Azure Ubuntu 16.04环境下，Ansible Playbook能否用变量批量创建VM？

Yes, you absolutely can do this! Ansible’s loop capabilities make it straightforward to batch-create VMs using variables stored in an external file. Given your setup (Ubuntu 16.04, Ansible 2.4.3.0, Azure CLI 2.0.27), here’s a step-by-step implementation:

1. Create a Variables File for VM Details #

First, create a YAML file (e.g., vm_configs.yml) that lists all 10 VMs with their respective names, passwords, and other required parameters. This keeps your playbook clean and makes it easy to update VM details later:

# vm_configs.yml
target_vms:
  - vm_name: "prod-vm-01"
    admin_username: "azureadmin"
    admin_password: "StrongPass_2024!"
    resource_group: "my-production-rg"
    vm_size: "Standard_DS1_v2"
    nic_name: "prod-vm-01-nic" # Match your existing NIC naming convention
  - vm_name: "prod-vm-02"
    admin_username: "azureadmin"
    admin_password: "AnotherStrongPass_2024!"
    resource_group: "my-production-rg"
    vm_size: "Standard_DS1_v2"
    nic_name: "prod-vm-02-nic"
  # Add 8 more VM entries following the same structure

2. Write the Playbook with Loop Logic #

Next, update your Ansible playbook to load this variables file and use with_items (compatible with Ansible 2.4) to iterate over each VM entry and create the resources:

# create_batch_vms.yml
- name: Batch create Azure virtual machines
  hosts: localhost
  connection: local
  vars_files:
    - vm_configs.yml # Load our VM variables
  tasks:
    - name: Provision each VM
      azure_rm_virtualmachine:
        resource_group: "{{ item.resource_group }}"
        name: "{{ item.vm_name }}"
        vm_size: "{{ item.vm_size }}"
        admin_username: "{{ item.admin_username }}"
        admin_password: "{{ item.admin_password }}"
        network_interfaces: "{{ item.nic_name }}"
        os_type: Linux
        image:
          offer: UbuntuServer
          publisher: Canonical
          sku: 16.04-LTS
          version: latest
      with_items: "{{ target_vms }}" # Loop through each VM in our list
      register: vm_creation_output

    - name: Print creation status for each VM
      debug:
        msg: "Successfully created VM: {{ item.item.vm_name }} (ID: {{ item.id }})"
      with_items: "{{ vm_creation_output.results }}"

Key Notes: #

• Loop Syntax: Since you’re on Ansible 2.4, with_items is the correct loop construct (the loop keyword was introduced in Ansible 2.5, but with_items works perfectly here).
• Dependencies: Ensure you’ve already created the required network interfaces (NICs) for each VM, or extend the playbook to loop through NIC creation first using the same target_vms list.
• Security Warning: Storing plain-text passwords in a YAML file is not secure. For production use, encrypt the variables file with Ansible Vault:

  ansible-vault encrypt vm_configs.yml
  

  When running the playbook, use --ask-vault-pass to provide the vault password, or store it in a secure file with --vault-password-file.

Alternative: Use a CSV File #

If you prefer managing VM details in a CSV (e.g., for easier editing in spreadsheets), you can use Ansible’s read_csv module to load the data:

Example CSV (vms_list.csv): #

vm_name,admin_username,admin_password,resource_group,vm_size,nic_name
prod-vm-01,azureadmin,StrongPass_2024!,my-production-rg,Standard_DS1_v2,prod-vm-01-nic
prod-vm-02,azureadmin,AnotherStrongPass_2024!,my-production-rg,Standard_DS1_v2,prod-vm-02-nic

Updated Playbook Task: #

- name: Load VM details from CSV
  read_csv:
    path: vms_list.csv
    key: vm_name
  register: vm_csv_data

- name: Create VMs from CSV
  azure_rm_virtualmachine:
    resource_group: "{{ item.value.resource_group }}"
    name: "{{ item.value.vm_name }}"
    vm_size: "{{ item.value.vm_size }}"
    admin_username: "{{ item.value.admin_username }}"
    admin_password: "{{ item.value.admin_password }}"
    network_interfaces: "{{ item.value.nic_name }}"
    os_type: Linux
    image:
      offer: UbuntuServer
      publisher: Canonical
      sku: 16.04-LTS
      version: latest
  with_dict: "{{ vm_csv_data.dict }}"

This approach gives you flexibility in how you manage your VM inventory.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Bruce