Creating Windows Golden Image on KVM host¶

Reuirements¶

1. Windows ISO file
2. VirtIO Drivers
3. KVM host
4. virtual machine

Get Windows ISO File¶

Download Windows Server or 10/11 from microsoft official website

Download virtio drivers¶

Download Virtio Drivers Download Now

Or run the command

wget -P /var/lib/libvirt/images/ "https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/virtio-win-0.1.285-1/virtio-win.iso"

KVM host¶

Check if host is capable of 1. Connecting to KVM host 2. Checking if virtualiztion is enabled 3. Check if kvm or libvirt packages are installed

Deploy a VM¶

Set VM Name

vm_name="VM01"

Set Memory size

vm_mem="8192"

Set nCPU

vm_vcpu="2"

Set Disk Size

vm_disk_size="64"

Set Windows Path

win_img_path="/var/lib/libvirt/images/windows.iso"

Set virtio driver path

virtio_driver_path="/var/lib/libvirt/images/virtio-win.iso"

Run the command¶

virt-install \
  --name ${vm_name}$ \
  --ram ${vm_mem} \
  --vcpus ${vm_vcpu} \
  --cpu host-passthrough \
  --machine q35 \
  --os-variant win2k22 \
  --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/${vm_name}$.qcow2,bus=virtio,size=${vm_disk_size},cache=writeback \
  --cdrom ${win_img_path} \
  --disk path=${virtio_driver_path},device=cdrom \
  --network bridge=virbr0,model=virtio \
  --graphics vnc \
  --boot uefi \
  --features smm.state=on,hyperv_vapic=on,hyperv_relaxed=on,hyperv_spinlocks=on,kvm_hidden=on

Go through the installation process¶

Complete the initial setup of the windows OS If disk is not detected, install virtio drivers for AMD64(CPU arch) and NetKVM

Install virtio drivers

Install/Remove application or packages that are required/not required

Enable RDP

Generalizing Windows OS using sysprep¶

Launch CMD as Administrator

Run

C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe /oobe/generalize /shutdown

Errors and Troubleshooting for windows generalizing¶

For below error

Sysprep was not able to validate your windows installation Review the log file at %WINDIR%\System32\Sysprep\Panther\setupact.log for details. After resolving the issue, use sysprep to validate your installation again.

Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.WindowsTerminal | Remove-AppxPackage
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge.Stable | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers

Preparing template from windows.qcow2 file¶

virt-sysprep -a /var/lib/libvirt/images/windows.qcow2