Provisioning VMs

[Sargon]

Hello

I want to automate the creation of VMs on Virtualbox (CentOs) and then run a series of
wget/yum commands to set up the necessary software. 

I am sure this has been done many times already, so before I re-invent the wheel with the
little Ansible I know, perhaps I should hear about the paths already trodden in that
direction.

Are there any templates, articles, advice for me to follow, copy, or imitated to accomplish this,
so that I can reduce the time to completion?

Many thanks. 

[Mikael Sandström]

Hi,

Have you looked at Packer/Vagrant?

Those tools are very helpful when managing VM's

1. Use packer to set up a base box (like a base installation or specifically tailored to your needs)

2. Use that box with Vagrant (creating local environments using the base box)

3. Use Ansible to provision whatever you need later. (Ansible could also be used as part of the packer step (1) if you wanted to.)

There are also any number of Vagrant centos boxes out on the internets just ready to be used.

regards

/M