How to Create ESXi Template in vSphere - using Packer

variable "vsphere_endpoint" {
  type        = string
  description = "The fully qualified domain name or IP address of the vCenter Server instance."
}

variable "vsphere_username" {
  type        = string
  description = "The username to login to the vCenter Server instance."
  sensitive   = true
}

variable "vsphere_password" {
  type        = string
  description = "The password for the login to the vCenter Server instance."
  sensitive   = true
}

variable "vsphere_insecure_connection" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Do not validate vCenter Server TLS certificate."
}

// vSphere Settings

variable "vsphere_datacenter" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target vSphere datacenter."
  default     = ""
}

variable "vsphere_cluster" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target vSphere cluster."
  default     = ""
}

variable "vsphere_host" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target ESXi host."
  default     = ""
}

variable "vsphere_datastore" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target vSphere datastore."
}

variable "vsphere_network" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target vSphere network segment."
}

variable "vsphere_folder" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target vSphere folder."
  default     = ""
}

variable "vsphere_resource_pool" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target vSphere resource pool."
  default     = ""
}

variable "vsphere_set_host_for_datastore_uploads" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Set this to true if packer should use the host for uploading files to the datastore."
  default     = false
}

// Virtual Machine Settings

variable "vm_guest_os_language" {
  type        = string
  description = "The guest operating system lanugage."
  default     = "en_US"
}

variable "vm_guest_os_keyboard" {
  type        = string
  description = "The guest operating system keyboard input."
  default     = "us"
}

variable "vm_guest_os_timezone" {
  type        = string
  description = "The guest operating system timezone."
  default     = "UTC"
}

variable "vm_guest_os_family" {
  type        = string
  description = "The guest operating system family. Used for naming and VMware Tools."
}

variable "vm_guest_os_name" {
  type        = string
  description = "The guest operating system name. Used for naming."
}

variable "vm_guest_os_version" {
  type        = string
  description = "The guest operating system version. Used for naming."
}

variable "vm_guest_os_type" {
  type        = string
  description = "The guest operating system type, also know as guestid."
}

variable "vm_firmware" {
  type        = string
  description = "The virtual machine firmware."
  default     = "efi"
}

variable "vm_cdrom_type" {
  type        = string
  description = "The virtual machine CD-ROM type."
  default     = "sata"
}

variable "vm_cpu_count" {
  type        = number
  description = "The number of virtual CPUs."
}

variable "vm_cpu_cores" {
  type        = number
  description = "The number of virtual CPUs cores per socket."
}

variable "vm_cpu_hot_add" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Enable hot add CPU."
  default     = false
}

variable "vm_mem_size" {
  type        = number
  description = "The size for the virtual memory in MB."
}

variable "vm_mem_hot_add" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Enable hot add memory."
  default     = false
}

variable "vm_disk_size" {
  type        = number
  description = "The size for the virtual disk in MB."
}

variable "vm_disk_controller_type" {
  type        = list(string)
  description = "The virtual disk controller types in sequence."
  default     = ["pvscsi"]
}

variable "vm_disk_thin_provisioned" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Thin provision the virtual disk."
  default     = true
}

variable "vm_network_card" {
  type        = string
  description = "The virtual network card type."
  default     = "vmxnet3"
}

variable "common_vm_version" {
  type        = number
  description = "The vSphere virtual hardware version."
}

variable "common_tools_upgrade_policy" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Upgrade VMware Tools on reboot."
  default     = true
}

variable "common_remove_cdrom" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Remove the virtual CD-ROM(s)."
  default     = true
}

// Template and Content Library Settings

variable "common_template_conversion" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Convert the virtual machine to template. Must be 'false' for content library."
  default     = false
}

variable "common_content_library_name" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the target vSphere content library, if used."
  default     = null
}

variable "common_content_library_ovf" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Export to content library as an OVF template."
  default     = true
}

variable "common_content_library_destroy" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Delete the virtual machine after exporting to the content library."
  default     = true
}

variable "common_content_library_skip_export" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Skip exporting the virtual machine to the content library. Option allows for testing/debugging without saving the machine image."
  default     = false
}

// OVF Export Settings

variable "common_ovf_export_enabled" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Enable OVF artifact export."
  default     = false
}

variable "common_ovf_export_overwrite" {
  type        = bool
  description = "Overwrite existing OVF artifact."
  default     = true
}

// Removable Media Settings

variable "common_iso_datastore" {
  type        = string
  description = "The name of the source vSphere datastore for the guest operating system ISO."
}

variable "iso_path" {
  type        = string
  description = "The path on the source vSphere datastore for the guest operating system ISO."
}

variable "iso_file" {
  type        = string
  description = "The file name of the guest operating system ISO."
}

// Boot Settings

variable "common_data_source" {
  type        = string
  description = "The provisioning data source. One of `http` or `disk`."
}

variable "common_http_ip" {
  type        = string
  description = "Define an IP address on the host to use for the HTTP server."
  default     = null
}

variable "common_http_port_min" {
  type        = number
  description = "The start of the HTTP port range."
}

variable "common_http_port_max" {
  type        = number
  description = "The end of the HTTP port range."
}

variable "vm_boot_order" {
  type        = string
  description = "The boot order for virtual machines devices."
  default     = "disk,cdrom"
}

variable "vm_boot_wait" {
  type        = string
  description = "The time to wait before boot."
}

variable "common_ip_wait_timeout" {
  type        = string
  description = "Time to wait for guest operating system IP address response."
}

variable "common_ip_settle_timeout" {
  type        = string
  description = "Time to wait for guest operating system IP to settle down."
  default     = "5s"
}

variable "common_shutdown_timeout" {
  type        = string
  description = "Time to wait for guest operating system shutdown."
}

// Communicator Settings and Credentials



variable "communicator_proxy_host" {
  type        = string
  description = "The proxy server to use for SSH connection. (Optional)"
  default     = null
}

variable "communicator_proxy_port" {
  type        = number
  description = "The port to connect to the proxy server. (Optional)"
  default     = null
}

variable "communicator_proxy_username" {
  type        = string
  description = "The username to authenticate with the proxy server. (Optional)"
  default     = null
}

variable "communicator_proxy_password" {
  type        = string
  description = "The password to authenticate with the proxy server. (Optional)"
  sensitive   = true
  default     = null
}

variable "communicator_port" {
  type        = string
  description = "The port for the communicator protocol."
}

variable "communicator_timeout" {
  type        = string
  description = "The timeout for the communicator protocol."
}

//  BLOCK: packer config


packer {
  required_version = ">= 1.9.4"
  required_plugins {
    vsphere = {
      source  = "github.com/hashicorp/vsphere"
      version = ">= 1.2.1"
    }

  }
}

//  BLOCK: data
//  Defines the data sources

//  BLOCK: locals
//  Defines the local variables.

locals {
  iso_paths         = ["[${var.common_iso_datastore}] ${var.iso_path}/${var.iso_file}"]
  vm_name             = "${var.vm_guest_os_name}${var.vm_guest_os_version}"

}

//  BLOCK: source
//  Defines the builder configuration blocks.

source "vsphere-iso" "esxi" {

  // vCenter Server Endpoint Settings and Credentials
  vcenter_server      = var.vsphere_endpoint
  username            = var.vsphere_username
  password            = var.vsphere_password
  insecure_connection = var.vsphere_insecure_connection

  // vSphere Settings
  datacenter                     = var.vsphere_datacenter
  cluster                        = var.vsphere_cluster
  host                           = var.vsphere_host
  datastore                      = var.vsphere_datastore
  folder                         = var.vsphere_folder
  resource_pool                  = var.vsphere_resource_pool
  set_host_for_datastore_uploads = var.vsphere_set_host_for_datastore_uploads

  // Virtual Machine Settings
  vm_name              = local.vm_name
  guest_os_type        = var.vm_guest_os_type
  firmware             = var.vm_firmware
  CPUs                 = var.vm_cpu_count
  cpu_cores            = var.vm_cpu_cores
  NestedHV             = true
  CPU_hot_plug         = var.vm_cpu_hot_add
  RAM                  = var.vm_mem_size
  RAM_hot_plug         = var.vm_mem_hot_add
  cdrom_type           = var.vm_cdrom_type
  disk_controller_type = var.vm_disk_controller_type
  storage {
    disk_size             = var.vm_disk_size
    disk_thin_provisioned = var.vm_disk_thin_provisioned
  }
  network_adapters {
    network      = var.vsphere_network
    network_card = var.vm_network_card
  }
  vm_version           = "21"
  remove_cdrom         = var.common_remove_cdrom
  tools_upgrade_policy = var.common_tools_upgrade_policy


  // Removable Media Settings
  iso_paths    = local.iso_paths

  // Boot and Provisioning Settings
  http_ip       = var.common_data_source == "http" ? var.common_http_ip : null
  http_port_min = var.common_data_source == "http" ? var.common_http_port_min : null
  http_port_max = var.common_data_source == "http" ? var.common_http_port_max : null
  boot_order    = var.vm_boot_order
  boot_wait     = var.vm_boot_wait
  http_directory = "/opt/code/packer/vmware/esxi8/data"
  boot_command  = ["<leftShift>O ks=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/esx-ks.cfg<enter>"]
  ip_wait_timeout   = var.common_ip_wait_timeout
  ip_settle_timeout = var.common_ip_settle_timeout
  shutdown_command  = "esxcli system maintenanceMode set -e true -t 0 ; esxcli system shutdown poweroff -d 10 -r 'Packer Shutdown' ; esxcli system maintenanceMode set -e false -t 0 "
  shutdown_timeout  = var.common_shutdown_timeout

  // Communicator Settings and Credentials
  communicator       = "ssh"
  ssh_proxy_host     = var.communicator_proxy_host
  ssh_proxy_port     = var.communicator_proxy_port
  ssh_proxy_username = var.communicator_proxy_username
  ssh_proxy_password = var.communicator_proxy_password
  ssh_username       = "root"
  ssh_password       = "VMware1!"
  ssh_port           = var.communicator_port
  ssh_timeout        = var.communicator_timeout

  // Template and Content Library Settings
  convert_to_template = true
}

//  BLOCK: build

build {
  sources = ["source.vsphere-iso.esxi"]

}

// Guest Operating System Metadata
vm_guest_os_language = "en_US"
vm_guest_os_keyboard = "us"
vm_guest_os_timezone = "UTC"
vm_guest_os_family   = "esxi"
vm_guest_os_name     = "esxi"
vm_guest_os_version  = "8"

// Virtual Machine Guest Operating System Setting
vm_guest_os_type = "vmkernel8Guest"

// Virtual Machine Hardware Settings
vm_firmware              = "efi"
vm_cdrom_type            = "sata"
vm_cpu_count             = 2
vm_cpu_cores             = 2
vm_cpu_hot_add           = false
vm_mem_size              = 8192
vm_mem_hot_add           = false
vm_disk_size             = 40960
vm_disk_controller_type  = ["pvscsi"]
vm_disk_thin_provisioned = true
vm_network_card          = "vmxnet3"

// Removable Media Settings
iso_path = "ISO"
iso_file = "esxi8_u2.iso"

// Boot Settings
vm_boot_wait  = "1s"

// Communicator Settings
communicator_port    = 22
communicator_timeout = "30m"

#
# Sample scripted installation file
#
# Accept EULA
vmaccepteula
# Set root password
rootpw VMware1!
#Install on local disk overwriting any existing VMFS datastore
install --firstdisk --overwritevmfs
# Network configuration
network --bootproto=dhcp --device=vmnic0
#Reboot after installation completed
reboot

%firstboot --interpreter=busybox
#esx/ssh
vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh
vim-cmd hostsvc/start_ssh
esxcli system settings advanced set -o /UserVars/SuppressShellWarning -i 1
#esxi/ssh end

packer build -var-file=common.pkrvars.hcl -var-file=vsphere.pkrvars.hcl vmware/esxi8/