Ansible playbooks for managing IBM Power Systems via HMC (Hardware Management Console).

1. LPARs anlegen und löschen – LPAR erstellen (mit oder ohne Netboot), LV auf VIOS, LPAR löschen
2. LPARs per Netboot installieren – RHEL-Installation über PXE/Kickstart (TFTP, DHCP, Kickstart-Datei)
3. Neue RHEL-Versionen auf dem Kickstart-Server ablegen – ISO einspielen, Repo- und TFTP-Struktur anlegen

• Multiple managed systems per HMC – Liste verwalteter Systeme pro HMC
• LPAR-Steuerung – Ein/Aus, Anlegen, Löschen
• Self-signed certificate support – HMCs mit selbstsignierten Zertifikaten

1. Ansible (2.9+)
2. Python 3 on the control node
3. sshpass installed (brew install hudochenkov/sshpass/sshpass on macOS)
4. Network access to the HMC from the control node
5. HMC credentials with appropriate permissions

Install the required Ansible collection:

ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml

Edit inventory/hosts.yml to configure your HMC hosts and managed systems:

all:
  children:
    hmc:
      hosts:
        10.32.104.241:
          managed_systems_list:
            - "power91"
            - "power92"

        10.32.104.242:
          managed_systems_list:
            - "power93"

      vars:
        hmc_user: "admin"

Option 1: Command line

ansible-playbook power_control.yml -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

Option 2: Environment variable

export HMC_PASSWORD="your_password"
ansible-playbook power_control.yml -e "hmc_pass=$HMC_PASSWORD"

Option 3: Ansible Vault

ansible-vault create group_vars/hmc/vault.yml
# Add: hmc_pass: "your_secure_password"

ansible-playbook power_control.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "power_state=on" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

ansible-playbook power_control.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "power_state=off" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

ansible-playbook power_control.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -l 10.32.104.241 \
  -e "power_state=off" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

ansible-playbook power_control.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e '{"managed_systems_list": ["power91"]}' \
  -e "power_state=off" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

Use lpar_control.yml to power on/off individual LPARs by name.

ansible-playbook lpar_control.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "lpar_name=my_lpar" \
  -e "power_state=on" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

ansible-playbook lpar_control.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "lpar_name=my_lpar" \
  -e "power_state=off" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

If you know which system the LPAR is on (faster):

ansible-playbook lpar_control.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "lpar_name=my_lpar" \
  -e "managed_system=power91" \
  -e "power_state=on" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

If you don't specify managed_system, the playbook will search all systems defined in managed_systems_list to find the LPAR.

Use lpar_delete.yml to remove an LPAR (LPAR is shut down first).

ansible-playbook lpar_delete.yml -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "lpar_name=my_lpar" \
  -e "managed_system=power91" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD" \
  -e "confirm_delete=yes"

Without confirm_delete=yes the playbook exits with a reminder to set it.

Kickstart-Server einmalig einrichten oder neue RHEL-Version hinzufügen:

ansible-playbook setup_kickstart_server.yml -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "rhel_version=9.6" \
  -e "iso_path=/path/to/rhel-9.6-ppc64le-dvd.iso"

Legt ISO/Repo/TFTP-Struktur an (Mount, rsync, GRUB2, Kernel/Initrd), installiert den Standard-TFTP-Server (tftp-server) und httpd und konfiguriert Firewall sowie SELinux.

Um ausschließlich die generische grub.cfg für Power-Network-Boot neu zu installieren (z. B. nach Änderung an templates/grub_generic.cfg.j2), das Playbook mit dem Tag install_grub_generic ausführen:

ansible-playbook setup_kickstart_server.yml -i inventory/hosts.yml --tags install_grub_generic

Es werden nur die Tasks mit diesem Tag ausgeführt; Voraussetzung ist, dass grub_generic: true gesetzt ist (Standard im Playbook).

Use upload_media.yml to upload ISO/DVD images to the HMC's VIOS repository. The HMC pulls the file via SFTP or NFS from a remote server.

The simplest approach is to use your control node as the SFTP server (SSH must be enabled):

ansible-playbook upload_media.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "iso_file=/home/user/images/AIX_7.3_DVD1.iso" \
  -e "sftp_server=192.168.1.100" \
  -e "sftp_user=myuser" \
  -e "sftp_password=mypassword" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

If you have an NFS server with the ISO:

ansible-playbook upload_media.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "iso_file=/exports/images/AIX_7.3_DVD1.iso" \
  -e "media_type=nfs" \
  -e "nfs_server=192.168.1.50" \
  -e "nfs_mount=/exports/images" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

By default, images are stored in uploaded_images directory. Override with:

-e "repository_dir=aix_images"

1. SSH/SFTP must be enabled on your control node
2. The HMC must have network access to your control node
3. Use your control node's IP address that the HMC can reach

Use lpar_create.yml to create a new Linux LPAR configured for RHEL installation from a DVD ISO on VIOS.

ansible-playbook lpar_create.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "lpar_name=rhel-server01" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

ansible-playbook lpar_create.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "lpar_name=rhel-server01" \
  -e "lpar_cpu=4" \
  -e "lpar_mem=8192" \
  -e "lpar_disk=100" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

ansible-playbook lpar_create.yml \
  -i inventory/hosts.yml \
  -e "lpar_name=rhel-server01" \
  -e "lpar_cpu=4" \
  -e "lpar_cpu_min=2" \
  -e "lpar_cpu_max=8" \
  -e "lpar_mem=16384" \
  -e "lpar_disk=200" \
  -e "vios_name=vios1" \
  -e "virtual_network=ETHERNET0" \
  -e "hmc_pass=YOUR_PASSWORD"

After creating the LPAR, configure the virtual optical device on VIOS:

# On VIOS: Find the virtual host adapter
lsmap -all | grep <lpar_name>

# Create virtual optical device
mkvdev -fbo -vadapter vhostX

# Load the RHEL ISO
loadopt -vtd vtoptX -disk /path/to/rhel-dvd.iso

# Verify
lsmap -vadapter vhostX

Then power on the LPAR and boot from the virtual optical device.

Use inventory/lpars.power_hmc.yml to automatically discover all LPARs from the HMC.

# Set credentials
export HMC_USER=admin
export HMC_PASS=your_password

ansible-inventory -i inventory/lpars.power_hmc.yml --list --yaml

ansible-playbook your_playbook.yml -i inventory/lpars.power_hmc.yml

The dynamic inventory automatically creates these groups:

LPARs must have one of the following to appear in the inventory:

1. RMC IP address configured (check with lsrsrc IBM.MCP on the LPAR)
2. DNS-resolvable hostname matching the LPAR name

To enable RMC on AIX/Linux LPARs:

/usr/sbin/rsct/bin/rmcctrl -A
/usr/sbin/rsct/install/bin/recfgct

Or add LPAR names to /etc/hosts on your control node.

power-playbooks/
├── power_control.yml           # Managed Systems ein/aus
├── lpar_control.yml            # Einzelne LPAR ein/aus
├── lpar_delete.yml             # LPAR löschen (mit Bestätigung: -e confirm_delete=yes)
├── lpar_create.yml             # LPAR anlegen + VIOS-LV (hmc_create_lpar_lv_api)
├── lpar_create_old.yml         # LPAR anlegen + Rolle create_lpar_lv
├── lpar_netinstall.yml         # LPAR für Netboot: Kea-DHCP, GRUB, Kickstart, lpar_netboot
├── add_lv_to_lpar.yml          # Nur LV auf VIOS anlegen und an LPAR mappen (Rolle create_lpar_lv)
├── setup_kickstart_server.yml  # Kickstart-Server: RHEL-ISO, Repo, TFTP (tftp-server), httpd
├── upload_media.yml            # ISO in HMC/VIOS-Repository hochladen
├── download_rhel_media.yml      # RHEL-DVD-ISO von Red Hat API herunterladen
├── lpar_info.yml               # LPAR-Infos vom HMC abfragen
├── inventory/
│   ├── hosts.yml
│   ├── group_vars/
│   └── lpars.power_hmc.yml
├── roles/
│   └── create_lpar_lv/        # LV auf VIOS anlegen und mappen
├── library/                   # Lokale Module (hmc_create_lpar_lv, hmc_create_lpar_lv_api)
├── templates/                 # Für setup_kickstart_server, lpar_netinstall
├── requirements.yml
└── README.md

Die Dateien my_lpar_cfg.yml und lpar_config.yml sind in .gitignore eingetragen und werden nicht ins Repository oder auf den Server übernommen. Für Passwörter und lokale LPAR-Variablen verwenden (z. B. -e @my_lpar_cfg.yml); sensible Werte mit Ansible Vault schützen.

The playbook automatically disables SSL verification for self-signed certificates via environment variables.

Install sshpass:

• macOS: brew install hudochenkov/sshpass/sshpass
• Ubuntu/Debian: apt-get install sshpass
• RHEL/CentOS: yum install sshpass

This error occurs when trying to power off a system with running LPARs. Use lpar_control.yml to shut down individual LPARs first.

• IBM Power HMC Collection Documentation
• power_system module
• powervm_lpar_instance module