Creating VM Images

The general process of creating and adding a VM image is:

1. Create a virtual machine using any software capable of creating img (raw image), qcow2 or vmdk VM image types.

   • E.g. Virtual Box(free for Mac, Windows, Linux), Virtual Machine Manager(free for Linux), or various VMWare products (requires license fee).

2. Attach an installation disk image as an ISO (CD-ROM).

   1. For Linux we recommend CentOS or RedHat 7.0.

   2. For Windows we recommend Windows Server 2019 (must have your own license), Windows 10 Pro is also supported but not Windows 10 Home.

3. Install the OS.

   1. Create only root/Administrator accounts. All other accounts are deleted by the VM Controller.

4. Configure the VM Controller (see configure controller).

5. For Windows, install the VirtIO drivers. Instructions in Linux download drivers.

6. If desired, install and activate SFTP (see enabling SFTP).

7. If desired, install applications (see apps installation).

8. Shut down the VM.

caution

Failure to install the VirtIO drives for Windows will result in an image that cannot boot correctly.