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Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task posted: Jul 2, 2009 11:05 AM

Click to view AticusDoc's profile Novice
AticusDoc
6 posts since
Jul 1, 2009

I am trying to create a script that will deploy a VM from a template using the CloneVM_Task customization. Eventually I want to be able to deploy dozens of VMs from one template very quickly but first I am trying this out on one VM. I just can't seem to get it working. I used a script from http://communities.vmware.com/message/1064716#1064716 and http://communities.vmware.com/message/1000953#1000953

After I run the script in PowerCLI I view the progress in vSphere Client. The VM is created and the Clone Virtual Machine task gets to 93% at which time the task viewer says it is "Customizing the new Virtual Machine." That's about when the vCenter server crashes and when it comes back up again I can see in the task viewer that the Clone Virtual Machine task failed with an "Error."

I attached the script I am using below, any ideas?

Attachments:

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

1. Jul 2, 2009 11:41 AM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view DougBaer's profile Expert
DougBaer
602 posts since
Oct 20, 2004
When I see an error like this, it is generally related to the OS Customization spec, or not having the appropriate sysprep tools installed on the vCenter server.

As a test, can you deploy VMs via your script without customizing the OS? That will at least narrow the problem. I like to use New-VM with the Template option...

new-vm -template `
(get-template "My-Template") `
-name "Name-of-new-VM" `
-host (get-vmhost name-of-target-host) `
-location (get-folder –name "My Folder") `
-pool (get-resourcepool "My Resource Pool") `
-Datastore (get-datastore "My-Datastore-1")

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

2. Jul 2, 2009 12:43 PM in response to: DougBaer
Click to view AticusDoc's profile Novice
AticusDoc
6 posts since
Jul 1, 2009
Okay I tried deploying without customization using new-vm and things worked fine. I don't think that there is a sysprep issue because I can customize VMs when I deploy using a customization specification through the vSphere Client GUI. Thanks for your help, it sounds like this is an issue with the syntax of the customization in my script. I'm not sure what is wrong, because other people seem to use this script with no problems.

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

3. Jul 2, 2009 12:45 PM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view LucD's profile Champion
LucD
2,430 posts since
Oct 31, 2005
Do you have the sysprep binaries copied to your Virtual Center server ?
And are they the correct version ?
See Appendix B in vSphere Basic System Administration for further info.

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

4. Jul 2, 2009 1:04 PM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view DougBaer's profile Expert
DougBaer
602 posts since
Oct 20, 2004
That's a helpful error message :>

So, your vCenter server actually goes down??

I'm with Luc... check your sysprep utilities. Can you deploy and customize the same VM template using similar custom spec settings via the GUI w/o VC going down?

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

5. Jul 2, 2009 4:32 PM in response to: DougBaer
Click to view AticusDoc's profile Novice
AticusDoc
6 posts since
Jul 1, 2009

Upon close inspection, the vCenter services go down, not the server itself. During the customization of the new VM, the processor and memory utilization on the vCenter server peak before the vCenter services stop. Several minutes later they start up again, so it looks like vCenter is crashing and not the server itself.

I have the latest version of the deploy.cab files on vCenter server in the sysprep folder. I can deploy from this same template using similar configuration using the GUI with no problems.

I keep thinking maybe there is one thing wrong in the script causing this problem that I need to change, but I'm not an expert in powershell.

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

6. Jul 3, 2009 1:18 AM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view LucD's profile Champion
LucD
2,430 posts since
Oct 31, 2005
Checked the script you are using and there is one error in there around line 38.
This
...
#setup resource pool
$pool = get-resourcepool -id $vmpool
...

should be
...
#setup resource pool
$pool = get-resourcepool $vmpool
...
.
I'm not sure why you get no error message on this.
From where are you running the script ?
Could it be that you have ErrorAction set to silentlycontinue ?

In any case, when I corrected that line the script ran without a problem (and the template was cloned).

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

7. Jul 9, 2009 10:15 AM in response to: LucD
Click to view AticusDoc's profile Novice
AticusDoc
6 posts since
Jul 1, 2009
I changed this part of the script and vCenter still crashes. I have even tried another similar script from RobMokkink http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-6972 and I have the same problem. I am using PowerCLI 4.0 and vSphere 4.0, not sure if there are incompatibility issues with the version used to create the scripts if they are different.

I wonder if this has something to do with the configuration of vCenter. Was something missed when it was installed and set up? I also noticed that the vCenter Server only has 2GB of RAM while VMware recommends 3GB of RAM. And the database is running on the server. Could this be the problem? I can deploy virtual machines from templates using the vSphere Client, I can deploy virtual machines using a script pointing to a customization specification, I just can't deploy from a script where I specify the customization variables in the script.

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

8. Jul 9, 2009 1:26 PM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view AticusDoc's profile Novice
AticusDoc
6 posts since
Jul 1, 2009
I was looking through the log just before vCenter crashed and found this error labeled "panic." A couple seconds later the log ends and the server crashes. Could this be the problem?

2009-07-08 14:03:16.023 05616 verbose 'App'] Setting param LicenseFilePrintData.AutoMode to value perSeat
2009-07-08 14:03:16.023 05616 verbose 'App'] Added nic setting cmd guestcustutil.exe setupNic -m 00:50:56:80:58:2c -s 100.0.0.1 -su 100.0.0.2 -g 100.0.0.3 -gm 1 -d 100.0.0.4 -t 0
2009-07-08 14:03:16.023 05616 info 'App'] Successfully created directory C:\Windows\TEMP\imc-10
2009-07-08 14:03:16.023 05616 verbose 'App'] Sysprep output dir: C:/Windows/TEMP/imc-10, verify unattended: true
2009-07-08 14:03:16.054 04784 verbose 'App'] VpxVmomi Invoke done: vmodl.query.PropertyCollector.waitForUpdates session: 7A6D3A2C-C1B4-4B02-866C-C3854C376E03
2009-07-08 14:03:16.054 05616 error 'App'] Win32 invalid_parameter: expression=(null), function=(null), file=(null), line=0
2009-07-08 14:03:16.070 04784 verbose 'SoapAdapter.HTTPService'] HTTP Response: Complete (processed 71331 bytes)
2009-07-08 14:03:16.132 05616 error 'App']

Panic: Win32 invalid_parameter error
Backtrace:
backtrace00] eip 0x01fe88f0 ?AbortProcess@System@Vmacore@@YAXXZ
backtrace01] eip 0x01fe9077 ?CreateBacktrace@SystemFactoryImpl@System@Vmacore@@UAEXAAV?$Ref@VBacktrace@System@Vmacore@@@3@@Z
backtrace02] eip 0x01f2b863 ?PanicExit@Vmacore@@YAXABV?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@@Z
backtrace03] eip 0x01ff8a70 ?GetThisThread@System@Vmacore@@YAPAVThread@12@XZ
backtrace04] eip 0x73c48aa0 _invalid_parameter_noinfo
backtrace05] eip 0x6d839faf ?NonLonghornFlush@SysprepConfigGenerator@GuestCust@@AAEXABV?$basic_path@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@Upath_traits@filesystem@boost@@@filesystem@boost@@_NABV?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@AAV?$list@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@V?$allocator@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@@2@@7@1@Z
backtrace06] eip 0x6d83ac23 ?Flush@SysprepConfigGenerator@GuestCust@@QAEXABV?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@_N0AAV?$list@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@V?$allocator@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@@2@@4@1@Z
backtrace07] eip 0x005eac40 (no symbol)
backtrace08] eip 0x005ef182 (no symbol)
backtrace09] eip 0x00b69e9c (no symbol)
backtrace10] eip 0x00b6baac (no symbol)
backtrace11] eip 0x00b6bd40 (no symbol)
backtrace12] eip 0x00b16be5 (no symbol)
backtrace13] eip 0x00b18220 (no symbol)
backtrace14] eip 0x0076678f (no symbol)
backtrace15] eip 0x02393e53 ??4ScheduledTaskManager@Scheduler@Vim@@QAEAAV012@ABV012@@Z
backtrace16] eip 0x021937ab ?AddFat@Activation@Vmomi@@QAEXPAVObject@Vmacore@@@Z
backtrace17] eip 0x02193782 ?AddFat@Activation@Vmomi@@QAEXPAVObject@Vmacore@@@Z
backtrace18] eip 0x0082b583 (no symbol)
backtrace19] eip 0x0080bbd9 (no symbol)
backtrace20] eip 0x00814777 (no symbol)
backtrace21] eip 0x00821c31 (no symbol)
backtrace22] eip 0x00d1f758 (no symbol)
backtrace23] eip 0x777c4911 BaseThreadInitThunk
backtrace24] eip 0x77bbe4b6 RtlInitializeExceptionChain
backtrace25] eip 0x77bbe489 RtlInitializeExceptionChain

2009-07-08 14:03:16.460 03528 verbose 'App'-- ProcessEntityRelocated Entity has been relocated: vm-401
2009-07-08 14:03:16.569 04784 verbose 'SoapAdapter.HTTPService'-- User agent is 'Jakarta Commons-HttpClient/3.1'

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

9. Jul 9, 2009 1:03 PM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view LucD's profile Champion
LucD
2,430 posts since
Oct 31, 2005
I think you better open a call with VMware for this problem.
It's way beyond what I have ever seen.

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

10. Jul 27, 2009 12:18 PM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view RS_1's profile Enthusiast
RS_1
58 posts since
Nov 3, 2006

Hi, i got exactly the same issue since i updated the vcenter server from 2.5 U4 to 4.0

Since the update, i was using the RobMokkin's script almost every day !

The vcenter service crash during the customization guest too :

2009-07-27 19:38:34.467 03748 info 'App' VpxLRO -- FINISH task-internal-64967 -- host-1006 -- VpxdInvtHostSyncHostLRO.Synchronize --
2009-07-27 19:38:34.513 05180 info 'App' hostVersion = 3.5.0, tools version = 7302
2009-07-27 19:38:34.513 05180 info 'App' hostVersion = 3.5.0, tools version = 7302
2009-07-27 19:38:34.513 05180 info 'App' Sysprep options: -quiet -mini -reseal -reboot
2009-07-27 19:38:34.513 05180 info 'App' Successfully created file C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imcEB.tmp
2009-07-27 19:38:34.513 05180 info 'App' Successfully created directory C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-2
2009-07-27 19:38:34.545 05180 error 'App' Win32 invalid_parameter: expression=(null), function=(null), file=(null), line=0
2009-07-27 19:38:34.576 05180 error 'App'

Panic: Win32 invalid_parameter error
Backtrace:
backtrace00 eip 0x019e88f0 ?AbortProcess@System@Vmacore@@YAXXZ
backtrace01 eip 0x019e9077 ?CreateBacktrace@SystemFactoryImpl@System@Vmacore@@UAEXAAV?$Ref@VBacktrace@System@Vmacore@@@3@@Z
backtrace02 eip 0x0192b863 ?PanicExit@Vmacore@@YAXABV?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@@Z
backtrace03 eip 0x019f8a70 ?GetThisThread@System@Vmacore@@YAPAVThread@12@XZ
backtrace04 eip 0x78138aa0 _invalid_parameter_noinfo
backtrace05 eip 0x10019faf ?NonLonghornFlush@SysprepConfigGenerator@GuestCust@@AAEXABV?$basic_path@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@Upath_traits@filesystem@boost@@@filesystem@boost@@_NABV?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@AAV?$list@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@V?$allocator@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@@2@@7@1@Z
backtrace06 eip 0x1001ac23 ?Flush@SysprepConfigGenerator@GuestCust@@QAEXABV?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@_N0AAV?$list@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@V?$allocator@V?$basic_string@DU?$char_traits@D@std@@V?$allocator@D@2@@std@@@2@@4@1@Z
backtrace07 eip 0x005eac40 (no symbol)
backtrace08 eip 0x005ef182 (no symbol)
backtrace09 eip 0x00b69e9c (no symbol)
backtrace10 eip 0x00b6baac (no symbol)
backtrace11 eip 0x00b6bd40 (no symbol)
backtrace12 eip 0x00b16be5 (no symbol)
backtrace13 eip 0x00b18220 (no symbol)
backtrace14 eip 0x0076678f (no symbol)
backtrace15 eip 0x01d93e53 ??4ScheduledTaskManager@Scheduler@Vim@@QAEAAV012@ABV012@@Z
backtrace16 eip 0x01b937ab ?AddFat@Activation@Vmomi@@QAEXPAVObject@Vmacore@@@Z
backtrace17 eip 0x01b93782 ?AddFat@Activation@Vmomi@@QAEXPAVObject@Vmacore@@@Z
backtrace18 eip 0x0082b583 (no symbol)
backtrace19 eip 0x0080bbd9 (no symbol)
backtrace20 eip 0x00814777 (no symbol)
backtrace21 eip 0x00821c31 (no symbol)
backtrace22 eip 0x00d1f758 (no symbol)
backtrace23 eip 0x7c826063 GetModuleFileNameA

2009-07-27 19:38:34.607 05180 info 'App' CoreDump: Writing minidump

LucD, you're our only hope -in the galaxy ;)

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

11. Jul 27, 2009 12:32 PM in response to: AticusDoc
Click to view RS_1's profile Enthusiast
RS_1
58 posts since
Nov 3, 2006

I just see a difference betwen the vcenter 2.5 and 4.0 customSpec export :

<_type>vim.vm.customization.Specification</_type>
<encryptionKey>

But, according to this doc, this parameter is not mandatory.

http://www.vmware.com/support/developer/vc-sdk/visdk25pubs/ReferenceGuide/vim.vm.customization.Specification.html


Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

12. Jul 27, 2009 4:44 PM in response to: RS_1
Click to view RS_1's profile Enthusiast
RS_1
58 posts since
Nov 3, 2006

Here is what apears in vpxd.log when everything's good :

2009-07-28 01:33:04.975 03404 info 'App' Successfully created directory C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' Create sysprep file package. Params:
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' file = C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc18.tmp
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' binary dir = C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' options = -quiet -mini -reseal -reboot
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' config = C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' sysprep = C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\svr2003
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' tools =
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' native =
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' nativeArgs =
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' Successfully created file C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc19.tmp
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' Creating cab file imc19.tmp
2009-07-28 01:33:05.475 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\guestcustutil.exe as guestcustutil.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:05.663 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\imgcust-reboot.exe as imgcust-reboot.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:05.709 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\bootrun.exe as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\bootrun.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:05.788 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\bootrunMsg.dll as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\bootrunMsg.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:05.788 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\cmdlines.txt as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\cmdlines.txt
2009-07-28 01:33:05.788 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\finalizationsetup.bat as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\finalizationsetup.bat
2009-07-28 01:33:05.803 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\finalize.bat as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\finalize.bat
2009-07-28 01:33:05.803 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\guestcustutil.exe as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\guestcustutil.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:05.944 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\imgcust-reboot.exe as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgcust-reboot.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.006 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\imgres\de\loginblockerRes.dll as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgres\de\loginblockerRes.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:06.006 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\imgres\ja\loginblockerRes.dll as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgres\ja\loginblockerRes.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:06.006 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\imgres\zh-CN\loginblockerRes.dll as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgres\zh-CN\loginblockerRes.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:06.022 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\i386\$OEM$\loginblocker.exe as sysprep\i386\$OEM$\loginblocker.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.069 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7\sysprep.inf as sysprep\sysprep.inf
2009-07-28 01:33:06.069 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\svr2003\setupcl.exe as deploy\setupcl.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.084 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\svr2003\sysprep.exe as deploy\sysprep.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.131 03404 info 'App' Adding C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server
sysprepDecrypter.exe as sysprepDecrypter.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Flushing...
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file guestcustutil.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file imgcust-reboot.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\bootrun.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\bootrunMsg.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\cmdlines.txt
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\finalizationsetup.bat
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\finalize.bat
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\guestcustutil.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgcust-reboot.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgres\de\loginblockerRes.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgres\ja\loginblockerRes.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\imgres\zh-CN\loginblockerRes.dll
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\i386\$OEM$\loginblocker.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprep\sysprep.inf
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file deploy\setupcl.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file deploy\sysprep.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.163 03404 info 'App' Added file sysprepDecrypter.exe
2009-07-28 01:33:06.256 03404 info 'App' Successfully deleted file/directory C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc19.tmp
2009-07-28 01:33:06.288 03404 info 'App' Successfully deleted file/directory C:\WINDOWS\TEMP\imc-7

Can anyone post the same thing with vcenter 2.5 to compare ? Thx ;)

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

13. Jul 27, 2009 10:53 PM in response to: RS_1
Click to view LucD's profile Champion
LucD
2,430 posts since
Oct 31, 2005
Like I said before, I'm afraid this is beyond me.
I think you better open a call for this.

The only difference I can see is that in the vSphere API 4.0 the VirtualMachineCloneSpec object has a new property, called snapshot, which wasn't there in the VI API 2.5 VirtualMachineCloneSpec object.

Re: Deploy VM from template using CloneVM_Task

14. Jul 27, 2009 11:18 PM in response to: LucD
Click to view RobMokkink's profile Expert
RobMokkink
679 posts since
Jun 7, 2005
My P.I. is already testing the script. Since i don't have my vSphere lab up and running at work ;-)
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