Create an Edge OVF Template

In this guide, you will create a Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) from the Edge Installer ISO and upload it to a vCenter environment. In the vCenter environment, you will convert the VMDK to a VM template and export it as an OVF template.

Prerequisites

• A VM with Ubuntu version 20.04 or later in your VMware environment. You will use this VM as the build server. Nested virtualization must be enabled on this VM. Use the following command to check if it is enabled.

  egrep --count '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

  If the command returns 0, nested virtualization is not enabled. In this case, shut down the VM and open its Edit Settings page. On the Virtual Hardware tab, expand the CPU settings section and enable the Expose hardware-assisted virtualization to the guest OS option. Then, power on the VM.

• Edge Installer ISO file. Check out the build images guide to learn how to create an Edge Installer image or use the default Edge Installer image.

• vCenter environment with sufficient resources and access privileges to complete the following actions:

  • Upload files to a datastore, including OVF and VMDK.
  • Create VMs.

• Palette registration token for pairing Edge hosts with Palette. You will need tenant admin access to Palette to generate a new registration token. For detailed instructions, refer to the Create a Registration Token guide.

Instructions

1. Prepare the build server for VMDK creation.

   # Update package index
   sudo apt update
   
   # Install virtualization stack
   sudo apt install --yes qemu-system-x86 qemu-kvm \
     libvirt-clients libvirt-daemon-system bridge-utils virt-manager \
     ca-certificates curl
   
   # Enable and start virtualization services (persist across reboots)
   sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd
   sudo systemctl enable --now virtlogd
   
   # Create directory for trusted Advanced Package Tool (APT) keyrings
   sudo mkdir --parents /etc/apt/keyrings
   
   # Download Docker's official GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) key
   sudo curl --fail --silent --show-error --location https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg \
     --output /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
   
   # Ensure the key is readable by APT
   sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
   
   # Add Docker's official repository to APT sources
   echo \
     "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
     $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
     sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
   
   # Refresh package index to include Docker repository
   sudo apt update
   
   # Install Docker engine, CLI, container runtime, and plugins
   sudo apt install --yes docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

2. Issue the following commands to set up the docker alias and run Docker without sudo. Refer to Linux post-installation steps for Docker Engine for more information.

   # Create docker group if it does not exist
   sudo groupadd docker || true
   
   # Add current user to docker group
   sudo usermod --append --groups docker $USER
   
   # Apply new group membership
   newgrp docker

   Verify your Docker installation and the ability to run commands without sudo.

   docker run hello-worldf
   tip

   If you receive a permission error, you may need to restart your VM so that your group membership is re-evaluated.

3. Install govc (vCenter CLI).

   curl --location "https://github.com/vmware/govmomi/releases/latest/download/govc_$(uname --kernel-name)_$(uname --machine).tar.gz" \
     | sudo tar --extract --verbose --gzip --file - --directory /usr/local/bin govc

4. (Optional) Install Zstandard (zstd) for compression support.

   sudo apt install zstd

5. Create a workspace directory and clone the image builder repository.

   mkdir --parents ~/workspace
   cd ~/workspace
   git clone https://github.com/spectrocloud/stylus-image-builder.git

6. Copy your Edge Installer ISO file to the ~/workspace/stylus-image-builder/ directory.

   cp <path-to-edge-installer-file>/<edge-installer-file-name>.iso ~/workspace/stylus-image-builder/

7. Build a VMDK from the Edge Installer ISO to serve as a template for deploying Edge hosts to VMs.

   cd ~/workspace/stylus-image-builder/
   chmod +x entrypoint.sh
   export ISO_URL=<edge-installer-file-name>.iso
   export PALETTE_ENDPOINT=<tenant>.spectrocloud.com
   export EDGE_HOST_TOKEN=<palette-registration-token>
   export DISK_SIZE=100000M
   EMBED=false make docker-build
   nohup make vmdk &

   The command generates a VMDK file in the stylus-image-builder/images folder. Rename the file to a preferred installer name. Ensure it retains the VMDK format.

8. Transfer the VMDK to a datastore in your VMware environment.

   export GOVC_URL=https://<vcenter-address>
   export GOVC_USERNAME=<vcenter-username>
   export GOVC_PASSWORD=<vcenter-password>
   govc datastore.upload -ds=<datastore-name> images/<installer-name>.vmdk <datastore-folder>/<installer-name>.vmdk
   
   # Create an uncompressed copy of the VMDK
   govc datastore.cp -ds=<datastore-name> <datastore-folder>/<installer-name>.vmdk <datastore-folder>/<installer-name>-uncompressed.vmdk

   If you are using test or development environments, you may need to enable the following option. However, we do not recommend using it for production environments.

   export GOVC_INSECURE=1

9. Log in to the vSphere Client.

10. Navigate to VMs and Templates, then right-click on the desired folder under the datacenter where you want to create the VM.

11. Start the New Virtual Machine deployment wizard and choose the Create a new virtual machine option. Then choose Next.

12. Name the VM and select a location for it, then choose Next.

13. In the Select a compute resource window, choose a cluster that has access to the datastore containing the VMDK, then choose Next.

14. Select the storage where the VMDK is stored, then choose Next.

15. Keep the selected compatibility value ESXi 7.0 U2 and later, then choose Next.

16. Select the Guest OS Family and Guest OS Version that correspond to the values in the user-data file used to build the Edge Installer ISO file. Choose Next.

17. In the Customize hardware window, change the SCSI controller value to LSI Logic SAS.

18. Delete the New Hard disk displayed by default. Then expand the Add New Device drop-down menu and choose Existing Hard Disk. Navigate to the datastore folder that contains the uncompressed VMDK and select this VMDK.

19. Finish the creation wizard and save the VM.

20. Navigate to VMs and Templates and right-click on the newly created VM. Select Template > Export OVF Template. You can ship the exported template (OVF and VMDK files) to the physical site and use it to deploy Edge hosts.

Validate

You can validate that the Edge host is ready for the on-site deployment by simulating an on-site deployment on one of the Edge hosts. The simulation process will require you to complete the installation process and reset the device after the validation.

Next Steps

Now that you have completed the staging process, you can ship the Edge hosts to the destination site. Proceed to the Perform Site Install step.