Create Scheduled task for all VMs on vmware with powercli

[Mustafa Dilbaz]

Hello everyone;

I need powercli code to create a vcenter scheduled task that will run at 00:01 every night for all my virtual machines and delete snapshots older than 7 days.

[LucD]

You will have to call the method directly, no cmdlet yet AFAIK.

#Requires -Modules @{ ModuleName="VMware.PowerCLI"; ModuleVersion="13.3.0" }

$vmName = 'MyVM'
$retentionDays = 7
$startTask = '12/06/2024 00:01:00'

$vm = Get-VM -Name $vmName

$spec = New-Object VMware.Vim.ScheduledTaskSpec
$spec.Scheduler = New-Object VMware.Vim.DailyTaskScheduler
$spec.Scheduler.ActiveTime = [System.DateTime]::Parse($startTask)
$spec.Scheduler.Hour = 0
$spec.Scheduler.Minute = 1
$spec.Scheduler.Interval = 1
$spec.Notification = ''         # No email notification
$spec.Name = "$vmName - Delete snapshots older than $retentionDays days"
$spec.Action = New-Object VMware.Vim.MethodAction
$arg1 = New-Object VMware.Vim.MethodActionArgument
$spec.Action.Argument += $arg1
$arg2 = New-Object VMware.Vim.MethodActionArgument
$arg2.Value = New-Object VMware.Vim.SnapshotSelectionSpec
$arg2.Value.RetentionDays = $retentionDays
$spec.Action.Argument += $arg2
$spec.Action.Name = 'RemoveAllSnapshots_Task'
$spec.Description = "Create scheduled task on $vmName to delete snapshots older than $retentionDays days"
$spec.Enabled = $true
$schedTaskMgr = Get-View ScheduledTaskManager
$schedTaskMgr.CreateScheduledTask($vm.ExtensionData.MoRef, $spec)

[LucD]

That will be a problem with a VC Scheduled Task I'm afraid.
In such a Task you can call a method (like RemoveSnapshot_Task), but no logic is available.
In other words, you can't select all snapshots older than 7 days.

You could run such a script as a scheduled task on a station where PS is available.
You can then schedule that script in the local task scheduler, such as for example Windows Task Scheduler or crontab.

[Pawel Koc]

I would recommend using Aria Orchestrator Standalone to do that. 

You can build a workflow similar to this one:

https://blanketvm.com/2021/09/26/vro-remove-vm-snapshots-older-than/

And schedule a workflow in Aria Orchestrator.

[Mustafa Dilbaz]

Unfortunately, we do not use vrealize. What I actually want to do is to be able to do exactly the operation that I can do from the interface in the picture, in bulk, with powercli. In other words, it is not a code that will delete snapshots older than 7 days. I need a command that will fill in the marked fields and create a scheduled task that will enter the parameters.

[LucD]

That is a new feature introduced in vCenter 8U3. See SnapshotSelectionSpec
Would have been nice if you mentioned that in your original question.

But ... such a scheduled task is run against a specific VM.
You would have to create a scheduled task for each VM where you want to manage the snapshots based on their age.

[Mustafa Dilbaz]

Sorry for not giving details. Yes, I am using 8U3.

Actually, if we can write a command to create it for a single VM, it would be possible. I can apply it to the whole system.

[Mustafa Dilbaz]

@LucD Thank You veeeeeery much. You're the Hero :)

Here my final script for alll vms

$vmNames = get-vm  | Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*'}
foreach($vmName in $vmnames)
{
$retentionDays = 7
$startTask = '12/06/2024 00:01:00'
$emailAddr = '[e-mail]'
$vm = Get-VM -Name $vmName

$spec = New-Object VMware.Vim.ScheduledTaskSpec
$spec.Scheduler = New-Object VMware.Vim.DailyTaskScheduler
$spec.Scheduler.ActiveTime = [System.DateTime]::Parse($startTask)
$spec.Scheduler.Hour = 10
$spec.Scheduler.Minute = 10
$spec.Scheduler.Interval = 1
$spec.Notification = $emailAddr
$spec.Name = "$vmName - Delete snapshots older than $retentionDays days"
$spec.Action = New-Object VMware.Vim.MethodAction
$arg1 = New-Object VMware.Vim.MethodActionArgument
$spec.Action.Argument += $arg1
$arg2 = New-Object VMware.Vim.MethodActionArgument
$arg2.Value = New-Object VMware.Vim.SnapshotSelectionSpec
$arg2.Value.RetentionDays = $retentionDays
$spec.Action.Argument += $arg2
$spec.Action.Name = 'RemoveAllSnapshots_Task'
$spec.Description = "Create scheduled task on $vmName to delete snapshots older than $retentionDays days"
$spec.Enabled = $true
$schedTaskMgr = Get-View ScheduledTaskManager
$schedTaskMgr.CreateScheduledTask($vm.ExtensionData.MoRef, $spec)
}

If you want to create for specific group of virtual machines, you can use 

$vmNames = get-vm  | Where-Object { $_.Name -like 'VMname*'}

Here is the result