github.com/raghuse92/packer@v1.3.2/website/source/docs/builders/vmware-iso.html.md.erb (about) 1 --- 2 modeline: | 3 vim: set ft=pandoc: 4 description: | 5 This VMware Packer builder is able to create VMware virtual machines from an 6 ISO file as a source. It currently supports building virtual machines on hosts 7 running VMware Fusion for OS X, VMware Workstation for Linux and Windows, and 8 VMware Player on Linux. It can also build machines directly on VMware vSphere 9 Hypervisor using SSH as opposed to the vSphere API. 10 layout: docs 11 page_title: 'VMware ISO - Builders' 12 sidebar_current: 'docs-builders-vmware-iso' 13 --- 14 15 # VMware Builder (from ISO) 16 17 Type: `vmware-iso` 18 19 This VMware Packer builder is able to create VMware virtual machines from an ISO 20 file as a source. It currently supports building virtual machines on hosts 21 running [VMware Fusion](https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/overview.html) for 22 OS X, [VMware 23 Workstation](https://www.vmware.com/products/workstation/overview.html) for Linux 24 and Windows, and [VMware Player](https://www.vmware.com/products/player/) on 25 Linux. It can also build machines directly on [VMware vSphere 26 Hypervisor](https://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere-hypervisor/) using SSH as 27 opposed to the vSphere API. 28 29 The builder builds a virtual machine by creating a new virtual machine from 30 scratch, booting it, installing an OS, provisioning software within the OS, then 31 shutting it down. The result of the VMware builder is a directory containing all 32 the files necessary to run the virtual machine. 33 34 ## Basic Example 35 36 Here is a basic example. This example is not functional. It will start the OS 37 installer but then fail because we don't provide the preseed file for Ubuntu to 38 self-install. Still, the example serves to show the basic configuration: 39 40 ``` json 41 { 42 "type": "vmware-iso", 43 "iso_url": "http://old-releases.ubuntu.com/releases/precise/ubuntu-12.04.2-server-amd64.iso", 44 "iso_checksum": "af5f788aee1b32c4b2634734309cc9e9", 45 "iso_checksum_type": "md5", 46 "ssh_username": "packer", 47 "ssh_password": "packer", 48 "shutdown_command": "shutdown -P now" 49 } 50 ``` 51 52 ## Configuration Reference 53 54 There are many configuration options available for the VMware builder. They are 55 organized below into two categories: required and optional. Within each 56 category, the available options are alphabetized and described. 57 58 In addition to the options listed here, a 59 [communicator](/docs/templates/communicator.html) can be configured for this 60 builder. 61 62 ### Required: 63 64 - `iso_checksum` (string) - The checksum for the OS ISO file. Because ISO 65 files are so large, this is required and Packer will verify it prior to 66 booting a virtual machine with the ISO attached. The type of the checksum is 67 specified with `iso_checksum_type`, documented below. At least one of 68 `iso_checksum` and `iso_checksum_url` must be defined. This has precedence 69 over `iso_checksum_url` type. 70 71 - `iso_checksum_type` (string) - The type of the checksum specified in 72 `iso_checksum`. Valid values are `none`, `md5`, `sha1`, `sha256`, or 73 `sha512` currently. While `none` will skip checksumming, this is not 74 recommended since ISO files are generally large and corruption does happen 75 from time to time. 76 77 - `iso_checksum_url` (string) - A URL to a GNU or BSD style checksum file 78 containing a checksum for the OS ISO file. At least one of `iso_checksum` 79 and `iso_checksum_url` must be defined. This will be ignored if 80 `iso_checksum` is non empty. 81 82 - `iso_url` (string) - A URL to the ISO containing the installation image. 83 This URL can be either an HTTP URL or a file URL (or path to a file). If 84 this is an HTTP URL, Packer will download it and cache it between runs. 85 86 ### Optional: 87 88 - `boot_command` (array of strings) - This is an array of commands to type 89 when the virtual machine is first booted. The goal of these commands should 90 be to type just enough to initialize the operating system installer. Special 91 keys can be typed as well, and are covered in the section below on the 92 boot command. If this is not specified, it is assumed the installer will 93 start itself. 94 95 - `boot_wait` (string) - The time to wait after booting the initial virtual 96 machine before typing the `boot_command`. The value of this should be 97 a duration. Examples are `5s` and `1m30s` which will cause Packer to wait 98 five seconds and one minute 30 seconds, respectively. If this isn't 99 specified, the default is `10s` or 10 seconds. 100 101 - `cdrom_adapter_type` (string) - The adapter type (or bus) that will be used 102 by the cdrom device. This is chosen by default based on the disk adapter 103 type. VMware tends to lean towards `ide` for the cdrom device unless 104 `sata` is chosen for the disk adapter and so Packer attempts to mirror 105 this logic. This field can be specified as either `ide`, `sata`, or `scsi`. 106 107 - `disable_vnc` (boolean) - Whether to create a VNC connection or not. 108 A `boot_command` cannot be used when this is `true`. Defaults to `false`. 109 110 - `disk_adapter_type` (string) - The adapter type of the VMware virtual disk 111 to create. This option is for advanced usage, modify only if you know what 112 you're doing. Some of the options you can specify are `ide`, `sata`, `nvme` 113 or `scsi` (which uses the "lsilogic" scsi interface by default). If you 114 specify another option, Packer will assume that you're specifying a `scsi` 115 interface of that specified type. For more information, please consult the 116 <a href="http://www.vmware.com/pdf/VirtualDiskManager.pdf" target="_blank" 117 rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> 118 Virtual Disk Manager User's Guide</a> for desktop VMware clients. 119 For ESXi, refer to the proper ESXi documentation. 120 121 - `disk_additional_size` (array of integers) - The size(s) of any additional 122 hard disks for the VM in megabytes. If this is not specified then the VM 123 will only contain a primary hard disk. The builder uses expandable, not 124 fixed-size virtual hard disks, so the actual file representing the disk will 125 not use the full size unless it is full. 126 127 - `disk_size` (number) - The size of the hard disk for the VM in megabytes. 128 The builder uses expandable, not fixed-size virtual hard disks, so the 129 actual file representing the disk will not use the full size unless it 130 is full. By default this is set to `40000` (about 40 GB). 131 132 - `disk_type_id` (string) - The type of VMware virtual disk to create. This 133 option is for advanced usage. 134 135 For desktop VMware clients: 136 137 Type ID | Description 138 --- | --- 139 `0` | Growable virtual disk contained in a single file (monolithic sparse). 140 `1` | Growable virtual disk split into 2GB files (split sparse). 141 `2` | Preallocated virtual disk contained in a single file (monolithic flat). 142 `3` | Preallocated virtual disk split into 2GB files (split flat). 143 `4` | Preallocated virtual disk compatible with ESX server (VMFS flat). 144 `5` | Compressed disk optimized for streaming. 145 146 The default is `1`. 147 148 For ESXi, this defaults to `zeroedthick`. The available options for ESXi 149 are: `zeroedthick`, `eagerzeroedthick`, `thin`. `rdm:dev`, `rdmp:dev`, 150 `2gbsparse` are not supported. Due to default disk compaction, when using 151 `zeroedthick` or `eagerzeroedthick` set `skip_compaction` to `true`. 152 153 For more information, please consult the [Virtual Disk Manager User's 154 Guide](https://www.vmware.com/pdf/VirtualDiskManager.pdf) for desktop 155 VMware clients. For ESXi, refer to the proper ESXi documentation. 156 157 - `floppy_dirs` (array of strings) - A list of directories to place onto 158 the floppy disk recursively. This is similar to the `floppy_files` option 159 except that the directory structure is preserved. This is useful for when 160 your floppy disk includes drivers or if you just want to organize it's 161 contents as a hierarchy. Wildcard characters (\*, ?, and \[\]) are allowed. 162 163 - `floppy_files` (array of strings) - A list of files to place onto a floppy 164 disk that is attached when the VM is booted. This is most useful for 165 unattended Windows installs, which look for an `Autounattend.xml` file on 166 removable media. By default, no floppy will be attached. All files listed in 167 this setting get placed into the root directory of the floppy and the floppy 168 is attached as the first floppy device. Currently, no support exists for 169 creating sub-directories on the floppy. Wildcard characters (\*, ?, 170 and \[\]) are allowed. Directory names are also allowed, which will add all 171 the files found in the directory to the floppy. 172 173 - `fusion_app_path` (string) - Path to "VMware Fusion.app". By default this is 174 `/Applications/VMware Fusion.app` but this setting allows you to 175 customize this. 176 177 - `guest_os_type` (string) - The guest OS type being installed. This will be 178 set in the VMware VMX. By default this is `other`. By specifying a more 179 specific OS type, VMware may perform some optimizations or virtual hardware 180 changes to better support the operating system running in the 181 virtual machine. 182 183 - `headless` (boolean) - Packer defaults to building VMware virtual machines 184 by launching a GUI that shows the console of the machine being built. When 185 this value is set to `true`, the machine will start without a console. For 186 VMware machines, Packer will output VNC connection information in case you 187 need to connect to the console to debug the build process. 188 189 - `http_directory` (string) - Path to a directory to serve using an 190 HTTP server. The files in this directory will be available over HTTP that 191 will be requestable from the virtual machine. This is useful for hosting 192 kickstart files and so on. By default this is an empty string, which means 193 no HTTP server will be started. The address and port of the HTTP server will 194 be available as variables in `boot_command`. This is covered in more detail 195 below. 196 197 - `http_port_min` and `http_port_max` (number) - These are the minimum and 198 maximum port to use for the HTTP server started to serve the 199 `http_directory`. Because Packer often runs in parallel, Packer will choose 200 a randomly available port in this range to run the HTTP server. If you want 201 to force the HTTP server to be on one port, make this minimum and maximum 202 port the same. By default the values are `8000` and `9000`, respectively. 203 204 - `iso_target_extension` (string) - The extension of the iso file after 205 download. This defaults to `iso`. 206 207 - `iso_target_path` (string) - The path where the iso should be saved after 208 download. By default will go in the packer cache, with a hash of the 209 original filename as its name. 210 211 - `iso_urls` (array of strings) - Multiple URLs for the ISO to download. 212 Packer will try these in order. If anything goes wrong attempting to 213 download or while downloading a single URL, it will move on to the next. All 214 URLs must point to the same file (same checksum). By default this is empty 215 and `iso_url` is used. Only one of `iso_url` or `iso_urls` can be specified. 216 217 - `network` (string) - This is the network type that the virtual machine will 218 be created with. This can be one of the generic values that map to a device 219 such as `hostonly`, `nat`, or `bridged`. If the network is not one of these 220 values, then it is assumed to be a VMware network device. (VMnet0..x) 221 222 - `network_adapter_type` (string) - This is the ethernet adapter type the the 223 virtual machine will be created with. By default the `e1000` network adapter 224 type will be used by Packer. For more information, please consult the 225 <a href="https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1001805" target="_blank" 226 rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> 227 Choosing a network adapter for your virtual machine</a> for desktop VMware 228 clients. For ESXi, refer to the proper ESXi documentation. 229 230 - `output_directory` (string) - This is the path to the directory where the 231 resulting virtual machine will be created. This may be relative or absolute. 232 If relative, the path is relative to the working directory when `packer` 233 is executed. This directory must not exist or be empty prior to running 234 the builder. By default this is `output-BUILDNAME` where "BUILDNAME" is the 235 name of the build. 236 237 - `parallel` (string) - This specifies a parallel port to add to the VM. It 238 has the format of `Type:option1,option2,...`. Type can be one of the 239 following values: `FILE`, `DEVICE`, `AUTO`, or `NONE`. 240 241 * `FILE:path` - Specifies the path to the local file to be used for the 242 parallel port. 243 * `DEVICE:path` - Specifies the path to the local device to be used for the 244 parallel port. 245 * `AUTO:direction` - Specifies to use auto-detection to determine the 246 parallel port. Direction can be `BI` to specify 247 bidirectional communication or `UNI` to specify 248 unidirectional communication. 249 * `NONE` - Specifies to not use a parallel port. (default) 250 251 - `remote_cache_datastore` (string) - The path to the datastore where 252 supporting files will be stored during the build on the remote machine. By 253 default this is the same as the `remote_datastore` option. This only has an 254 effect if `remote_type` is enabled. 255 256 - `remote_cache_directory` (string) - The path where the ISO and/or floppy 257 files will be stored during the build on the remote machine. The path is 258 relative to the `remote_cache_datastore` on the remote machine. By default 259 this is `packer_cache`. This only has an effect if `remote_type` 260 is enabled. 261 262 - `remote_datastore` (string) - The path to the datastore where the resulting 263 VM will be stored when it is built on the remote machine. By default this 264 is `datastore1`. This only has an effect if `remote_type` is enabled. 265 266 - `remote_host` (string) - The host of the remote machine used for access. 267 This is only required if `remote_type` is enabled. 268 269 - `remote_password` (string) - The SSH password for the user used to access 270 the remote machine. By default this is empty. This only has an effect if 271 `remote_type` is enabled. 272 273 - `remote_private_key_file` (string) - The path to the PEM encoded private key 274 file for the user used to access the remote machine. By default this is empty. 275 This only has an effect if `remote_type` is enabled. 276 277 - `remote_type` (string) - The type of remote machine that will be used to 278 build this VM rather than a local desktop product. The only value accepted 279 for this currently is `esx5`. If this is not set, a desktop product will 280 be used. By default, this is not set. 281 282 - `remote_username` (string) - The username for the SSH user that will access 283 the remote machine. This is required if `remote_type` is enabled. 284 285 - `serial` (string) - This specifies a serial port to add to the VM. 286 It has a format of `Type:option1,option2,...`. The field `Type` can be one 287 of the following values: `FILE`, `DEVICE`, `PIPE`, `AUTO`, or `NONE`. 288 289 * `FILE:path(,yield)` - Specifies the path to the local file to be used as the 290 serial port. 291 * `yield` (bool) - This is an optional boolean that specifies whether 292 the vm should yield the cpu when polling the port. 293 By default, the builder will assume this as `FALSE`. 294 * `DEVICE:path(,yield)` - Specifies the path to the local device to be used 295 as the serial port. If `path` is empty, then 296 default to the first serial port. 297 * `yield` (bool) - This is an optional boolean that specifies whether 298 the vm should yield the cpu when polling the port. 299 By default, the builder will assume this as `FALSE`. 300 * `PIPE:path,endpoint,host(,yield)` - Specifies to use the named-pipe "path" 301 as a serial port. This has a few 302 options that determine how the VM 303 should use the named-pipe. 304 * `endpoint` (string) - Chooses the type of the VM-end, which can be 305 either a `client` or `server`. 306 * `host` (string) - Chooses the type of the host-end, which can be either 307 an `app` (application) or `vm` (another virtual-machine). 308 * `yield` (bool) - This is an optional boolean that specifies whether 309 the vm should yield the cpu when polling the port. 310 By default, the builder will assume this as `FALSE`. 311 312 * `AUTO:(yield)` - Specifies to use auto-detection to determine the serial 313 port to use. This has one option to determine how the VM 314 should support the serial port. 315 * `yield` (bool) - This is an optional boolean that specifies whether 316 the vm should yield the cpu when polling the port. 317 By default, the builder will assume this as `FALSE`. 318 * `NONE` - Specifies to not use a serial port. (default) 319 320 - `shutdown_command` (string) - The command to use to gracefully shut down the 321 machine once all the provisioning is done. By default this is an empty 322 string, which tells Packer to just forcefully shut down the machine. 323 324 - `shutdown_timeout` (string) - The amount of time to wait after executing the 325 `shutdown_command` for the virtual machine to actually shut down. If it 326 doesn't shut down in this time, it is an error. By default, the timeout is 327 `5m` or five minutes. 328 329 - `skip_compaction` (boolean) - VMware-created disks are defragmented and 330 compacted at the end of the build process using `vmware-vdiskmanager` or 331 `vmkfstools` in ESXi. In certain rare cases, this might actually end up 332 making the resulting disks slightly larger. If you find this to be the case, 333 you can disable compaction using this configuration value. Defaults to 334 `false`. Default to `true` for ESXi when `disk_type_id` is not explicitly 335 defined and `false` otherwise. 336 337 - `skip_export` (boolean) - Defaults to `false`. When enabled, Packer will 338 not export the VM. Useful if the build output is not the resultant 339 image, but created inside the VM. 340 Currently, exporting the build VM is only supported when building on 341 ESXi e.g. when `remote_type` is set to `esx5`. See the [Building on a 342 Remote vSphere 343 Hypervisor](/docs/builders/vmware-iso.html#building-on-a-remote-vsphere-hypervisor) 344 section below for more info. 345 346 - `keep_registered` (boolean) - Set this to `true` if you would like to keep 347 the VM registered with the remote ESXi server. If you do not need to export 348 the vm, then also set `skip_export: true` in order to avoid an unnecessary 349 step of using ovftool to export the vm. Defaults to `false`. 350 351 - `ovftool_options` (array of strings) - Extra options to pass to ovftool 352 during export. Each item in the array is a new argument. The options 353 `--noSSLVerify`, `--skipManifestCheck`, and `--targetType` are reserved, 354 and should not be passed to this argument. 355 Currently, exporting the build VM (with ovftool) is only supported when 356 building on ESXi e.g. when `remote_type` is set to `esx5`. See the 357 [Building on a Remote vSphere 358 Hypervisor](/docs/builders/vmware-iso.html#building-on-a-remote-vsphere-hypervisor) 359 section below for more info. 360 361 - `sound` (boolean) - Enable VMware's virtual soundcard device for the VM. 362 363 - `tools_upload_flavor` (string) - The flavor of the VMware Tools ISO to 364 upload into the VM. Valid values are `darwin`, `linux`, and `windows`. By 365 default, this is empty, which means VMware tools won't be uploaded. 366 367 - `tools_upload_path` (string) - The path in the VM to upload the 368 VMware tools. This only takes effect if `tools_upload_flavor` is non-empty. 369 This is a [configuration 370 template](/docs/templates/engine.html) that has a single 371 valid variable: `Flavor`, which will be the value of `tools_upload_flavor`. 372 By default the upload path is set to `{{.Flavor}}.iso`. This setting is not 373 used when `remote_type` is `esx5`. 374 375 - `usb` (boolean) - Enable VMware's USB bus for the guest VM. To enable usage 376 of the XHCI bus for USB 3 (5 Gbit/s), one can use the `vmx_data` option to 377 enable it by specifying `true` for the `usb_xhci.present` property. 378 379 - `version` (string) - The [vmx hardware 380 version](http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1003746) 381 for the new virtual machine. Only the default value has been tested, any 382 other value is experimental. Default value is `9`. 383 384 - `vm_name` (string) - This is the name of the VMX file for the new virtual 385 machine, without the file extension. By default this is `packer-BUILDNAME`, 386 where "BUILDNAME" is the name of the build. 387 388 - `vmdk_name` (string) - The filename of the virtual disk that'll be created, 389 without the extension. This defaults to `packer`. 390 391 - `vmx_data` (object of key/value strings) - Arbitrary key/values to enter 392 into the virtual machine VMX file. This is for advanced users who want to 393 set properties such as memory, CPU, etc. 394 395 - `vmx_data_post` (object of key/value strings) - Identical to `vmx_data`, 396 except that it is run after the virtual machine is shutdown, and before the 397 virtual machine is exported. 398 399 - `vmx_remove_ethernet_interfaces` (boolean) - Remove all ethernet interfaces 400 from the VMX file after building. This is for advanced users who understand 401 the ramifications, but is useful for building Vagrant boxes since Vagrant 402 will create ethernet interfaces when provisioning a box. Defaults to 403 `false`. 404 405 - `vmx_template_path` (string) - Path to a [configuration 406 template](/docs/templates/engine.html) that defines the 407 contents of the virtual machine VMX file for VMware. This is for **advanced 408 users only** as this can render the virtual machine non-functional. See 409 below for more information. For basic VMX modifications, try 410 `vmx_data` first. 411 412 - `vnc_bind_address` (string / IP address) - The IP address that should be 413 binded to for VNC. By default packer will use `127.0.0.1` for this. If you 414 wish to bind to all interfaces use `0.0.0.0`. 415 416 - `vnc_disable_password` (boolean) - Don't auto-generate a VNC password that 417 is used to secure the VNC communication with the VM. This must be set to 418 `true` if building on ESXi 6.5 and 6.7 with VNC enabled. Defaults to 419 `false`. 420 421 - `vnc_port_min` and `vnc_port_max` (number) - The minimum and maximum port 422 to use for VNC access to the virtual machine. The builder uses VNC to type 423 the initial `boot_command`. Because Packer generally runs in parallel, 424 Packer uses a randomly chosen port in this range that appears available. By 425 default this is `5900` to `6000`. The minimum and maximum ports are 426 inclusive. 427 428 ## Boot Command 429 430 The `boot_command` configuration is very important: it specifies the keys to 431 type when the virtual machine is first booted in order to start the OS 432 installer. This command is typed after `boot_wait`, which gives the virtual 433 machine some time to actually load the ISO. 434 435 As documented above, the `boot_command` is an array of strings. The strings are 436 all typed in sequence. It is an array only to improve readability within the 437 template. 438 439 The boot command is "typed" character for character over a VNC connection to the 440 machine, simulating a human actually typing the keyboard. 441 442 -> Keystrokes are typed as separate key up/down events over VNC with a 443 default 100ms delay. The delay alleviates issues with latency and CPU 444 contention. You can tune this delay on a per-builder basis by specifying 445 "boot_key_interval" in your Packer template, for example: 446 447 ``` 448 { 449 "builders": [ 450 { 451 "type": "vmware-iso", 452 "boot_key_interval": "10ms" 453 ... 454 } 455 ] 456 } 457 ``` 458 459 <%= partial "partials/builders/boot-command" %> 460 461 -> **Note**: for the `HTTPIP` to be resolved correctly, your VM's network 462 configuration has to include a `hostonly` or `nat` type network interface. 463 If you are using this feature, it is recommended to leave the default network 464 configuration while you are building the VM, and use the `vmx_data_post` hook 465 to modify the network configuration after the VM is done building. 466 467 Example boot command. This is actually a working boot command used to start an 468 Ubuntu 12.04 installer: 469 470 ``` text 471 [ 472 "<esc><esc><enter><wait>", 473 "/install/vmlinuz noapic ", 474 "preseed/url=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/preseed.cfg ", 475 "debian-installer=en_US auto locale=en_US kbd-chooser/method=us ", 476 "hostname={{ .Name }} ", 477 "fb=false debconf/frontend=noninteractive ", 478 "keyboard-configuration/modelcode=SKIP keyboard-configuration/layout=USA ", 479 "keyboard-configuration/variant=USA console-setup/ask_detect=false ", 480 "initrd=/install/initrd.gz -- <enter>" 481 ] 482 ``` 483 484 For more examples of various boot commands, see the sample projects from our 485 [community templates page](/community-tools.html#templates). 486 487 ## VMX Template 488 489 The heart of a VMware machine is the "vmx" file. This contains all the virtual 490 hardware metadata necessary for the VM to function. Packer by default uses a 491 [safe, flexible VMX 492 file](https://github.com/hashicorp/packer/blob/20541a7eda085aa5cf35bfed5069592ca49d106e/builder/vmware/step_create_vmx.go#L84). 493 But for advanced users, this template can be customized. This allows Packer to 494 build virtual machines of effectively any guest operating system type. 495 496 ~> **This is an advanced feature.** Modifying the VMX template can easily 497 cause your virtual machine to not boot properly. Please only modify the template 498 if you know what you're doing. 499 500 Within the template, a handful of variables are available so that your template 501 can continue working with the rest of the Packer machinery. Using these 502 variables isn't required, however. 503 504 - `Name` - The name of the virtual machine. 505 - `GuestOS` - The VMware-valid guest OS type. 506 - `DiskName` - The filename (without the suffix) of the main virtual disk. 507 - `ISOPath` - The path to the ISO to use for the OS installation. 508 - `Version` - The Hardware version VMWare will execute this vm under. Also 509 known as the `virtualhw.version`. 510 511 ## Building on a Remote vSphere Hypervisor 512 513 In addition to using the desktop products of VMware locally to build virtual 514 machines, Packer can use a remote VMware Hypervisor to build the virtual 515 machine. 516 517 -> **Note:** Packer supports ESXi 5.1 and above. 518 519 Before using a remote vSphere Hypervisor, you need to enable GuestIPHack by 520 running the following command: 521 522 ``` text 523 esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Net/GuestIPHack -i 1 524 ``` 525 526 When using a remote VMware Hypervisor, the builder still downloads the ISO and 527 various files locally, and uploads these to the remote machine. Packer currently 528 uses SSH to communicate to the ESXi machine rather than the vSphere API. At some 529 point, the vSphere API may be used. 530 531 Packer also requires VNC to issue boot commands during a build, which may be 532 disabled on some remote VMware Hypervisors. Please consult the appropriate 533 documentation on how to update VMware Hypervisor's firewall to allow these 534 connections. VNC can be disabled by not setting a `boot_command` and setting 535 `disable_vnc` to `true`. 536 537 To use a remote VMware vSphere Hypervisor to build your virtual machine, fill in 538 the required `remote_*` configurations: 539 540 - `remote_type` - This must be set to "esx5". 541 542 - `remote_host` - The host of the remote machine. 543 544 Additionally, there are some optional configurations that you'll likely have to 545 modify as well: 546 547 - `remote_port` - The SSH port of the remote machine 548 549 - `remote_datastore` - The path to the datastore where the VM will be stored 550 on the ESXi machine. 551 552 - `remote_cache_datastore` - The path to the datastore where supporting files 553 will be stored during the build on the remote machine. 554 555 - `remote_cache_directory` - The path where the ISO and/or floppy files will 556 be stored during the build on the remote machine. The path is relative to 557 the `remote_cache_datastore` on the remote machine. 558 559 - `remote_username` - The SSH username used to access the remote machine. 560 561 - `remote_password` - The SSH password for access to the remote machine. 562 563 - `remote_private_key_file` - The SSH key for access to the remote machine. 564 565 - `format` (string) - Either "ovf", "ova" or "vmx", this specifies the output 566 format of the exported virtual machine. This defaults to "ovf". 567 Before using this option, you need to install `ovftool`. This option 568 currently only works when option remote_type is set to "esx5". 569 Since ovftool is only capable of password based authentication 570 `remote_password` must be set when exporting the VM. 571 572 - `vnc_disable_password` - This must be set to "true" when using VNC with 573 ESXi 6.5 or 6.7. 574 575 ### VNC port discovery 576 577 Packer needs to decide on a port to use for VNC when building remotely. To find 578 an open port, we try to connect to ports in the range of `vnc_port_min` to 579 `vnc_port_max`. If we notice something is listening on a port in the range, we 580 try to connect to the next one, and so on until we find a port that has nothing 581 listening on it. If you have many clients building on the ESXi host, there 582 might be competition for the VNC ports. You can adjust how long packer waits 583 for a connection timeout by setting `PACKER_ESXI_VNC_PROBE_TIMEOUT`. This 584 defaults to 15 seconds. Set this shorter if vnc connections are refused, and 585 set it longer if Packer can't find an open port. This is intended as an 586 advanced configuration option. Please make sure your firewall settings are 587 correct before adjusting. 588 589 ### Using a Floppy for Linux kickstart file or preseed 590 591 Depending on your network configuration, it may be difficult to use packer's 592 built-in HTTP server with ESXi. Instead, you can provide a kickstart or preseed 593 file by attaching a floppy disk. An example below, based on RHEL: 594 595 ``` json 596 { 597 "builders": [ 598 { 599 "type":"vmware-iso", 600 "floppy_files": [ 601 "folder/ks.cfg" 602 ], 603 "boot_command": "<tab> text ks=floppy <enter><wait>" 604 } 605 ] 606 } 607 ``` 608 609 It's also worth noting that `ks=floppy` has been deprecated. Later versions of 610 the Anaconda installer (used in RHEL/CentOS 7 and Fedora) may require 611 a different syntax to source a kickstart file from a mounted floppy image. 612 613 ``` json 614 { 615 "builders": [ 616 { 617 "type":"vmware-iso", 618 "floppy_files": [ 619 "folder/ks.cfg" 620 ], 621 "boot_command": "<tab> inst.text inst.ks=hd:fd0:/ks.cfg <enter><wait>" 622 } 623 ] 624 } 625 ```