420 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
420 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
---
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modeline: |
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vim: set ft=pandoc:
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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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layout: docs
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page_title: 'QEMU - Builders'
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sidebar_current: 'docs-builders-qemu'
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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.
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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-6.9-x86_64-minimal.iso",
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"iso_checksum": "af4a1640c0c6f348c6c41f1ea9e192a2",
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"iso_checksum_type": "md5",
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"output_directory": "output_centos_tdhtest",
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"shutdown_command": "echo 'packer' | sudo -S 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_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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### 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`, `hax`, `hvf`, or `xen`. The appropriate
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software must have already been installed on your build machine to use the
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accelerator you specified. When no accelerator is specified, Packer will try
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to use `kvm` if it is available but will default to `tcg` otherwise.
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-> The `hax` accelerator has issues attaching CDROM ISOs. This is an
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upstream issue which can be tracked
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[here](https://github.com/intel/haxm/issues/20).
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-> The `hvf` accelerator is new and experimental as of
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[QEMU 2.12.0](https://wiki.qemu.org/ChangeLog/2.12#Host_support).
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You may encounter issues unrelated to Packer when using it. You may need to
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add [ "-global", "virtio-pci.disable-modern=on" ] to `qemuargs` depending on the
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guest operating system.
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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 `10s` or 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 either clone
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the source or use it as a backing file (if `use_backing_file` is `true`);
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then, it will resize the image according to `disk_size` and boot it.
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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
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also 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` (number) - The size, in megabytes, of the hard disk to create
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for the VM. By default, this is `40960` (40 GB).
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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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- `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](https://www.packer.io/docs/provisioners/file.html).
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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 an empty string, which means
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no HTTP server will be started. The address and port of the HTTP server will
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be available as variables in `boot_command`. This is covered in more detail
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below.
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- `http_port_min` and `http_port_max` (number) - 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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~> **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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- `use_backing_file` (boolean) - Only applicable when `disk_image` is `true`
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and `format` is `qcow2`, set this option to `true` to create a new QCOW2
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file that uses the file located at `iso_url` as a backing file. The new file
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will only contain blocks that have changed compared to the backing file, so
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enabling this option can significantly reduce disk usage.
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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 macOS, and getting errors about `sdl` not being available.
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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. It
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is important to add a `shutdown_command`. By default Packer halts the virtual
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machine and the file system may not be sync'd. Thus, changes made in a
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provisioner might not be saved. If one or more scripts require a reboot it is
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suggested to leave this blank since reboots may fail and specify the final
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shutdown command in your 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
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`qemu-img convert`. Set this option to `true` to disable compacting.
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Defaults to `false`.
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- `ssh_host_port_min` and `ssh_host_port_max` (number) - 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
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binded to for VNC. By default packer will use `127.0.0.1` for this. If you
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wish to bind to all interfaces use `0.0.0.0`.
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- `vnc_port_min` and `vnc_port_max` (number) - 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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<%= partial "partials/builders/boot-command" %>
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Example boot command. This is actually a working boot command used to start an
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CentOS 6.4 installer:
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``` json
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{
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"boot_command": [
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"<tab><wait>",
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" ks=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/centos6-ks.cfg<enter>"
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]
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}
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```
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For more examples of various boot commands, see the sample projects from our
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[community templates page](/community-tools.html#templates).
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### Troubleshooting
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Some users have experienced errors complaining about invalid keymaps. This
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seems to be related to having a `common` directory or file in the directory
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they've run Packer in, like the packer source directory. This appears to be an
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upstream bug with qemu, and the best solution for now is to remove the
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file/directory or run in another directory.
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Some users have reported issues with incorrect keymaps using qemu version 2.11.
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This is a bug with qemu, and the solution is to upgrade, or downgrade to 2.10.1
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or earlier.
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