameter is not recognized by the underlying VMware API or the Ansible module.

## Root Cause

The `vmware_guest` module relies on the `pyVmomi` library to interact with VMware vSphere. The error occurs because `domain_ou` (or its camelCase variant `domainOU`) is not a valid property in the `CustomizationSpec` object used by `pyVmomi` for VM customization. The correct parameter to specify an Organizational Unit (OU) for domain joining is `ou`, not `domain_ou`.

## Fix

Update the `customization` section in your playbook to use `ou` instead of `domain_ou`. Below is the corrected portion of your playbook:

```yaml
customization:
  autologon: true
  autologoncount: 1
  fullname: LocalAdmin
  hostname: "{{ vm_hostname }}"
  domain: myplayground.com
  joindomain: myplayground.com
  ou: "OU=AnsibleTest,OU=TargetOU,OU=TO,OU=PATH,DC=MYPLAYGROUND,DC=COM"  # Changed from domain_ou to ou
  domainadmin: "{{ domain_admin }}"
  domainadminpassword: "{{ domain_adminpass }}"
  orgname: AnsibLab
  password: "{{ vcenter_password }}"
  productid: 'NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43'
  timezone: '004'

Explanation
The ou parameter specifies the Organizational Unit in the Active Directory where the VM’s computer account will be placed after joining the domain.

The domain_ou parameter you used does not exist in the vmware_guest module’s customization spec, which is why the error occurs when pyVmomi tries to set this attribute.

Additional Notes
Validate Variables: Ensure all variables (e.g., domain_admin, domain_adminpass, vm_hostname, etc.) are defined in your inventory, group vars, or passed via -e in the Ansible command. Undefined variables can cause other failures.

Credentials: Double-check that domainadmin and domainadminpassword have sufficient privileges to join the VM to the domain and place it in the specified OU.

Network Configuration: Ensure the dns_servers, vm_address, vm_netmask, and vm_gateway are correctly configured, as domain joining requires proper DNS resolution.

Debugging: If the issue persists, run the playbook with verbose output (ansible-playbook -vvv) to get more detailed logs.

Testing the Fix
After making the change, rerun the playbook with the following command:
bash

ansible-playbook your_playbook.yml -vvv

If the VM deploys and joins the domain successfully, the task should complete without the AttributeError.

3

This does not work unfortunately. The supported parameter per the documentation is domain_ou. If i do switch to ou: then the playbook immediately fails due to that parameter.

This is where im stuck. The documentation stated to enter the value as “LDAP Path” which ive done…but doesnt work. I then switched to DN as shown in active directory and it doesnt work. Both return an error that is similar to what I included in the post.

Oh I also want to add that I omitted the domain_ou parameter and get the same error, even though the docummentation states that its not required.

4

Does it work if you remove the “customization” block? In other words, can you successfully deploy a plain VM from template, without any customization?

It’s a little bit hard to decipher your error message because it was not pasted in original form and in code block so it’s messed up. Anyway, this looks like a bug. Some incompatibility between Python/pyvmomi and vCenter API perhaps.

What version of Ansible, pyvmomi, community.vmware collection and VMware vCenter are you using?

I had some weird issues with vCenter 8.0.3 compared to 8.0.2.

5

What pyVmomi version are you using?

edit:
"/usr/local/lib/python3.11/site-packages/pyVmomi/VmomiSupport.py", line 468, in GetPropertyInfo\n raise AttributeError(name)\nAttributeError: domainOU looks like pyVmomi doesn’t know this attribute. Since the documentation says domain_ou works for vSphere 8.0U2 and above, I guess you probably also need pyvmomi 8.0.2.0 or later.

And just to make this clear: You are running vSphere 8.0U2+?

For the record: This has been implemented here.

6

If i remove the joindomain parameter I am able to deploy the VM successfully without issue, and I am able to include any others well. If I omit the domain_ou and just include the joindomain i still get the same error.

I am running vCenter 8u3d and the ESXi is also 8u3d. The VM version is 21 and vmtools on the template is also on the latest, 12.5.1

I am running a trial of Ansible Automation Platform 2.5 and im running from there using the prebuilt execution environments so ill have to check. I do believe it had ansible core 2.14.17 but i could be mistaken. Thank you for the reply!

7

I think we don’t support ansible-core < 2.17. But I don’t think that’s the problem here.

ATM it looks like a (too) old pyvmomi version to me. Although this is just an educated guess.

8

Thank you for the reply! It sounds like my issue may possible be with the pyvmomi version then. I am running the latest version and build on vSphere. The vcsa is at 8u3d and the esxi is also 8u3d.

9

excuse my ignorance, but this would be on the execution environment correct?

edit: i am using ansible automation platform 2.5 which is Redhats latest build. I didnt deviate much from their defaults so I will have to check on if i can get support from them.

10

Your OU path doesn’t include a (space) in it does it? Apparently there is a bug in vSphere Guest Customization …

Does it work directly in the UI of vSphere (right click; clone; etc)?