ZSphere Packer Plugin

Build custom ZSphere images from an existing VM image, a volume snapshot, or an unattended operating-system installation from ISO. The output is a root-volume template stored in ZSphere; supported image storage can also provide an export URL.

Installation

Declare github.com/ZSvirt/zsvirty in Packer's required_plugins block, select a plugin version containing the features you need, and run packer init. All three builders are included from v0.1.0.

packer {
  required_plugins {
    zsvirt = {
      source  = "github.com/ZSvirt/zsvirty"
      version = ">= 0.1.0"
    }
  }
}

Authenticate with either ZSVIRT_ACCESS_KEY_ID/ZSVIRT_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET or ZSVIRT_ACCOUNT_NAME/ZSVIRT_ACCOUNT_PASSWORD, together with ZSVIRT_MANAGEMENT_IP. Explicit HCL values override environment defaults. Load local .env files yourself; Packer does not load them automatically.

The zsvirt local plugin alias is required for the builder names shown below. Keep existing management_ip and ZSVIRT_* configuration. Before publishing a release, run make dev and use version >= 0.1.0.

Network names prefer port groups and fall back to ordinary L3 networks; UUID inputs support both. See the network configuration for IP discovery and explicit connection hosts.

Builders

• ZSphere (zsvirt): provision a VM from an existing image and create a template from its root disk.

• ZSphere ISO (zsvirt-iso): install an OS onto a blank root disk using HTTP/CD answer files, verify hard-disk boot, then provision and create a template. ZSphere userdata is not used for installation.

• ZSphere Snapshot (zsvirt-snapshot): convert an existing root-volume snapshot directly into an image, without starting a VM or running provisioners. Available starting with v0.1.0. The old zsvirt snapshot input remains compatible but is deprecated.

Examples and requirements

The examples directory includes authentication, resource UUIDs, snapshot builds, placement and unattended ISO installation. Choose one template rather than loading all top-level examples together.

ISO examples cover Debian, Ubuntu Server, Rocky ARM and Windows Server. Configure the installer credentials, firmware, root-disk offering and an installation check for your OS. The runner must reach SSH/WinRM and, for boot commands, the host's VNC console; HTTP/CD delivery must be reachable from the guest and image storage.

Only the root disk is included in the resulting image. Build-owned temporary VMs, data disks and imported media are cleaned by default; existing source resources are retained. See each builder's configuration for retention settings, timeouts and export behavior. Keep credentials and rendered answer files in ignored local files.