.. _windows_setup:

Setting up a Windows Host
=========================
This document discusses the setup that is required before Ansible can communicate with a Microsoft Windows host.

.. contents::
   :local:

Host Requirements
`````````````````
For Ansible to communicate to a Windows host and use Windows modules, the
Windows host must meet these requirements:

* Ansible can generally manage Windows versions under current
  and extended support from Microsoft. Ansible can manage desktop OSs including
  Windows 8.1, and 10, and server OSs including Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2,
  2016, 2019, and 2022.

* Ansible requires PowerShell 3.0 or newer and at least .NET 4.0 to be
  installed on the Windows host.

* A WinRM listener should be created and activated. More details for this can be
  found below.

.. Note:: While these are the base requirements for Ansible connectivity, some Ansible
    modules have additional requirements, such as a newer OS or PowerShell
    version. Please consult the module's documentation page
    to determine whether a host meets those requirements.

Upgrading PowerShell and .NET Framework
---------------------------------------
Ansible requires PowerShell version 3.0 and .NET Framework 4.0 or newer to function on older operating systems like Server 2008 and Windows 7. The base image does not meet this
requirement. You can use the `Upgrade-PowerShell.ps1 <https://github.com/jborean93/ansible-windows/blob/master/scripts/Upgrade-PowerShell.ps1>`_ script to update these.

This is an example of how to run this script from PowerShell:

.. code-block:: powershell

    [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
    $url = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jborean93/ansible-windows/master/scripts/Upgrade-PowerShell.ps1"
    $file = "$env:temp\Upgrade-PowerShell.ps1"
    $username = "Administrator"
    $password = "Password"

    (New-Object -TypeName System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile($url, $file)
    Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Force

    # Version can be 3.0, 4.0 or 5.1
    &$file -Version 5.1 -Username $username -Password $password -Verbose

Once completed, you will need to remove auto logon
and set the execution policy back to the default (``Restricted `` for Windows clients, or ``RemoteSigned`` for Windows servers). You can
do this with the following PowerShell commands:

.. code-block:: powershell

    # This isn't needed but is a good security practice to complete
    Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Force

    $reg_winlogon_path = "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon"
    Set-ItemProperty -Path $reg_winlogon_path -Name AutoAdminLogon -Value 0
    Remove-ItemProperty -Path $reg_winlogon_path -Name DefaultUserName -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Remove-ItemProperty -Path $reg_winlogon_path -Name DefaultPassword -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

The script works by checking to see what programs need to be installed
(such as .NET Framework 4.5.2) and what PowerShell version is required. If a reboot
is required and the ``username`` and ``password`` parameters are set, the
script will automatically reboot and logon when it comes back up from the
reboot. The script will continue until no more actions are required and the
PowerShell version matches the target version. If the ``username`` and
``password`` parameters are not set, the script will prompt the user to
manually reboot and logon when required. When the user is next logged in, the
script will continue where it left off and the process continues until no more
actions are required.

.. Note:: If running on Server 2008, then SP2 must be installed. If running on
    Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7, then SP1 must be installed.

.. Note:: Windows Server 2008 can only install PowerShell 3.0; specifying a
    newer version will result in the script failing.

.. Note:: The ``username`` and ``password`` parameters are stored in plain text
    in the registry. Make sure the cleanup commands are run after the script finishes
    to ensure no credentials are still stored on the host.

WinRM Memory Hotfix
-------------------
When running on PowerShell v3.0, there is a bug with the WinRM service that
limits the amount of memory available to WinRM. Without this hotfix installed,
Ansible will fail to execute certain commands on the Windows host. These
hotfixes should be installed as part of the system bootstrapping or
imaging process. The script `Install-WMF3Hotfix.ps1 <https://github.com/jborean93/ansible-windows/blob/master/scripts/Install-WMF3Hotfix.ps1>`_ can be used to install the hotfix on affected hosts.

The following PowerShell command will install the hotfix:

.. code-block:: powershell

    [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
    $url = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jborean93/ansible-windows/master/scripts/Install-WMF3Hotfix.ps1"
    $file = "$env:temp\Install-WMF3Hotfix.ps1"

    (New-Object -TypeName System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile($url, $file)
    powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File $file -Verbose

For more details, please refer to the `Hotfix document <https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2842230/out-of-memory-error-on-a-computer-that-has-a-customized-maxmemorypersh>`_ from Microsoft.

WinRM Setup
```````````
Once Powershell has been upgraded to at least version 3.0, the final step is for the
WinRM service to be configured so that Ansible can connect to it. There are two
main components of the WinRM service that governs how Ansible can interface with
the Windows host: the ``listener`` and the ``service`` configuration settings.

Details about each component can be read below, but the script
`ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1 <https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/devel/examples/scripts/ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1>`_
can be used to set up the basics. This script sets up both HTTP and HTTPS
listeners with a self-signed certificate and enables the ``Basic``
authentication option on the service.

To use this script, run the following in PowerShell:

.. code-block:: powershell

    [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
    $url = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ansible/ansible/devel/examples/scripts/ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1"
    $file = "$env:temp\ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1"

    (New-Object -TypeName System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile($url, $file)

    powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File $file

There are different switches and parameters (like ``-EnableCredSSP`` and
``-ForceNewSSLCert``) that can be set alongside this script. The documentation
for these options are located at the top of the script itself.

.. Note:: The ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1 script is intended for training and
    development purposes only and should not be used in a
    production environment, since it enables settings (like ``Basic`` authentication)
    that can be inherently insecure.

WinRM Listener
--------------
The WinRM services listens for requests on one or more ports. Each of these ports must have a
listener created and configured.

To view the current listeners that are running on the WinRM service, run the
following command:

.. code-block:: powershell

    winrm enumerate winrm/config/Listener

This will output something like:

.. code-block:: powershell

    Listener
        Address = *
        Transport = HTTP
        Port = 5985
        Hostname
        Enabled = true
        URLPrefix = wsman
        CertificateThumbprint
        ListeningOn = 10.0.2.15, 127.0.0.1, 192.168.56.155, ::1, fe80::5efe:10.0.2.15%6, fe80::5efe:192.168.56.155%8, fe80::
    ffff:ffff:fffe%2, fe80::203d:7d97:c2ed:ec78%3, fe80::e8ea:d765:2c69:7756%7

    Listener
        Address = *
        Transport = HTTPS
        Port = 5986
        Hostname = SERVER2016
        Enabled = true
        URLPrefix = wsman
        CertificateThumbprint = E6CDAA82EEAF2ECE8546E05DB7F3E01AA47D76CE
        ListeningOn = 10.0.2.15, 127.0.0.1, 192.168.56.155, ::1, fe80::5efe:10.0.2.15%6, fe80::5efe:192.168.56.155%8, fe80::
    ffff:ffff:fffe%2, fe80::203d:7d97:c2ed:ec78%3, fe80::e8ea:d765:2c69:7756%7

In the example above there are two listeners activated; one is listening on
port 5985 over HTTP and the other is listening on port 5986 over HTTPS. Some of
the key options that are useful to understand are:

* ``Transport``: Whether the listener is run over HTTP or HTTPS, it is
  recommended to use a listener over HTTPS as the data is encrypted without
  any further changes required.

* ``Port``: The port the listener runs on, by default it is ``5985`` for HTTP
  and ``5986`` for HTTPS. This port can be changed to whatever is required and
  corresponds to the host var ``ansible_port``.

* ``URLPrefix``: The URL prefix to listen on, by default it is ``wsman``. If
  this is changed, the host var ``ansible_winrm_path`` must be set to the same
  value.

* ``CertificateThumbprint``: If running over an HTTPS listener, this is the
  thumbprint of the certificate in the Windows Certificate Store that is used
  in the connection. To get the details of the certificate itself, run this
  command with the relevant certificate thumbprint in PowerShell:

.. code-block:: powershell

    $thumbprint = "E6CDAA82EEAF2ECE8546E05DB7F3E01AA47D76CE"
    Get-ChildItem -Path cert:\LocalMachine\My -Recurse | Where-Object { $_.Thumbprint -eq $thumbprint } | Select-Object *

Setup WinRM Listener
++++++++++++++++++++
There are three ways to set up a WinRM listener:

* Using ``winrm quickconfig`` for HTTP or
  ``winrm quickconfig -transport:https`` for HTTPS. This is the easiest option
  to use when running outside of a domain environment and a simple listener is
  required. Unlike the other options, this process also has the added benefit of
  opening up the Firewall for the ports required and starts the WinRM service.

* Using Group Policy Objects. This is the best way to create a listener when the
  host is a member of a domain because the configuration is done automatically
  without any user input. For more information on group policy objects, see the
  `Group Policy Objects documentation <https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa374162(v=vs.85).aspx>`_.

* Using PowerShell to create the listener with a specific configuration. This
  can be done by running the following PowerShell commands:

  .. code-block:: powershell

      $selector_set = @{
          Address = "*"
          Transport = "HTTPS"
      }
      $value_set = @{
          CertificateThumbprint = "E6CDAA82EEAF2ECE8546E05DB7F3E01AA47D76CE"
      }

      New-WSManInstance -ResourceURI "winrm/config/Listener" -SelectorSet $selector_set -ValueSet $value_set

  To see the other options with this PowerShell cmdlet, see
  `New-WSManInstance <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.wsman.management/new-wsmaninstance?view=powershell-5.1>`_.

.. Note:: When creating an HTTPS listener, an existing certificate needs to be
    created and stored in the ``LocalMachine\My`` certificate store. Without a
    certificate being present in this store, most commands will fail.

Delete WinRM Listener
+++++++++++++++++++++
To remove a WinRM listener:

.. code-block:: powershell

    # Remove all listeners
    Remove-Item -Path WSMan:\localhost\Listener\* -Recurse -Force

    # Only remove listeners that are run over HTTPS
    Get-ChildItem -Path WSMan:\localhost\Listener | Where-Object { $_.Keys -contains "Transport=HTTPS" } | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force

.. Note:: The ``Keys`` object is an array of strings, so it can contain different
    values. By default it contains a key for ``Transport=`` and ``Address=``
    which correspond to the values from winrm enumerate winrm/config/Listeners.

WinRM Service Options
---------------------
There are a number of options that can be set to control the behavior of the WinRM service component,
including authentication options and memory settings.

To get an output of the current service configuration options, run the
following command:

.. code-block:: powershell

    winrm get winrm/config/Service
    winrm get winrm/config/Winrs

This will output something like:

.. code-block:: powershell

    Service
        RootSDDL = O:NSG:BAD:P(A;;GA;;;BA)(A;;GR;;;IU)S:P(AU;FA;GA;;;WD)(AU;SA;GXGW;;;WD)
        MaxConcurrentOperations = 4294967295
        MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser = 1500
        EnumerationTimeoutms = 240000
        MaxConnections = 300
        MaxPacketRetrievalTimeSeconds = 120
        AllowUnencrypted = false
        Auth
            Basic = true
            Kerberos = true
            Negotiate = true
            Certificate = true
            CredSSP = true
            CbtHardeningLevel = Relaxed
        DefaultPorts
            HTTP = 5985
            HTTPS = 5986
        IPv4Filter = *
        IPv6Filter = *
        EnableCompatibilityHttpListener = false
        EnableCompatibilityHttpsListener = false
        CertificateThumbprint
        AllowRemoteAccess = true

    Winrs
        AllowRemoteShellAccess = true
        IdleTimeout = 7200000
        MaxConcurrentUsers = 2147483647
        MaxShellRunTime = 2147483647
        MaxProcessesPerShell = 2147483647
        MaxMemoryPerShellMB = 2147483647
        MaxShellsPerUser = 2147483647

While many of these options should rarely be changed, a few can easily impact
the operations over WinRM and are useful to understand. Some of the important
options are:

* ``Service\AllowUnencrypted``: This option defines whether WinRM will allow
  traffic that is run over HTTP without message encryption. Message level
  encryption is only possible when ``ansible_winrm_transport`` is ``ntlm``,
  ``kerberos`` or ``credssp``. By default this is ``false`` and should only be
  set to ``true`` when debugging WinRM messages.

* ``Service\Auth\*``: These flags define what authentication
  options are allowed with the WinRM service. By default, ``Negotiate (NTLM)``
  and ``Kerberos`` are enabled.

* ``Service\Auth\CbtHardeningLevel``: Specifies whether channel binding tokens are
  not verified (None), verified but not required (Relaxed), or verified and
  required (Strict). CBT is only used when connecting with NTLM or Kerberos
  over HTTPS.

* ``Service\CertificateThumbprint``: This is the thumbprint of the certificate
  used to encrypt the TLS channel used with CredSSP authentication. By default
  this is empty; a self-signed certificate is generated when the WinRM service
  starts and is used in the TLS process.

* ``Winrs\MaxShellRunTime``: This is the maximum time, in milliseconds, that a
  remote command is allowed to execute.

* ``Winrs\MaxMemoryPerShellMB``: This is the maximum amount of memory allocated
  per shell, including the shell's child processes.

To modify a setting under the ``Service`` key in PowerShell:

.. code-block:: powershell

    # substitute {path} with the path to the option after winrm/config/Service
    Set-Item -Path WSMan:\localhost\Service\{path} -Value "value here"

    # for example, to change Service\Auth\CbtHardeningLevel run
    Set-Item -Path WSMan:\localhost\Service\Auth\CbtHardeningLevel -Value Strict

To modify a setting under the ``Winrs`` key in PowerShell:

.. code-block:: powershell

    # Substitute {path} with the path to the option after winrm/config/Winrs
    Set-Item -Path WSMan:\localhost\Shell\{path} -Value "value here"

    # For example, to change Winrs\MaxShellRunTime run
    Set-Item -Path WSMan:\localhost\Shell\MaxShellRunTime -Value 2147483647

.. Note:: If running in a domain environment, some of these options are set by
    GPO and cannot be changed on the host itself. When a key has been
    configured with GPO, it contains the text ``[Source="GPO"]`` next to the value.

Common WinRM Issues
-------------------
Because WinRM has a wide range of configuration options, it can be difficult
to setup and configure. Because of this complexity, issues that are shown by Ansible
could in fact be issues with the host setup instead.

One easy way to determine whether a problem is a host issue is to
run the following command from another Windows host to connect to the
target Windows host:

.. code-block:: powershell

    # Test out HTTP
    winrs -r:http://server:5985/wsman -u:Username -p:Password ipconfig

    # Test out HTTPS (will fail if the cert is not verifiable)
    winrs -r:https://server:5986/wsman -u:Username -p:Password -ssl ipconfig

    # Test out HTTPS, ignoring certificate verification
    $username = "Username"
    $password = ConvertTo-SecureString -String "Password" -AsPlainText -Force
    $cred = New-Object -TypeName System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $username, $password

    $session_option = New-PSSessionOption -SkipCACheck -SkipCNCheck -SkipRevocationCheck
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName server -UseSSL -ScriptBlock { ipconfig } -Credential $cred -SessionOption $session_option

If this fails, the issue is probably related to the WinRM setup. If it works, the issue may not be related to the WinRM setup; please continue reading for more troubleshooting suggestions.

HTTP 401/Credentials Rejected
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A HTTP 401 error indicates the authentication process failed during the initial
connection. Some things to check for this are:

* Verify that the credentials are correct and set properly in your inventory with
  ``ansible_user`` and ``ansible_password``

* Ensure that the user is a member of the local Administrators group or has been explicitly
  granted access (a connection test with the ``winrs`` command can be used to
  rule this out).

* Make sure that the authentication option set by ``ansible_winrm_transport`` is enabled under
  ``Service\Auth\*``

* If running over HTTP and not HTTPS, use ``ntlm``, ``kerberos`` or ``credssp``
  with ``ansible_winrm_message_encryption: auto`` to enable message encryption.
  If using another authentication option or if the installed pywinrm version cannot be
  upgraded, the ``Service\AllowUnencrypted`` can be set to ``true`` but this is
  only recommended for troubleshooting

* Ensure the downstream packages ``pywinrm``, ``requests-ntlm``,
  ``requests-kerberos``, and/or ``requests-credssp`` are up to date using ``pip``.

* If using Kerberos authentication, ensure that ``Service\Auth\CbtHardeningLevel`` is
  not set to ``Strict``.

* When using Basic or Certificate authentication, make sure that the user is a local account and
  not a domain account. Domain accounts do not work with Basic and Certificate
  authentication.

HTTP 500 Error
++++++++++++++
These indicate an error has occurred with the WinRM service. Some things
to check for include:

* Verify that the number of current open shells has not exceeded either
  ``WinRsMaxShellsPerUser`` or any of the other Winrs quotas haven't been
  exceeded.

Timeout Errors
+++++++++++++++
These usually indicate an error with the network connection where
Ansible is unable to reach the host. Some things to check for include:

* Make sure the firewall is not set to block the configured WinRM listener ports
* Ensure that a WinRM listener is enabled on the port and path set by the host vars
* Ensure that the ``winrm`` service is running on the Windows host and configured for
  automatic start

Connection Refused Errors
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
These usually indicate an error when trying to communicate with the
WinRM service on the host. Some things to check for:

* Ensure that the WinRM service is up and running on the host. Use
  ``(Get-Service -Name winrm).Status`` to get the status of the service.
* Check that the host firewall is allowing traffic over the WinRM port. By default
  this is ``5985`` for HTTP and ``5986`` for HTTPS.

Sometimes an installer may restart the WinRM or HTTP service and cause this error. The
best way to deal with this is to use ``win_psexec`` from another
Windows host.

Failure to Load Builtin Modules
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If powershell fails with an error message similar to ``The 'Out-String' command was found in the module 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility', but the module could not be loaded.``
then there could be a problem trying to access all the paths specified by the ``PSModulePath`` environment variable.
A common cause of this issue is that the ``PSModulePath`` environment variable contains a UNC path to a file share and
because of the double hop/credential delegation issue the Ansible process cannot access these folders. The way around
this problems is to either:

* Remove the UNC path from the ``PSModulePath`` environment variable, or
* Use an authentication option that supports credential delegation like ``credssp`` or ``kerberos`` with credential delegation enabled

See `KB4076842 <https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4076842>`_ for more information on this problem.


Windows SSH Setup
`````````````````
Ansible 2.8 has added an experimental SSH connection for Windows managed nodes.

.. warning::
    Use this feature at your own risk!
    Using SSH with Windows is experimental, the implementation may make
    backwards incompatible changes in feature releases. The server side
    components can be unreliable depending on the version that is installed.

Installing OpenSSH using Windows Settings
-----------------------------------------
OpenSSH can be used to connect Window 10 clients to Windows Server 2019.
OpenSSH Client is available to install on Windows 10 build 1809 and later, while OpenSSH Server is available to install on Windows Server 2019 and later.

Please refer `this guide <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/openssh/openssh_install_firstuse>`_.

Installing Win32-OpenSSH
------------------------
The first step to using SSH with Windows is to install the `Win32-OpenSSH <https://github.com/PowerShell/Win32-OpenSSH>`_
service on the Windows host. Microsoft offers a way to install ``Win32-OpenSSH`` through a Windows
capability but currently the version that is installed through this process is
too old to work with Ansible. To install ``Win32-OpenSSH`` for use with
Ansible, select one of these installation options:

* Manually install the service, following the `install instructions <https://github.com/PowerShell/Win32-OpenSSH/wiki/Install-Win32-OpenSSH>`_
  from Microsoft.

* Install the `openssh <https://chocolatey.org/packages/openssh>`_ package using Chocolatey:

.. code-block:: powershell

    choco install --package-parameters=/SSHServerFeature openssh

* Use ``win_chocolatey`` to install the service

.. code-block:: yaml

    - name: install the Win32-OpenSSH service
      win_chocolatey:
        name: openssh
        package_params: /SSHServerFeature
        state: present

* Use an existing Ansible Galaxy role like `jborean93.win_openssh <https://galaxy.ansible.com/jborean93/win_openssh>`_:

.. code-block:: powershell

    # Make sure the role has been downloaded first
    ansible-galaxy install jborean93.win_openssh

.. code-block:: yaml

    # main.yml
    - name: install Win32-OpenSSH service
      hosts: windows
      gather_facts: no
      roles:
      - role: jborean93.win_openssh
        opt_openssh_setup_service: True

.. note:: ``Win32-OpenSSH`` is still a beta product and is constantly
    being updated to include new features and bugfixes. If you are using SSH as
    a connection option for Windows, it is highly recommend you install the
    latest release from one of the 3 methods above.

Configuring the Win32-OpenSSH shell
-----------------------------------

By default ``Win32-OpenSSH`` will use ``cmd.exe`` as a shell. To configure a
different shell, use an Ansible task to define the registry setting:

.. code-block:: yaml

    - name: set the default shell to PowerShell
      win_regedit:
        path: HKLM:\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH
        name: DefaultShell
        data: C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe
        type: string
        state: present

    # Or revert the settings back to the default, cmd
    - name: set the default shell to cmd
      win_regedit:
        path: HKLM:\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH
        name: DefaultShell
        state: absent

Win32-OpenSSH Authentication
----------------------------
Win32-OpenSSH authentication with Windows is similar to SSH
authentication on Unix/Linux hosts. You can use a plaintext password or
SSH public key authentication, add public keys to an ``authorized_key`` file
in the ``.ssh`` folder of the user's profile directory, and configure the
service using the ``sshd_config`` file used by the SSH service as you would on
a Unix/Linux host.

When using SSH key authentication with Ansible, the remote session won't have access to the
user's credentials and will fail when attempting to access a network resource.
This is also known as the double-hop or credential delegation issue. There are
two ways to work around this issue:

* Use plaintext password auth by setting ``ansible_password``
* Use ``become`` on the task with the credentials of the user that needs access to the remote resource

Configuring Ansible for SSH on Windows
--------------------------------------
To configure Ansible to use SSH for Windows hosts, you must set two connection variables:

* set ``ansible_connection`` to ``ssh``
* set ``ansible_shell_type`` to ``cmd`` or ``powershell``

The ``ansible_shell_type`` variable should reflect the ``DefaultShell``
configured on the Windows host. Set to ``cmd`` for the default shell or set to
``powershell`` if the ``DefaultShell`` has been changed to PowerShell.

Known issues with SSH on Windows
--------------------------------
Using SSH with Windows is experimental, and we expect to uncover more issues.
Here are the known ones:

* Win32-OpenSSH versions older than ``v7.9.0.0p1-Beta`` do not work when ``powershell`` is the shell type
* While SCP should work, SFTP is the recommended SSH file transfer mechanism to use when copying or fetching a file

.. seealso::

    :ref:`about_playbooks`
       An introduction to playbooks
    :ref:`playbooks_best_practices`
       Tips and tricks for playbooks
    :ref:`List of Windows Modules <windows_modules>`
       Windows specific module list, all implemented in PowerShell
    `User Mailing List <https://groups.google.com/group/ansible-project>`_
       Have a question?  Stop by the google group!
    :ref:`communication_irc`
       How to join Ansible chat channels