This a plugin for HashiCorp Packer. It uses native vSphere API, and creates virtual machines remotely.
- Official vCenter API is used, no ESXi host modification is required
- An automated OS installation method is required such as a custom ISO with either a kickstart file or autounattend.xml file. PXE installation is also another viable option for automated OS installation.
- Download the plugin from Releases page
- Install the plugin, or simply put it into the same directory with configuration files
{
"builders": [
{
"type": "vsphere-iso",
"vcenter_server": "vcenter.domain.com",
"insecure_connection": "true",
"username": "root",
"password": "secret",
"cluster": "cluster01",
"host": "esxi-1.domain.com",
"vm_name": "vm-1",
"convert_to_template": "true",
"folder": "templates",
"cpu": "1",
"ram": "2048",
"network": "VM Network",
"network_adapter": "vmxnet3",
"guest_os_type": "otherGuest",
"datastore": "Local_Storage",
"disk_size": "5GB",
"iso": "ISOS/CentOS7.ISO",
"iso_datastore": "Local_Storage",
"communicator": "ssh",
"ssh_username": "root",
"ssh_password": "password",
"annotation": "CentOS 7 with ChefDK"
}
],
"provisioners": [
{
"type": "shell",
"inline":[
"rpm -Uvh https://packages.chef.io/files/stable/chefdk/2.4.17/el/7/chefdk-2.4.17-1.el7.x86_64.rpm",
"chef -v"
]
}
]
}{
"builders": [
{
"type": "vsphere-iso",
"vcenter_server": "vcenter.domain.com",
"insecure_connection": "true",
"username": "root",
"password": "secret",
"cluster": "cluster01",
"host": "esxi-1.domain.com",
"vm_name": "vm-1",
"convert_to_template": "true",
"folder": "templates",
"cpu": "1",
"ram": "2048",
"network": "VM Network",
"network_adapter": "e1000",
"guest_os_type": "otherGuest",
"datastore": "Local_Storage",
"disk_size": "5GB",
"iso": "ISOS/WIN2K12.ISO",
"iso_datastore": "Local_Storage",
"communicator": "winrm",
"winrm_username": "administrator",
"winrm_password": "password"
}
]
}Connection:
vcenter_server- [mandatory] vCenter server hostname.username- [mandatory] vSphere username.password- [mandatory] vSphere password.insecure_connection- do not validate server's TLS certificate.falseby default.datacenter- required if there are several datacenters.
Location:
vm_name- [mandatory] name of target VM.folder- VM folder where target VM is created.host- vSphere host or cluster where target VM is created. If hosts are groupped into folders, full path should be specified:folder/host.resource_pool- by default a root of vSphere host.datastore- required if target is a cluster, or a host with multiple datastores.
Hardware customization:
hardware_version- Virtual machine hardware version (i.e. - vmx-11)guest_os_type- Guest Operating System identifier.cpu- number of CPU sockets. Inherited from source VM by default.CPU_reservation- Amount of reserved CPU resources in MHz. Inherited from source VM by default.CPU_limit- Upper limit of available CPU resources in MHz. Inherited from source VM by default, set to-1for reset.ram- Amount of RAM in megabytes. Inherited from source VM by default.RAM_reservation- Amount of reserved RAM in MB. Inherited from source VM by default.RAM_reserve_all- Reserve all available RAM (bool).falseby default. Cannot be used together withRAM_reservation.disk_size- The size of the hard disk.iso_datastore- The datastore the ISO file is stored on.iso- The path of the ISO file, full path should be specified:folder/filenetwork- The virtual network the VM is attached to.network_adapter- The network adapter type for the VM.
Provisioning:
communicator- The connection protocol for connecting to the guest os [ssh|winrm]ssh_username- Guest OS usernamessh_password or ssh_private_key_file- password or SSH-key filename to access a guest OS.winrm_username- Guest OS usernamewinrm_password- Guest OS password
Post-processing:
create_snapshot- add a snapshot, so VM can be used as a base for linked clones.falseby default.convert_to_template- convert VM to a template.falseby default.