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I need to deploy lots (around 100) of (almost) identical linux VM on ESXi, as a matter of fact, the biggest difference is the static IP assigned to each one of them.

Is it possible to automate this task somehow? I know I can use a template, but how can I specify the IP address of each server?

NOTES:

  1. I don't want to use DHCP to assign the IPs
  2. I want a solution that won't depend of a specific linux distro (as I might need to do this for several different distributions)
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    How many is "a lot"? What operating system and distribution are you talking about? Do you have any form of configuration management in place?
    – ewwhite
    Jan 9, 2017 at 3:12
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    Have you done ANY homework on this? we expect you have done at least the basics, there's loads of ways of doing this.
    – Chopper3
    Jan 9, 2017 at 14:15
  • @tvs We have an expectation that users do their own research and try solutions on their own before posting here. In fact, we even have a close reason that includes closing questions because no attempted solutions were provided in the question.
    – EEAA
    Jan 9, 2017 at 14:20
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because user hasn't done the most basic of research for himself.
    – Chopper3
    Jan 9, 2017 at 14:33

1 Answer 1

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Yes, this can be automated.Are you doing this on a VMware cluster with vCenter?

Maybe you should use DHCP to handle initial provisioning. Otherwise, you have scripting or even template customization options available.

I think the real answer depends on how many VMs you need to build and the details of the OS/distro involved.

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  • As I said in my original question, the OS is linux and the distro may vary (and I actually think it's not important, I know how to set a static IP for each distribution, I want to know a way of interacting with the VMs while deploying)
    – tvs
    Jan 9, 2017 at 14:14
  • @tvs vSphere/ESXi has an API, and there are many languages for which they distribute clients. Being a python guy, I tend to use pyvmomi.
    – EEAA
    Jan 9, 2017 at 14:16
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    @tvs Of course the OS version and distribution matters... It impacts how the VM should be built, the types of drivers in use, the virtual hardware and whether the template customization tools are supported. If you were deploying many of the same OS, you could use ovftool and provision that way. If it were a case where the VMs needed a full build, maybe a Cobbler/Forman kickstart setup. But in the end, more details about what you're doing only help us help you.
    – ewwhite
    Jan 9, 2017 at 14:21
  • @ewwhite I see your point, but I need to come to a solution as distro independent as possible, I'm modifying my original post to reflect that
    – tvs
    Jan 9, 2017 at 14:26

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