Create a VMware vSphere template for Ubuntu Server 18.04
The following Jumpstart scenario will guide you on how to create an Ubuntu Server 18.04 VMware vSphere virtual machine template.
Prerequisites
NOTE: This guide assumes that you have some VMware vSphere familiarity. It is also does not designed to go over either VMware and/or Ubuntu best-practices.
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VMware vSphere 6.5 and above
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Although it can be used locally, for faster deployment, it is recommended to upload the file to a vSphere datastore or to vCenter Content Library.
Creating Ubuntu 18.04 VM Template
Deploying & Installing Ubuntu
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Deploy new virtual machine
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Make sure to select Ubuntu Linux (64-bit) as the Guest OS.
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Point to the Ubuntu Server ISO file location.
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Power-on the VM and start the Ubuntu installation. No specific instructions here but:
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(Optional) Consider using static IP
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Install OpenSSH server
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Post-installation
Before converting the VM to a template, few actions are needed.
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It’s better to have your OS packages up-to-date
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade -y -
Prevent cloudconfig from preserving the original hostname and reset the hostname
sudo sed -i 's/preserve_hostname: false/preserve_hostname: true/g' /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg sudo truncate -s0 /etc/hostname sudo hostnamectl set-hostname localhost -
Remove the current network configuration
sudo rm /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml -
Clean shell history and shutdown the VM
cat /dev/null > ~/.bash_history && history -c sudo shutdown now
Convert to Template
Reduce the VM CPU count & memory resources to the minimum and convert the VM to template, switch the CD/DVD drive to client device as well disconnect it and convert the VM to template.
