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Posted to users@cloudstack.apache.org by John Muckley <j....@databax.com> on 2014/07/10 13:30:55 UTC
Windows Template Question
Hello Chaps,
I have a question that nobody seems to be able to answer for me, so I thought I’d try my luck with you guys.
When I first deployed our CloudStack and captured a windows template, the resulting windows VMs would take about 2 minutes from being requested to being deployed and up. The problem here was that windows prompted for a product key prior to displaying the logon screen and wouldn’t allow logon (either local or remote) until that was entered.
Naturally I applied an unattend.xml (pasted Below) to put the product key in automatically which solved the problem and made everything work perfectly, however my Windows VMs don’t deploy in 2 minutes anymore, they take 12 minutes… most of which is a black screen with ‘Preparing your computer for first use’ on it.
I realise that 12 minutes isn’t a bad time from request to being online and ready, however It would be brilliant if I could get this back down to the couple of minutes it was originally.
Any thoughts?
Thanks guys!!
UNATTEND.XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="windowsPE">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" processorArchitecture="amd64">
<UserData>
<AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
<FullName>DBXCloud</FullName>
<Organization>DBX</Organization>
<ProductKey>XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>
</settings>
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<InputLocale>en-UK</InputLocale>
<SystemLocale>en-UK</SystemLocale>
<UILanguage>en-UK</UILanguage>
<UserLocale>en-UK</UserLocale>
</component>
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<OOBE>
<SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
<SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
<NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
</OOBE>
</component>
</settings>
</unattend>
________________________________
This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessarily those of Databax Ltd.
Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/> to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.
<
>Please consider the environment before printing this email.
Re: Windows Template Question
Posted by Kirk Kosinski <ki...@gmail.com>.
Hi, John. The delay is probably due to the devices being re-detected.
This step is likely unnecessary so try enabling PersistAllDeviceInstalls
[1] in your XML to skip it. Let us know how it goes.
Best regards,
Kirk
[1] http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc722095%28WS.10%29.aspx
On 07/10/2014 08:38 AM, John Muckley wrote:
> I did indeed Sysprep it, yes.
> I sysprep with /oobe /generalize /shutdown and /unattend
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Timothy Lothering [mailto:tlothering@datacentrix.co.za]
> Sent: 10 July 2014 12:57
> To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
> Subject: RE: Windows Template Question
>
> Hi John,
>
> Did you sysprep the VM template?
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> Timothy Lothering
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Muckley [mailto:j.muckley@databax.com]
> Sent: 10 July 2014 01:31 PM
> To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
> Subject: Windows Template Question
>
> Hello Chaps,
>
> I have a question that nobody seems to be able to answer for me, so I thought I’d try my luck with you guys.
>
> When I first deployed our CloudStack and captured a windows template, the resulting windows VMs would take about 2 minutes from being requested to being deployed and up. The problem here was that windows prompted for a product key prior to displaying the logon screen and wouldn’t allow logon (either local or remote) until that was entered.
>
> Naturally I applied an unattend.xml (pasted Below) to put the product key in automatically which solved the problem and made everything work perfectly, however my Windows VMs don’t deploy in 2 minutes anymore, they take 12 minutes… most of which is a black screen with ‘Preparing your computer for first use’ on it.
>
> I realise that 12 minutes isn’t a bad time from request to being online and ready, however It would be brilliant if I could get this back down to the couple of minutes it was originally.
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Thanks guys!!
>
>
> UNATTEND.XML:
>
> <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
> <unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
> <settings pass="windowsPE">
> <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" processorArchitecture="amd64"> <UserData> <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula> <FullName>DBXCloud</FullName> <Organization>DBX</Organization> <ProductKey>XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX</ProductKey>
> </UserData>
> </component>
> </settings>
> <settings pass="oobeSystem">
> <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
> <InputLocale>en-UK</InputLocale>
> <SystemLocale>en-UK</SystemLocale>
> <UILanguage>en-UK</UILanguage>
> <UserLocale>en-UK</UserLocale>
> </component>
> <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
> <OOBE>
> <SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
> <SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
> <NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
> </OOBE>
> </component>
> </settings>
> </unattend>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessari
ly those of Databax Ltd.
> Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/> to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.
>
> <
>
>> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
> Timothy Lothering
> Solutions Architect
> Managed Services
>
> T: +27877415535
> F: +27877415100
> C: +27824904099
> E: tlothering@datacentrix.co.za
>
>
> DISCLAIMER NOTICE:
>
> Everything in this e-mail and any attachments relating to the official business of Datacentrix Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries
> ('Datacentrix') is proprietary to Datacentrix. It is confidential, legally privileged and protected by law. Datacentrix does not own and endorse any other content. Views and opinions are those of the sender unless clearly stated as being that of Datacentrix.
> The person addressed in the e-mail is the sole authorised recipient. Please notify the sender immediately if it has unintentionally reached you and do not read, disclose or use the content in any way. Datacentrix cannot assure that the integrity of this communication has been maintained nor that it is free of errors, virus, interception or interference
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
> For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com ______________________________________________________________________
> ________________________________
>
>
> This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessari
ly those of Databax Ltd.
> Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/> to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.
>
> <
>
>> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
RE: Windows Template Question
Posted by Geoff Higginbottom <ge...@shapeblue.com>.
John,
I've just spun up a Windows 2008 R2 Web Edition VM in my lab to test this for you. The Template was sysprepped has an unattend answer file, cloudstack password reset package etc.
My test rig is NOT enterprise grade hardware so I do not expect great performance, however I can login to the instance within 6 mins (I would expect this be only a few minutes on decent Kit, but it all depends on the Storage IOPs). Furthermore, we make the VM auto activate on first boot so when the user logs in, there are no activation messages, as well as run a number of post boot scripts to clean up all the unattend settings.
I noted down the various boot messages and their times:
After approx 1 min simple text message "setup is updating registry"
Then Setup is starting services with glowing bar below
2 mins 30 "setup is applying system settings"
2 mins 45 "setup will continue after restarting your computer"
4 mins (after a reboot) "setup is preparing your computer for first use"
4 Mins 30 - Prompt to accepts terms (we can automate this but this templates forces the user to accept) - windows is finalizing your settings
6 mins - logged in and fully activated
Looking at you unattend.xml it has a number of differences to mine, and includes what I believe are invalid settings such as the locales etc. Mine are set to en-GB with the exception of <UILanguage> which has to be set to en-US (at least it did last time I researched this)
Here is a sample unattend.xml, try this to see if improves things and let me know how you get on.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<InputLocale>en-GB</InputLocale>
<SystemLocale>en-GB</SystemLocale>
<UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
<UILanguageFallback>en-US</UILanguageFallback>
<UserLocale>en-GB</UserLocale>
</component>
</settings>
<settings pass="windowsPE">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UserData>
<ProductKey>
<WillShowUI>OnError</WillShowUI>
<Key>XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX</Key>
</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>
</settings>
<settings pass="generalize">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-PnpSysprep" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<PersistAllDeviceInstalls>true</PersistAllDeviceInstalls>
</component>
</settings>
<cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="catalog:c:/software/microsoft/ms windows server spla/wim/install_windows server 2008 r2 serverweb.clg" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>
Regards
Geoff Higginbottom
D: +44 20 3603 0542 | S: +44 20 3603 0540 | M: +447968161581
geoff.higginbottom@shapeblue.com
-----Original Message-----
From: John Muckley [mailto:j.muckley@databax.com]
Sent: 10 July 2014 16:38
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: RE: Windows Template Question
I did indeed Sysprep it, yes.
I sysprep with /oobe /generalize /shutdown and /unattend
-----Original Message-----
From: Timothy Lothering [mailto:tlothering@datacentrix.co.za]
Sent: 10 July 2014 12:57
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: RE: Windows Template Question
Hi John,
Did you sysprep the VM template?
Kind Regards,
Timothy Lothering
-----Original Message-----
From: John Muckley [mailto:j.muckley@databax.com]
Sent: 10 July 2014 01:31 PM
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: Windows Template Question
Hello Chaps,
I have a question that nobody seems to be able to answer for me, so I thought I’d try my luck with you guys.
When I first deployed our CloudStack and captured a windows template, the resulting windows VMs would take about 2 minutes from being requested to being deployed and up. The problem here was that windows prompted for a product key prior to displaying the logon screen and wouldn’t allow logon (either local or remote) until that was entered.
Naturally I applied an unattend.xml (pasted Below) to put the product key in automatically which solved the problem and made everything work perfectly, however my Windows VMs don’t deploy in 2 minutes anymore, they take 12 minutes… most of which is a black screen with ‘Preparing your computer for first use’ on it.
I realise that 12 minutes isn’t a bad time from request to being online and ready, however It would be brilliant if I could get this back down to the couple of minutes it was originally.
Any thoughts?
Thanks guys!!
UNATTEND.XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="windowsPE">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" processorArchitecture="amd64"> <UserData> <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula> <FullName>DBXCloud</FullName> <Organization>DBX</Organization> <ProductKey>XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>
</settings>
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<InputLocale>en-UK</InputLocale>
<SystemLocale>en-UK</SystemLocale>
<UILanguage>en-UK</UILanguage>
<UserLocale>en-UK</UserLocale>
</component>
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<OOBE>
<SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
<SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
<NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
</OOBE>
</component>
</settings>
</unattend>
________________________________
This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessarily those of Databax Ltd.
Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/> to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.
<
>Please consider the environment before printing this email.
Timothy Lothering
Solutions Architect
Managed Services
T: +27877415535
F: +27877415100
C: +27824904099
E: tlothering@datacentrix.co.za
DISCLAIMER NOTICE:
Everything in this e-mail and any attachments relating to the official business of Datacentrix Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries
('Datacentrix') is proprietary to Datacentrix. It is confidential, legally privileged and protected by law. Datacentrix does not own and endorse any other content. Views and opinions are those of the sender unless clearly stated as being that of Datacentrix.
The person addressed in the e-mail is the sole authorised recipient. Please notify the sender immediately if it has unintentionally reached you and do not read, disclose or use the content in any way. Datacentrix cannot assure that the integrity of this communication has been maintained nor that it is free of errors, virus, interception or interference
______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________
This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessarily those of Databax Ltd.
Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/> to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.
<
>Please consider the environment before printing this email.
Find out more about ShapeBlue and our range of CloudStack related services
IaaS Cloud Design & Build<http://shapeblue.com/iaas-cloud-design-and-build//>
CSForge – rapid IaaS deployment framework<http://shapeblue.com/csforge/>
CloudStack Consulting<http://shapeblue.com/cloudstack-consultancy/>
CloudStack Infrastructure Support<http://shapeblue.com/cloudstack-infrastructure-support/>
CloudStack Bootcamp Training Courses<http://shapeblue.com/cloudstack-training/>
This email and any attachments to it may be confidential and are intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Shape Blue Ltd or related companies. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must neither take any action based upon its contents, nor copy or show it to anyone. Please contact the sender if you believe you have received this email in error. Shape Blue Ltd is a company incorporated in England & Wales. ShapeBlue Services India LLP is a company incorporated in India and is operated under license from Shape Blue Ltd. Shape Blue Brasil Consultoria Ltda is a company incorporated in Brasil and is operated under license from Shape Blue Ltd. ShapeBlue is a registered trademark.
RE: Windows Template Question
Posted by John Muckley <j....@databax.com>.
I did indeed Sysprep it, yes.
I sysprep with /oobe /generalize /shutdown and /unattend
-----Original Message-----
From: Timothy Lothering [mailto:tlothering@datacentrix.co.za]
Sent: 10 July 2014 12:57
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: RE: Windows Template Question
Hi John,
Did you sysprep the VM template?
Kind Regards,
Timothy Lothering
-----Original Message-----
From: John Muckley [mailto:j.muckley@databax.com]
Sent: 10 July 2014 01:31 PM
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: Windows Template Question
Hello Chaps,
I have a question that nobody seems to be able to answer for me, so I thought I’d try my luck with you guys.
When I first deployed our CloudStack and captured a windows template, the resulting windows VMs would take about 2 minutes from being requested to being deployed and up. The problem here was that windows prompted for a product key prior to displaying the logon screen and wouldn’t allow logon (either local or remote) until that was entered.
Naturally I applied an unattend.xml (pasted Below) to put the product key in automatically which solved the problem and made everything work perfectly, however my Windows VMs don’t deploy in 2 minutes anymore, they take 12 minutes… most of which is a black screen with ‘Preparing your computer for first use’ on it.
I realise that 12 minutes isn’t a bad time from request to being online and ready, however It would be brilliant if I could get this back down to the couple of minutes it was originally.
Any thoughts?
Thanks guys!!
UNATTEND.XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="windowsPE">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" processorArchitecture="amd64"> <UserData> <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula> <FullName>DBXCloud</FullName> <Organization>DBX</Organization> <ProductKey>XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>
</settings>
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<InputLocale>en-UK</InputLocale>
<SystemLocale>en-UK</SystemLocale>
<UILanguage>en-UK</UILanguage>
<UserLocale>en-UK</UserLocale>
</component>
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<OOBE>
<SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
<SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
<NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
</OOBE>
</component>
</settings>
</unattend>
________________________________
This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessarily those of Databax Ltd.
Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/> to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.
<
>Please consider the environment before printing this email.
Timothy Lothering
Solutions Architect
Managed Services
T: +27877415535
F: +27877415100
C: +27824904099
E: tlothering@datacentrix.co.za
DISCLAIMER NOTICE:
Everything in this e-mail and any attachments relating to the official business of Datacentrix Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiaries
('Datacentrix') is proprietary to Datacentrix. It is confidential, legally privileged and protected by law. Datacentrix does not own and endorse any other content. Views and opinions are those of the sender unless clearly stated as being that of Datacentrix.
The person addressed in the e-mail is the sole authorised recipient. Please notify the sender immediately if it has unintentionally reached you and do not read, disclose or use the content in any way. Datacentrix cannot assure that the integrity of this communication has been maintained nor that it is free of errors, virus, interception or interference
______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com ______________________________________________________________________
________________________________
This is an e-mail from Databax Ltd (Company No.04085248). The contents of this e-mail are confidential. Databax Ltd does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this e-mail as it has been transmitted over a public network. If you receive this e-mail in error please accept our apology. If this is the case we would be obliged if you would contact the sender and then delete this e-mail. This e-mail and/or any replies to it, and any attachments may be intercepted, copied or monitored by Databax Ltd for the purpose of monitoring or keeping record of its business and for the purposes set out in the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practices) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. All statements made in this e-mail are subject to contract. The contents are not to be regarded as a contractual offer or acceptance. The sender is not authorised to bind Databax Ltd. The views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and not necessarily those of Databax Ltd.
Feel free to visit the Databax web site at www.databax.com<http://www.databax.com/> to find out about our range of products and services, and for the latest Databax news and information.
<
>Please consider the environment before printing this email.
RE: Windows Template Question
Posted by Timothy Lothering <tl...@datacentrix.co.za>.
Hi John,
Did you sysprep the VM template?
Kind Regards,
Timothy Lothering
-----Original Message-----
From: John Muckley [mailto:j.muckley@databax.com]
Sent: 10 July 2014 01:31 PM
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: Windows Template Question
Hello Chaps,
I have a question that nobody seems to be able to answer for me, so I thought I’d try my luck with you guys.
When I first deployed our CloudStack and captured a windows template, the resulting windows VMs would take about 2 minutes from being requested to being deployed and up. The problem here was that windows prompted for a product key prior to displaying the logon screen and wouldn’t allow logon (either local or remote) until that was entered.
Naturally I applied an unattend.xml (pasted Below) to put the product key in automatically which solved the problem and made everything work perfectly, however my Windows VMs don’t deploy in 2 minutes anymore, they take 12 minutes… most of which is a black screen with ‘Preparing your computer for first use’ on it.
I realise that 12 minutes isn’t a bad time from request to being online and ready, however It would be brilliant if I could get this back down to the couple of minutes it was originally.
Any thoughts?
Thanks guys!!
UNATTEND.XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
<settings pass="windowsPE">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" processorArchitecture="amd64"> <UserData> <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula> <FullName>DBXCloud</FullName> <Organization>DBX</Organization> <ProductKey>XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX</ProductKey>
</UserData>
</component>
</settings>
<settings pass="oobeSystem">
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<InputLocale>en-UK</InputLocale>
<SystemLocale>en-UK</SystemLocale>
<UILanguage>en-UK</UILanguage>
<UserLocale>en-UK</UserLocale>
</component>
<component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<OOBE>
<SkipMachineOOBE>true</SkipMachineOOBE>
<SkipUserOOBE>true</SkipUserOOBE>
<NetworkLocation>Work</NetworkLocation>
</OOBE>
</component>
</settings>
</unattend>
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RE: Windows Template Question
Posted by Geoff Higginbottom <ge...@shapeblue.com>.
Whilst ilya is right that windows post sysprep time are not technically anything to do with CloudStack, if you are experiencing very slow boot times it could be a sign of general poor performance somewhere in the hypervisor/network/storage stack.
On a very modest test system my windows VMs deploy from a sys prep template in circa 6 mins, and after that boot from cold and log into to a desktop in a little over 1 minute.
On production grade hardware the initial deployment should only take a couple of minutes at most, and then cold starts should be circa 30 secs.
Here are my observed timings on a very low spec test lab:
After approx 1 min simple text message "setup is updating registry"
Then Setup is starting services with glowing bar below
2 mins 30 "setup is applying system settings"
2 mins 45 "setup will continue after restarting your computer"
4 mins (after a reboot) "setup is preparing your computer for first use"
4 Mins 30 - Prompt to accepts terms (we can automate this but this template forces the user to accept) - windows is finalizing your settings
6 mins - logged in and fully activated
Windows is capable of consuming thousands of IOPS during its boot phase, this is why modern laptops with SSDs boot in around 10 secs, but if you are limiting your VMs to have only 50 IOPS available to them then expect 10+ minute boot times.
Regards
Geoff Higginbottom
D: +44 20 3603 0542 | S: +44 20 3603 0540 | M: +447968161581
geoff.higginbottom@shapeblue.com
-----Original Message-----
From: ilya musayev [mailto:ilya.mailing.lists@gmail.com]
Sent: 10 July 2014 19:42
To: users@cloudstack.apache.org
Subject: Re: Windows Template Question
I'm with Lucian, this is general windows issue - you cant do anything faster.
Sysprep will take what it takes and its nothing to do with CloudStack.
Unless you don't have windows AD - and dont care about unique SIDs, then you could just clone windows VMs as is, but you should not have any uniformed management system that cares about SIDs.
On 7/10/14, 11:55 AM, Nux! wrote:
> Hi,
>
> That is just normal behaviour with sysprepped Windows. You can't speed this process much. My templates exhibit the same issue.
> If you don't sysprep the templates, you'll end up with other (more serious) problems.
> Yes, Windows sucks. :-)
>
> HTH
> Lucian
>
> --
> Sent from the Delta quadrant using Borg technology!
>
> Nux!
> www.nux.ro
>
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Re: Windows Template Question
Posted by ilya musayev <il...@gmail.com>.
I'm with Lucian, this is general windows issue - you cant do anything
faster.
Sysprep will take what it takes and its nothing to do with CloudStack.
Unless you don't have windows AD - and dont care about unique SIDs, then
you could just clone windows VMs as is, but you should not have any
uniformed management system that cares about SIDs.
On 7/10/14, 11:55 AM, Nux! wrote:
> Hi,
>
> That is just normal behaviour with sysprepped Windows. You can't speed this process much. My templates exhibit the same issue.
> If you don't sysprep the templates, you'll end up with other (more serious) problems.
> Yes, Windows sucks. :-)
>
> HTH
> Lucian
>
> --
> Sent from the Delta quadrant using Borg technology!
>
> Nux!
> www.nux.ro
>
Re: Windows Template Question
Posted by Nux! <nu...@li.nux.ro>.
Hi,
That is just normal behaviour with sysprepped Windows. You can't speed this process much. My templates exhibit the same issue.
If you don't sysprep the templates, you'll end up with other (more serious) problems.
Yes, Windows sucks. :-)
HTH
Lucian
--
Sent from the Delta quadrant using Borg technology!
Nux!
www.nux.ro