Ansible xenserver_guest module not setting static IP on AlmaLinux 9 guest OS

Question

I'm attempting to automate VM deployment on XCP-ng (version 20.04.01) using Ansible and the xenserver_guest module. The guest OS is AlmaLinux 9.

ansible --version
ansible 2.9.27
  config file = /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg
  configured module search path = [u'/home/automation/.ansible/plugins/modules', u'/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']
  ansible python module location = /usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/ansible
  executable location = /usr/bin/ansible
  python version = 2.7.5 (default, Jun 20 2023, 11:36:40) [GCC 4.8.5 20150623 (Red Hat 4.8.5-44)]

My objective is to:

• Deploy the VM from a template.
• Set a static IP address on the guest OS during deployment.
• Perform additional configuration tasks like adding a user to sudoers and setting the hostname (mentioned for reference).

Problem:

The VM is successfully created, but the static IP is not assigned to the guest OS (AlmaLinux 9) after logging in.

Additional Information:

• I've verified that the xenserver_guest module version supports setting static IPs.
• The provided code snippet successfully configures the network interface within the XenServer environment, but the guest OS itself is not reflecting the static IP assignment.

Context:

We're in the process of automating virtual machine (VM) deployments on our XCP-ng virtualization platform. Our current infrastructure heavily relies on manual processes, and we're aiming to streamline VM provisioning and configuration using Ansible.

This automation effort is crucial for:

Enhancing Efficiency: Automating VM deployment reduces manual intervention, saving time and effort for our IT team. Ensuring Consistency: Ansible playbooks guarantee consistent configurations across all deployed VMs, minimizing human error and configuration drift. Scalability: Automation empowers us to handle larger deployments efficiently and cater to growing infrastructure demands. We acknowledge the existence of alternative tools for VM automation. However, our current environment leverages XCP-ng and Ansible, and this project serves as a stepping stone towards a more comprehensive automation strategy. Successfully incorporating static IP assignment during VM deployment using the xenserver_guest module is a critical step in this direction.

I've attempted to configure the static IP within the networks section of the xenserver_guest module:

- name: "Create the VM with network configuration"
  xenserver_guest:
    validate_certs: false
    name: "{{ vm_name }}"
    name_desc: "Created_by: Ansible"
    template: "{{ template_name }}"
    # ... other VM configuration options
    networks:
      - name: "Pool-wide network associated with eth0"
        type: static
        ip: 172.16.29.139
        netmask: 255.255.255.0
        gateway: 172.16.29.201
    # ... configuration for other network interfaces (if applicable)
    state: poweredon

Also I got this output:

xcp-ng-host1 | CHANGED => {
    "changed": true,
    "instance": {
        "cdrom": {
            "iso_name": "AlmaLinux-9.2-x86_64-dvd.iso",
            "type": "iso"
        },
        "customization_agent": "custom",
        "disks": [
            {
                "name": "Alma_Linux_Onmobile 0",
                "name_desc": "Created by template provisioner",
                "os_device": "xvda",
                "size": 42949672960,
                "sr": "host2",
                "sr_uuid": "80fd9e14-a4dc-fa21-c276-a1799d4b6bcb",
                "vbd_userdevice": "0"
            }
        ],
        "domid": "322",
        "folder": "",
        "hardware": {
            "memory_mb": 4096,
            "num_cpu_cores_per_socket": 1,
            "num_cpus": 4
        },
        "home_server": "",
        "is_template": false,
        "name": "my_first_vm",
        "name_desc": "Created_by: Ansible",
        "networks": [
            {
                "gateway": "172.16.29.201",
                "gateway6": "",
                "ip": "",
                "ip6": [],
                "mac": "12:ed:b7:4b:f4:33",
                "mtu": "1500",
                "name": "Pool-wide network associated with eth0",
                "netmask": "255.255.255.0",
                "prefix": "24",
                "prefix6": "",
                "vif_device": "0"
            },
            {
                "gateway": "",
                "gateway6": "",
                "ip": "",
                "ip6": [],
                "mac": "36:50:3b:bd:ad:2e",
                "mtu": "1500",
                "name": "Pool-wide network associated with eth1",
                "netmask": "",
                "prefix": "",
                "prefix6": "",
                "vif_device": "1"
            },
            {
                "gateway": "",
                "gateway6": "",
                "ip": "",
                "ip6": [],
                "mac": "e2:1d:ef:3a:60:1f",
                "mtu": "1500",
                "name": "Pool-wide network associated with eth2",
                "netmask": "",
                "prefix": "",
                "prefix6": "",
                "vif_device": "2"
            },
            {
                "gateway": "",
                "gateway6": "",
                "ip": "",
                "ip6": [],
                "mac": "be:a2:19:ff:85:af",
                "mtu": "1500",
                "name": "Pool-wide network associated with eth3",
                "netmask": "",
                "prefix": "",
                "prefix6": "",
                "vif_device": "3"
            }
        ],
        "other_config": {
            "auto_poweron": "false",
            "base_template_name": "AlmaLinux 8",
            "import_task": "OpaqueRef:67e31e5d-7ed5-4a6a-9cc2-e665f9ed69d3",
            "install-methods": "cdrom,nfs,http,ftp",
            "instant": "true",
            "linux_template": "true",
            "mac_seed": "c4366f2c-2707-1016-7c61-8c0a9773cdcd"
        },
        "platform": {
            "acpi": "1",
            "apic": "true",
            "device-model": "qemu-upstream-compat",
            "device_id": "0001",
            "hpet": "true",
            "nx": "true",
            "pae": "true",
            "secureboot": "false",
            "timeoffset": "-1",
            "vga": "std",
            "videoram": "8",
            "viridian": "false"
        },
        "state": "poweredoff",
        "uuid": "f5deb35e-7f86-a75f-ab7b-74ff1bcb2345",
        "xenstore_data": {
            "vm-data": "",
            "vm-data/mmio-hole-size": "268435456",
            "vm-data/networks": "",
            "vm-data/networks/0": "",
            "vm-data/networks/0/gateway": "172.16.29.201",
            "vm-data/networks/0/ip": "172.16.29.139",
            "vm-data/networks/0/mac": "12:ed:b7:4b:f4:33",
            "vm-data/networks/0/name": "Pool-wide network associated with eth0",
            "vm-data/networks/0/netmask": "255.255.255.0",
            "vm-data/networks/0/prefix": "24",
            "vm-data/networks/0/type": "static"
        }
    }
}

I expected the guest OS (AlmaLinux 9) to receive the static IP configuration (172.16.29.139) after the VM deployment. However, upon logging in, the IP is not set.

Question:

1. Is there an error in my configuration that prevents the xenserver_guest module from setting the static IP within the guest OS?
2. Are there alternative approaches to ensure the static IP is set during VM deployment using Ansible on XCP-ng?