457 lines
20 KiB
Markdown
457 lines
20 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: docs
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sidebar_current: docs-builders-qemu
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page_title: QEMU - Builders
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description: |-
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The Qemu Packer builder is able to create KVM and Xen virtual machine images.
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Support for Xen is experimental at this time.
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---
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# QEMU Builder
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Type: `qemu`
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The Qemu Packer builder is able to create [KVM](http://www.linux-kvm.org) and
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[Xen](http://www.xenproject.org) virtual machine images. Support for Xen is
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experimental at this time.
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The builder builds a virtual machine by creating a new virtual machine from
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scratch, booting it, installing an OS, rebooting the machine with the boot media
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as the virtual hard drive, provisioning software within the OS, then shutting it
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down. The result of the Qemu builder is a directory containing the image file
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necessary to run the virtual machine on KVM or Xen.
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## Basic Example
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Here is a basic example. This example is functional so long as you fixup paths
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to files, URLS for ISOs and checksums.
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```json
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{
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"builders":
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[
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{
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"type": "qemu",
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"iso_url": "http://mirror.raystedman.net/centos/6/isos/x86_64/CentOS-6.8-x86_64-minimal.iso",
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"iso_checksum": "0ca12fe5f28c2ceed4f4084b41ff8a0b",
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"iso_checksum_type": "md5",
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"output_directory": "output_centos_tdhtest",
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"shutdown_command": "shutdown -P now",
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"disk_size": 5000,
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"format": "qcow2",
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"headless": false,
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"accelerator": "kvm",
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"http_directory": "httpdir",
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"http_port_min": 10082,
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"http_port_max": 10089,
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"ssh_host_port_min": 2222,
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"ssh_host_port_max": 2229,
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"ssh_username": "root",
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"ssh_password": "s0m3password",
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"ssh_port": 22,
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"ssh_wait_timeout": "30s",
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"vm_name": "tdhtest",
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"net_device": "virtio-net",
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"disk_interface": "virtio",
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"boot_wait": "5s",
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"boot_command": [
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"<tab> text ks=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/centos6-ks.cfg<enter><wait>"
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]
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}
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]
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}
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```
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A working CentOS 6.x kickstart file can be found [at this
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URL](https://gist.github.com/mitchellh/7328271/#file-centos6-ks-cfg), adapted
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from an unknown source. Place this file in the http directory with the proper
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name. For the example above, it should go into "httpdir" with a name of
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"centos6-ks.cfg".
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## Configuration Reference
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There are many configuration options available for the Qemu builder. They are
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organized below into two categories: required and optional. Within each
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category, the available options are alphabetized and described.
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In addition to the options listed here, a
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[communicator](/docs/templates/communicator.html) can be configured for this
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builder.
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Note that you will need to set `"headless": true` if you are running Packer
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on a Linux server without X11; or if you are connected via ssh to a remote
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Linux server and have not enabled X11 forwarding (`ssh -X`).
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### Required:
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- `iso_checksum` (string) - The checksum for the OS ISO file. Because ISO
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files are so large, this is required and Packer will verify it prior to
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booting a virtual machine with the ISO attached. The type of the checksum is
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specified with `iso_checksum_type`, documented below. At least one of
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`iso_checksum` and `iso_checksum_url` must be defined. This has precedence
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over `iso_checksum_url` type.
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- `iso_checksum_type` (string) - The type of the checksum specified in
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`iso_checksum`. Valid values are "none", "md5", "sha1", "sha256", or
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"sha512" currently. While "none" will skip checksumming, this is not
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recommended since ISO files are generally large and corruption does happen
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from time to time.
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- `iso_checksum_url` (string) - A URL to a GNU or BSD style checksum file
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containing a checksum for the OS ISO file. At least one of `iso_checksum`
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and `iso_checksum_url` must be defined. This will be ignored if
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`iso_checksum` is non empty.
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- `iso_url` (string) - A URL to the ISO containing the installation image.
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This URL can be either an HTTP URL or a file URL (or path to a file). If
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this is an HTTP URL, Packer will download it and cache it between runs.
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This can also be a URL to an IMG or QCOW2 file, in which case QEMU will
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boot directly from it. When passing a path to an IMG or QCOW2 file, you
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should set `disk_image` to "true".
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- `ssh_username` (string) - The username to use to SSH into the machine once
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the OS is installed.
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### Optional:
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- `accelerator` (string) - The accelerator type to use when running the VM.
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This may be `none`, `kvm`, `tcg`, or `xen`. The appropriate software must
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already been installed on your build machine to use the accelerator you
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specified. When no accelerator is specified, Packer will try to use `kvm`
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if it is available but will default to `tcg` otherwise.
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- `boot_command` (array of strings) - This is an array of commands to type
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when the virtual machine is first booted. The goal of these commands should
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be to type just enough to initialize the operating system installer. Special
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keys can be typed as well, and are covered in the section below on the
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boot command. If this is not specified, it is assumed the installer will
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start itself.
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- `boot_wait` (string) - The time to wait after booting the initial virtual
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machine before typing the `boot_command`. The value of this should be
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a duration. Examples are "5s" and "1m30s" which will cause Packer to wait
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five seconds and one minute 30 seconds, respectively. If this isn't
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specified, the default is 10 seconds.
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- `disk_cache` (string) - The cache mode to use for disk. Allowed values
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include any of "writethrough", "writeback", "none", "unsafe"
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or "directsync". By default, this is set to "writeback".
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- `disk_compression` (boolean) - Apply compression to the QCOW2 disk file
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using `qemu-img convert`. Defaults to `false`.
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- `disk_discard` (string) - The discard mode to use for disk. Allowed values
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include any of "unmap" or "ignore". By default, this is set to "ignore".
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- `disk_image` (boolean) - Packer defaults to building from an ISO file, this
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parameter controls whether the ISO URL supplied is actually a bootable
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QEMU image. When this value is set to true, the machine will clone the
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source, resize it according to `disk_size` and boot the image.
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- `disk_interface` (string) - The interface to use for the disk. Allowed
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values include any of "ide", "scsi", "virtio" or "virtio-scsi"^* . Note also
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that any boot commands or kickstart type scripts must have proper
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adjustments for resulting device names. The Qemu builder uses "virtio" by
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default.
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^* Please be aware that use of the "scsi" disk interface has been disabled
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by Red Hat due to a bug described
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[here](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1019220).
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If you are running Qemu on RHEL or a RHEL variant such as CentOS, you
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*must* choose one of the other listed interfaces. Using the "scsi"
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interface under these circumstances will cause the build to fail.
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- `disk_size` (integer) - The size, in megabytes, of the hard disk to create
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for the VM. By default, this is 40000 (about 40 GB).
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- `floppy_files` (array of strings) - A list of files to place onto a floppy
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disk that is attached when the VM is booted. This is most useful for
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unattended Windows installs, which look for an `Autounattend.xml` file on
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removable media. By default, no floppy will be attached. All files listed in
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this setting get placed into the root directory of the floppy and the floppy
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is attached as the first floppy device. Currently, no support exists for
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creating sub-directories on the floppy. Wildcard characters (\*, ?,
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and \[\]) are allowed. Directory names are also allowed, which will add all
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the files found in the directory to the floppy. The summary size of the
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listed files must not exceed 1.44 MB. The supported ways to move large
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files into the OS are using `http_directory` or [the file provisioner](
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https://www.packer.io/docs/provisioners/file.html).
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- `floppy_dirs` (array of strings) - A list of directories to place onto
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the floppy disk recursively. This is similar to the `floppy_files` option
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except that the directory structure is preserved. This is useful for when
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your floppy disk includes drivers or if you just want to organize it's
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contents as a hierarchy. Wildcard characters (\*, ?, and \[\]) are allowed.
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The maximum summary size of all files in the listed directories are the
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same as in `floppy_files`.
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- `format` (string) - Either "qcow2" or "raw", this specifies the output
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format of the virtual machine image. This defaults to `qcow2`.
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- `headless` (boolean) - Packer defaults to building QEMU virtual machines by
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launching a GUI that shows the console of the machine being built. When this
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value is set to true, the machine will start without a console.
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You can still see the console if you make a note of the VNC display
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number chosen, and then connect using `vncviewer -Shared <host>:<display>`
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- `http_directory` (string) - Path to a directory to serve using an
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HTTP server. The files in this directory will be available over HTTP that
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will be requestable from the virtual machine. This is useful for hosting
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kickstart files and so on. By default this is "", which means no HTTP server
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will be started. The address and port of the HTTP server will be available
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as variables in `boot_command`. This is covered in more detail below.
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- `http_port_min` and `http_port_max` (integer) - These are the minimum and
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maximum port to use for the HTTP server started to serve the
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`http_directory`. Because Packer often runs in parallel, Packer will choose
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a randomly available port in this range to run the HTTP server. If you want
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to force the HTTP server to be on one port, make this minimum and maximum
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port the same. By default the values are 8000 and 9000, respectively.
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- `iso_skip_cache` (boolean) - Use iso from provided url. Qemu must support
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curl block device. This defaults to `false`.
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- `iso_target_extension` (string) - The extension of the iso file after
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download. This defaults to "iso".
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- `iso_target_path` (string) - The path where the iso should be saved after
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download. By default will go in the packer cache, with a hash of the
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original filename as its name.
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- `iso_urls` (array of strings) - Multiple URLs for the ISO to download.
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Packer will try these in order. If anything goes wrong attempting to
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download or while downloading a single URL, it will move on to the next. All
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URLs must point to the same file (same checksum). By default this is empty
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and `iso_url` is used. Only one of `iso_url` or `iso_urls` can be specified.
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- `machine_type` (string) - The type of machine emulation to use. Run your
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qemu binary with the flags `-machine help` to list available types for
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your system. This defaults to "pc".
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- `net_device` (string) - The driver to use for the network interface. Allowed
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values "ne2k\_pci", "i82551", "i82557b", "i82559er", "rtl8139", "e1000",
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"pcnet", "virtio", "virtio-net", "virtio-net-pci", "usb-net", "i82559a",
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"i82559b", "i82559c", "i82550", "i82562", "i82557a", "i82557c", "i82801",
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"vmxnet3", "i82558a" or "i82558b". The Qemu builder uses "virtio-net" by
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default.
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- `output_directory` (string) - This is the path to the directory where the
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resulting virtual machine will be created. This may be relative or absolute.
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If relative, the path is relative to the working directory when `packer`
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is executed. This directory must not exist or be empty prior to running
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the builder. By default this is "output-BUILDNAME" where "BUILDNAME" is the
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name of the build.
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- `qemu_binary` (string) - The name of the Qemu binary to look for. This
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defaults to "qemu-system-x86\_64", but may need to be changed for
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some platforms. For example "qemu-kvm", or "qemu-system-i386" may be a
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better choice for some systems.
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- `qemuargs` (array of array of strings) - Allows complete control over the
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qemu command line (though not, at this time, qemu-img). Each array of
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strings makes up a command line switch that overrides matching default
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switch/value pairs. Any value specified as an empty string is ignored. All
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values after the switch are concatenated with no separator.
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- `use_default_display` (boolean) - If true, do not pass a `-display` option
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to qemu, allowing it to choose the default. This may be needed when running
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under OS X.
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~> **Warning:** The qemu command line allows extreme flexibility, so beware
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of conflicting arguments causing failures of your run. For instance, using
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--no-acpi could break the ability to send power signal type commands (e.g.,
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shutdown -P now) to the virtual machine, thus preventing proper shutdown. To see
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the defaults, look in the packer.log file and search for the qemu-system-x86
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command. The arguments are all printed for review.
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The following shows a sample usage:
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```json
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{
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"qemuargs": [
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[ "-m", "1024M" ],
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[ "--no-acpi", "" ],
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[
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"-netdev",
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"user,id=mynet0,",
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"hostfwd=hostip:hostport-guestip:guestport",
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""
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],
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[ "-device", "virtio-net,netdev=mynet0" ]
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]
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}
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```
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would produce the following (not including other defaults supplied by the
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builder and not otherwise conflicting with the qemuargs):
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```text
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qemu-system-x86 -m 1024m --no-acpi -netdev user,id=mynet0,hostfwd=hostip:hostport-guestip:guestport -device virtio-net,netdev=mynet0"
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```
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~> **Windows Users:** [QEMU for Windows](https://qemu.weilnetz.de/) builds are available though an environmental variable does need
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to be set for QEMU for Windows to redirect stdout to the console instead of stdout.txt.
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The following shows the environment variable that needs to be set for Windows QEMU support:
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```text
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setx SDL_STDIO_REDIRECT=0
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```
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You can also use the `SSHHostPort` template variable to produce a packer
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template that can be invoked by `make` in parallel:
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```json
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{
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"qemuargs": [
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[ "-netdev", "user,hostfwd=tcp::{{ .SSHHostPort }}-:22,id=forward"],
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[ "-device", "virtio-net,netdev=forward,id=net0"]
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]
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}
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```
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`make -j 3 my-awesome-packer-templates` spawns 3 packer processes, each of which
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will bind to their own SSH port as determined by each process. This will also
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work with WinRM, just change the port forward in `qemuargs` to map to WinRM's
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default port of `5985` or whatever value you have the service set to listen on.
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- `shutdown_command` (string) - The command to use to gracefully shut down the
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machine once all the provisioning is done. By default this is an empty
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string, which tells Packer to just forcefully shut down the machine unless a
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shutdown command takes place inside script so this may safely be omitted. If
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one or more scripts require a reboot it is suggested to leave this blank
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since reboots may fail and specify the final shutdown command in your
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last script.
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- `shutdown_timeout` (string) - The amount of time to wait after executing the
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`shutdown_command` for the virtual machine to actually shut down. If it
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doesn't shut down in this time, it is an error. By default, the timeout is
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`5m`, or five minutes.
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- `skip_compaction` (boolean) - Packer compacts the QCOW2 image using `qemu-img convert`.
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Set this option to `true` to disable compacting. Defaults to `false`.
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- `ssh_host_port_min` and `ssh_host_port_max` (integer) - The minimum and
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maximum port to use for the SSH port on the host machine which is forwarded
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to the SSH port on the guest machine. Because Packer often runs in parallel,
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Packer will choose a randomly available port in this range to use as the
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host port. By default this is 2222 to 4444.
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- `vm_name` (string) - This is the name of the image (QCOW2 or IMG) file for
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the new virtual machine. By default this is "packer-BUILDNAME", where
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`BUILDNAME` is the name of the build. Currently, no file extension will be
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used unless it is specified in this option.
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- `vnc_bind_address` (string / IP address) - The IP address that should be binded
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to for VNC. By default packer will use 127.0.0.1 for this. If you wish to bind
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to all interfaces use 0.0.0.0
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- `vnc_port_min` and `vnc_port_max` (integer) - The minimum and maximum port
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to use for VNC access to the virtual machine. The builder uses VNC to type
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the initial `boot_command`. Because Packer generally runs in parallel,
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Packer uses a randomly chosen port in this range that appears available. By
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default this is 5900 to 6000. The minimum and maximum ports are inclusive.
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## Boot Command
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The `boot_command` configuration is very important: it specifies the keys to
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type when the virtual machine is first booted in order to start the OS
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installer. This command is typed after `boot_wait`, which gives the virtual
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machine some time to actually load the ISO.
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As documented above, the `boot_command` is an array of strings. The strings are
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all typed in sequence. It is an array only to improve readability within the
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template.
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The boot command is "typed" character for character over a VNC connection to the
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machine, simulating a human actually typing the keyboard.
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-> Keystrokes are typed as separate key up/down events over VNC with a
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default 100ms delay. The delay alleviates issues with latency and CPU
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contention. For local builds you can tune this delay by specifying
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e.g. `PACKER_KEY_INTERVAL=10ms` to speed through the boot command.
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There are a set of special keys available. If these are in your boot
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command, they will be replaced by the proper key:
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- `<bs>` - Backspace
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- `<del>` - Delete
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- `<enter>` and `<return>` - Simulates an actual "enter" or "return" keypress.
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- `<esc>` - Simulates pressing the escape key.
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- `<tab>` - Simulates pressing the tab key.
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- `<f1>` - `<f12>` - Simulates pressing a function key.
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- `<up>` `<down>` `<left>` `<right>` - Simulates pressing an arrow key.
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- `<spacebar>` - Simulates pressing the spacebar.
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- `<insert>` - Simulates pressing the insert key.
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- `<home>` `<end>` - Simulates pressing the home and end keys.
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- `<pageUp>` `<pageDown>` - Simulates pressing the page up and page down keys.
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- `<leftAlt>` `<rightAlt>` - Simulates pressing the alt key.
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- `<leftCtrl>` `<rightCtrl>` - Simulates pressing the ctrl key.
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- `<leftShift>` `<rightShift>` - Simulates pressing the shift key.
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- `<leftAltOn>` `<rightAltOn>` - Simulates pressing and holding the alt key.
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- `<leftCtrlOn>` `<rightCtrlOn>` - Simulates pressing and holding the ctrl key.
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- `<leftShiftOn>` `<rightShiftOn>` - Simulates pressing and holding the shift key.
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- `<leftAltOff>` `<rightAltOff>` - Simulates releasing a held alt key.
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- `<leftCtrlOff>` `<rightCtrlOff>` - Simulates releasing a held ctrl key.
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- `<leftShiftOff>` `<rightShiftOff>` - Simulates releasing a held shift key.
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- `<wait>` `<wait5>` `<wait10>` - Adds a 1, 5 or 10 second pause before
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sending any additional keys. This is useful if you have to generally wait
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for the UI to update before typing more.
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- `<waitXX> ` - Add user defined time.Duration pause before sending any
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additional keys. For example `<wait10m>` or `<wait1m20s>`
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When using modifier keys `ctrl`, `alt`, `shift` ensure that you release them,
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otherwise they will be held down until the machine reboots. Use lowercase
|
|
characters as well inside modifiers. For example: to simulate ctrl+c use
|
|
`<leftCtrlOn>c<leftCtrlOff>`.
|
|
|
|
In addition to the special keys, each command to type is treated as a
|
|
[template engine](/docs/templates/engine.html). The
|
|
available variables are:
|
|
|
|
- `HTTPIP` and `HTTPPort` - The IP and port, respectively of an HTTP server
|
|
that is started serving the directory specified by the `http_directory`
|
|
configuration parameter. If `http_directory` isn't specified, these will be
|
|
blank!
|
|
|
|
Example boot command. This is actually a working boot command used to start an
|
|
CentOS 6.4 installer:
|
|
|
|
```json
|
|
{
|
|
"boot_command": [
|
|
"<tab><wait>",
|
|
" ks=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/centos6-ks.cfg<enter>"
|
|
]
|
|
}
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
### Troubleshooting
|
|
|
|
Some users have experienced errors complaining about invalid keymaps. This
|
|
seems to be related to having a `common` directory or file in the directory
|
|
they've run Packer in, like the packer source directory. This appears to be an
|
|
upstream bug with qemu, and the best solution for now is to remove the
|
|
file/directory or run in another directory.
|