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https://github.com/ucphhpc/gen-vm-image

This tool can be used for generating virtual machine images
https://github.com/ucphhpc/gen-vm-image

Last synced: 6 months ago
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This tool can be used for generating virtual machine images

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============

gen-vm-image

============



.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/gen-vm-image.svg

    :target: https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/gen-vm-image

.. image:: https://badge.fury.io/py/gen-vm-image.svg

    :target: https://badge.fury.io/py/gen-vm-image



This package can be used for generating Virtual Machine Image(s) (VMI)s.

The ``gen-vm-image`` tool can also be used as an initializer plugin for `corc `_



------------

Dependencies

------------



The dependencies required to use this package to generate VMIs can be found in the ``dep`` directory for the supported distributions.



------------

Installation

------------



The current stable release version ``gen-vm-image`` tool can be installed directly from pypi via::



    pip install gen-vm-image



Alternatively, you can install the current development version by firstly cloning the repository::



  git clone https://github.com/ucphhpc/gen-vm-image.git



Then, secondly installing the ``gen-vm-image`` tool either in its own virtual environment::



  cd gen-vm-image

  make install



or systemwide::



    cd gen-vm-image

    make install PYTHON=path/to/your/systemwide/python



-----------------------------------

Generating Virtual Machine Image(s)

-----------------------------------



The ``gen-vm-image`` tool provides two distinct methods for generating VMIs, namely the ``single`` and ``multiple`` commands for generating image(s).

Either of these commands can be selected via the ``gen-vm-image`` CLI::



    gen-vm-image --help

    usage: gen-vm-image [-h] [--version] {single,multiple} ...



    options:

      -h, --help         show this help message and exit

      --version, -V      Print the version of the program



    COMMAND:

      {single,multiple}



Single Image

============



The ``single`` CLI command provides the most straigthforward method for quickly generating a single VMI.

Information on the various options for the ``single`` command can also be displayed via the ``--help`` option.

As indicated by the help output, ``single`` command only requires two positional arguments::



    usage: gen-vm-image single

                        [-h]

                        [-i SINGLE_INPUT]

                        [-if SINGLE_INPUT_FORMAT]

                        [-ict SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_TYPE]

                        [-ic SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM]

                        [-icbs SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_BUFFER_SIZE]

                        [-icrb SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_READ_BYTES]

                        [-od SINGLE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY]

                        [-of SINGLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT]

                        [-V SINGLE_VERSION]

                        [--verbose]

                        name

                        size



    options:

      -h, --help            show this help message and exit



    Generate a single Virtual Machine Image:

      name                  The name of the image that will be generated.

      size                  The size of the image that will be generated.

      -i SINGLE_INPUT, --input SINGLE_INPUT

                            The path or url to the input image that the generated image should be based on.

      -if SINGLE_INPUT_FORMAT, --input-format SINGLE_INPUT_FORMAT

                            The format of the input image. Will dynamically try to determine the format if not provided.

      -ict SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_TYPE, --input-checksum-type SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_TYPE

                            The checksum type that should be used to validate the input image if set.

      -ic SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM, --input-checksum SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM

                            The checksum that should be used to validate the input image if set.

      -icbs SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_BUFFER_SIZE, --input-checksum-buffer-size SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_BUFFER_SIZE

                            The buffer size that is used to read the input image when calculating the checksum value.

      -icrb SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_READ_BYTES, --input-checksum-read-bytes SINGLE_INPUT_CHECKSUM_READ_BYTES

                            The amount of bytes that should be read from the input image to be used to calculate the expected checksum value.

      -od SINGLE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY, --output-directory SINGLE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY

                            The path to the output directory where the image will be saved.

      -of SINGLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT, --output-format SINGLE_OUTPUT_FORMAT

                            The format of the output image.

      -V SINGLE_VERSION, --version SINGLE_VERSION

                            The version of the image that is generated.

      --verbose, -v         Print verbose output.



Some simple examples for its usage can be seen below.



Basic Single Image Disk Example

-------------------------------



To generate a simple 20 GB disk image that is not based on any existing image, the following basic command can be used::



    gen-vm-image single basic-disk-image 20G



If no optional ``-od/--output-directory`` is set, the disk image will be generated in the default ``generated-image`` directory in your current working directory.

By default the ``gen-vm-image`` will generate the VMI with the `qcow2 `_ format. This can be changed via the ``-of/--output-format`` option.



Image Based on an Existing Image

--------------------------------



The following example will generate a 10 GB GenericCloud single disk image based on the Debian 12 distribution::



    gen-vm-image single basic-image 10G -i https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2



Verify Checksum of Downloaded Image

-----------------------------------



When generating a VMI based on an existing image that is downloaded, it is recommended that as part of the generation with

``gen-vm-image`` that the downloaded image checksum is verified.



For instance with the `Image Based on an Existing Image` example, the expected checksum of the downloaded image

can be found at https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/SHA512SUMS::



    gen-vm-image single basic-image 10G --input-checksum-type sha512 --input-checksum  -i https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/bookworm/latest/debian-12-generic-amd64.qcow2



Multiple Images

===============



When having to numerous many VMIs, it is useful to be able to do so in a single execution.

Additionally, when maintaining an infrastructure with many VMIs over time, it can be useful to have a structured definition that defines

this VMI infrastructure and is able to (re)produce it at will. The ``gen-vm-image`` tool allows you to do so with the ``multiple`` command::

The totality of the command can be seen below::



    gen-vm-image multiple -h

    usage: gen-vm-image multiple [-h] [-iod MULTIPLE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY] [--overwrite] [--verbose] architecture_path



    options:

      -h, --help            show this help message and exit



    Generate multiple Virtual Machine Images:

      architecture_path     The path to the architecture file that defines the images that should be generated.

      -iod MULTIPLE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY, --output-directory MULTIPLE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY

                            The path to the output directory where the images will be saved.

      --overwrite           Whether the tool should overwrite existing image disks.

      --verbose, -v         Print verbose output.



The ``multiple`` command requires that you define and pass the path to an architecture file, that is a YAML formatted file that defines which VMIs that should be generated.

The expected structure of said architecture file can be seen below::



    owner:  # The owner of the image.

    images:  # The images to be generated.

      :

        name:  # The name of the image.

        version:  # (Optional) The version of the image.

        size:  # The size of the to be generated vm image disk, can use suffixes such as 'K', 'M', 'G', 'T'.

        format:  # The format of the generated, cloud for instance be `raw` or `qcow2`.

        input:  # (Optional) Input can be defined if the generated image should be based on a pre-existing image.

          path | url:  # A local filesystem path or URL to an image that should be used as the input image for the generated image.

          format:  # The format of the input image, could for instance be `raw` or `qcow2`.

          checksum:  # A dictionary that defines the checksum that should be used to validate the input image.

            type:  # The type of checksum that should be used to validate the input image. For valid types, see the supported algorithms `Here `_

            value:  # The checksum value that should be used to validate the input image.



Practical examples of architecture files can be found in the ``examples`` directory.