image.md

Image build

Requirements

• Packer: this is the tool that will automate all the steps of image creation
• VMware OVF Tool: this is required by Packer to export the image from the VMware Hypervisor
• A running and reachable VMware ESXi Hypervisor

Prepare Packer file

Copy the example Packer file packer/example.json, for example to packer/mymediaserver.json, and edit the copied file.

These variable must be configured:

• variables.name: used to set the output filename and the machine hostname
• variables.esx_*: VMware hypervisor connection settings
• variables.network_*: used to pre-configure network settings, leave empty to ignore
• variables.skyreach_*: use either system_key or activation_key and leave the other empty

Then you need the groups that will be applied to the machine, for example for a MediaServer:

{
  [...]
  "provisioners": [
    [...]
    {
      "type": "ansible",
      [...]
      "groups": [
        "msmonitor",
        "postgres",
        "mirismanager",
        "wowza",
        "celerity",
        "mediaserver",
        "mediaimport"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

For a worker:

{
  [...]
  "provisioners": [
    [...]
    {
      "type": "ansible",
      [...]
      "groups": [
        "mediaworker"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

You can also pass additional variables to ansible in provisionners['1'].extra_arguments.

Build image

Check that the Packer file is valid (the hypervisor must be reachable):

make image-validate build=packer/mymediaserver.json

Build the OVA:

make image build=packer/mymediaserver.json