Commit 0b7b7e3c authored by Mitchell Hashimoto's avatar Mitchell Hashimoto

website: add vmware

parent 72c1a438
---
layout: "docs"
---
# VMware Builder
Type: `vmware`
The VMware builder is able to create VMware virtual machines. It currently
only supports building the virtual machines using
[VMware Fusion](http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/overview.html), but
support for Windows and other VMware products is forthcoming.
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:
<pre class="prettyprint">
{
"type": "vmware",
"iso_url": "http://releases.ubuntu.com/12.04/ubuntu-12.04.2-server-amd64.iso",
"iso_md5": "af5f788aee1b32c4b2634734309cc9e9",
"ssh_username": "packer",
"ssh_wait_timeout": "30s"
}
</pre>
## 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_md5` (string) - The MD5 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.
* `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.
* `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.
* `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.
* `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. By default this is "vmware". This directory must not exist
or be empty prior to running the builder.
* `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_password` (string) - The password for `ssh_username` to use to
authenticate with SSH. By default this is the empty string.
* `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 virtual machine is booted.
* `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".
* `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.
## 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.
* `<wait>` - Adds a one second pause before sending any additional keys. This
is useful if you have to generally wait for the UI to update before typing more.
Example boot command. This is actually a working boot command used to start
an Ubuntu 12.04 installer:
<pre class="prettyprint">
[
"&lt;esc&gt;&lt;esc&gt;&lt;enter&gt;&lt;wait&gt;",
"/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>"
]
</pre>
......@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
<li class="nav-header">Builders</li>
<li><a href="/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html">EC2 (AMI)</a></li>
<li><a href="#">VirtualBox</a></li>
<li><a href="#">VMware</a></li>
<li><a href="/docs/builders/vmware.html">VMware</a></li>
<li><a href="#">Custom</a></li>
<li class="nav-header">Provisioners</a></li>
......
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