Packer rookie, trying to install packages inside an already existing qcow2/raw image

[ksac...@gmail.com]

I downloaded a qcow2 centos from the internet and configured the password using libguestfs. So far did not use packer to do these steps. For my use case, I will always have an existing qcow2/raw/vmdk (one of the three). I just want to install some packages inside these. Is it even possible? Like if the VM disk already exists, packer can still inject stuff inside it? I am following this `https://www.packer.io/intro/getting-started/provision.html` but not sure from the link if this is possible

[Rickard von Essen]

Depending on which virtualisation software you run, qemu/VirtualBox/VMware, etc there are builders for starting from an existing image/disk, qemu, virtualbox-ovf, or vmware-vmx for example. You might need to convert the disk you download into the appropriate format before running packer on it depending on which builder you use. 

Packer will create a new copy of the image/disk, not alter the existing. 

Since building from an existing image can be a bit tricky I suggest that you get familiar with Packer by reading the getting started and then try out some of the builds from https://github.com/chef/bento, which all builds from an ISO.

When you have gotten started, if you have any problems just send a email here. But try to provide all the files needed to run your template and example log output.

On Fri, 24 Aug 2018 at 04:56, <ksac...@gmail.com> wrote:

I downloaded a qcow2 centos from the internet and configured the password using libguestfs. So far did not use packer to do these steps. For my use case, I will always have an existing qcow2/raw/vmdk (one of the three). I just want to install some packages inside these. Is it even possible? Like if the VM disk already exists, packer can still inject stuff inside it? I am following this `https://www.packer.io/intro/getting-started/provision.html` but not sure from the link if this is possible

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[ksac...@gmail.com]

Thanks but I should have asked the question more specifically. I did go through the initial docs, but in the examples I found that there isn't a case where only provision section can exist. From what I understand the builders is a must as the doc also says. So what is the best way to achieve this

1. I have a raw image that has centos on it.

2. I need to install say docker engine, and maybe few more apps.

The examples that I have seen all seem to say start from ISO. Also, when I start from ISO, my packer errors out saying waiting for SSH connection

[Rickard von Essen]

Use say QEMU with the option disk_image true 1) and boot a VM from the image, and a provisioner script that install whatever you need, docker engine, etc. When the build completes you will have a new disk image which includes docker engine. 

1) https://www.packer.io/docs/builders/qemu.html#disk_image

For the waiting for the "Waiting for SSH". What example do you follow?

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/packer-tool/b324223a-bb0b-4688-9d53-50432b3b8442%40googlegroups.com.

[ksac...@gmail.com]

Thanks. However, whether using iso or a pre-installed say raw image for me packer never detects the vm has booted up. To be more specific, I have a `raw` disk that had CentOS that boots up fine when I use `virsh` and I can ssh into it with the username and password that I have configured. But when I use the same credentials to do a build via packer, it cannot detect that ssh connection is ready and times out. Here is my json file and the error message

{

  "builders":

  [

    {

      "type": "qemu",

      "disk_image":"true",

      "iso_url": "myimage.img",

      "iso_checksum": "951fc5be795d74acc1827fa000ca72dc",

      "iso_checksum_type": "md5",

      "output_directory": "/tmp/packerout1",

      "shutdown_command": "echo 'packer' | sudo -S shutdown -P now",

      "disk_size": 9000,

      "format": "raw",

      "headless": false,

      "ssh_host_port_min": 2222,

      "ssh_host_port_max": 2229,

      "ssh_username": "root",

      "ssh_password": "check123",

      "ssh_port": 22,

      "ssh_timeout": "90s",

      "vm_name": "tdhtest"

    }

  ]

}

[ksac...@gmail.com]

I get the error like this

==> qemu: Waiting for SSH to become available...

==> qemu: Timeout waiting for SSH.

==> qemu: Deleting output directory...

Build 'qemu' errored: Timeout waiting for SSH.

[Rickard von Essen]

You should increase the ssh_timeout, to rule that out also run with -on-error=ask so you get infinite amount of time to troubleshot the network. Also if you run Packer with env var PACKER_LOG=1 you will get a lot of info on which port/ip packer tries to use. Verify if you can connect over them.

PS. You shutdown command looks wrong, when you run with root "shutdown -P now" should be enough.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/packer-tool/220d2501-c5d2-4a70-a8b5-3fe8f4663c15%40googlegroups.com.

[ksac...@gmail.com]

Thanks, if you look at my json file, I do have "username" and "password" specified. When I see QEMU terminal, I can easily ssh into the terminal manually via typing the credentials. However, even though my json has it, the logs say that login is failing on authentication. Is there something missing in the config or what. Just to note, this is not passwordless ssh or pub-pvt key stuff. I have the creds in json.

Pasting the logs

2018/08/25 09:46:53 packer: 2018/08/25 09:46:53 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:46:53 packer: 2018/08/25 09:46:53 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:46:53 packer: 2018/08/25 09:46:53 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:46:53 packer: 2018/08/25 09:46:53 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:46:53 packer: 2018/08/25 09:46:53 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:00 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:00 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:00 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:00 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:00 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:00 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:00 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:00 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:00 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:00 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:07 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:07 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:07 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:07 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:07 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:07 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:07 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:07 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:07 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:07 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:14 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:14 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:14 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:14 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:14 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:14 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:14 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:14 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:14 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:14 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:21 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:21 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:21 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:21 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:21 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:21 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:21 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:21 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:21 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:21 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:28 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:28 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:28 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:28 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:28 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:28 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:28 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:28 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:28 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:28 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:35 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:35 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:35 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:35 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:35 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:35 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:35 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:35 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:35 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:35 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:42 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:42 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:42 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:42 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:42 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:42 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:42 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:42 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:42 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:42 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:49 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:49 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:49 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:49 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:49 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:49 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:49 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:49 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:49 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:49 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:56 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:56 [INFO] Attempting SSH connection...

2018/08/25 09:47:56 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:56 [DEBUG] reconnecting to TCP connection for SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:56 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:56 [DEBUG] handshaking with SSH

2018/08/25 09:47:56 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:56 [DEBUG] SSH handshake err: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:56 packer: 2018/08/25 09:47:56 [DEBUG] Detected authentication error. Increasing handshake attempts.

2018/08/25 09:47:56 ui error: ==> qemu: Error waiting for SSH: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

==> qemu: Error waiting for SSH: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:56 ui error: ==> qemu: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

==> qemu: ssh: handshake failed: ssh: unable to authenticate, attempted methods [none], no supported methods remain

2018/08/25 09:47:56 ui: ==> qemu: Step "StepConnect" failed

==> qemu: Step "StepConnect" failed

2018/08/25 09:47:56 ui: ask: ==> qemu: [c] Clean up and exit, [a] abort without cleanup, or [r] retry step (build may fail even if retry succeeds)?

==> qemu: [c] Clean up and exit, [a] abort without cleanup, or [r] retry step (build may fail even if retry succeeds)? 

[ksac...@gmail.com]

Also here is the output of ifconfig -a form inside the vm(note there is no 192.x.x.x) ip for some reasons(attached as jpg). Also, I am using CentOS7. Does packer fail with it?

[Kanwaljeet Singh]

Hi Rickard:

Please let me know if anymore info is required. Just to summarize the whole thing again, I have a qemu disk image with the username and password that is in my packer json file. I also created a toy provisioner script that just should create a directory However, no matter how many things I try, the packer never detects the VM has booted up. I use headless=false and can easily see that VM has booted up. I can even login at the qemu windows, but packer literally never detects it and just sticks there. And eventually times out even with large timeouts. I want to use packer rather than libguestfs, etc. 

Can you please help on this?

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