Create custom images

[billwear]

This tutorial covers building custom Ubuntu images for MAAS using Packer.

Prerequisites

1. Install Packer:

   sudo apt install packer
   

2. Install dependencies:

   sudo apt install qemu-utils qemu-system ovmf cloud-image-utils
   

Getting the Packer templates

Clone the Packer MAAS templates:

```
git clone https://github.com/canonical/packer-maas.git
```

Building a custom image

1. Navigate to the template directory:

   cd packer-maas/ubuntu
   

2. Build the image:

   make custom-ubuntu-lvm.dd.gz
   

This will take a few minutes to complete.

Uploading to MAAS

Upload the image to MAAS:

```
maas admin boot-resources create name=custom/ubuntu architecture=amd64/generic filetype=ddgz content@=custom-ubuntu-lvm.dd.gz
```

Deploying the Image

1. Now deploy the custom image to a node in MAAS.

2. Check the node details to confirm the custom OS:

   maas admin machines read | jq '.[] | {hostname, osystem}' 
   

With these steps, you’ve built and deployed a custom Ubuntu image with Packer and MAAS. Refer to the Packer MAAS documentation for more advanced usage.