2.1. Creating Virtual Machines and Containers¶

2.1.1.1. Listing OS EZ Templates¶

To find out which OS EZ templates are already installed on the hardware node and cached (i.e. ready to be used), you can use the vzpkg list command. For example:

# vzpkg list -O
almalinux-8-x86_64                 2022-12-27 16:57:59
<...>

The timestamp next to an OS EZ template indicates when the template was cached.

Adding the -O option to the vzpkg list command, you can list only those OS EZ templates which are installed but not cached. You can also add the --with-summary option to display brief template descriptions:

# vzpkg list -O --with-summary
almalinux-8-x86_64                :AlmaLinux 8 (for AMD64/Intel EM64T) Virtuozzo Template
<...>

2.1.1.2. Installing and Caching OS EZ Templates¶

Some of the supported OS EZ templates may not be preinstalled, so you may need to perform additional steps before you can create containers based on these templates. To list templates available for installation in the official remote repositories, run the following command:

# vzpkg list --available
sles-15-x86_64                     virtuozzo-os
<...>

To prepare a template for container creation, do the following:

1. Install the template package. For example:

   # vzpkg install template sles-15-x86_64
   

2. Configure additional template parameters if needed. Some of the EZ templates may require specific preparation steps that depend on the operating system. To prepare, for example, a SLES 15 template for container creation, you additionally need to do the following:

   1. Obtain twelve keys from the installed system by copying them in the etc/zypp/repos.d/ directory:

      cd /etc/zypp/repos.d/
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Products/SLE-Module-Basesystem/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      product?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_REL
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Updates/SLE-Module-Basesystem/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      update?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_UPD
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Products/SLE-Product-SLES/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      product?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_PRO
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Updates/SLE-Product-SLES/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      update?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_PRU
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Products/SLE-Module-Server-Applications/15-SP2/\
      x86_64/product?' *.repo $SLES_SERVER_REPO
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Updates/SLE-Module-Server-Applications/15-SP2/\
      x86_64/update?' *.repo $SLES_SERVER_UPDATES
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Products/SLE-Module-Web-Scripting/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      product?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_WEB_PRO
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Updates/SLE-Module-Web-Scripting/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      update?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_WEB_UPD
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Products/SLE-Module-Development-Tools/15-SP2/\
      x86_64/product?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_DEV_PRO
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Updates/SLE-Module-Development-Tools/15-SP2/\
      x86_64/update?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_DEV_UPD
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Products/SLE-Module-Legacy/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      product?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_LEG_PRO
      grep 'https://updates.suse.com/SUSE/Updates/SLE-Module-Legacy/15-SP2/x86_64/\
      update?'; *.repo $SLES_KEY_LEG_UPD
      

   2. Add the obtained keys to the /etc/vztt/url.map file:

      echo "$SLES_KEY_REL <obtained_key_1>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_UPD <obtained_key_2>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_PRO <obtained_key_3>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_PRU <obtained_key_4>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_SERVER_REPO <obtained_key_5>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_SERVER_UPDATES <obtained_key_6>" >>/ etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_WEB_PRO <obtained_key_7>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_WEB_UPD <obtained_key_8>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_DEV_PRO <obtained_key_9>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_DEV_UPD <obtained_key_10>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_LEG_PRO <obtained_key_11>" >> /etc/vztt/url.map
      echo "$SLES_KEY_LEG_UPD <obtained_key_12>" >>/ etc/vztt/url.map
      

      You may also need to set the SUSE repository credentials (obtained from the SUSE Customer Center) in the /etc/vztt/url.map file as follows:

      $SLES_LOGIN     <user>
      $SLES_PASSWORD  <password>
      

   3. Copy certificates from the installed system to the /vz/template/sles/15/x86_64/config/os/default/files/ directory:

      trust extract --format=openssl-directory --filter=ca-anchors --overwrite /tmp/certs/
      scp -r /tmp/certs/* root@<your-node-ip>:/vz/template/sles/15/x86_64/config/os/default/files/
      

3. Create the template cache:

   # vzpkg create cache sles-15-x86_64
   

Now you can create containers based on the prepared template.

2.1.2.1. Prerequisites for Creating Red Hat Enterprise Linux Containers¶

Creating Red Hat Enterprise Linux containers requires certificates to be present on the host. You will need a working Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, or 9 installation. You can use the same certificates for these three versions.

Do the following before creating such containers:

1. Find the certificate paths in the repository file, for example, /etc/yum.repos.d/redhat.repo:

   sslcacert = /etc/rhsm/ca/redhat-uep.pem
   sslclientkey = /etc/pki/entitlement/4662537897317115958-key.pem
   sslclientcert = /etc/pki/entitlement/4662537897317115958.pem
   

2. Copy these certificates to /etc/rhel/ on the host where you will be creating Red Hat Enterprise Linux containers.

3. Rename the copied certificates as follows:

   sslclientkey.pem
   sslclientcert.pem