Set of Hashicorp's Packer's templates to create Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines

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• Set of Hashicorp's Packer's templates to create Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines
  • Requirements
  • Requirements - Quick Start
    • Install packer from Chocolatey
    • Install required plugins
    • Use account with Administrator privileges for Hyper-V
    • Add firewal exclusions for TCP ports 8000-9000 default range
    • Adjust Hyper-V settings
    • Default passwords
  • Scripts
    • Windows Machines
    • Linux Machines
      • Ansible Playbooks CentOS/AlmaLinux/RockyLinux/OracleLinux
  • Usage
    • hv_generic.ps1 parameters
    • Building Microsoft Windows
      • Building iso files needed for provisioning
      • Examples for Windows
    • Building AlmaLinux Machines
      • Examples for AlmaLinux
    • Building RockyLinux Machines
      • Examples for RockyLinux
    • Building OracleLinux Machines
      • Examples for OracleLinux
    • Building Ubuntu Machines
      • Examples for Ubuntu
  • Known issues
    • I have general problem not covered here
    • I'd like to contribute
    • Infamous UEFI/Secure boot WIndows implementation
    • On Windows Server 2019/Windows 10 1809 image boots to fast for packer to react
    • When Hyper-V host has more than one interface Packer sets {{ .HTTPIP }} variable to inproper interface
    • Packer version 1.3.0/1.3.1 have bug with windows-restart provisioner
    • Packer won't run until VirtualSwitch is created as shared
    • I have problem how to find a proper WIM name in Windows ISO to pick proper version
    • On Windows machines, build break during updates phase, when update cycles are interfering with each other
    • Why don't you use ansible instead of shell scripts for provisioning
  • Support me
  • About

Requirements

• packer >=1.10.0. Do not use packer below 1.7.0 version. For previous packer versions use previous releases from this repository
• Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016/2019 or Microsoft Windows Server 2016/2019 (not 2012/R2) with Hyper-V role installed as host to build your images
• firewall exceptions for packer http server (look down below)
• [OPTIONAL] Vagrant >= 2.3.4 - for vagrant version of scripts. Boxes (prebuilt) are already available here: https://app.vagrantup.com/marcinbojko
• be aware, for 2016 - VMs are in version 8.0, for 2019 - VMs are in version 9.0. There is no way to reuse higher version in previous operating system. If you need v8.0 - build and use only VHDX.
• properly constructed virtual switch in Hyper-v allowing virtual machine to get IP from DHCP and contact Hyper-V server on mentioned packer ports. This is a must, if kickstart is reachable over the network.

Requirements - Quick Start

Install packer from Chocolatey

choco install packer --version=1.10.0 -y

Install required plugins

In root folder of a repository

packer init --upgrade config.pkr.hcl

Use account with Administrator privileges for Hyper-V

Add firewal exclusions for TCP ports 8000-9000 (default range)

Remove-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Packer_http_server" -Verbose
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Packer_http_server" -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 8000-9000

Adjust Hyper-V settings

To adjust to your Hyper-V, please check variables below and/or in ./variables files

• (variable vlan_id in /variables/variables.*.pkvars.hcl) - proper VLAN ID . Look up to find your build server vEthernet setings.
• (variable switch_name in /variables/variables.*.pkvars.hcl) - proper Hyper-V Virtual Switch name (access to Internet will be required). Make sure you're using pre-existing switch in your Hyper-V server - creation of new switch by packer, instead of reusing existing one can cause lack of Internet access, thus failing the build.

# example of mentioned variables
vlan_id = ""
switch_name = "vSwitch"

Default passwords

OS	username	password
Windows	Administrator	password
CentOS/RHEL	root	password
Ubuntu	ubuntu	password

Scripts

Windows Machines

• all available updates will be applied (3 passes)

• latest version of chocolatey

• packages from a list below:

  Package	Version	Mandatory/Optional
  dotnetfx	latest	Mandatory
  sysinternals	latest	Mandatory
  tabby	latest	Optional

Linux Machines

• Repositories:

  Repository	Package	switch	default
  Epel 7/8/9	epel-release	can be switched off by setting "install_epel" to false	true
  Webmin	webmin	can be switched on by setting "install_webmin" to false	false
  Cockpit	cockpit	can be switched on by setting "install_zabbix" to true	true
  Hyper-V	SCVMM Agent	can be switched off by setting "install_hyperv" to false	true
  Neofetch	neofetch	can be switched off by setting "install_neofetch" to false	true

  Be aware, turning off latest System Center Virtual Machine Agent will cause System Center fail to deploy machines

Ansible Playbooks (CentOS/AlmaLinux/RockyLinux/OracleLinux)

During deployment ansible-base and ansible are installed in operating system. After deployment ends, these packages are removed. Playbooks are held in /extra/playbooks folder, with proper OS variables.

• adjust ./variables/*.yml files to achieve override for ansible

install_epel:                  true  # install Epel
install_webmin:                true  # install Webmin
install_hyperv:                true  # install Hyper-v and scvmm agent
install_cockpit:               false # install Cockpit
install_docker_workaround:     true  # add `fsck.repair=yes` to grub
install_neofetch:              true  # install neofetch
install_updates:               true  # install updates
install_extra_groups:          true  # install extra groups
docker_prepare:                false # prepare extra volumen for docker
extra_device:                  ""    # prepare mkfs and mount extra block device for docker
install_motd:                  true  # install motd (neofetch run)

Usage

Building machines is realised through a dedicated script hv_generic.ps1 with proper parameters.

hv_generic.ps1 parameters

Building Microsoft Windows

Building iso files needed for provisioning

For Generation 2 prepare secondary.iso with folder structure:

- ./extra/files/windows/2022/std/Autounattend.xml     => /Autounattend.xml
- ./extra/scripts/hyper-v/bootstrap.ps1            => /bootstrap.ps1

This template uses this image name in Autounattendes.xml. If youre using different ISO you'll have to adjust that part in proper file and rebuild secondary.iso image.

<InstallFrom>
    <MetaData wcm:action="add">
        <Key>/IMAGE/NAME </Key>
        <Value>Windows Server 2022 SERVERSTANDARD</Value>
    </MetaData>
</InstallFrom>

Action	Version	Template	Log	OS
build	windows_server_2019_std	windows	0/1	Microsoft Server 2019 Standard
build	windows_server_2019_dc	windows	0/1	Microsoft Server 2019 Datacenter
build	windows_server_2022_std	windows	0/1	Microsoft Server 2022 Standard
build	windows_server_2022_dc	windows	0/1	Microsoft Server 2022 Datacenter

Examples for Windows

Example for Windows 2019 Standard

```powershell
./hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version windows_server_2019_std -Template windows -Log 0

Example for Windows 2019 Datacenter

./hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version windows_server_2019_dc -Template windows -Log 0

Example for Windows 2022 Standard

./hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version windows_server_2022_std -Template windows -Log 0

Example for Windows 2022 Datacenter

./hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version windows_server_2022_dc -Template windows -Log 0

Building AlmaLinux Machines

Action	Version	Template	Log	OS
build	almalinux-8.9	rhel	0/1	Alma Linux 8.9
build	almalinux-9.4	rhel	0/1	Alma Linux 9.4

Examples for AlmaLinux

.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version almalinux-8.9 -Template rhel -Log 0
.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version almalinux-9.4 -Template rhel -Log 0

Building RockyLinux Machines

Action	Version	Template	Log	OS
build	rockylinux-8.9	rhel	0/1	Rocky Linux 8.9
build	rockyinux-9.4	rhel	0/1	Rocky Linux 9.4

Examples for RockyLinux

.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version rockylinux-8.9 -Template rhel -Log 0
.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version rockylinux-9.4 -Template rhel -Log 0

Building OracleLinux Machines

Action	Version	Template	Log	OS
build	oraclelinux-8.9	rhel	0/1	Oracle Linux 8.9
build	oraclelinux-9.4	rhel	0/1	Oracle Linux 9.4

Examples for OracleLinux

.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version oraclelinux-8.9 -Template rhel -Log 0
.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version oraclelinux-9.4 -Template rhel -Log 0

Building Ubuntu Machines

Action	Version	Template	Log	OS
build	ubuntu-20.04	ubuntu	0/1	Ubuntu 20.04
build	ubuntu-22.04	ubuntu	0/1	Ubuntu 22.04
build	ubuntu-24.04	ubuntu	0/1	Ubuntu 24.04

Examples for Ubuntu

.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version ubuntu-20.04 -Template ubuntu -Log 0
.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version ubuntu-22.04 -Template ubuntu -Log 0
.\hv_generic.ps1 -Action build -Version ubuntu-24.04 -Template ubuntu -Log 0

Known issues

I have general problem not covered here

Please create an issue in github. There is slim chance I'll find the time to be your personal helpdesk ;)

I'd like to contribute

Sure. If I can ask - create your PR in smaller sizes, this is repo used for my work, so smaller changes - bigger chances to succeed.

Infamous UEFI/Secure boot WIndows implementation

During the deployment secure keys are stored in *.vmcx file and are separated from *.vhdx file. To countermeasure it - there is added extra step in a form of (/usr/local/bin/uefi.sh) script that will check for existence of CentOS folder in EFI and will add extra entry in UEFI. In manual setup you can run it as a part of your deploy. In SCVMM deployment I'd recommend using RunOnce feature.

On Windows Server 2019/Windows 10 1809 image boots to fast for packer to react

hashicorp/packer#7278 (comment)

Fixed in version 1.4.4. Do not use previous versions

When Hyper-V host has more than one interface Packer sets {{ .HTTPIP }} variable to inproper interface

Fixed in version 1.4.4. Do not use lower versions No resolution so far, template needs to be changed to pass real IP address, or there should be connection between these addresses. Limiting these, end with timeout errors.**

Packer version 1.3.0/1.3.1 have bug with windows-restart provisioner

hashicorp/packer#6733

Packer won't run until VirtualSwitch is created as shared

hashicorp/packer#5023 Will be fixed in 1.4.x revision

I have problem how to find a proper WIM name in Windows ISO to pick proper version

You can use number. If you have 4 images on the list of choice - use ImageIndex with proper Value

<ImageInstall>
    <OSImage>
        <InstallFrom>
            <MetaData wcm:action="add">
                <Key>/IMAGE/INDEX </Key>
                <Value>2</Value>
            </MetaData>
        </InstallFrom>
        <InstallTo>
            <DiskID>0</DiskID>
            <PartitionID>2</PartitionID>
        </InstallTo>
    </OSImage>
</ImageInstall>

On Windows machines, build break during updates phase, when update cycles are interfering with each other

Increase variable update_timeout in ./variables/*.json file - this will create longer pauses between stages, allowing cycles to complete before jumping to another one.

Why don't you use ansible instead of shell scripts for provisioning

I wish. In short - Windows. These builds should be done with minimum effort (Hyper-V role is enough). Building custom ansible station with lots of checks right now fails in my tryouts.

Support me

Consider buying me a coffee if you like my work. All donations are appreciated. All donations will be used to pay for pipeline running costs

About

• Marcin Bojko - marcin(at)bojko.com.pl
• https://marcinbojko.dev/

Work based on https://github.com/jacqinthebox/packer-templates.git