Packer Autoinstall with Ubuntu-22.04 Not Working

Packer
1

I am trying to auto-install the ubuntu22.04 live server with packer hyperv-iso builder. A few times it worked without any issues and now suddenly it stopped working and it is not taking the kickstart file and popping GUI to select the language. When Packer starts It automatically serves HTTP and after that, I checked in the browser with IP:PORT I can see the user-data and meta-data files present. I don’t know what went wrong.

packer version 1.9.4

Operating system Windows 10

The variables file:

boot_command=["c<wait>","linux /casper/vmlinuz --- autoinstall ds=\"nocloud-net;seedfrom=http://{{.HTTPIP}}:{{.HTTPPort}}/\"","<enter><wait>","initrd /casper/initrd","<enter><wait>","boot","<enter>"]
disk_additional_size=["150000"]
disk_size="70000"
http_directory="cidata"
iso_checksum_type="sha256"
iso_checksum="a4acfda10b18da50e2ec50ccaf860d7f20b389df8765611142305c0e911d16fd"
iso_url="https://releases.ubuntu.com/jammy/ubuntu-22.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso"
output_directory="output-ubuntu2204"
#output_vagrant="./vbox/packer-ubuntu2204-g2.box"
provision_script_options="-z false -h true -p false"
ssh_password="ubuntu"
ssh_username="ubuntu"
switch_name="packer-hyperv-iso"
#vagrantfile_template="./vagrant/hv_ubuntu2204_g2.template"
vlan_id=""
vm_name="packer-ubuntu2204-g2"
uefi_file="./Boot-scripts/uefi.sh"
provision_file="./Boot-scripts/provision.sh"
motd_file="./Boot-scripts/motd.sh"
zeroing_file="./Boot-scripts/zeroing.sh"
neofetch_file="./Boot-scripts/prepare_neofetch.sh"

Template file:

variable "ansible_override" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "boot_command" {
}

variable "disk_size" {
  type    = string
  default = "70000"
}

variable "disk_additional_size" {
  type    = list(number)
  default = ["1024"]
}

variable "memory" {
  type    = string
  default = "1024"
}

variable "cpus" {
  type    = string
  default = "1"
}

variable "iso_checksum" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "iso_checksum_type" {
  type    = string
  default = "none"
}

variable "iso_url" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "output_directory" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "provision_script_options" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "output_vagrant" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "ssh_password" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
  sensitive = true
}

variable "switch_name" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "vagrantfile_template" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "vlan_id" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "vm_name" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "http_directory" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable "ssh_username" {
  type    = string
  default = "ubuntu"
}

variable  "uefi_file" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable  "provision_file" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable  "motd_file" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable  "neofetch_file" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

variable  "zeroing_file" {
  type    = string
  default = ""
}

source "hyperv-iso" "vm" {
  boot_command          = "${var.boot_command}"
  boot_wait             = "1s"
  communicator          = "ssh"
  cpus                  = "${var.cpus}"
  disk_block_size       = "1"
  disk_size             = "${var.disk_size}"
  enable_dynamic_memory = "true"
  enable_secure_boot    = false
  generation            = 2
  guest_additions_mode  = "disable"
  http_directory        = "${var.http_directory}"
  iso_checksum          = "${var.iso_checksum_type}:${var.iso_checksum}"
  iso_url               = "${var.iso_url}"
  memory                = "${var.memory}"
  output_directory      = "${var.output_directory}"
  shutdown_command      = "echo 'ubuntu' | sudo -S shutdown -P now"
  shutdown_timeout      = "30m"
  ssh_password          = "${var.ssh_password}"
  ssh_timeout           = "4h"
  ssh_username          = "${var.ssh_username}"
  switch_name           = "${var.switch_name}"
  temp_path             = "."
  vlan_id               = "${var.vlan_id}"
  vm_name               = "${var.vm_name}"
}

build {
  sources = ["source.hyperv-iso.vm"]

  
  provisioner "file" {
    destination = "/tmp/uefi.sh"
    source      = "${var.uefi_file}"
  }

  provisioner "file" {
    destination = "/tmp/provision.sh"
    source      = "${var.provision_file}"
  }

  provisioner "file" {
    destination = "/tmp/scvmmguestagent.1.0.3.1028.x64.tar"
    source      = "./Boot-scripts/scvmmguestagent.1.0.3.1028.x64.tar"
  }

  provisioner "file" {
    destination = "/tmp/install"
    source      = "./Boot-scripts/install.sh"
  }

  provisioner "shell" {
    execute_command   = "chmod +x {{ .Path }}; {{ .Vars }} sudo -E sh '{{ .Path }}'"
    expect_disconnect = true
    inline            = ["chmod +x /tmp/provision.sh", "chmod +x /tmp/uefi.sh", "mv /tmp/uefi.sh /usr/local/bin/uefi.sh", "/tmp/provision.sh ${var.provision_script_options}", "sync;sync;reboot"]
    inline_shebang    = "/bin/sh -x"
  }

  provisioner "file" {
    destination = "/tmp/motd.sh"
    source      = "${var.motd_file}"
  }

  provisioner "file" {
    destination = "/tmp/prepare_neofetch.sh"
    source      = "${var.neofetch_file}"
  }

  provisioner "file" {
    destination = "/tmp/zeroing.sh"
    source      = "${var.zeroing_file}"
  }

  provisioner "shell" {
    execute_command = "chmod +x {{ .Path }}; {{ .Vars }} sudo -E sh '{{ .Path }}'"
    inline          = ["echo Last Phase",
    "chmod +x /tmp/prepare_neofetch.sh",
    "chmod +x /usr/local/bin/uefi.sh",
    "chmod +x /tmp/zeroing.sh",
    "/tmp/prepare_neofetch.sh",
    "/tmp/zeroing.sh",
    "/bin/rm -rfv /tmp/*",
    "/bin/rm -f /etc/ssh/*key*",
    "/usr/bin/ssh-keygen -A",
    "echo 'packerVersion: ${packer.version}' >>/etc/packerinfo"]
    inline_shebang  = "/bin/sh -x"
  }
  provisioner "shell" {
    execute_command = "echo '${var.ssh_password}' | {{.Vars}} sudo -S -E bash '{{.Path}}'"
    script = "./Shell-Scripts/azure.sh"
  }
  provisioner "shell" {
    execute_command = "echo '${var.ssh_password}' | {{.Vars}} sudo -S -E bash '{{.Path}}'"
    script = "./Shell-Scripts/cleanup.sh"
  }
  

}

Cloud-init/auto-install file:

#cloud-config
autoinstall:
  version: 1
  indentity:
    hostname: ubuntu2204
    password: $6$rounds=4096$JFVw4zdHh/ahPcjO$NFG4XVjVbcB7kX9KR7nf9zSXTHZnfVqztfC3wPQJbR6tLkFmxEEKuk7lr8Kp6p7z6cdb9qsqINnEtteJYk5h21
    username: ubuntu
  early-commands:
    - systemctl stop ssh # otherwise packer tries to connect and exceed max attempts
  network:
    network:
      version: 2
      ethernets:
        eth0:
          dhcp4: yes
          dhcp-identifier: mac
  update: no
  apt:
    geoip: true
    preserve_sources_list: false
    primary:
      - arches: [amd64]
        uri: "http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/"
  packages:
    - mc
    - curl
    - wget
    - sudo
    - tar
    - bzip2
    - build-essential
    - linux-image-virtual
    - linux-tools-virtual
#    - linux-cloud-tools-virtual
    - net-tools
    - qemu-guest-agent
  locale: en_US.UTF-8
  timezone: Europe/Copenhagen
  ssh:
    install-server: true
    allow-pw: true
  user-data:
    disable_root: false
    lock-passwd: false
    ssh_pwauth: true
    hostname: ubuntu2204
    password: $6$rounds=4096$JFVw4zdHh/ahPcjO$NFG4XVjVbcB7kX9KR7nf9zSXTHZnfVqztfC3wPQJbR6tLkFmxEEKuk7lr8Kp6p7z6cdb9qsqINnEtteJYk5h21
    username: ubuntu
  late-commands:
    #- echo 'ubuntu ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL' > /target/etc/sudoers.d/ubuntu
    - sed -ie 's/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=.*/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="net.ifnames=0 ipv6.disable=1 biosdevname=0 elevator=noop"/' /target/etc/default/grub
    - sed -ie 's/#PermitRootLogin prohibit-password/PermitRootLogin yes/' /target/etc/ssh/sshd_config
    - sed -ie 's/#PubkeyAuthentication yes/PubkeyAuthentication yes/' /target/etc/ssh/sshd_config
    - sed -ie 's/#AllowAgentForwarding yes/AllowAgentForwarding yes/' /target/etc/ssh/sshd_config
    - curtin in-target -- update-grub2
    # virtual package is required for some cloud images. Lack of it causes failure in communication.
    - curtin in-target -- apt-get -y install linux-cloud-tools-virtual||true
    - curtin in-target -- systemctl enable qemu-guest-agent
storage:
  config:
    - type: disk
      id: disk0
      ptable: gpt
      wipe: superblock
      grub_device: true
      match:
        size: largest
    - id: efi-partition # create partitions on disk (like sda1)
      type: partition
      device: disk0
      size: 512MB
      flag: boot # EFI system partition needs boot flag
    - type: partition
      id: boot-partition
      device: disk0
      size: 2GB
    - type: partition
      device: disk0
      id: root-partition
      size: -1
    - id: efi-partition-fs # format partitions on disk
      type: format
      volume: efi-partition
      fstype: fat32
      label: EFI
    - id: boot-partition-fs
      type: format
      fstype: ext4
      volume: boot-partition
    - id: root-partition-fs
      type: format
      fstype: ext4
      volume: root-partition
    - id: efi-partition-fs-mount # mount partitions
      type: mount
      device: efi-partition-fs
      path: /boot/efi
    - id: root-partition-fs-mount
      type: mount
      path: /
      device: root-partition-fs
    - id: boot-partition-fs-mount
      type: mount
      path: /boot
      device: boot-partition-fs

My files structure

Screenshot 2023-09-28 190907
Screenshot 2023-09-28 190907349×611 23.4 KB

Can someone please help me here?

2

Not sure about the Packer stuff yet as I’m just a novice here. However, I’d suggest to start with a bare minimum cloud-init autoinstall unless you’ve already got it working. This is what works for me:
user-data yaml:

#cloud-config
autoinstall:
  version: 1
  identity:
    hostname: ubuntu2204
    username: batman
    password: <mkpasswd -m sha-512 topsecret> #the original manual stated an unencrypted password which doesn't work
    package_upgrade: false
  ssh:
    install-server: yes
    allow-pw: yes

And this is my grub entry as I pack everything into a selfcontained ISO rather than an http server:

menuentry "Headless Ubuntu Server Installation" {
    set gfxpayload=keep
    linux   /casper/vmlinuz "ds=nocloud;s=/cdrom/nocloud/" quiet autoinstall  ---
    initrd  /casper/initrd.gz   
}
1 Like
3

@BorisAGV Can you please mention the steps to create and use self-contained ISO instead of http.

4

Well, I’m only looking into the Packer option so if you need to create just a self-contained custom Ubuntu ISO, I use Ubuntu Cubic for it. It’s an easy to use GUI tool that hides all the xorriso stuff that I don’t need at this stage.

1 Like