website: virtualbox builder

website/source/docs/builders/virtualbox.html.markdown

+---
+layout: "docs"
+---
+
+# VirtualBox Builder
+
+Type: `virtualbox`
+
+The VirtualBox builder is able to create [VirtualBox](https://www.virtualbox.org/)
+virtual machines and export them in the OVF format.
+
+The builder builds a virtual machine by creating a new virtual machine
+from scratch, booting it, installing an OS, provisioning software within
+the OS, then shutting it down. The result of the VirtualBox builder is a directory
+containing all the files necessary to run the virtual machine portably.
+
+## Basic Example
+
+Here is a basic example. This example is not functional. It will start the
+OS installer but then fail because we don't provide the preseed file for
+Ubuntu to self-install. Still, the example serves to show the basic configuration:
+
+<pre class="prettyprint">
+{
+  "type": "virtualbox",
+  "guest_os_type": "Ubuntu_64",
+  "iso_url": "http://releases.ubuntu.com/12.04/ubuntu-12.04.2-server-amd64.iso",
+  "iso_md5": "af5f788aee1b32c4b2634734309cc9e9",
+  "ssh_username": "packer",
+  "ssh_wait_timeout": "30s"
+}
+</pre>
+
+## Configuration Reference
+
+There are many configuration options available for the VirtualBox builder.
+They are organized below into two categories: required and optional. Within
+each category, the available options are alphabetized and described.
+
+Required:
+
+* `iso_md5` (string) - The MD5 checksum for the OS ISO file. Because ISO
+  files are so large, this is required and Packer will verify it prior
+  to booting a virtual machine with the ISO attached.
+
+* `iso_url` (string) - A URL to the ISO containing the installation image.
+  This URL can be either an HTTP URL or a file URL (or path to a file).
+  If this is an HTTP URL, Packer will download it and cache it between
+  runs.
+
+* `ssh_username` (string) - The username to use to SSH into the machine
+  once the OS is installed.
+
+Optional:
+
+* `boot_command` (array of strings) - This is an array of commands to type
+  when the virtual machine is firsted booted. The goal of these commands should
+  be to type just enough to initialize the operating system installer. Special
+  keys can be typed as well, and are covered in the section below on the boot
+  command. If this is not specified, it is assumed the installer will start
+  itself.
+
+* `boot_wait` (string) - The time to wait after booting the initial virtual
+  machine before typing the `boot_command`. The value of this should be
+  a duration. Examples are "5s" and "1m30s" which will cause Packer to wait
+  five seconds and one minute 30 seconds, respectively. If this isn't specified,
+  the default is 10 seconds.
+
+* `guest_os_type` (string) - The guest OS type being installed. By default
+  this is "other", but you can get _dramatic_ performance improvements by
+  setting this to the proper value. To view all available values for this
+  run `VBoxManage list ostypes`. Setting the correct value hints to VirtualBox
+  how to optimize the virtual hardware to work best with that operating
+  system.
+
+* `http_directory` (string) - Path to a directory to serve using an HTTP
+  server. The files in this directory will be available over HTTP that will
+  be requestable from the virtual machine. This is useful for hosting
+  kickstart files and so on. By default this is "", which means no HTTP
+  server will be started. The address and port of the HTTP server will be
+  available as variables in `boot_command`. This is covered in more detail
+  below.
+
+* `http_port_min` and `http_port_max` (int) - These are the minimum and
+  maximum port to use for the HTTP server started to serve the `http_directory`.
+  Because Packer often runs in parallel, Packer will choose a randomly available
+  port in this range to run the HTTP server. If you want to force the HTTP
+  server to be on one port, make this minimum and maximum port the same.
+  By default the values are 8000 and 9000, respectively.
+
+* `output_directory` (string) - This is the path to the directory where the
+  resulting virtual machine will be created. This may be relative or absolute.
+  If relative, the path is relative to the working directory when `packer`
+  is executed. By default this is "virtualbox". This directory must not exist
+  or be empty prior to running the builder.
+
+* `shutdown_command` (string) - The command to use to gracefully shut down
+  the machine once all the provisioning is done. By default this is an empty
+  string, which tells Packer to just forcefully shut down the machine.
+
+* `shutdown_timeout` (string) - The amount of time to wait after executing
+  the `shutdown_command` for the virtual machine to actually shut down.
+  If it doesn't shut down in this time, it is an error. By default, the timeout
+  is "5m", or five minutes.
+
+* `ssh_host_port_min` and `ssh_host_port_max` (uint) - The minimum and
+  maximum port to use for the SSH port on the host machine which is forwarded
+  to the SSH port on the guest machine. Because Packer often runs in parallel,
+  Packer will choose a randomly available port in this range to use as the
+  host port.
+
+* `ssh_password` (string) - The password for `ssh_username` to use to
+  authenticate with SSH. By default this is the empty string.
+
+* `ssh_wait_timeout` (string) - The duration to wait for SSH to become
+  available. By default this is "20m", or 20 minutes. Note that this should
+  be quite long since the timer begins as soon as virtual machine is booted.
+
+* `vm_name` (string) - This is the name of the VMX file for the new virtual
+  machine, without the file extension. By default this is "packer".
+
+## Boot Command
+
+The `boot_command` configuration is very important: it specifies the keys
+to type when the virtual machine is first booted in order to start the
+OS installer. This command is typed after `boot_wait`, which gives the
+virtual machine some time to actually load the ISO.
+
+As documented above, the `boot_command` is an array of strings. The
+strings are all typed in sequence. It is an array only to improve readability
+within the template.
+
+The boot command is "typed" character for character over a VNC connection
+to the machine, simulating a human actually typing the keyboard. There are
+a set of special keys available. If these are in your boot command, they
+will be replaced by the proper key:
+
+* `<enter>` and `<return>` - Simulates an actual "enter" or "return" keypress.
+
+* `<esc>` - Simulates pressing the escape key.
+
+* `<wait>` - Adds a one second pause before sending any additional keys. This
+  is useful if you have to generally wait for the UI to update before typing more.
+
+Example boot command. This is actually a working boot command used to start
+an Ubuntu 12.04 installer:
+
+<pre class="prettyprint">
+[
+  "&lt;esc&gt;&lt;esc&gt;&lt;enter&gt;&lt;wait&gt;",
+  "/install/vmlinuz noapic ",
+  "preseed/url=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/preseed.cfg ",
+  "debian-installer=en_US auto locale=en_US kbd-chooser/method=us ",
+  "hostname={{ .Name }} ",
+  "fb=false debconf/frontend=noninteractive ",
+  "keyboard-configuration/modelcode=SKIP keyboard-configuration/layout=USA ",
+  "keyboard-configuration/variant=USA console-setup/ask_detect=false ",
+  "initrd=/install/initrd.gz -- <enter>"
+]
+</pre>

website/source/layouts/docs.erb

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 
 							<li class="nav-header">Builders</li>
 							<li><a href="/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html">EC2 (AMI)</a></li>
-							<li><a href="#">VirtualBox</a></li>
+							<li><a href="/docs/builders/virtualbox.html">VirtualBox</a></li>
 							<li><a href="/docs/builders/vmware.html">VMware</a></li>
 							<li><a href="/docs/builders/custom.html">Custom</a></li>