vmware_exporter

Prometheus exporter for VMware vCenter / vSphere.

What it exports

• VM metrics (power state, CPU, memory)
• VM guest metrics (disks, tools, IP)
• Snapshot metrics
• Host metrics (+ optional alarms/sensors)
• Datastore metrics
• Optional tags and custom attributes as metric labels

Quick start (Docker)

docker run --rm -p 9272:9272 \
  -e VSPHERE_HOST=vcenter.company.com \
  -e VSPHERE_USER=administrator@vsphere.local \
  -e VSPHERE_PASSWORD=secret \
  -e VSPHERE_IGNORE_SSL=true \
  --name vmware_exporter \
  muravsky/vmware-exporter

Then open:

• http://localhost:9272/metrics

Minimal configuration file

default:
  vsphere_host: vcenter.company.com
  vsphere_user: administrator@vsphere.local
  vsphere_password: secret
  ignore_ssl: true
  specs_size: 5000
  fetch_custom_attributes: true
  fetch_tags: false
  fetch_alarms: false
  collect_only:
    vms: true
    vmguests: true
    datastores: true
    hosts: true
    snapshots: true

Run:

vmware_exporter -c /path/to/config.yml

Environment variables

Default section variables

Variable	Default	Description
VSPHERE_HOST	n/a	vSphere / vCenter host
VSPHERE_USER	n/a	Username
VSPHERE_PASSWORD	n/a	Password
VSPHERE_IGNORE_SSL	False	Ignore TLS certificate validation
VSPHERE_SPECS_SIZE	5000	Batch size for performance query specs
VSPHERE_FETCH_CUSTOM_ATTRIBUTES	False	Export custom attributes as labels
VSPHERE_FETCH_TAGS	False	Export tags as labels
VSPHERE_FETCH_ALARMS	False	Export triggered alarms
VSPHERE_COLLECT_VMS	True	Collect VM metrics
VSPHERE_COLLECT_VMGUESTS	True	Collect VM guest metrics
VSPHERE_COLLECT_DATASTORES	True	Collect datastore metrics
VSPHERE_COLLECT_HOSTS	True	Collect host metrics
VSPHERE_COLLECT_SNAPSHOTS	True	Collect snapshot metrics

Custom section variables

You can define section-specific values with VSPHERE_<SECTION>_... prefixes.

Example for section limited:

• VSPHERE_LIMITED_HOST
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_USER
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_PASSWORD
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_IGNORE_SSL
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_SPECS_SIZE
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_FETCH_CUSTOM_ATTRIBUTES
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_FETCH_TAGS
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_FETCH_ALARMS
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_COLLECT_VMS
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_COLLECT_VMGUESTS
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_COLLECT_DATASTORES
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_COLLECT_HOSTS
• VSPHERE_LIMITED_COLLECT_SNAPSHOTS

VSPHERE_<SECTION>_USER is enough for section discovery.

Multiple sections

You can define multiple config sections and select one at scrape time:

• /metrics?section=default
• /metrics?section=esx

Environment-based sections are supported via prefix:

• VSPHERE_<SECTION>_HOST
• VSPHERE_<SECTION>_USER
• VSPHERE_<SECTION>_PASSWORD
• etc.

Example: VSPHERE_LIMITED_USER=... enables section limited.

Prometheus configuration examples

Single section scrape

- job_name: vmware_exporter
  metrics_path: /metrics
  static_configs:
    - targets: ["exporter-host:9272"]
  params:
    section: ["default"]

Multiple sections from one exporter

- job_name: vmware_exporter_default
  metrics_path: /metrics
  static_configs:
    - targets: ["exporter-host:9272"]
  params:
    section: ["default"]

- job_name: vmware_exporter_limited
  metrics_path: /metrics
  static_configs:
    - targets: ["exporter-host:9272"]
  params:
    section: ["limited"]

Target relabeling style

- job_name: vmware_vcenter
  metrics_path: /metrics
  static_configs:
    - targets: ["vcenter.company.com"]
  relabel_configs:
    - source_labels: [__address__]
      target_label: __param_target
    - source_labels: [__param_target]
      target_label: instance
    - target_label: __address__
      replacement: exporter-host:9272

Sample exported metrics

# HELP vmware_vm_power_state VMWare VM Power state (On / Off)
# TYPE vmware_vm_power_state gauge
vmware_vm_power_state{vm_name="app-01",ds_name="datastore1",host_name="esx-01",dc_name="dc1",cluster_name="cluster-a",vm_ip_address="10.10.10.10"} 1

# HELP vmware_vm_snapshot_timestamp_seconds VMWare Snapshot creation time in seconds
# TYPE vmware_vm_snapshot_timestamp_seconds gauge
vmware_vm_snapshot_timestamp_seconds{vm_name="app-01",ds_name="datastore1",host_name="esx-01",dc_name="dc1",cluster_name="cluster-a",vm_snapshot_name="pre-upgrade"} 1712736000

# HELP vmware_datastore_capacity_size VMWare Datasore capacity in bytes
# TYPE vmware_datastore_capacity_size gauge
vmware_datastore_capacity_size{ds_name="datastore1",dc_name="dc1",ds_cluster="pod-a"} 6.7377299456e+10

# HELP vmware_host_memory_max VMWare Host Memory Max availability in Mbytes
# TYPE vmware_host_memory_max gauge
vmware_host_memory_max{host_name="esx-01",dc_name="dc1",cluster_name="cluster-a"} 131059.0

Build and publish Docker image

docker login
docker buildx build \
  --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 \
  -t muravsky/vmware-exporter:latest \
  -t muravsky/vmware-exporter:vX.Y.Z \
  --push .

Source / credits

This project is based on community VMware exporter work and keeps attribution to original sources:

• https://github.com/rverchere/vmware_exporter
• https://github.com/pryorda/vmware_exporter
• https://github.com/vmware/pyvmomi-community-samples
• https://github.com/jbidinger/pyvmomi-tools
• https://www.robustperception.io/writing-a-jenkins-exporter-in-python/

Core libraries:

• pyVmomi
• prometheus/client_python
• Twisted

License

See LICENSE.