From b2a9e925dec2e7fbe2ff4edcbbf4aa7bba226a24 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Mitchell Hashimoto Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:05:45 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] website: virtualbox builder --- .../docs/builders/virtualbox.html.markdown | 160 ++++++++++++++++++ website/source/layouts/docs.erb | 2 +- 2 files changed, 161 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) create mode 100644 website/source/docs/builders/virtualbox.html.markdown diff --git a/website/source/docs/builders/virtualbox.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/builders/virtualbox.html.markdown new file mode 100644 index 000000000..187828936 --- /dev/null +++ b/website/source/docs/builders/virtualbox.html.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,160 @@ +--- +layout: "docs" +--- + +# VirtualBox Builder + +Type: `virtualbox` + +The VirtualBox builder is able to create [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/) +virtual machines and export them in the OVF format. + +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 VirtualBox builder is a directory +containing all the files necessary to run the virtual machine portably. + +## 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": "virtualbox",
+  "guest_os_type": "Ubuntu_64",
+  "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"
+}
+
+ +## Configuration Reference + +There are many configuration options available for the VirtualBox 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. By default + this is "other", but you can get _dramatic_ performance improvements by + setting this to the proper value. To view all available values for this + run `VBoxManage list ostypes`. Setting the correct value hints to VirtualBox + how to optimize the virtual hardware to work best with that operating + system. + +* `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 "virtualbox". 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_host_port_min` and `ssh_host_port_max` (uint) - The minimum and + maximum port to use for the SSH port on the host machine which is forwarded + to the SSH port on the guest machine. Because Packer often runs in parallel, + Packer will choose a randomly available port in this range to use as the + host port. + +* `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". + +## 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: + +* `` and `` - Simulates an actual "enter" or "return" keypress. + +* `` - Simulates pressing the escape key. + +* `` - 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: + +
+[
+  "<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 -- "
+]
+
diff --git a/website/source/layouts/docs.erb b/website/source/layouts/docs.erb index c262444ec..49cb780f1 100644 --- a/website/source/layouts/docs.erb +++ b/website/source/layouts/docs.erb @@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
  • Builders
  • EC2 (AMI)
    • -
  • VirtualBox
    • +
  • VirtualBox
  • VMware
  • Custom