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Create Windows image using Packer and Ansible and then run it in Vagrant (libvirt)

Create Windows image using Packer and Ansible and then run it in Vagrant (libvirt)

Posted Updated
By Petr Ruzicka
views 6 min read

Original post from linux.xvx.cz

I saw many Packer templates which are used to build the Windows images on Github. Almost all of them are using PowerShell scripts or DOS-style batch files. Ansible can use WinRM to manage Windows for some time - therefore I decided to use it also with Packer when building the images. Because of the bug it was not possible to use Ansible 2.3 (or older) with Packer + WinRM.

The latest Ansible 2.4 is working fine with Packer + Qemu + WinRM when you want to create the Windows images: https://www.packer.io/docs/provisioners/ansible.html#winrm-communicator

HashiCorp Packer logo

Ansible logo

Let’s see how you can do it in Fedora 26:

  • Packer + with WinRM communicator / Ansible / Qemu and enable Packer’s Winrm communicator

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    # Install necessary packages
dnf install -y -q ansible qemu-img qemu-kvm wget unzip

# Download and unpack Packer
cd /tmp || exit
wget https://releases.hashicorp.com/packer/1.1.3/packer_1.1.3_linux_amd64.zip
unzip packer*.zip

# Use packerio as a binary name, because packer binary already exists in fedora : /usr/sbin/packer as part of cracklib-dicts package
mv packer /usr/local/bin/packerio

# Install WinRM communicator for Packer (https://www.packer.io/docs/provisioners/ansible.html#winrm-communicator)
mkdir -p ~/.ansible/plugins/connection_plugins
wget -P ~/.ansible/plugins/connection_plugins/ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hashicorp/packer/master/test/fixtures/provisioner-ansible/connection_plugins/packer.py
sed -i.orig 's@#connection_plugins =.*@connection_plugins = ~/.ansible/plugins/connection_plugins/@' /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg

  • Create the Packer template, Autounattended file for Windows 2016, and a few helper scripts

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    # Prepare directory structure
mkdir -p /var/tmp/packer_windows-server-2016-eval/{scripts/win-common,http/windows-server-2016,ansible}
cd /var/tmp/packer_windows-server-2016-eval || exit

# Download Autounattended file for Windows Server 2016 Evaluation
wget -c -P http/windows-server-2016 https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ruzickap/packer-templates/master/http/windows-server-2016/Autounattend.xml

# Create some basic Ansible playbook for Windows provisioning
cat > ansible/win.yml << EOF
---
- hosts: all

  tasks:
    - name: Enable Remote Desktop
      win_regedit:
        key: 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server'
        value: fDenyTSConnections
        data: 0
        datatype: dword

    - name: Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure)
      win_regedit:
        key: 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp'
        value: UserAuthentication
        data: 0
        datatype: dword

    - name: Allow RDP traffic
      win_shell: Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"
EOF

# Get scripts which helps during Autounattended installation + executed after Ansible
wget -c -P scripts/win-common https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ruzickap/packer-templates/master/scripts/win-common/{fixnetwork.ps1,remove_nic.bat}

# Get the Packer template
wget -c https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ruzickap/packer-templates/master/{windows-server-2016-eval.json,Vagrantfile-windows.template}

  • Download and mount the virtio-win iso and run Packer

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    VIRTIO_WIN_ISO_DIR=$(mktemp -d --suffix=_virtio-win-iso)
export VIRTIO_WIN_ISO_DIR
export NAME=windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval
export WINDOWS_VERSION=2016
export WINDOWS_TYPE=server
export TMPDIR="/var/tmp/"

cd /var/tmp/packer_windows-server-2016-eval || exit

# Download and mount virtio-win to provide basic virtio Windows drivers
wget -c https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/latest-virtio/virtio-win.iso
mount -o loop virtio-win.iso "$VIRTIO_WIN_ISO_DIR"

# Build image with packer
/usr/local/bin/packerio build windows-server-2016-eval.json

umount "$VIRTIO_WIN_ISO_DIR"
rmdir "$VIRTIO_WIN_ISO_DIR"

Complete build log:

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[root@localhost packer_windows-server-2016-eval]# /usr/local/bin/packerio build windows-server-2016-eval.json
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval output will be in this color.

==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Downloading or copying ISO
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Downloading or copying: http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/dl/download/1/4/9/149D5452-9B29-4274-B6B3-5361DBDA30BC/14393.0.161119-1705.RS1_REFRESH_SERVER_EVAL_X64FRE_EN-US.ISO
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Creating floppy disk...
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying files flatly from floppy_files
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: http/windows-server-2016/Autounattend.xml
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: scripts/win-common/fixnetwork.ps1
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/NetKVM/2k16/amd64/netkvm.cat
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/NetKVM/2k16/amd64/netkvm.inf
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/NetKVM/2k16/amd64/netkvm.sys
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/NetKVM/2k16/amd64/netkvmco.dll
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/qxldod/2k16/amd64/qxldod.cat
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/qxldod/2k16/amd64/qxldod.inf
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/qxldod/2k16/amd64/qxldod.sys
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/viostor/2k16/amd64/viostor.cat
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/viostor/2k16/amd64/viostor.inf
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Copying file: /tmp/tmp.cQYclNvngg_virtio-win-iso/viostor/2k16/amd64/viostor.sys
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Done copying files from floppy_files
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Collecting paths from floppy_dirs
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Resulting paths from floppy_dirs : []
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Done copying paths from floppy_dirs
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Creating hard drive...
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Found port for communicator (SSH, WinRM, etc): 2518.
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Looking for available port between 5900 and 6000 on 127.0.0.1
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Starting VM, booting from CD-ROM
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: The VM will be run headless, without a GUI. If you want to
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: view the screen of the VM, connect via VNC without a password to
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: vnc://127.0.0.1:5900
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Overriding defaults Qemu arguments with QemuArgs...
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Waiting 10s for boot...
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Connecting to VM via VNC
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Typing the boot command over VNC...
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Waiting for WinRM to become available...
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: #System.Management.Automation.PSCustomObjectSystem.Object1Preparing modules for first use.0-1-1Completed-1 1Preparing modules for first use.0-1-1Completed-1
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Connected to WinRM!
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Provisioning with Ansible...
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Executing Ansible: ansible-playbook --extra-vars packer_build_name=windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval packer_builder_type=qemu -i /var/tmp/packer-provisioner-ansible323552097 /var/tmp/packer_windows-server-2016-eval/ansible/win.yml --private-key /var/tmp/ansible-key225720202 --connection packer --extra-vars ansible_shell_type=powershell ansible_shell_executable=None virtio_driver_directory=2k16
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: PLAY [all] *********************************************************************
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: TASK [Gathering Facts] *********************************************************
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: ok: [default]
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: TASK [Enable Remote Desktop] ***************************************************
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: ok: [default]
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: TASK [Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure)] ***
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: ok: [default]
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: TASK [Allow RDP traffic] *******************************************************
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: changed: [default]
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: PLAY RECAP *********************************************************************
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: default : ok=4 changed=1 unreachable=0 failed=0
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Restarting Machine
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Waiting for machine to restart...
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: A system shutdown is in progress.(1115)
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: #System.Management.Automation.PSCustomObjectSystem.Object1Preparing modules for first use.0-1-1Completed-1 1Preparing modules for first use.0-1-1Completed-1
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Machine successfully restarted, moving on
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Pausing 1m0s before the next provisioner...
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Uploading scripts/win-common/remove_nic.bat => c:\remove_nic.bat
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Gracefully halting virtual machine...
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: C:\Users\vagrant>echo "*** Downloading devcon64.exe from https://github.com/PlagueHO/devcon-choco-package/raw/master/devcon.portable/devcon64.exe"
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: "*** Downloading devcon64.exe from https://github.com/PlagueHO/devcon-choco-package/raw/master/devcon.portable/devcon64.exe"
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: C:\Users\vagrant>powershell -command "$client = new-object System.Net.WebClient; $client.DownloadFile('https://github.com/PlagueHO/devcon-choco-package/raw/master/devcon.portable/devcon64.exe', 'c:\devcon64.exe')"
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: C:\Users\vagrant>echo "*** Removing the NICs"
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: "*** Removing the NICs"
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval:
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: C:\Users\vagrant>for /F "tokens=1 delims=: " %G in ('c:\devcon64.exe findall =net | findstr /c:"Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter"') do (c:\devcon64.exe remove "@%G" )
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Converting hard drive...
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: Running post-processor: vagrant
==> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval (vagrant): Creating Vagrant box for 'libvirt' provider
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval (vagrant): Copying from artifact: output-windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval/packer-windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval (vagrant): Using custom Vagrantfile: Vagrantfile-windows.template
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval (vagrant): Compressing: Vagrantfile
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval (vagrant): Compressing: box.img
windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval (vagrant): Compressing: metadata.json
Build 'windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval' finished.

==> Builds finished. The artifacts of successful builds are:
--> windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval: 'libvirt' provider box: windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval-libvirt.box

Directory structure after build completed:

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.
├── ansible
│   └── win.yml
├── http
│   └── windows-server-2016
│   └── Autounattend.xml
├── packer_cache
│   └── 49f719e23c56a779a991c4b4ad1680b8363918cd0bfd9ac6b52697d78a309855.iso
├── scripts
│   └── win-common
│   ├── fixnetwork.ps1
│   └── remove_nic.bat
├── Vagrantfile-windows.template
├── virtio-win.iso
├── windows-server-2016-eval.json
└── windows-server-2016-standard-x64-eval-libvirt.box

Necessary files:

This is the real example:

asciicast

More complex example can be found here: https://github.com/ruzickap/packer-templates

Enjoy ;-)

Virtualization, DevOps, linux.xvx.cz
packer ansible vagrant kvm windows
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.