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VMware Builder

Type: vmware

The VMware builder is able to create VMware virtual machines. It currently supports building virtual machines on hosts running VMware Fusion for OS X, VMware Workstation for Linux and Windows, and VMware Player on Linux.

The builder builds a virtual machine by creating a new virtual machine from scratch, booting it, installing an OS, provisioning software within the OS, then shutting it down. The result of the VMware builder is a directory containing all the files necessary to run the virtual machine.

Basic Example

Here is a basic example. This example is not functional. It will start the OS installer but then fail because we don't provide the preseed file for Ubuntu to self-install. Still, the example serves to show the basic configuration:

{
  "type": "vmware",
  "iso_url": "http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/precise/ubuntu-12.04.2-server-amd64.iso",
  "iso_checksum": "af5f788aee1b32c4b2634734309cc9e9",
  "iso_checksum_type": "md5",
  "ssh_username": "packer",
  "ssh_wait_timeout": "30s",
  "shutdown_command": "shutdown -P now"
}

Configuration Reference

There are many configuration options available for the VMware builder. They are organized below into two categories: required and optional. Within each category, the available options are alphabetized and described.

Required:

  • iso_checksum (string) - The checksum for the OS ISO file. Because ISO files are so large, this is required and Packer will verify it prior to booting a virtual machine with the ISO attached. The type of the checksum is specified with iso_checksum_type, documented below.

  • iso_checksum_type (string) - The type of the checksum specified in iso_checksum. Valid values are "md5", "sha1", "sha256", or "sha512" currently.

  • iso_url (string) - A URL to the ISO containing the installation image. This URL can be either an HTTP URL or a file URL (or path to a file). If this is an HTTP URL, Packer will download it and cache it between runs.

  • ssh_username (string) - The username to use to SSH into the machine once the OS is installed.

Optional:

  • boot_command (array of strings) - This is an array of commands to type when the virtual machine is firsted booted. The goal of these commands should be to type just enough to initialize the operating system installer. Special keys can be typed as well, and are covered in the section below on the boot command. If this is not specified, it is assumed the installer will start itself.

  • boot_wait (string) - The time to wait after booting the initial virtual machine before typing the boot_command. The value of this should be a duration. Examples are "5s" and "1m30s" which will cause Packer to wait five seconds and one minute 30 seconds, respectively. If this isn't specified, the default is 10 seconds.

  • disk_size (int) - The size of the hard disk for the VM in megabytes. The builder uses expandable, not fixed-size virtual hard disks, so the actual file representing the disk will not use the full size unless it is full. By default this is set to 40,000 (40 GB).

  • disk_type_id (string) - The type of VMware virtual disk to create. The default is "1", which corresponds to a growable virtual disk split in 2GB files. This option is for advanced usage, modify only if you know what you're doing. For more information, please consult the Virtual Disk Manager User's Guide.

  • floppy_files (array of strings) - A list of files to put onto a floppy disk that is attached when the VM is booted for the first time. This is most useful for unattended Windows installs, which look for an Autounattend.xml file on removable media. By default no floppy will be attached. The files listed in this configuration will all be put into the root directory of the floppy disk; sub-directories are not supported.

  • guest_os_type (string) - The guest OS type being installed. This will be set in the VMware VMX. By default this is "other". By specifying a more specific OS type, VMware may perform some optimizations or virtual hardware changes to better support the operating system running in the virtual machine.

  • headless (bool) - Packer defaults to building VMware virtual machines by launching a GUI that shows the console of the machine being built. When this value is set to true, the machine will start without a console. For VMware machines, Packer will output VNC connection information in case you need to connect to the console to debug the build process.

  • http_directory (string) - Path to a directory to serve using an HTTP server. The files in this directory will be available over HTTP that will be requestable from the virtual machine. This is useful for hosting kickstart files and so on. By default this is "", which means no HTTP server will be started. The address and port of the HTTP server will be available as variables in boot_command. This is covered in more detail below.

  • http_port_min and http_port_max (int) - These are the minimum and maximum port to use for the HTTP server started to serve the http_directory. Because Packer often runs in parallel, Packer will choose a randomly available port in this range to run the HTTP server. If you want to force the HTTP server to be on one port, make this minimum and maximum port the same. By default the values are 8000 and 9000, respectively.

  • iso_urls (array of strings) - Multiple URLs for the ISO to download. Packer will try these in order. If anything goes wrong attempting to download or while downloading a single URL, it will move on to the next. All URLs must point to the same file (same checksum). By default this is empty and iso_url is used. Only one of iso_url or iso_urls can be specified.

  • output_directory (string) - This is the path to the directory where the resulting virtual machine will be created. This may be relative or absolute. If relative, the path is relative to the working directory when packer is executed. This directory must not exist or be empty prior to running the builder. By default this is "output-BUILDNAME" where "BUILDNAME" is the name of the build.

  • skip_compaction (bool) - VMware-created disks are defragmented and compacted at the end of the build process using vmware-vdiskmanager. In certain rare cases, this might actually end up making the resulting disks slightly larger. If you find this to be the case, you can disable compaction using this configuration value.

  • shutdown_command (string) - The command to use to gracefully shut down the machine once all the provisioning is done. By default this is an empty string, which tells Packer to just forcefully shut down the machine.

  • shutdown_timeout (string) - The amount of time to wait after executing the shutdown_command for the virtual machine to actually shut down. If it doesn't shut down in this time, it is an error. By default, the timeout is "5m", or five minutes.

  • ssh_key_path (string) - Path to a private key to use for authenticating with SSH. By default this is not set (key-based auth won't be used). The associated public key is expected to already be configured on the VM being prepared by some other process (kickstart, etc.).

  • ssh_password (string) - The password for ssh_username to use to authenticate with SSH. By default this is the empty string.

  • ssh_port (int) - The port that SSH will listen on within the virtual machine. By default this is 22.

  • ssh_skip_request_pty (bool) - If true, a pty will not be requested as part of the SSH connection. By default, this is "false", so a pty will be requested.

  • ssh_wait_timeout (string) - The duration to wait for SSH to become available. By default this is "20m", or 20 minutes. Note that this should be quite long since the timer begins as soon as the virtual machine is booted.

  • tools_upload_flavor (string) - The flavor of the VMware Tools ISO to upload into the VM. Valid values are "darwin", "linux", and "windows". By default, this is empty, which means VMware tools won't be uploaded.

  • tools_upload_path (string) - The path in the VM to upload the VMware tools. This only takes effect if tools_upload_flavor is non-empty. This is a configuration template that has a single valid variable: Flavor, which will be the value of tools_upload_flavor. By default the upload path is set to {{.Flavor}}.iso.

  • vm_name (string) - This is the name of the VMX file for the new virtual machine, without the file extension. By default this is "packer-BUILDNAME", where "BUILDNAME" is the name of the build.

  • vmdk_name (string) - The filename of the virtual disk that'll be created, without the extension. This defaults to "packer".

  • vmx_data (object, string keys and string values) - Arbitrary key/values to enter into the virtual machine VMX file. This is for advanced users who want to set properties such as memory, CPU, etc.

  • vnc_port_min and vnc_port_max (int) - The minimum and maximum port to use for VNC access to the virtual machine. The builder uses VNC to type the initial boot_command. Because Packer generally runs in parallel, Packer uses a randomly chosen port in this range that appears available. By default this is 5900 to 6000. The minimum and maximum ports are inclusive.

  • vmx_template_path (string) - Path to a configuration template that defines the contents of the virtual machine VMX file for VMware. This is for advanced users only as this can render the virtual machine non-functional. See below for more information. For basic VMX modifications, try vmx_data first.

Boot Command

The boot_command configuration is very important: it specifies the keys to type when the virtual machine is first booted in order to start the OS installer. This command is typed after boot_wait, which gives the virtual machine some time to actually load the ISO.

As documented above, the boot_command is an array of strings. The strings are all typed in sequence. It is an array only to improve readability within the template.

The boot command is "typed" character for character over a VNC connection to the machine, simulating a human actually typing the keyboard. There are a set of special keys available. If these are in your boot command, they will be replaced by the proper key:

  • <enter> and <return> - Simulates an actual "enter" or "return" keypress.

  • <esc> - Simulates pressing the escape key.

  • <tab> - Simulates pressing the tab key.

  • <wait> <wait5> <wait10> - Adds a 1, 5 or 10 second pause before sending any additional keys. This is useful if you have to generally wait for the UI to update before typing more.

In addition to the special keys, each command to type is treated as a configuration template. 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 Ubuntu 12.04 installer:

[
  "<esc><esc><enter><wait>",
  "/install/vmlinuz noapic ",
  "preseed/url=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/preseed.cfg ",
  "debian-installer=en_US auto locale=en_US kbd-chooser/method=us ",
  "hostname={{ .Name }} ",
  "fb=false debconf/frontend=noninteractive ",
  "keyboard-configuration/modelcode=SKIP keyboard-configuration/layout=USA ",
  "keyboard-configuration/variant=USA console-setup/ask_detect=false ",
  "initrd=/install/initrd.gz -- <enter>"
]

VMX Template

The heart of a VMware machine is the "vmx" file. This contains all the virtual hardware metadata necessary for the VM to function. Packer by default uses a safe, flexible VMX file. But for advanced users, this template can be customized. This allows Packer to build virtual machines of effectively any guest operating system type.

This is an advanced feature. Modifying the VMX template can easily cause your virtual machine to not boot properly. Please only modify the template if you know what you're doing.

Within the template, a handful of variables are available so that your template can continue working with the rest of the Packer machinery. Using these variables isn't required, however.

  • Name - The name of the virtual machine.
  • GuestOS - The VMware-valid guest OS type.
  • DiskName - The filename (without the suffix) of the main virtual disk.
  • ISOPath - The path to the ISO to use for the OS installation.