Windows Server 2025 “Preview” deployment with Packer

As Windows Server 2025 Preview is officially released, I wanted to test a  automated build of the Windows Server 2025 Preview release. So that I can deploy this in my home lab and going to test the new features if I can find the time….

About Hashicorp Packer

Hashicorp Packer is a self-contained executable producing quick and easy operating system builds across multiple platforms. Using Packer and a couple of HCL2 files, you can quickly create fully automated template(s) with latest Windows Updates en VMware Tools. When you schedule a fresh builds after patch Tuesday  you have always an up-to-date and fully secured template.

When using VMware customization tools. You can spin up vm’s in minutes.

Automated Windows Server 2025 “Preview” Build

Files you need?
The files and versions I am using at the time of this writing are as follows:

Outside of downloading both Packer and Windows Server 2022 Preview build, you will need the following files:

  • windowsserver2025.auto.pkrvars.hcl – houses the variable values you want to define.
  • windows2025.json.pkr.hcl – the Packer build file
  • Answer file – Generated with Windows System Image Manager (SIM) you can download the file below
  • Custom script file(s) – optional

Other considerations and tasks you will need to complete:

  • Copy the Windows Server 2025 ISO file to a vSphere datastore

Windows Server 2025 unattend Answer file for the automated Packer Build

Like other automated approaches to installing Windows Server, the automated Windows Server 2025 Packer build requires an answer file to provide answers to the GUI automatically and other installation prompts that you normally see in a manual installation of Windows Server.

You will find the scripts here: https://github.com/WardVissers/Packer-Win2025

The only problem that I had was: Switching from Nic from Public to Private

# Set network connections profile to Private mode.

Write-Output ‘Setting the network connection profiles to Private…’

do {

    $connectionProfile = Get-NetConnectionProfile

    Start-Sleep -Seconds 10

} while ($connectionProfile.Name -eq ‘Identifying…’)

Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name $connectionProfile.Name -NetworkCategory Private

Windows Server 2025 Preview (Build: Canary 26052)

I had some time to check out the new version of Server 2025.

For the full upcomming features check: https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/sessions/f3901190-1154-45e3-9726-d2498c26c2c9?source=sessions

Download Server 2025 Preview: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewserver

Server 2025 will come with a lot of features (My Top 20+):

  • General – Server 2022 upgrade to .vNext (Controled bij GPO)
  • Hot Patching (Arc Enabled, Monthly Subscription)
  • Active Directory – 32k page
  • Active Directory – Numa
  • Active Directory – LDAP TLS 1.3
  • Active Directory – Improved Security for Confidential Attributes
  • Active Directory – Active Directory LDAP prefers Encryption bij Default
  • Active Directory – Kerberos Support for AES/SHA256/384
  • Active Directory – Changes to Default behavior of legacy SAM RPC Spassword change methods
  • Active Directory – Kerberos en KPINT Support cryptographic agility
  • Active Directory – New AD Forest en Domein Level (Minimal Server 2016 requirement)
  • Storage – NVME 70%/90% peformance increase
  • File Server – SMB over Internet (Quick Protocol)
  • File Server – More Control over SLTM
  • File Server – SMB Limitor (Enabeld bij Default)
  • File Server – Signing by Default
  • File Server – Minimum version SMB
  • File Server – More Secure Bij Default (Netbios disabled bij default)
  • RDS – M365 Apps stil supported for every Windows Server release 2-3 years
  • Finance – General support and Pay-as-you-go Support

Need to find some time to dig in

Handy link: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-server-insiders/announcing-windows-server-preview-build-26040/m-p/4040858

Deploy Windows Core Server 2022 with Server Core App Compatibility Feature on Demand with Packer

I while ago I started with parker to create simple templates for use in my homelab.

It take some time to find the rights scripts and learning en understanding the HCL2 coding

But in related to Security reasons I want to use a Windows Core Server the smaller footprint.

What is Server Core App Compatibility Feature on Demand: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/server-core-app-compatibility-feature-on-demand

Installing Features on Demand through Powerschell contains a bug. You may see “failure to download files”, “cannot download”, or errors like “0x800F0954” or file not found.

To Solve that I created I powerschell script to run the install twice: featuresondemand.ps1

You can find al the needed files on my Public Github Packer repository: https://github.com/WardVissers/Packer-Public

When running is showing like this:

A blue screen with white squares

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It works for now, but there is one thing that would the hole thing a quiet nicer.
Passwords encrypted in a separate file.

Enable Virtualization-based Security on a Virtual Machine on Nested ESXi Server in VMware Workstation

First Step Shutdown ESXi Server enable Encryption
Graphical user interface, application

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Second Add vTPM

Graphical user interface, application, Word

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Boot ESXi Server(s)

Configure Key Providers (Add Native Key Provider)

Graphical user interface, text, application, website

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Now you can add vTPM to you VM
Don’t forget to enable VBS

Graphical user interface, application

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Create GPO SRV 2022 – Virtualization Based Security and I did Apply only to my Server 2022 Lab Environment
Graphical user interface, application

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System Information on my Server 2022 Lab Server
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Virtual Machine with Windows Server 2022 with KB5022842 (Feb 2023) installed and configured with secure boot will not boot up on vSphere 7 unless updated to 7.0u3k (vSphere 8 not affected)

Virtual Machine with Windows Server 2022 with KB5022842 (Feb 2023) installed en configured with secure boot enabled will not boot up on vSphere 7 unless updated to 7.0u3k (vSphere 8 not affected)

VMware Seciroty Violation message

In VM vmware.log, there is ‘Image DENIED’ info like the below:
2023-02-15T05:34:31.379Z In(05) vcpu-0 – SECUREBOOT: Signature: 0 in db, 0 in dbx, 1 unrecognized, 0 unsupported alg.
2023-02-15T05:34:31.379Z In(05) vcpu-0 – Hash: 0 in db, 0 in dbx.
2023-02-15T05:34:31.379Z In(05) vcpu-0 – SECUREBOOT: Image DENIED.

To identify the location of vmware.log files:

  1. Establish an SSH session to your host. For ESXi hosts
  2. Log in to the ESXi Host CLI using root account.
  3. To list the locations of the configuration files for the virtual machines registered on the host, run the below command:

#vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms | grep -i “VM_Name

  1. The vmware.log file is located in virtual machine folder along with the vmx file.
  2. Record the location of the .vmx configuration file for the virtual machine you are troubleshooting. For example:

/vmfs/volumes/xxxxxxxx-xxxxxxx-c1d2-111122223333/vm1/vm1.vmx
/vmfs/volumes/xxxxxxxx-xxxxxxx-c1d2-111122223333/vm1/vmware.log

Resolution

This issue is resolved in VMware ESXi 7.0 U3k, released on February 21st 2023. Build 21313628
A screenshot of a computer

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Notes:

  • Virtual machines running on any version of vSphere ESXi 8.0.x are not impacted by this issue
  • vSphere ESXi 6.7 is End of general Support. For more information, see The End of General Support for vSphere 6.5 and vSphere 6.7 is October 15, 2022.
  • If you already face the issue, after patching the host to ESXi 7.0 Update 3k, just power on the affected Windows Server 2022 VMs. After you patch a host to ESXi 7.0 Update 3k, you can migrate a running Windows Server 2022 VM from a host of version earlier than ESXi 7.0 Update 3k, install KB5022842, and the VM boots properly without any additional steps required.

Deploy Multi VM’s based on Windows Template

I love powershell. I created a little script to deploy multi VM based on a Windows Template throug CSV file.

It’s create a computer account at the specfified ou. He greates also a Domain Local Group for management. (It used in the customization not specified here)

TempVMlist.csv

server,cpu,memory,DestinationCluster,OSCustomizationSpec,VMtemplate,adgroup

WARDTEST01,2,8,CLUSTER01,W2012R2_Demo,TPL_W2012R2_STD,ServerAdmin

MultiVM.ps1

#Filename: MultiVM.ps1

#Author: W. Vissers

#Source:

#Version: 1.1

#Date: 08-05-2018

#ChangeLog:

# V1.0 – Module Active Directory

#      – Module VMware PowerCli

#      – Active Directory Computer Account, Group

#      – Host Selected from Cluster with Least Memory

#      – Storage selection based on volume with most free space

# V1.1 – Added Harddisk 1&2

#      – Changed porte group other vlan

#

<#

.SYNOPSIS

Script to create a virtual machine from template

.DESCRIPTION

Script to create a virtual machine from template

.EXAMPLE

MultiVM.ps1

#>

################################## INIT #################################################

# LoadModule Active Directory

if (!(Get-Module “activedirectory”)) {Import-module activedirectory}

Else {Write-Host “Module Active Directory is al ready loaded”}

# LoadModule VMware PowerCLI

# if (!(Get-Module “VMware.PowerCLI”)) {

#    Find-Module VMware.PowerCLI

#    Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI -Scope CurrentUser

#}

#Else

# {

# Write-Host “Module PowerCLI is al ready loaded”

# }

#Config

$ouservers=”OU=Servers,DC=wardvissers.nl,DC=nl”

$ougroup=”OU=GroepObjecten,DC=wardvissers,DC=nl”

$folder=”Applicatie Servers”

$DestinationVC =”vcenter01.wardvissers.nl

#Username

if (!$username ) { $username = Read-Host “Give vCenter username ‘wardvissers\admin'”}

#Password

if ( -NOT $Password ) {

$PasswordSec = Read-Host “Give vCenter password” -AsSecureString

$Password = [Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::PtrToStringAuto([Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::SecureStringToBSTR($PasswordSec))

}

#Connect vCenter

$ConnectVC = Connect-VIServer $DestinationVC -Username $Username -Password $Password -AllLinked

$AllVMs = @()

$AllVMs = Import-Csv “D:\TempVMlist.csv”

foreach ($vm in $AllVMs) {

#Haal De Gegevens op

$server=$($vm.server)

$memory=$($vm.memory)

$cpu=$($vm.cpu)

$DestinationCluster=$($vm.DestinationCluster)

$OSSpec=”$($vm.OSCustomizationSpec)”

$VMtemplate=$($vm.VMtemplate)

$group=$($vm.adgroup)

$harddisk1=$($vm.harddisk1)

$harddisk2=$($vm.harddisk2)

Write-Host “$server heeft $memory GB memory en $cpu cpu(‘s)”

if ($server.length -gt 15) {

Write-Output “Hostname cannot contain more than 15 characters.”

$server = Read-Host “Re-enter hostname for host $server”}

Else

{

Write-Host “Server is umc server”

#Maak AD Groep aan en Computer Account

New-ADComputer -Name $server -Path $ouservers -Enabled $true

New-ADGroup -Name “DLG.$server” -SamAccountName “DLG.$server” -GroupCategory Security -GroupScope DomainLocal -DisplayName “DLG.$server” -Path $ougroup

Add-ADGroupMember -Identity “DLG.$server” -Members $group

}

# Rol server uit van Template

# Select the host with the less used memory

$DestinationHost = Get-Cluster –Name $DestinationCluster –Server $DestinationVC | Get-VMhost -State Connected | Sort-Object -Property MemoryUsageGB | Select-Object -First1

# Select DataStore with the most free space and not in maintance

$destinationDatastore = Get-Cluster $DestinationCluster | Get-Datastore | Where {$_.State -ne “Maintenance”} | Sort-Object -Property FreeSpaceGB -Descending | Select-Object -First 1

# Finally, I deploy my VM with the New-VM cmdlet using my template and OS specs. I place the VM on the ESXi host and store the VM on the datastore.

New-VM -Name $server -Template $VMTemplate -OSCustomizationSpec $OSSpec -VMHost $DestinationHOST -Datastore $DestinationDatastore -Location $folder

Get-VM $server | Set-VM -NumCpu $cpu -MemoryGB $memory -Confirm:$false

if ($harddisk1 -gt 60){Get-HardDisk -vm $server | Where {$_.Name -eq “Hard disk 1”} | Set-HardDisk -CapacityGB $harddisk1 -Confirm:$false}

if ($harddisk2 -gt 20) {Get-HardDisk -vm $server | Where {$_.Name -eq “Hard disk 2”} | Set-HardDisk -CapacityGB $harddisk2 -Confirm:$false}

Get-VM $server | Start-VM -Confirm:$false

Get-VM $Server | Get-NetworkAdapter | Set-NetworkAdapter -Connected $true -Confirm:$false

}

VMware Disk to Windows Disk Script

vCenter01

Credentials

ClusterNode

virtuelemachine

DiskInfo

Script: VMwareDisktoWindows.ps1

# VMware to Windows Disk Script                                    
#                                                                                                   
# Author     : Ward Vissers                                                                                
# created on : 08-11-2017                                                                                  
# version    : V1.0                                                                                         
# Source     : http://www.enterprisedaddy.com/2016/07/powercli-match-windows-disk-to-vmware-harddisk/  
#
# V0.1 Testing
# V0.2 Line 33 $vm to $vm.name(Bug Found)
# V0.3 Graphical Version Select VM
# V0.4 Add Select VM from Cluster
# V1.0 Add Selection of multiple vCenter                                                                                                      
#
# $VCServerList is a comma-separated list of vCenter servers
$VCServerList = “vCenter01.wardvissers.nl”
# Select vCenter
$VCServer = $VCServerList | Out-GridView -Title “Select vCenter Server” -OutputMode Single
# write-host $VCServer
$Cred = Get-Credential
# Write-Host $Cred
 
# Set Default Server Mode to Multiple
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -DefaultVIServerMode Multiple -Confirm:$false | Out-Null
# Connect to vCenter Server(s)
Connect-VIServer -Server “$VCServer” | Out-Null
$DiskInfo= @()
# Select Cluster
$Cluster = Get-Cluster | Out-GridView -Title “Select Target Cluster Node” -OutputMode Single
# write-host $Cluster
# Select VM From Cluster
$Vm = Get-Cluster $Cluster | Get-VM | Out-GridView -Title “Select Virtuele Machine” -OutputMode Single
# write-host $vm

if (($VmView = Get-View -ViewType VirtualMachine -Filter @{“Name” = $Vm.Name})) {
  $WinDisks = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_DiskDrive -Credential $Cred -ComputerName $VmView.Name
  foreach ($VirtualSCSIController in ($VMView.Config.Hardware.Device | where {$_.DeviceInfo.Label -match “SCSI Controller”})) {
foreach ($VirtualDiskDevice in ($VMView.Config.Hardware.Device | where {$_.ControllerKey -eq $VirtualSCSIController.Key})) {
  $VirtualDisk = “” | Select SCSIController, DiskName, SCSI_Id, DiskFile, DiskSize, WindowsDisk
  $VirtualDisk.SCSIController = $VirtualSCSIController.DeviceInfo.Label
  $VirtualDisk.DiskName = $VirtualDiskDevice.DeviceInfo.Label
  $VirtualDisk.SCSI_Id = “$($VirtualSCSIController.BusNumber) : $($VirtualDiskDevice.UnitNumber)”
$VirtualDisk.DiskFile = $VirtualDiskDevice.Backing.FileName
  $VirtualDisk.DiskSize = $VirtualDiskDevice.CapacityInKB * 1KB / 1GB
  # Match disks based on SCSI ID
  $DiskMatch = $WinDisks | ?{($_.SCSIPort – 2) -eq $VirtualSCSIController.BusNumber -and $_.SCSITargetID -eq $VirtualDiskDevice.UnitNumber}
  if ($DiskMatch){
  $VirtualDisk.WindowsDisk = “Disk $($DiskMatch.Index)”
}
else {Write-Host “No matching Windows disk found for SCSI id $($VirtualDisk.SCSI_Id)”}
  $DiskInfo += $VirtualDisk
  }
  }
  $DiskInfo | Out-GridView
  }
  else {Write-Host “Virtual Machine $Vm Not Found”}

Disconnect-VIServer * -Confirm:$false

Imported Hotfixes for Windows 2008 R2 Clustering

Imported Hotfixes for Windows 2008 R2 Clustering:

NTFS.sys

2814923          “0x0000009E” Stop error and disk volumes cannot be brought online on a Windows Server 2008 R2-based failover cluster
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2814923/EN-US

MPIO

2754704          A hotfix is available that provides a mechanism for DSM to notify MPIO that a particular path is back to online in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2754704/EN-US

storport.sys

2780444          “0x0000012E” Stop error occurs when an application sends a 12-byte SCSI opcode to an iSCSI target in Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2780444/EN-US

msiscsi

2684681          Iscsicpl.exe process stops responding when you try to reconnect a storage device to a computer that is running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2684681/EN-US

rdbss

2670567 “0x000000027” Stop error when you copy a file from a redirected folder in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2670567/EN-US

Kernel

2805853          “0x0000008E” Stop error on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2805853/EN-US

RPCSS

2756999 Handle leak occurs on a COM client that is running on a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2756999/EN-US

Mrxsmb10

2727324 Computer stops responding after you connect to an SMB 1 server in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2727324/EN-US

Mrxsmb20

2778834          File becomes corrupted when you try to overwrite the file while it is opened by another user on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2778834/EN-US

TCPIP

2519644          Stop code in the tcpip.sys driver on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2: 0x000000D1
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2519644/EN-US

2524478          The network location profile changes from “Domain” to “Public” in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2524478/EN-US

CPU usage is high when you use RPC over HTTP protocol in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2

Consider the following scenario that takes Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 as an example:

  • The Mailbox server role is enabled in Exchange Server 2013.
  • Exchange mailboxes use extended MAPI to communicate with the Exchange Server.
  • The extended MAPI uses Microsoft RPC over HTTP (remote procedure call over HTTP) protocol.
  • Many clients (such as mobile devices) are dropping connections to the Exchange Server.

In this scenario, the CPU usage on the Exchange server may reach 100 percent.\

Hotfix: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hotfix/kbhotfix?kbnum=3041832&kbln=en-US

Windows ADK 1703 and Windows 10 Creators Update 1703

Introduction

Microsoft have released both Windows 10 version 1703 and ADK 1703 last week, one is on MSDN the other on Microsoft’s download site.

Download the media

Two Know Issues:
OSD – App-V tools are missing in ADK 1703 when being installed on Windows Server 2016 (sometimes)

OS Deployment – Installing ADK 1703 on Windows Server 2016 could fail

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