ISO VM templates

It is important to set up a template for VMs due to the long process it can take but the value in isolation instead of just linux containers.

• Update and Upgrade Packages:

• First, ensure all packages are up-to-date. This step is optional but recommended.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

• Clean Up APT Cache:

• Remove downloaded package files to save space.

sudo apt clean

• Remove Old Kernels (optional):

• This step is optional and only needed if you’ve upgraded the kernel and have old ones lying around.

sudo apt autoremove --purge

• Clear Temporary Files and Directories:

• Clear out temporary files to clean up the system.

sudo rm -rf /tmp/* /var/tmp/*

• Clear System Logs:

• Clearing old logs can help protect privacy and reduce template size.

sudo find /var/log -type f -exec truncate -s 0 {} \;

• Clear Bash History:

• Clear the command history to remove any traces of commands you’ve run.

history -c && history -w

• Reset Network Settings (if necessary):

• If you want the cloned VMs to configure network settings on first boot, reset the network configuration. This process depends on whether your VM uses ifupdown, NetworkManager, or systemd-networkd.

For ifupdown, edit /etc/network/interfaces and remove or comment out all configurations except lo (loopback).

• Generalize the System (optional for Linux):

• Unlike Windows, Linux doesn’t require a generalize step like sysprep. However, you might want to remove or anonymize machine-specific data, such as SSH host keys (they will regenerate on first boot).

sudo rm -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_*

• Shutdown the VM:

• Once you’ve completed these steps, shut down the VM.

sudo shutdown now

After the VM is shut down, you can convert it into a template in Proxmox. This template can then be used to deploy new VMs quickly. Remember, each cloned VM will require some initial setup, such as setting hostnames and network configurations.