This time I am going to talk about how to use HashiCorp packer to create a VM master image that can be used as a template to publish a Pool in VMware Horizon. Although there are many How-to’s on how to automatically create a template with packer, all the ones I have seen are oriented to Windows 10/11 and not for Linux. It is for this reason, that I gave myself the task of creating this post.
It is important to mention that VMware offers several examples of how to create a template for the different operating systems that can be automated with packer. Here is the link:
https://github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-vsphere
This article uses Ubuntu Linux 22.04 as an example, but it is also possible to automate any Linux version supported by VMware Horizon for Linux desktops.
| Linux Distribution | Architecture |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu 20.04 and 22.04 | x64 |
| Debian 10.13 and 11.5 | x64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 7.9+ | x64 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server 7.9+ | x64 |
| Debian 10.13 and 11.5 | x64 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) 15 SP3 and 15 SP4 | x64 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 15 SP3 and 15 SP4 | x64 |
To start, I have created a packer template for Ubuntu 22.04 that I am going to use for this demonstration. You can access this code from Github at the following link:
https://github.com/rebelinux/packer-ubuntu-vsphere-horizon-iso
The first step would be to clone the GitHub repository locally. In my case I am using Linux on my main computer but Windows 10/11 can also be used for this example.
To do this we will use the command git clone "https://github.com/rebelinux/packer-ubuntu-vsphere-horizon-iso
Step 1: Clone packer-ubuntu-vsphere-horizon-iso repository
[rebelinux@PC ~]$ git clone "https://github.com/rebelinux/packer-ubuntu-vsphere-horizon-iso"
Cloning into 'packer-ubuntu-vsphere-horizon-iso'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 93, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (93/93), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (67/67), done.
remote: Total 93 (delta 51), reused 63 (delta 24), pack-reused 0
Receiving objects: 100% (93/93), 287.93 KiB | 1009.00 KiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (51/51), done.
[rebelinux@PC ~]$
Example: Packer folder content
[rebelinux@PC ~]$ ls "packer-ubuntu-vsphere-horizon-iso"
build-2204.ps1 files README.md ubuntu.pkr.hcl
build-2204.sh http setup variables.auto.pkrvars.hcl.sample
[rebelinux@PC ~]$
After having the repository in our local directory it is necessary to set the variables unique to our VMware vSphere environment.
Step 2: Rename the variables file
[rebelinux@PC ~]$ cd "packer-ubuntu-vsphere-horizon-iso/"
[rebelinux@PC ~]$ mv "variables.auto.pkrvars.hcl.sample" "variables.auto.pkrvars.hcl"
[rebelinux@PC ~]$
Step 3: Modify variables
This section of the file defines the vSphere environment variables:
# Name or IP of you vCenter Server
vsphere_server = "vcenter.lab.local"
# vsphere username
vsphere_username = "administrator@vsphere.local"
# vsphere password
vsphere_password =```````
# vsphere datacenter name
vsphere_datacenter = "LAB-VSI-DC"
# vsphere cluster name
vsphere_cluster = "RegionHQ-MGMT"
# vsphere folder name
vsphere_folder = "Horizon Lab"
# vsphere network
vsphere_network = "LAB-VM-Network"
# vsphere datastore
vsphere_datastore = "SSD-VM-HIGH-CAPACITY-PERF-KN"
# vsphere VM Name
vsphere_vm_name = "hz-tpl-ubuntu"
This portion of the file defines basic VM parameters such as credentials and modification scripts:
# final clean up script
shell_scripts = [
"./setup/packages.sh",
"./setup/desktop_postinstall.sh",
"./setup/ad_domain_join.sh",
"./setup/horizon_agent_install.sh",
"./setup/cleanup.sh"
]
# SSH username
build_username = "godadmin"
# SSH password
build_password = "godadmin"
# To generate an encypted password for user-data use the following command:
# mkpasswd -m sha-512
build_password_encrypted = "$6$rounds=4096$Y0SjrsU5WHubYJvb$0BJhswGEAokE2OqlRFTgiUhJnquzDt2hAnrb3.g3DNTATZ01VLNbxlLRLMLk.PTHiMeP8fUg9WfVx.HeL7e8E0"
# ISO Objects
iso_path = ["[HDD-VM-ISO-LOW-PERF] /ISO/Linux/ubuntu-22.04-live-server-amd64.iso"]
This portion of the file defines the Domain Environment settings for attaching the VM to Active Directory:
Note: For SSO to work, it is required to join the VM to an Active Directory domain
# NTP Server
ntp_server = "xx.xx.xx.xx"
timezone = "America/Puerto_Rico"
# AD Domain
ad_domain = "PHARMAX.LOCAL"
# AD Domain join password
join_password =`````
# AD Domain join username
join_username = "Administrator"
To finish this part of the file define the name of the Horizon Agent installation package:
# Horizon Agent install files
horizon_agent_file = "VMware-horizonagent-linux-x86_64-2303-8.9.0-21434177.tar.gz"
# Uncommnet this if using vcenter as web server
// horizon_agent_datastore = "HDD-VM-ISO-LOW-PERF"
// horizon_agent_path = "/ISO/VMWARE/Horizon/"
Step 4: Copy Horizon agent file locally
In this step it is mandatory to copy the Horizon Agent installation file to the files folder.
├── build-2204.ps1
├── build-2204.sh
├── "files"
│ ├── Place_Here_Horizon_Agent_Files.txt
│ └── "VMware-horizonagent-linux-x86_64-2303-8.9.0-21434177.tar.gz"
├── http
│ ├── meta-data
│ └── user-data.pkrtpl.hcl
├── packerlog.txt
├── README.md
├── setup
│ ├── ad_domain_join.sh
│ ├── cleanup.sh
│ ├── desktop_postinstall.sh
│ ├── horizon_agent_install.sh
│ └── packages.sh
├── ubuntu.pkr.hcl
├── variables.auto.pkrvars.hcl
└── variables.auto.pkrvars.hcl.sample
Step 5: Initialize packer
Then it is required to initialize packer from the command line and validate the configuration.
[rebelinux@rebelpc]$ packer init .
Installed plugin github.com/hashicorp/vsphere v1.1.2 in ".config/packer/plugins/github.com/hashicorp/vsphere/packer-plugin-vsphere_v1.1.2_x5.0_linux_amd64"
[rebelinux@rebelpc]$ packer validate .
"The configuration is valid."
[rebelinux@rebelpc]$
Step 6: Create virtual machine template
Finally, to start generating the template for the Ubuntu VM it is necessary to execute the packer build . command. In the case of this packer template the build-2204.sh file was created to make the process more simple to execute.
[rebelinux@rebelpc]$ ./build-2204.sh
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: output will be in this color.
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Creating CD disk...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Warning: creating filesystem with (nonstandard) Joliet extensions
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: but without (standard) Rock Ridge extensions.
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: It is highly recommended to add Rock Ridge
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Setting input-charset to 'UTF-8' from locale.
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Total translation table size: 0
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Total rockridge attributes bytes: 0
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Total directory bytes: 0
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Path table size(bytes): 10
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Max brk space used 0
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: 181 extents written (0 MB)
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Done copying paths from CD_dirs
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Uploading packer3491041722.iso to packer_cache/packer3491041722.iso
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Creating VM...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Customizing hardware...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Mounting ISO images...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Adding configuration parameters...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Set boot order...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Power on VM...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Waiting 3s for boot...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Typing boot command...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Waiting for IP...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: IP address: 192.168.7.136
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Using SSH communicator to connect: 192.168.7.136
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Waiting for SSH to become available...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Connected to SSH!
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Uploading ./files/ => /tmp/
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Provisioning with shell script: ./setup/packages.sh
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Updating Apt
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: > Disable invalid v4l2loopback driver...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Installing additional packages
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Updating MLocate database
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Provisioning with shell script: ./setup/desktop_postinstall.sh
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Enable the boot splash
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Enable ssh password auth and permit root login
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Add user to sudoers file
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Change /etc/sudoers.d/PHARMAX.LOCAL permissions
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Provisioning with shell script: ./setup/ad_domain_join.sh
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Pointing NTP Server to PHARMAX.LOCAL Domain
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Join PHARMAX.LOCAL Active Directory Domain
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Password for <sensitive>:
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Disable use_fully_qualified_names in AD Login
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Disable use_fully_qualified_names in AD Login
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Enable Automatic home directory creation for network users
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Provisioning with shell script: ./setup/horizon_agent_install.sh
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Extracting VMware Horizon Agent files to /tmp/hzagentdir directory
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Creating /tmp/hzagentdir directory
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Downloading v4l2loopback driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Downloading VHCI-HCD driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Extracting V4L2Loopback driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Patching V4L2Loopback driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Extracting V4L2Loopback driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Building v4l2-loopback driver...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: make -C /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build M=/tmp/v4l2loopback-0.12.5 KCPPFLAGS="" modules
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-5.15.0-70-generic'
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Skipping BTF generation for /tmp/v4l2loopback-0.12.5/v4l2loopback.ko due to unavailability of vmlinux
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: arch/x86/Makefile:142: CONFIG_X86_X32 enabled but no binutils support
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: INSTALL /lib/modules/5.15.0-70-generic/extra/v4l2loopback.ko
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: SIGN /lib/modules/5.15.0-70-generic/extra/v4l2loopback.ko
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: DEPMOD /lib/modules/5.15.0-70-generic
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Warning: modules_install: missing 'System.map' file. Skipping depmod.
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/src/linux-headers-5.15.0-70-generic'
vsphere-iso.ubuntu:
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: SUCCESS (if you got 'SSL errors' above, you can safely ignore them)
vsphere-iso.ubuntu:
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Installing v4l2loopback-ctl
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: install -p -m 755 -d "/usr/local/bin"
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: install -p -m 755 utils/v4l2loopback-ctl "/usr/local/bin"
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Extracting VHCI-HCD driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Patching VHCI-HCD driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: patching file Makefile
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: patching file usb-vhci-dump-urb.c
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: patching file usb-vhci.h
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: patching file usb-vhci-hcd.c
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: patching file usb-vhci-hcd.h
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: patching file usb-vhci-iocifc.c
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Compiling VHCI-HCD driver files
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: make testconfig
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Installing Horizon Agent
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Looking for vhci-hcd driver status
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Found vhci-hcd driver, enabling Horizon USB redirection
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Looking for V4L2Loopback driver status
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Found V4L2Loopback driver, enabling Horizon Real-Time Audio-Video
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Using install options: -A yes -U yes -a yes --webcam
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: /tmp/hzagentdir
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: The installation will install VMware Horizon Agent on your computer.
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Installation Start ...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu:
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: If you have any questions or issues regarding Linux VDI, please start a discussion at https://communities.vmware.com, and we will respond to you as soon as possible.
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: You must restart your system for the configuration changes made to the VMware Horizon Agent to take effect.
vsphere-iso.ubuntu:
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Installation done
vsphere-iso.ubuntu:
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Setting SSSD authentication (OfflineJoinDomain=sssd)
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Provisioning with shell script: ./setup/cleanup.sh
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: > Cleaning all audit logs ...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: > Cleaning SSH keys ...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Remove default filesystem and related tools not used with the suggested
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: ===> Remove other packages present by default in Ubuntu Server but not normally present in Ubuntu Desktop
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: > Cleaning apt-get ...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: > Disable Ubuntu AutoUpdate...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: > Cleaning the machine-id ...
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: > Cleaning cloud-init
vsphere-iso.ubuntu: datasource_list: [ VMware, NoCloud, ConfigDrive ]
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Executing shutdown command...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Deleting Floppy drives...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Eject CD-ROM drives...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Deleting CD-ROM drives...
==> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: Creating snapshot...
Build 'vsphere-iso.ubuntu' finished after 22 minutes 14 seconds.
==> Wait completed after 22 minutes 14 seconds
==> Builds finished. The artifacts of successful builds are:
--> vsphere-iso.ubuntu: hz-tpl-ubuntu
[rebelinux@rebelpc]$
Example: VM created in vCenter
Example: Automated Ubuntu Installation Process
Example: VM image finalized
Now let’s move on to test the Ubuntu Linux 22.04 VM image using a VMware Horizon Pool already created for this purpose.
Example: VMware Horizon Linux Pool
Video: Ubuntu Image Test
In the second part of this series of articles I will be explaining how to modify this packer template and how to edit the scripts that configure the image.
