SCVMM template preparation

CMP reads a new guest’s hostname and IP address back through Hyper-V KVP, which is part of Integration Services, and applies the hostname, address, and user data through guest customization: cloud-init on Linux, Sysprep and unattend.xml on Windows. The steps below make both mechanisms work.

Prepare a Linux template

Perform these steps inside the running Linux VM before you generalize and seal it.

1. Install cloud-init, version 18.x or newer.

   # RHEL / Rocky / Alma
   sudo dnf install -y cloud-init
   
   # Debian / Ubuntu
   sudo apt-get install -y cloud-init
   

2. Install and enable Hyper-V Integration Services, which provides the KVP daemon.

   # RHEL / Rocky / Alma
   sudo dnf install -y hyperv-daemons
   sudo systemctl enable --now hypervkvpd
   
   # Debian / Ubuntu
   sudo apt-get install -y hyperv-daemons
   sudo systemctl enable --now hv-kvp-daemon
   

   CMP uses KVP to confirm the guest’s hostname and address after boot. Without the daemon running, provisioning times out waiting for the guest.

3. Pin cloud-init to the NoCloud datasource. Create /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-cb-nocloud.cfg:

   datasource_list: [ NoCloud, None ]
   

   Listing None last stops the VM from hanging at boot when no seed is present.

4. Generalize and seal the template. Run this last, immediately before shutdown:

   sudo cloud-init clean --logs --machine-id
   sudo rm -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*
   sudo shutdown -h now
   

   This clears the cached instance ID, so cloud-init runs again on the next boot, and removes the SSH host keys, which are regenerated per VM on first boot.

5. Import the VHDX into the SCVMM library and create a template from it.

Prepare a Windows template

1. Verify Integration Services are running. They are included by default on Windows Server 2012 R2 and later. Confirm that the service state is Running:

   Get-Service vmickvpexchange
   

   CMP uses the KVP exchange service to confirm the guest’s hostname and address after boot.

2. Generalize the guest with Sysprep, then shut it down:

   C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /shutdown
   

3. Import the VHDX into the SCVMM library and create a template from it.

4. On the template’s hardware configuration, set the network adapter’s IP mode:

   • Dynamic IP for DHCP networks. CMP passes no address, and the guest gets one from DHCP.
   • Static IP, from a static IP pool, for static addresses assigned by CMP.

5. On the template’s OS Configuration tab, fill in the required values. Placeholder values are acceptable; SCVMM uses these when it generates the unattend.xml.

   • Domain
   • Administrator password
   • Product key

6. Set the template’s OS family to Windows.

Prepare the SCVMM fabric

These steps apply to every template, whatever the guest OS.

1. Author the template as highly available. On the template’s hardware configuration, enable Make this virtual machine highly available. CMP deploys onto clustered storage, where a VM that is not highly available cannot come online, and the deployed VM inherits the setting from the template. CMP checks the template before it deploys and stops with a message naming the template if the setting is missing.

2. Configure a MAC address pool with addresses available. Do not assign a static MAC address on the template; CMP triggers pool allocation when it creates the VM.

3. Confirm the VM generation on each template. CMP inherits the generation from the template and never overrides it, so the template decides whether VMs are Generation 1 or Generation 2.

4. Provide a DVD drive on Linux templates. If one is missing, CMP adds it on SCSI bus 1, LUN 0. Generation 2 VMs commonly ship without a DVD drive.

5. For Windows static addressing, configure a static IP address pool reachable through the VM network:

   • Isolated network: VM network, VM subnet, static IP address pool.
   • Connected (no isolation) network: VM network, logical network, logical network definition, static IP address pool.

   The pool’s subnet definition must specify the subnet in CIDR notation, the default gateway, a DNS server, and a DNS suffix.

6. Grant the SCVMM service account write and delete rights on the CloudBolt\seeds folder in the library share. CMP writes a per-VM seed ISO there during provisioning and removes it afterwards.

Enable day-2 actions

For CMP to run scripts against a provisioned VM:

• Linux templates need SSH enabled on port 22, valid SSH credentials, and a network route from the CMP appliance to the guest’s address.
• Windows templates need WinRM enabled on port 5985 or 5986, valid Windows credentials, and a network route from the CMP appliance to the guest’s address.

What CMP does not configure

Bake the following into the template, or supply them yourself. On Linux, you can use the scvmm_user_data parameter.

• Windows product-key injection and domain join
• Guest firewall rules
• Antivirus and endpoint security software
• Adding, editing, or removing extra NICs as a day-2 action. The Networks tab is read-only.