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Patrick Debois

Automated Vmware ESX Installation - Bonus in Vmware Fusion

This time, I’ll be focussing on automating the Vmware ESX installation (automated, of course :) . As an extra bonus I describe how to run ESX within Vmware Fusion (yes it works great for testing!).

  1. creation of a custom cdrom that will get it’s configuration from a (temporary) webserver
  2. create a kickstart file to configure the vmware esx server
  3. (Fusion) add some network interface on OSX to simulate multiple network interfaces inside Vmware Fusion for the Vmware ESX Server
  4. (Fusion) create a virtual machine in Vmware Fusion for the new vmware esx server
  5. (Fusion) tweak security vmware ESX can monitor all interfaces
  6. (Fusion) start the ESX VM
  7. start a small disposable webserver to serve the kickstart file
  8. wait for SSH to become available

Et voilà, this is how you create a VMWare ESX installation inside VMWare Fusion in an automated way.

  • Very useful for setting up testing environment for customers who don’t have a spare ESX server to work on. You can run it all on your laptop.
  • I can also say that the automation it’s particular handy to avoid the ESX trial expiration period …

Note:

For a list of references skip to the end

Creating a custom ESX Cdrom

The first step is to create a custom cdrom that contains the all our configuration settings instead of using the GUI.

Let’s begin by setting some variables

ESX_ISOFILE="$HOME/SavedDownloads/esx-DVD-4.1.0-260247.iso"
ESX_CUSTOM_ISOFILE="/tmp/esx-custom.iso"
ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR="/tmp/esx-new-iso"
ESX_KS_PORT=7125
ESX_KS_HOST="192.168.2.30"
ESX_KICKSTART_DIR="/tmp/"

We unpack the original Cdrom and change the kickstart files on it:

# Mount the Original ESX Cdrom
MOUNT_POINT=$( hdiutil mount $ESX_ISOFILE -nobrowse|tail -1 |cut -d ' ' -f 2-|cut -d '/' -f 2-)
echo $MOUNT_POINT

# This is the file we need to change
cat $MOUNT_POINT/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

mkdir $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR
chmod -R +w $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR

# Copy the original cdrom content to our new place
rsync -av $MOUNT_POINT/ $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR

# Make some files writeable , by default they are read-only (cdrom)
chmod +w $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR/isolinux
chmod +w $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR/isolinux/isolinux.bin
chmod +w $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

# Change the default kicstart from esx to our own esx-ks
sed -i -e 's/^default esx/default esx-ks/' $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

# Adjust the timeout
sed -i -e 's/^timeout 300/timeout 1/' $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

# Adding a new kickstart option to the isolinux.cfg file
# Note: pleasing mac sed that has no \t to tab things with \ \ \ 
sed -i -e '/timeout 1/ a\
\
LABEL esx-ks \
\ \ \ \ menu label Install ESX in ks mode \
\ \ \ \ kernel vmlinuz \\
\ \ \ \ append initrd=initrd.img debugLogToSerial=1 mem=512M text quiet ks=http://$ESX_KS_HOST:$ESX_KS_PORT/ks.cfg \
' $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

cat $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

## You now need the mkisofs command 
# sudo /opt/local/bin/port install cdrtools
# brew install cdrtools

# Or if you have vmware fusion you don't need to install the cdrtools
#/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/mkisofs -l -J -R -r -T -o $ESX_CUSTOM_ISOFILE -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR

mkisofs -l -J -R -r -T -o $ESX_CUSTOM_ISOFILE -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table $ESX_CUSTOM_ISO_TEMPDIR

hdiutil unmount $MOUNT_POINT

Now that you have created it, you can use this cdrom to boot from and it will try to fetch the kickstart file from a webserver

Creating a custom kickstart for ESX

Even though Vmware ESX feels like a Redhat machine, it is not. Therefore it will have different options then the standard Redhat Kickstart.

You can find out all options http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf

Another easy way to get started is that after a manual install, there will be a resulting kickstart file created in /root/ks.cfg

Before we start the creation , let’s set some variables we will use in the commands:

ESX_PASSWORD="thepassword"
ESX_IP="192.168.2.240"
ESX_HOSTNAME="esx4-server.example.org"
ESX_NTP="192.168.2.10"
ESX_DNS="192.168.2.10"
ESX_GW="192.168.2.10"
ESX_MASK="255.255.255.0"
ESX_ADMIN="esxadmin"
ESX_ADMIN_KEY="ssh-dss 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 me@mymachine"
ESX_DATASTORE="datastore1"

The password of the ESX_ADMIN user needs to be encoded in the kickstart file. To generate it we will use the openssl command.

On a Mac system openssl is part of the base installation, so be aware that when you installed macports or brew that the syntax might differ. The string generated should look like $1$TBcBRI4V$6l0q1eaCnmsB8bpEsmko2.

ESX_ENC_PASSWD=$(/opt/local/bin/openssl passwd -1 $ESX_PASSWORD)

cat <<THE_END > $ESX_KICKSTART_DIR/ks.cfg
accepteula
# serialnum --esx=XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
keyboard us
auth
#Reboot after install?
reboot
# Canonical drive names:
#clearpart --drives=mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0
clearpart --drives=mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0 --overwritevmfs
# Uncomment to use first detected disk:
# clearpart --firstdisk
# Uncomment the esxlocation line and comment out the clearpart
# and physical partitions to do a non-destructive reinstall.
# esxlocation --uuid=f53dd247-a43f-43af-af4c-319cca600c98
install cdrom
rootpw --iscrypted $ESX_ENC_PASSWD
timezone 'Europe/Brussels'
network --addvmportgroup=true --device=vmnic0 --bootproto=static --ip=$ESX_IP --netmask=$ESX_MASK --gateway=$ESX_GW --nameserver=$ESX_DNS --hostname=$ESX_HOSTNAME

part '/boot'  --fstype=ext3 --size=1100  --ondisk=mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0
# Uncomment to use first detected disk:
#part '/boot'  --fstype=ext3 --size=1100  --onfirstdisk
part 'none'  --fstype=vmkcore --size=110  --ondisk=mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0
# Uncomment to use first detected disk:
#part 'none'  --fstype=vmkcore --size=110  --onfirstdisk
part 'datastore1'  --fstype=vmfs3 --size=8604 --grow  --ondisk=mpx.vmhba0:C0:T0:L0
# Uncomment to use first detected disk:
#part 'datastore1'  --fstype=vmfs3 --size=8604 --grow  --onfirstdisk

virtualdisk 'esxconsole' --size=7604 --onvmfs='datastore1'

part 'swap'  --fstype=swap --size=600 --onvirtualdisk='esxconsole'
part '/var/log'  --fstype=ext3 --size=2000 --onvirtualdisk='esxconsole'
part '/'  --fstype=ext3 --size=5000 --grow --onvirtualdisk='esxconsole'

%post --interpreter=bash
# ntp settings
esxcfg-firewall --enableService ntpClient

chkconfig ntpd on
cat > /etc/ntp.conf <<EOF

# ---- ntp.conf ----
# Created by Weasel (ESX Installer)
# Permit time synchronization with our time source, but do not
# permit the source to query or modify the service on this system.
restrict default kod nomodify notrap nopeer noquery
restrict -6 default kod nomodify notrap nopeer noquery
restrict 127.0.0.1

server $ESX_NTP
driftfile /var/lib/ntp/drift
EOF

# Add the user to the wheel group as to specify sudo powers
useradd -p '$ESX_ENC_PASSWD' -c '$ESX_ADMIN' $ESX_ADMIN -G wheel,root

# Service Console SSH access on ESX 4.1
# To enable shell access it needs to be added to /etc/security/access.conf
# either member of root group or this
# +:root:ALL
# +:esxadmin:ALL
# -:ALL:ALL

cp /etc/security/access.conf /etc/security/acces.conf.orig
echo "+:$ESX_ADMIN:ALL" > /etc/security/access.conf
cat /etc/security/access.conf.orig >> /etc/security/access.conf

# Enable no password sudo for all user in the wheel group
# resulting in /etc/sudoers %wheel ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
sed -i '/NOPASSWD/ s/# %wheel/%wheel/g' /etc/sudoers

mkdir "/home/$ESX_ADMIN/.ssh"

chown $ESX_ADMIN "/home/"$ESX_ADMIN"/.ssh"
chmod 700 "/home/$ESX_ADMIN/.ssh"

# Enable the ssh service 
esxcfg-firewall -e sshServer
echo ""$ESX_ADMIN_KEY"" > /home/$ESX_ADMIN/.ssh/authorized_keys
chown $ESX_ADMIN /home/$ESX_ADMIN/.ssh/authorized_keys
THE_END

# Show the resulting kickstart file
cat $ESX_KICKSTART_DIR/ks.cfg

Add network interfaces to simulate multiple network interfaces inside Vmware ESX

On my mac machine, I only have one physical interface, it turns you can easily create other ‘Virtual’ Ethernet ports. This allows you to configure these as interfaces inside your Vmware Fusion virtual machine. This way you can simulate different interfaces (vmnic1,vmnic2,…) inside the Vmware Fusion virtual machine ESX instance.

We set the ports we want: (you can add more to the list by adding ESX1,ESX2…)

ESX_NETPORTS="ESX1"

for port in $ESX_NETPORTS
do
  sudo networksetup -createnetworkservice "Ethernet $port" "Ethernet"
  networksetup -getinfo "Ethernet $port"
done 

# Remember only one of the interfaces can be on DHCP 
# as they all share the same network interface
# #networksetup -setmanual <networkservice> <ip> <subnet> <router>
sudo networksetup -setmanualwithdhcprouter "Ethernet ESX1" 192.168.4.30

networksetup -listallhardwareports
networksetup -listallnetworkservices

To remove the network ports later use:

for port in $ESX_NETPORTS
do
  echo $port
  sudo networksetup -removenetworkservice "Ethernet $port"
done

Creating a new vm in VMWare fusion suitable for ESX

To bad Vmware Fusion doesn’t have a way to create a machine by scripting it, it could really learn from the Virtualbox commandline API. To overcome that problem , I first manually created an ESX machine and used that .vmx file as a template.

Again setting some variables:

ESX_VM_NAME="esx4-server"
ESX_VM_ISOFILE=ESX_CUSTOM_ISOFILE
ESX_VM_MACADDRESS="00:0c:29:f3:aa:63"
ESX_VM_MEMSIZE="3072"
ESX_VM_DISKSIZE="30G"
ESX_VM_DISKTYPE="1"
#Disk types:
#    0                   : single growable virtual disk
#    1                   : growable virtual disk split in 2GB files
#    2                   : preallocated virtual disk
#    3                   : preallocated virtual disk split in 2GB files
#    4                   : preallocated ESX-type virtual disk
#    5                   : compressed disk optimized for streaming
#    6                   : thin provisioned virtual disk - ESX 3.x and above
ESX_VM_CPUS="4"

Then we create the VM directory and a new disk for the new vm

mkdir -p "$HOME/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm"
cd $HOME/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm
/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmware-vdiskmanager -c -s $ESX_VM_DISKSIZE -a lsilogic -t $ESX_VM_DISKTYPE $ESX_VM_NAME.vmdk

Now that we have the disk, we can continue with the machine .vmx file

cat << EOF > "$HOME/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmx"
.encoding = "UTF-8"
config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "7"
numvcpus = "$ESX_VM_CPUS"
scsi0.present = "TRUE"
scsi0.virtualDev = "lsilogic"
memsize = "$ESX_VM_MEMSIZE"
scsi0:0.present = "TRUE"
scsi0:0.fileName = "$ESX_VM_NAME.vmdk"
ide1:0.present = "TRUE"
ide1:0.fileName = "$ESX_VM_ISOFILE"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-image"
usb.present = "TRUE"
ehci.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge0.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge4.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge4.functions = "8"
pciBridge5.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge5.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge5.functions = "8"
pciBridge6.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge6.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge6.functions = "8"
pciBridge7.present = "TRUE"
pciBridge7.virtualDev = "pcieRootPort"
pciBridge7.functions = "8"
vmci0.present = "TRUE"
roamingVM.exitBehavior = "go"
tools.syncTime = "TRUE"
displayName = "$ESX_VM_NAME"
guestOS = "vmkernel"
nvram = "$ESX_VM_NAME.nvram"
virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"
proxyApps.publishToHost = "FALSE"
tools.upgrade.policy = "upgradeAtPowerCycle"
powerType.powerOff = "soft"
powerType.powerOn = "soft"
powerType.suspend = "soft"
powerType.reset = "soft"
floppy0.present = "FALSE"
extendedConfigFile = "$ESX_VM_NAME.vmxf"
checkpoint.vmState = ""
#uuid.location = "56 4d 7a 3a bb 23 52 50-d4 b3 d3 46 6e f3 aa 63"
#uuid.bios = "56 4d 7a 3a bb 23 52 50-d4 b3 d3 46 6e f3 aa 63"
cleanShutdown = "FALSE"
replay.supported = "FALSE"
debugStub.linuxOffsets = "0x0,0xffffffff,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0"
replay.filename = ""
scsi0:0.redo = ""
pciBridge0.pciSlotNumber = "17"
pciBridge4.pciSlotNumber = "21"
pciBridge5.pciSlotNumber = "22"
pciBridge6.pciSlotNumber = "23"
pciBridge7.pciSlotNumber = "24"
scsi0.pciSlotNumber = "16"
usb.pciSlotNumber = "32"
ehci.pciSlotNumber = "34"
vmci0.pciSlotNumber = "35"
vmotion.checkpointFBSize = "65536000"
vmci0.id = "1861462627"
gui.fullScreenAtPowerOn = "FALSE"
gui.viewModeAtPowerOn = "windowed"
hgfs.mapRootShare = "TRUE"
hgfs.linkRootShare = "TRUE"
isolation.tools.hgfs.disable = "FALSE"
sharedFolder.maxNum = "1"
sharedFolder0.present = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.enabled = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.readAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.writeAccess = "TRUE"
sharedFolder0.hostPath = "/Users/patrick/Downloads"
sharedFolder0.guestName = "Downloads"
sharedFolder0.expiration = "never"
ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "33"
ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
ethernet0.connectionType = "custom"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
ethernet0.linkStatePropagation.enable = "FALSE"
ethernet0.generatedAddress = "$ESX_VM_MACADDRESS"
ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"
ethernet0.vnet = "vmnet2"
ethernet0.bsdName = "en0"
ethernet0.displayName = "Ethernet"
EOF

If you want to add the extra interfaces we defined earlier: repeat this for every interface you need (ESX1,ESX2,..ESXN)

cat << EOF >> "$HOME/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmx"
ethernet1.present = "TRUE"
ethernet1.connectionType = "custom"
ethernet1.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet1.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet1.addressType = "generated"
ethernet1.linkStatePropagation.enable = "TRUE"
ethernet1.vnet = "vmnet2"
ethernet1.bsdName = "en0"
ethernet1.displayName = "Ethernet ESX1"
EOF

Overcoming the dialog: A virtual machine is attempting to monitor all network traffic, which requires administrator access, type your password to allow VMWARE Fusion to make changes

Vmware ESX when it starts will signal Vmware Fusion that it wants to monitor all network traffic. Due to security restrictions this is not enabled by default and requires a GUI confirmation, while the machine boots. The whole machine will start while it waits but it would not be able to do any correct network traffic if you don’t allow it.

I found the solution on the Vmware Fusion Mailinglist http://communities.vmware.com/thread/140960

The trick is to change the system.privilege.admin setting. You set this by changing the /etc/authorization file

Here is an excerpt of that file; if you would run fusion as root this error will go away (allow-root). To give an ordinary user that privilege (and all the others!) , change it the text after key:class, from “user” to “allow”

<key>system.privilege.admin</key>
        <dict>
               <key>allow-root</key>
               <true/>
               <key>class</key>
               <string>user</string>
               <key>comment</key>
               <string>Used by AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges(...).
               AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges() is used by programs requesting
               to run a tool as root (e.g., some installers).</string>
               <key>group</key>
               <string>admin</string>
                         <key>shared</key>
                         <false/>
                         <key>timeout</key>
                         <integer>300</integer>

To script that you can:

# Make a backup of the /etc/authorization file
sudo cp /etc/authorization /etc/authorization.$$

# Do the changes. Use with caution: this has an impact on security, but if you want to automate the start you need it!
sudo sed -i -e'/system.privilege.admin/,/Used by AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges/ s/<string>user/<string>allow/' /etc/authorization

Now the nagging GUI message should be gone when you start the ESX virtual machine.

Restart network services (proved helpful)

When you recreate machines often and maybe some of the parts of the script fail, I found it useful to restart the VMWare Fusion network

sudo sh -c "/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/boot.sh --restart"

Start the machine (in Vmware Fusion)

/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmrun  -T fusion start  "$HOME/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmx" nogui

Starting a disposable webserver

To serve the kickstart we have create we use a disposable webserver, with the help of ruby. This saves from installing an apache or other stuff. Also it allows us to choose the port very easily.

# Create a disposable ruby based webserver
# This will stop after the the file has been fetched
cat <<EOF > $ESX_KICKSTART_DIR/ks.rb
require 'webrick'
include WEBrick

class FileServlet < WEBrick::HTTPServlet::AbstractServlet
        def do_GET(request,response)
                response['Content-Type']='text/plain'
                response.status = 200
                displayfile=File.open("$ESX_KICKSTART_DIR/ks.cfg",'r')
                content=displayfile.read()
                response.body=content
                sleep 2
                @@s.shutdown
        end
end

@@s= HTTPServer.new(:Port => $ESX_KS_PORT)
@@s.mount("/ks.cfg", FileServlet)
trap("INT"){@@s.shutdown}
@@s.start
EOF

# Start the webserver
cat $ESX_KICKSTART_DIR/ks.rb|ruby --"

Wait for SSH to be working

Once the kickstart ‘kicks’ in, we have to wait until the ssh is available. We can use the ssh-keyscan command for that. After we got a connection, we can cleanup the keys with ssh-keygen -R and add the new one with the ssh-keyscan command.

sleep 200
ssh-keyscan -T 10000  $ESX_IP
ssh-keygen -R $ESX_IP
ssh-keyscan -T 10000  $ESX_IP >> $HOME/.ssh/known_hosts

Removing the ESX Machine

If you need to start all over again, you can wipe the create ESX Machine like this:

# List the running machines
/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmrun  -T fusion list

# Stop our ESX server
/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmrun  -T fusion stop $HOME/Documents/Virtual\ Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmx

# Wait a bit for the stop to complete
sleep 4

# Stop the fusion GUI interface
FUSION_PID=$(ps -eo pid,command  |grep -i "/Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/MacOS/vmware"|grep -v grep| sed -e "s/^[ ]*//"|cut -d ' ' -f 1)
echo $FUSION_PID
kill $FUSION_PID

# Remove the machine (including disk ; take care ! )
/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmrun  -T fusion deleteVM $HOME/Documents/Virtual\ Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmx
rm -rf $HOME/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/$ESX_VM_NAME.vmwarevm

Final words

After this exercise you should be able to completely script the installation of a Vmware ESX virtual machine and make it run inside Vmware Fusion.

Interesting references

Creating an ESX Cdrom

Running ESX inside Fusion

Encrypt password

security sudo, esx login

Networking

Kickstart