Running *snf-image-creator* with *--print-sysprep* on a raw file that hosts a
debian system, we get the following output:
+.. _sysprep:
+
.. code-block:: console
$ snf-image-creator --print-sysprep debian_desktop.img
By choosing the *Extract* menu entry the user can dump the image to the local
file system and finally, if the user selects *Reset*, the system will ignore
all changes made so far and will start the image creation process again.
+
+Usage example
+=============
+
+Supposing you have snf-image-creator installed on a machine (hereafter referred
+to as your **host machine**), you can follow the next steps to upload and
+register an image of an OS of your preference (hereafter referred to as your
+**guest OS**) to your synnefo deployment.
+
+ * `Step 1: Install the guest OS`_
+ * `Step 2: Create and upload an image of the guest OS`_
+ * `Step 3: Create your VM`_
+
+
+Step 1: Install the guest OS
+-----------------------------
+
+The guest OS has to be installed on a media such as a block device or a regular
+raw file, that can be **accessible** by your host machine.
+
+But why is accessible empasized? Well, because you don't need to do the
+installation of the guest OS on your host machine. You can just as well install
+it on a raw file, upload it on Pithos+, download it on your host machine and
+use it for Step 2.
+
+*Note: If you have a guest OS already installed, you may want to skip the
+next step. However, be sure to check out the* `Caveats`_ *section, where
+some requirements about the guest OS are presented.*
+
+Installation example
+""""""""""""""""""""
+
+To simplify things a bit, we will install the guest OS on the host machine
+where snf-image-creator is installed. We will assume that the host machine is
+an Ubuntu 12.04 ~okeanos VM, built with max specifications (4 CPUs, 2GB of
+ram, 40GB of disk space at the time of writing this).
+
+*Note: Since the installation of the guest OS will take place on your host
+VM, you must be able to connect to it graphically. This is covered by our*
+`connection guide <https://okeanos.grnet.gr/support/user-guide/cyclades-how-do-
+i-connect-to-a-vm/#windows-linux-host-to-linux-guest-graphical>`_.
+
+For our guest OS, we will choose, Linux Mint, which is the most hyped Linux
+OS according to Distrowatch. A new version has just been released, so
+this seems like a fine choice. ::
+
+ Warning: The installation might take a long time (~1 hour) and a bit of
+ lagginess due to nested virtualization is to be expected.
+
+Fire up your terminal, go to your home directory and type the following to
+download the Linux Mint live cd::
+
+ $ wget http://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/linux/linuxmint//stable/14/linuxmint-14-mate-dvd-64 bit.iso
+
+Verify that it has been downloaded correctly. If the following command
+prints "OK". then you are good to go::
+
+ $ echo 'b370ac59d1ac6362f1662cfcc22a489c linuxmint-14-mate-dvd-64bit.iso' > check.md5
+ $ md5sum -c check.md5
+
+Allocate a few gigs of space to create a sparse file::
+
+ $ truncate -s 7G linuxmint.raw
+
+Use `kvm` to boot the Live CD::
+
+ $ sudo kvm -m 1200 -smp 4 -boot d -drive \
+ file=linuxmint.raw,format=raw,cache=none,if=virtio \
+ -cdrom linuxmint-14-mate-dvd-64bit.iso
+
+ At a glance, let's see what the above options do:
+ -m 1200: Use 1200MB of RAM for the guest OS. You should
+ allocate as much as possible
+ -smp 4: Simulate an SMP system with 4 CPUs for the
+ guest OS to use.
+ -boot d: Place cdrom first in the boot order
+ file=opensuse.raw Use this raw file as the "hard disk" for the
+ installation
+ if=virtio: Inform the OS that it should preload the
+ VirtIO drivers (more on that on `Caveats`_
+ section)
+ -cdrom linuxmint-14-mate-dvd-64bit.iso:
+ "Insert" Linux Mint's live cd in the cdrom
+ drive
+
+Wait a few seconds and then a new screen with the Linux Mint logo should
+appear. You don't have to press any key since it will boot automatically to
+Linux Mint's live desktop after a few minutes.
+
+|qemu-live|
+
+Choose "Install Linux Mint". The installation process should be pretty
+straightforward. Just keep two things in mind:
+
+* The username you choose will also be used later on, when you create a VM
+ from this OS image. The password, however, will be removed and you will
+ be given a new one.
+* The installed OS must have no more than one primary partition and
+ optionally a swap partition. You can read more in the `Caveats`_
+ section below. You don't have to worry about it in this installation
+ however, since the default option takes care of that.
+
+ |qemu-partition|
+
+After the installation is complete, you can close the QEMU window. You
+will be able to boot your installed OS and make any changes you want to it
+using the following command::
+
+ $ sudo kvm -m 1200 -smp 4 -boot d -drive \
+ file=linuxmint.raw,format=raw,cache=none,if=virtio
+
+At the very least, you should install OpenSSH server to connect to your VM
+properly. You can install OpenSSH server using the following command::
+
+ $ sudo apt-get install openssh-server
+
+Bear in mind that once the OS image has been uploaded to your synnefo
+deployment, you will not be able to make changes to it. Since you can only
+apply changes to your raw file, you are advised to do so now and then proceed
+to Step 2.
+
+Caveats
+"""""""
+This is a list of restrictions you must have in mind while installing the
+guest OS:
+
+**Partitions**
+
+The installation must consist of no more than one primary partition. It
+can have a swap partition though, which should ideally - but not
+necessarily - be located at the end of the media. In this case, the
+uploaded image will be much smaller and the VM deployment process much
+faster.
+
+**VirtIO drivers**
+
+Depending on your synnefo-deployment, you may need to use para-virtualized
+drivers for your storage and network needs.
+
+~okeanos uses the VirtIO framework which is essential for the ~okeanos VMs
+to work properly since their disk I/O controller and Ethernet cards are
+para-virtualized.
+
+Fortunately, you will not need to deal with the installation of VirtIO drivers
+directly, since they are included in Linux kernel since version 2.6.25 and
+shipped with all the modern Linux distributions. However, if the VirtIO drivers
+are built as a module (and most modern OSes do so), they need to be preloaded
+using an initial ramdisk (initramfs), otherwise the VM you create from this OS
+image will not be able to boot.
+
+Debian derivatives will create an initial ramdisk with VirtIO included if
+they are connected during the installation on a para-virtualized interface
+(the "if=virtio" option in the Linux Mint example).
+
+In many other distros though, this is not the case. In Arch Linux for
+example, the user needs to manually add virtio_blk and virtio_pci drivers
+in /etc/mkinitcpio.conf and rebuild the initial ramdisk to make the
+virtio drivers get preloaded during boot. You can read more in the `Arch
+Linux wiki <https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/KVM#Paravirtualized_
+guests_.28virtio.29>`_ on how to do it.
+
+For now, snf-image-creator cannot resolve this kind of problems and it's
+left to the user to do it.
+
+Step 2: Create and upload an image of the guest OS
+--------------------------------------------------
+
+This is the step on which we use snf-image-creator. There are actually two
+variants of snf-image-creator, `snf-image-creator`_ and `snf-mkimage`_, both
+achieving the same results but suited for different needs. Their scope is
+documented at the start of the `Usage`_ section of this document.
+
+*Note: Both tools take a snapshot of the installed OS on the media
+provided to them. So, any changes they apply do not affect the OS
+installed on the original media.*
+
+Let's see both tools in action. We will use them to create an image of the
+Linux Mint 14 OS we installed in Step 2.
+
+snf-mkimage
+"""""""""""
+
+In order to use snf-mkimage, simply type::
+
+ $ sudo snf-mkimage linuxmint.raw
+
+snf-mkimage will initially check if the media is indeed a single disk
+partition or a raw file representing a hard disk. Then, it will use
+heuristics to understand which OS has been installed on the media. After
+that, you will be asked which mode you prefer.
+
+|mkimage-wizard|
+
+* Wizard mode is intuitive and consists of 4 simple steps.
+* Expert mode has an abundance of options but requires a bit of knowledge
+ of the inner workings of Cyclades from your part. You can learn more on the
+ `Expert Mode`_ section of snf-mkimage.
+
+For our tutorial, we will use Wizard mode. So, choose "Wizard" and then provide
+a name for the image.
+
+|mkimage1|
+
+This name will appear on Pithos+ and on the Public Images section of Cyclades.
+
+Then, provide a description for the image.
+
+|mkimage2|
+
+This will appear under the chosen image name on the Public Images section of
+cyclades.
+
+Next, add your account e-mail
+
+|mkimage3|
+
+... your account token...
+
+|mkimage4|
+
+...and you're done! A list operations will appear on your console.
+
+|mkimage-results|
+
+We will briefly comment on the above output.
+
+* **Sysprep:** Operations from 1/9 to 9/9 are part of the system
+ preparation operations and are best explained in the snf-image-creator's
+ `sysprep`_ section.
+* **Shrinking:** When shrinking the image, we check if a swap partition
+ exists at the end of the media. If this is the case, it will be removed
+ and re-inserted upon the deployment process of the VM. Alternatively, if
+ the swap partition lies at the start of the media, it will be left
+ untouched. On both cases, the primary partition will be shrunken as much
+ as possible. On this example, we can see that the final size is 3.5GB,
+ whereas the orginal size was 7GB. This means that the image was reduced
+ by half, a pretty impressive feat.
+* **MD5SUM:** The md5sum of the image is used later on to verify that the
+ image has been uploaded successfully.
+* **Uploading:** Everytime you upload an OS image, every block is hashed,
+ checked against existing blocks in Pithos+ and finally uploaded, if no
+ other block has the same hash.
+
+ *Consider this example: You have just uploaded a Gentoo Linux image but
+ had forgotten to install a necessary package. In this case, you would
+ probably edit the OS in the raw file and then use snf-mkimage to upload
+ the new image. However, since there is an almost identical image already
+ uploaded on Pithos+, you can just as well upload only the blocks that
+ differentiate those two images. This is both time and space efficient.*
+
+Finally, after the image has been uploaded successfully, you will be asked
+whether you want to save a local copy of the **shrunken** image. This is
+just a copy of the diskdump that has been uploaded to Pithos+ and, in case
+you are confused, the original OS installed on the media (linuxmint.raw in
+our example) remains intact.
+
+snf-image-creator
+"""""""""""""""""
+
+snf-image-creator is the command-line equivalent of snf-mkimage. All the
+info provided in the steps above are given now as options, which makes it
+ideal for scripting purposes. The full set of options can be found in the
+`Usage section <#non-interactive-version>`_ of snf-image-creator's
+documentation.
+
+This tool is most commonly used with the following set of options::
+
+ $ sudo snf-image-creator linuxmint.raw -a user@email.com \
+ -t hUudl4DEIlomlnvWnv7Rlw== -u linuxmint.diskdump -r "Linux Mint 14 Nadia"
+
+As you can see, these options are exactly what snf-mkimage's steps
+translate to. You can also see that the output is nearly identical:
+
+|image-creator|
+
+Step 3: Create your VM
+----------------------
+
+Creating a VM out of an uploaded custom image is a fairly simple task.
+Just select "New Machine", go to "My Images" section and select your
+image.
+
+|custom-vm|
+
+Alternatively, if you want to create a VM from another user's custom
+image, you can go to the "Public Images" section.
+
+.. |qemu-live| image:: /snapshots/qemu-live.png
+
+.. |qemu-partition| image:: /snapshots/qemu-partition.png
+
+.. |mkimage-wizard| image:: /snapshots/mkimage-wizard.png
+
+.. |mkimage1| image:: /snapshots/mkimage1.png
+
+.. |mkimage2| image:: /snapshots/mkimage2.png
+
+.. |mkimage3| image:: /snapshots/mkimage3.png
+
+.. |mkimage4| image:: /snapshots/mkimage4.png
+
+.. |mkimage-fin| image:: /snapshots/mkimage-fin.png
+
+.. |mkimage-results| image:: /snapshots/mkimage-results.png
+
+.. |image-creator| image:: /snapshots/image-creator.png
+
+.. |custom-vm| image:: /snapshots/custom-vm.png
+
projects / snf-image-creator / blobdiff