Nested Virtualization & Templates

Configuring VM Auto Start

This will guide you through configuring VM auto-starting Via a VCenter Management server

1. First go to the Host you would like to configure auto-starting for. Select the host, go the the configure tab, and then find "VM Startup/Shutdown" You should see a screen like the following:

Now you can click "Edit" and select each machine, and move its startup order, or set a delay. Once Completed select "OK" to save your changes

Nested Virtualization

This guide will outline the steps required for installing an ESXI Hypervisor inside of another ESXI Hypervisor using a .OVA Template

Before you begin make sure you download the OVA File

In some cases, to make nested ESXI work you must go to the "Edit settings page" for the host, and under security, override "Promiscuous mode" and Forged transmits.

1. Now that you have the OVA file downloaded start by accessing you VCenter server. Right click on the host you would like to use to hold the nested ESXI servers, and click "Deploy .OVF Template"

2. Now here you could either provide a download link for your OVA file, as this guide will work for deploying other OVA based VM's but here we will select "Local File" and browse for the file.

3. After clicking Next, now we must name the VM, and select the folder for the VM, where it will be located on the VCenter Server.

4. By clicking next we then must choose the ESXI Host the VM will be hosted on, here I used "192.168.7.14".

5. Next we will review the settings it has pre-configured, if any click next, Then accept the EULA, and then select a storage resource:

Make sure to use "Thin Provision" or you will be wasting lots of space on your data stores

6. Now select the network it will use to access the internet, here 'VM Network' is selected:

7. Finally make any final configuration changes, such as networking, Software VLAN's and DNS servers, finishing the deployment.

Now you can deploy the new server, and configure following my guide for ESXI Setup

VM Creation, and Template Creation

VM Creation

This Guide will outline, the configuration of Linux VM's for conversion and deployment as VM Templates for VMWare. This guide will also assume you have the source .iso files for the distribution of choose, and will follow setting up Ubuntu.

1. Create a new VM by right clicking on the host you are going to host the VM on in VCenter, and select "New Virtual Machine". This will bring a configuration wizard like the following:

2. Select "New Virtual Machine" and click next. Here name the VM, and select the logical path for it.

3. Now pick the ESXi host for the system, and click next, heeding any warnings in the compatibility check window.

4. Now select as datastore the VM's logical disk will be stored on

5. Now select a compatibility, usually you will leave it to the default, but in some cases where you need the VM to work on an older ESXI box then the one you are making it on you must pick that version of ESXI from the drop down.

6. Now select a new Guest OS be picking the OS type, and the Version. Here I used Ubuntu

7. After clicking next, you will be greeted with the hardware page for the VM. You may configure the provisioned resources for the VM here, and these can be changed later, barring shrinking the VM disk. The defaults are usually a safe pick, for server variants of windows, and Linux.

Make sure you drop down the settings for the VM disk, and click select "Thin provision"

And make sure yo mount you bootable .iso file as a "Datastore ISO File" and select the correct bootable from the file.

8. Finally click "Next", review your settings, and finalize the creation.

Template Creation

1. Now that your VM has be created power it on, and follow standard install instructions, creating a user account to be used as a eployer account for you VM Templates.

2. Now once installed make sure that "open-vm-tools" and perl are installed on the VM or VCenter wont be able to apply costume settings when deploying the template. Once both packages are installed, *reboot the system, and then shut down to a cold state.

3. Now right click on the VM and click "Template" and "Convert to Template"

4. Once the VM has been made into a template, we are going to create a baseline settings for it. To do this open the VCenter menu using the three "Pancakes" at the top left, and select "Policies and Profiles"

5. Now select "VM Customization Specifications" and click "new"

6. Now Follow the wizard, and configure a name for the customization, and select a guest OS type

7. Then set a "Computer name" manually, or select "Enter a name in the Clone/Deploy Wizard" To allow you to set when deploying (recommended)

8. Click next, and select a time zone, here Easter US was set:

9. The next section allows you to enter a bash script to install custom packages and systems at deployment. If not needed, you can leave the default

10. The next section allows you to configure a Network for the Customization, Leaving it at the standard setting, leave it with the same settings as the template VM uses when converted to a Template.

11. Finally configure DNS settings for the Host system, review settings, and finish.

Deploying from template

Now that we have made a template VM, and a Customization Script, we can deploy a new VM to out ESXI Host with it.

1. First right click the Host, and select "New Virtual Machine" (Note from .OVA Template). You will be greeted with the New VM Wizard, here select 'Deploy from Template'

2. Here select "VM Templates" and find the template in the ESXI host selection

3. Click next, and give the VM a name, and logical location in VCenter

4. Click next, and select a ESXi Host, the Storage, just like when we made our VM for the template

5. Now click next, and select 'Customize the operating system'

6. Click next, and then select the customization script we made.

7. Finally click next, double check settings, and the click finish.

Note: This may take some time based on the settings to be configured, and the scripts run. Additionally the VM may reboot once or twice to apply settings

Now you have Created a VM, Prepped it for Templatization, Converted to a template, Created a customization script, and deployed a customized VM to your Environment.