community.vmware.vmware_vm_info does not provide instance_UUID of vm

[Marx1st]

SUMMARY

The community.vmware.vmware_vm_info module returns a UUID that corresponds to bios_UUID instead of the expected instance_UUID.

ISSUE TYPE

• Bug Report

COMPONENT NAME

community.vmware.vmware_vm_info

ANSIBLE VERSION

ansible [core 2.13.10]
  config file = /etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg
  configured module search path = ['/root/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']
  ansible python module location = /usr/local/lib/python3.8/dist-packages/ansible
  ansible collection location = /root/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections
  executable location = /usr/local/bin/ansible
  python version = 3.8.10 (default, May 26 2023, 14:05:08) [GCC 9.4.0]
  jinja version = 3.1.2
  libyaml = True

COLLECTION VERSION

# /usr/local/lib/python3.8/dist-packages/ansible_collections
Collection       Version
---------------- -------
community.vmware 2.10.2

# /root/.ansible/collections/ansible_collections
Collection       Version
---------------- -------
community.vmware 3.8.0

CONFIGURATION

DEFAULT_LOAD_CALLBACK_PLUGINS(/etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg) = True
DEFAULT_LOG_PATH(/etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg) = /etc/ansible/playbooks/logs/ansible.log
DEFAULT_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE(/etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg) = /etc/ansible/ssh/id_rsa
DEFAULT_ROLES_PATH(/etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg) = ['/etc/ansible/playbooks/roles']
DEFAULT_STDOUT_CALLBACK(/etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg) = yaml
DEFAULT_VAULT_PASSWORD_FILE(/etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg) = /etc/ansible/playbooks/secrets/zim.secret
HOST_KEY_CHECKING(/etc/ansible/playbooks/ansible.cfg) = False

OS / ENVIRONMENT

Ubuntu 22.04

STEPS TO REPRODUCE

      - name: Get UUID from given VM Name
        community.vmware.vmware_vm_info:
          hostname: "REDACTED"
          username: 'REDACTED'
          password: '{{ ansibleapi_vsphere }}'
          validate_certs: false
          vm_name: "REDACTED"
        delegate_to: localhost
        register: vm_info

      - name: Print VM UUID
        debug:
          var: vm_info.virtual_machines[0].uuid

EXPECTED RESULTS

I would expect to receive the instance_UUID instead of the bios_UUID or both values.

ACTUAL RESULTS

The uuid containd the bios_UUID.

TASK [Print VM UUID] *************************************************************************************************************************
task path: /etc/ansible/playbooks/zim/zabbix_link_templates_new.yml:54
ok: [REDACTED] =>
  vm_info.virtual_machines[0].uuid: 4220f091-0306-26f9-e481-da71806e33da

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[mariolenz]

@Marx1st It looks like the module returns uuid from VirtualMachineConfigSummary(vim.vm.Summary.ConfigSummary). This is indeed documented as Virtual machine BIOS identification. We're very close to naming in the API here.

Do you want the instanceUuid from there, is this correct?

1. We won't change this, it might be breaking things for other users.
2. We could easily add a new instance_uuid or similar to the output. This wouldn't be breaking, so we can do it whenever we like. However, we're facing some problems in the CI at the moment so I'm not sure when we have a chance to implement this.

[Marx1st]

Hi @mariolenz ! Yes, we do need the instanceUuid as this is the only unique id for a vm in a clustered environment: https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/02/uniquely-identifying-virtual-machines-in-vsphere-and-vcloud-part-1-overview.html
It would be absolutely great if you could add instance_uuid to the output! :)