Prerequisites¶

Disclaimer: This document is a working draft. Please submit an issue on the GitHub page if you find any problems with it.

VMware¶

Before installing Deployaroo, ensure your environment is correctly set up to handle the deployment and configuration of each Virtual Machine Image. Deployaroo relies on a VMware environment for deploying and configuring machines using Ansible.

Recommended Setup¶

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x+ installed
At least one templated virtual machine for deployment

Create a User in VMware vCenter¶

Creating a user in vCenter for deploying and configuring VMs ensures minimal privileges are assigned to your VMware environment.

Required Privileges¶

Go to Administration > Access Control > Roles on your vCenter Server.

Clone the default Read-Only vSphere role and add the following privileges, Name your role (e.g., deployaroo_role).

Category	Privilege	Reference
Datastore	Allocate space	`Datastore.AllocateSpace`
	Browse datastore	`Datastore.Browse`
	Low level file operations	`Datastore.FileManagement`
Host	Configuration > System Management	`Host.Config.SystemManagement`
Network	Assign network	`Network.Assign`
Resource	Assign virtual machine to resource pool	`Resource.AssignVMToPool`
Virtual Machine	Change Configuration > Add new disk	`VirtualMachine.Config.AddNewDisk`
	Change Configuration > Add or remove device	`VirtualMachine.Config.AddRemoveDevice`
	Change Configuration > Advanced configuration	`VirtualMachine.Config.AdvancedConfig`
	Change Configuration > Change CPU count	`VirtualMachine.Config.CPUCount`
	Change Configuration > Change memory	`VirtualMachine.Config.Memory`
	Change Configuration > Change settings	`VirtualMachine.Config.Settings`
	Change Configuration > Change Resource	`VirtualMachine.Config.Resource`
	Change Configuration > Modify device settings	`VirtualMachine.Config.EditDevice`
	Change Configuration > Set annotation	`VirtualMachine.Config.Annotation`
	Edit Inventory > Create from existing	`VirtualMachine.Inventory.CreateFromExisting`
	Edit Inventory > Create new	`VirtualMachine.Inventory.Create`
	Edit Inventory > Remove	`VirtualMachine.Inventory.Delete`
	Interaction > Configure CD media	`VirtualMachine.Interact.SetCDMedia`
	Interaction > Configure floppy media	`VirtualMachine.Interact.SetFloppyMedia`
	Interaction > Connect devices	`VirtualMachine.Interact.DeviceConnection`
	Interaction > Inject USB HID scan codes	`VirtualMachine.Interact.PutUsbScanCodes`
	Interaction > Power off	`VirtualMachine.Interact.PowerOff`
	Interaction > Power on	`VirtualMachine.Interact.PowerOn`
	Provisioning > Mark as virtual machine	`VirtualMachine.Provisioning.MarkAsVM`
	Provisioning > Clone Template	`VirtualMachine.Provisioning.CloneTemplate`
	Provisioning > Customize Guest	`VirtualMachine.Provisioning.CustomizeGuest`
	Provisioning > Deploy Template	`VirtualMachine.Provisioning.DeployTemplate`

Assign Global Permissions¶

Log in to the vCenter Server at https://<management_vcenter_server_fqdn>/ui as [email protected].
Select Menu > Administration.
Create a service account in vSphere SSO if it does not exist:
- In the left pane, select Single Sign On > Users and Groups and click on Users.
- From the dropdown, select the domain to create the user (e.g., example.com or vsphere.local) and click ADD.
- Fill in the username (e.g., service_deployaroo) and required details, then click ADD to create the user.
In the left pane, select Access control > Global permissions and click the Add permissions icon.
In the Add permissions dialog box, enter the service account (e.g., service_deployaroo), select the custom role (e.g., Deployaroo_role), and click OK.

Create Virtual Machine Templates¶

Deployaroo comes with pre-written Ansible playbooks that use VMware templates. If these templates do not exist, the playbooks will fail. Ensure that:

VM templates allow customization of the OS when deployed, this can be done by ensuring that WinRM and/or SSH are enabled respectively.
The administrator account's username and password are consistent across all templates for playbook functionality. Change passwords after initial deployment on individual VM's.

Option 1: Create VM Templates (Automated) - Recommended¶

A valuable repository: vmware-samples/packer-examples-for-vsphere. It may be complex to set up initially but is extremely useful once configured. This tool contains all of the Deployaroo default Operating Systems plus more. Just be sure to convert from the VMware content store to a VM template after completion of build.

Option 2: Create VM Template - Windows (Manual)¶

Summary¶

Manually creating and configuring a VM involves installing the OS, setting up unattended installation for Windows, running PowerShell scripts, installing VMware Tools, applying updates, setting up administrator account and converting the VM to a template.

Steps¶

Create a New Virtual Machine in vSphere
- Log in to vSphere Client: Connect to the vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
- Create a New VM: Right-click on the cluster or host, select "New Virtual Machine," and follow the wizard:
  - Name and Location: Enter the VM name.
  - Compute Resource: Select the cluster or host.
  - Storage: Select the datastore.
  - Compatibility: Select the VM compatibility level.
  - Guest OS: Choose "Microsoft Windows" and "Windows Server (64-bit)".
  - Customize Hardware: Configure hardware settings (CPUs, memory, disk size, network, etc.).
  - Finish: Create the VM.
Boot the VM and Install Windows
- Power on the VM and access the console.
- Boot from ISO: Start the Windows installation and use autounattend.xml if available.
Configure Unattended Installation (Optional)
- Ensure autounattend.xml is available during installation for necessary configurations.
Install VMware Tools
- Manually install VMware Tools
- windows-vmtools.ps1 (Optional)
Run PowerShell Scripts for Configuration
- Prepare and Execute Scripts: Use the PowerShell below to configure the VM.
- windows-init.ps1
Apply Windows Updates
- Run Windows Update: Use PowerShell to apply updates:
```
Install-WindowsUpdate -AcceptAll -AutoReboot
```
Enable local administrator account
- Set password
- Disable passsword expiration
- Enable remote desktop (Optional): This is personal preference
Convert the VM to a Template
- Shut Down the VM and convert it to a template.

Option 2: Create VM Template - Linux Ubuntu (Manual)¶

Summary¶

Manually creating and configuring a VM involves installing the OS, setting up cloud-init, Post-Installation configuration and converting the VM to a template. Similar proceedures apply to other distributions.

Steps¶

Create a New Virtual Machine in vSphere
- Log in to vSphere Client: Connect to the vCenter Server.
- Create a New VM: Right-click on the cluster or host, select "New Virtual Machine," and follow the wizard:
  - Name and Location: Enter the VM name.
  - Compute Resource: Select the cluster or host.
  - Storage: Select the datastore.
  - Compatibility: Select the VM compatibility level.
  - Guest OS: Choose "Linux" and "Ubuntu 64-bit".
  - Customize Hardware: Configure hardware settings (CPUs, memory, disk size, network, etc.).
  - Finish: Create the VM.
Boot the VM and Install Ubuntu
- Power on the VM and access the console.
- Boot from ISO: Start the Ubuntu installation and complete the setup.
Configure Cloud-init
- Ensure meta-data and user-data files are available for initial configuration.
Post-Installation Configuration
- Create Administrator Account: Create a user account named administrator and set a password:
```
sudo adduser administrator
sudo passwd administrator
```
- Grant Administrator Privileges: Add the administrator user to the sudo group:
```
sudo usermod -aG sudo administrator
```
- Enable SSH: Ensure SSH is installed and enabled:
```
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install openssh-server
sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh
```
- Access the VM via SSH: Connect using an SSH client.
Install VMware Tools
- Install VMware Tools: Install VMware Tools for better performance and management:
```
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools
```
Convert the VM to a Template
- Shut Down the VM: Shut down the VM from the vSphere Client.
- Convert to Template: Right-click on the VM and select "Convert to Template".

Disclaimer: This document is a working draft. Please submit an issue on the GitHub page if you find any problems with it.

Next Step¶

To get started with Deployaroo, please refer to the Installation Guide.

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