[pve-devel] [PATCH v2 docs] cloudinit: add Windows cloudbase-init section

[Shannon Sterz]

On Mon Jul 29, 2024 at 5:19 PM CEST, Mira Limbeck wrote:
> Signed-off-by: Mira Limbeck <m.limbeck at proxmox.com>
> ---
> v2:
>  - added metadata_services config option
>  - added Sysprep section
>  - fixed typos and clarified some parts
>
>  qm-cloud-init.adoc | 147 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 147 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/qm-cloud-init.adoc b/qm-cloud-init.adoc
> index 8686ed7..4fdbe78 100644
> --- a/qm-cloud-init.adoc
> +++ b/qm-cloud-init.adoc
> @@ -169,6 +169,153 @@ qm cloudinit dump 9000 user
>  The same command exists for `network` and `meta`.
>
>
> +Cloud-Init on Windows
> +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> +
> +There is a reimplementation of Cloud-Init available for Windows called
> +https://cloudbase.it/[cloudbase-init]. Not every feature of Cloud-Init is
> +available with Cloudbase-Init, and some features differ compared to Cloud-Init.
> +
> +Cloudbase-Init requires both `ostype` set to any Windows version and the
> +`citype` set to `configdrive2`, which is the default with any Windows
> +`ostype`.
> +
> +There are no ready-made cloud images for Windows available for free. Using
> +Cloudbase-Init requires manually installing and configuring a Windows guest.
> +
> +
> +Preparing Cloudbase-Init Templates
> +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> +
> +The first step is to install Windows in a VM. Download and install
> +Cloudbase-Init in the guest. It may be necessary to install the Beta version.
> +Don't run Sysprep at the end of the installation. Instead configure
> +Cloudbase-Init first.
> +
> +A few common options to set would be:
> +
> +* 'username': This sets the username of the administrator
> +
> +* 'groups': This allows one to add the user to the `Administrators` group
> +
> +* 'inject_user_password': Set this to `true` to allow setting the password
> +in the VM config
> +
> +* 'first_logon_behaviour': Set this to `no` to not require a new password on
> +login
> +
> +* 'rename_admin_user': Set this to `true` to allow renaming the default
> +`Administrator` user to the username specified with `username`
> +
> +* 'metadata_services': Set this to
> +`cloudbaseinit.metadata.services.configdrive.ConfigDriveService` for
> +Cloudbase-Init to first check this serivce. Otherwise it may take a few minutes
> +for Cloudbase-Init to configure the system after boot.
> +
> +Some plugins, for example the SetHostnamePlugin, require reboots and will do
> +so automatically. To disable automatic reboots by Cloudbase-Init, you can set
> +`allow_reboot` to `false`.
> +
> +A full set of configuration options can be found in the
> +https://cloudbase-init.readthedocs.io/en/latest/config.html[official
> +cloudbase-init documentation].
> +
> +It can make sense to make a snapshot after configuring in case some parts of
> +the config still need adjustments.
> +After configuring Cloudbase-Init you can start creating the template. Shutdown
> +the Windows guest, add a Cloud-Init disk and make it into a template.
> +
> +----
> +qm set 9000 --ide2 local-lvm:cloudinit
> +qm template 9000
> +----
> +
> +Clone the template into a new VM:
> +
> +----
> +qm clone 9000 123 --name windows123
> +----
> +
> +Then set the password, network config and SSH key:
> +
> +----
> +qm set 123 --cipassword <password>
> +qm set 123 --ipconfig0 ip=10.0.10.123/24,gw=10.0.10.1
> +qm set 123 --sshkey ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
> +----
> +
> +Make sure that the `ostype` is set to any Windows version before setting the
> +password. Otherwise the password will be encrypted and Cloudbase-Init will use
> +the encrypted password as plaintext password.
> +
> +When everything is set, start the cloned guest. On the first boot the login
> +won't work and it will reboot automatically for the changed hostname.
> +After the reboot the new password should be set and login should work.
> +
> +
> +Cloudbase-Init and Sysprep
> +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> +
> +Sysprep is a feature to reset the configuration of Windows and provide a `new`
> +system. This can be used in conjunction with Cloudbase-Init to create a clean
> +template.
> +
> +
> +When using Sysprep there are 2 configuration files that need to be adapted.
> +The first one is the normal configuration file, the second one is the one
> +ending in `-unattend.conf`.
> +
> +Cloudbase-Init runs in 2 steps, first the Sysprep step using the
> +`-unattend.conf` and then the regular step using the primary config file.
> +
> +For `Windows Server` running Sysprep with the provided `Unattend.xml` file
> +should work out of the box. Normal Windows versions however require additional
> +steps:
> +
> +. Open a PowerShell instance
> +. Enable the Administrator user:
> +----
> +net user Administrator /active:yes`
> +----

hi, you could use `+` to attach blocks to list items like so:

```
. Enable the Administrator user:
+
----
net user Administrator /active:yes`
----
```

> +

if you get rid of the empty line above, you can also remove the line
below that restarts the numbering. this does require you use the
attached blocks via `+` to list items.

> +[start=3]
> +. Install Cloudbase-Init using the Administrator user
> +. Modify `Unattend.xml` to include the command to enable the Administrator user
> +on the first boot after sysprepping:
> +----
> +<RunSynchronousCommand wcm:action="add">
> +  <Path>net user administrator /active:yes</Path>
> +  <Order>1</Order>
> +  <Description>Enable Administrator User</Description>
> +</RunSynchronousCommand>
> +----
> +Make sure the `<Order>` does not conflict with other synchronous commands.
> +Modify `<Order>` of the Cloudbase-Init command to run after this one by
> +increasing the number to a higher value: `<Order>2</Order>`
> +
> +[start=5]
> +. (Windows 11 only) Remove the conflicting Microsoft.OneDriveSync package:
> +----
> +Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.OneDriveSync | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers
> +----
> +[start=6]
> +. `cd` into the Cloudbase-Init config directory:
> +----
> +cd 'C:\Program Files\Cloudbase Solutions\Cloudbase-Init\conf'
> +----
> +[start=7]
> +. (optional) Create a snapshot of the VM before Sysprep in case of a
> +misconfiguration
> +. Run Sysprep:
> +----
> +C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /unattend:Unattend.xml
> +----
> +
> +After following the above steps the VM should be in shut down state due to
> +the Sysprep. Now you can make it into a template, clone it and configure
> +it as needed.
> +
> +
>  Cloud-Init specific Options
>  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>