Find the latest version here.
Here’s a PowerCLI script I have been playing with for a while that helps with deploying multiple VMs.
Highlights include deploying both Windows and Linux VMs via Customization Specification enabling the setting of hostname, IP address, etc. The script uses help from LucD to deploy using -RunAsync which speeds things up tremendously.
It’s a bit lengthy, with a rudimentary level of logging and error catching but has served me well.
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| <# | |
| .SYNOPSIS | |
| Deploy Multiple VMs to vCenter | |
| .DESCRIPTION | |
| VMs are deployed asynchronously based on a pre-configured csv file (DeployVM.csv) | |
| .PARAMETER csvfile | |
| Path to DeployVM.csv file with new VM info | |
| .PARAMETER vCenter | |
| vCenter Server FQDN or IP | |
| .PARAMETER auto | |
| Will allow script to run with no review or confirmation | |
| .PARAMETER createcsv | |
| Generates a blank csv file – DeployVM.csv | |
| .EXAMPLE | |
| .\DeployVM.ps1 | |
| Runs DeployVM | |
| .EXAMPLE | |
| .\DeployVM.ps1 -vcenter my.vcenter.address | |
| Runs DeployVM specifying vCenter address | |
| .EXAMPLE | |
| .\DeployVM.ps1 -csvfile "E:\Scripts\Deploy\DeployVM.csv" -vcenter my.vcenter.address -auto | |
| Runs DeployVM specifying path to csv file, vCenter address and no confirmation | |
| .EXAMPLE | |
| .\DeployVM.ps1 -createcsv | |
| Creates a new/blank DeployVM.csv file in same directory as script | |
| .NOTES | |
| Author: Shawn Masterson | |
| Created: May 2014 | |
| Version: 1.2.1 | |
| REQUIREMENTS | |
| PowerShell v3 or greater | |
| vCenter (tested on 5.1/5.5) | |
| PowerCLI 5.5 R2 or later | |
| CSV File – VM info with the following headers | |
| Name, Boot, OSType, Template, CustSpec, Folder, ResourcePool, CPU, RAM, Disk2, Disk3, Disk4, Datastore, DiskStorageFormat, NetType, Network, DHCP, IPAddress, SubnetMask, Gateway, pDNS, sDNS, Notes | |
| Must be named DeployVM.csv | |
| Can be created with -createcsv switch | |
| CSV Field Definitions | |
| Name – Name of new VM | |
| Boot – Determines whether or not to boot the VM – Must be 'true' or 'false' | |
| OSType – Must be 'Windows' or 'Linux' | |
| Template – Name of existing template to clone | |
| CustSpec – Name of existing OS Customiation Spec to use | |
| Folder – Folder in which to place VM in vCenter (optional) | |
| ResourcePool – VM placement – can be a reasource pool, host or a cluster | |
| CPU – Number of vCPU | |
| RAM – Amount of RAM | |
| Disk2 – Size of additional disk to add (GB)(optional) | |
| Disk3 – Size of additional disk to add (GB)(optional) | |
| Disk4 – Size of additional disk to add (GB)(optional) | |
| Datastore – Datastore placement – Can be a datastore or datastore cluster | |
| DiskStorageFormat – Disk storage format – Must be 'Thin', 'Thick' or 'EagerZeroedThick' | |
| NetType – vSwitch type – Must be 'vSS' or 'vDS' | |
| Network – Network/Port Group to connect NIC | |
| DHCP – Use DHCP – Must be 'true' or 'false' | |
| IPAddress – IP Address for NIC | |
| SubnetMask – Subnet Mask for NIC | |
| Gateway – Gateway for NIC | |
| pDNS – Primary DNS (Windows Only) | |
| sDNS – Secondary NIC (Windows Only) | |
| Notes – Description applied to the vCenter Notes field on VM | |
| CREDITS | |
| Handling New-VM Async – LucD – @LucD22 | |
| http://www.lucd.info/2010/02/21/about-async-tasks-the-get-task-cmdlet-and-a-hash-table/ | |
| USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! | |
| .LINK | |
| http://blog.smasterson.com/2014/05/21/deploying-multiple-vms-via-powercli-updated-v1-2/ | |
| #> | |
| #requires –Version 3 | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # Parameters | |
| param ( | |
| [parameter(Mandatory=$false)] | |
| [string]$csvfile, | |
| [parameter(Mandatory=$false)] | |
| [string]$vcenter, | |
| [parameter(Mandatory=$false)] | |
| [switch]$auto, | |
| [parameter(Mandatory=$false)] | |
| [switch]$createcsv | |
| ) | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # User Defined Variables | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # Static Variables | |
| $scriptName = "DeployVM" | |
| $scriptVer = "1.2.1" | |
| $scriptDir = Split-Path -Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition -Parent | |
| $starttime = Get-Date -uformat "%m-%d-%Y %I:%M:%S" | |
| $logDir = $scriptDir + "\Logs\" | |
| $logfile = $logDir + $scriptName + "_" + (Get-Date -uformat %m-%d-%Y_%I-%M-%S) + "_" + $env:username + ".txt" | |
| $deployedDir = $scriptDir + "\Deployed\" | |
| $deployedFile = $deployedDir + "DeployVM_" + (Get-Date -uformat %m-%d-%Y_%I-%M-%S) + "_" + $env:username + ".csv" | |
| $exportpath = $scriptDir + "\DeployVM.csv" | |
| $headers = "" | Select-Object Name, Boot, OSType, Template, CustSpec, Folder, ResourcePool, CPU, RAM, Disk2, Disk3, Disk4, Datastore, DiskStorageFormat, NetType, Network, DHCP, IPAddress, SubnetMask, Gateway, pDNS, sDNS, Notes | |
| $taskTab = @{} | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # Load Snap-ins | |
| # Add VMware snap-in if required | |
| If ((Get-PSSnapin -Name VMware.VimAutomation.Core -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) -eq $null) {add-pssnapin VMware.VimAutomation.Core} | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # Functions | |
| Function Out-Log { | |
| Param( | |
| [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$LineValue, | |
| [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)][string]$fcolor = "White" | |
| ) | |
| Add-Content -Path $logfile -Value $LineValue | |
| Write-Host $LineValue -ForegroundColor $fcolor | |
| } | |
| Function Read-OpenFileDialog([string]$WindowTitle, [string]$InitialDirectory, [string]$Filter = "All files (*.*)|*.*", [switch]$AllowMultiSelect) | |
| { | |
| Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms | |
| $openFileDialog = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.OpenFileDialog | |
| $openFileDialog.Title = $WindowTitle | |
| if (![string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($InitialDirectory)) { $openFileDialog.InitialDirectory = $InitialDirectory } | |
| $openFileDialog.Filter = $Filter | |
| if ($AllowMultiSelect) { $openFileDialog.MultiSelect = $true } | |
| $openFileDialog.ShowHelp = $true # Without this line the ShowDialog() function may hang depending on system configuration and running from console vs. ISE. | |
| $openFileDialog.ShowDialog() > $null | |
| if ($AllowMultiSelect) { return $openFileDialog.Filenames } else { return $openFileDialog.Filename } | |
| } | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # Main Procedures | |
| # Start Logging | |
| Clear-Host | |
| If (!(Test-Path $logDir)) {New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $logDir | Out-Null} | |
| Out-Log "**************************************************************************************" | |
| Out-Log "$scriptName`tVer:$scriptVer`t`t`t`tStart Time:`t$starttime" | |
| Out-Log "**************************************************************************************`n" | |
| # If requested, create DeployVM.csv and exit | |
| If ($createcsv) { | |
| If (Test-Path $exportpath) { | |
| Out-Log "`n$exportpath Already Exists!`n" "Red" | |
| Exit | |
| } Else { | |
| Out-Log "`nCreating $exportpath`n" "Yellow" | |
| $headers | Export-Csv $exportpath -NoTypeInformation | |
| Out-Log "Done!`n" | |
| Exit | |
| } | |
| } | |
| # Ensure PowerCLI is at least version 5.5 R2 (Build 1649237) | |
| If ((Get-PowerCLIVersion).Build -lt 1649237) { | |
| Out-Log "Error: DeployVM script requires PowerCLI version 5.5 R2 (Build 1649237) or later" "Red" | |
| Out-Log "PowerCLI Version Detected: $((Get-PowerCLIVersion).UserFriendlyVersion)" "Red" | |
| Out-Log "Exiting…`n`n" "Red" | |
| Exit | |
| } | |
| # Test to ensure csv file is available | |
| If ($csvfile -eq "" -or !(Test-Path $csvfile) -or !$csvfile.EndsWith("DeployVM.csv")) { | |
| Out-Log "Path to DeployVM.csv not specified…prompting`n" "Yellow" | |
| $csvfile = Read-OpenFileDialog "Locate DeployVM.csv" "C:\" "DeployVM.csv|DeployVM.csv" | |
| } | |
| If ($csvfile -eq "" -or !(Test-Path $csvfile) -or !$csvfile.EndsWith("DeployVM.csv")) { | |
| Out-Log "`nStill can't find it…I give up" "Red" | |
| Out-Log "Exiting…" "Red" | |
| Exit | |
| } | |
| Out-Log "Using $csvfile`n" "Yellow" | |
| # Make copy of DeployVM.csv | |
| If (!(Test-Path $deployedDir)) {New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $deployedDir | Out-Null} | |
| Copy-Item $csvfile -Destination $deployedFile | Out-Null | |
| # Import VMs from csv | |
| $newVMs = Import-Csv $csvfile | |
| $newVMs = $newVMs | Where {$_.Name -ne ""} | |
| [INT]$totalVMs = @($newVMs).count | |
| Out-Log "New VMs to create: $totalVMs" "Yellow" | |
| # Check to ensure csv is populated | |
| If ($totalVMs -lt 1) { | |
| Out-Log "`nError: No entries found in DeployVM.csv" "Red" | |
| Out-Log "Exiting…`n" "Red" | |
| Exit | |
| } | |
| # Show input and ask for confirmation, unless -auto was used | |
| If (!$auto) { | |
| $newVMs | Out-GridView -Title "VMs to be Created" | |
| $continue = Read-Host "`nContinue (y/n)?" | |
| If ($continue -notmatch "y") { | |
| Out-Log "Exiting…" "Red" | |
| Exit | |
| } | |
| } | |
| # Connect to vCenter server | |
| If ($vcenter -eq "") {$vcenter = Read-Host "`nEnter vCenter server FQDN or IP"} | |
| Try { | |
| Out-Log "`nConnecting to vCenter – $vcenter`n`n" "Yellow" | |
| Connect-VIServer $vcenter -EA Stop | Out-Null | |
| } Catch { | |
| Out-Log "`r`n`r`nUnable to connect to $vcenter" "Red" | |
| Out-Log "Exiting…`r`n`r`n" "Red" | |
| Exit | |
| } | |
| # Start provisioning VMs | |
| $v = 0 | |
| Out-Log "Deploying VMs`n" "Yellow" | |
| Foreach ($VM in $newVMs) { | |
| $Error.Clear() | |
| $vmName = $VM.Name | |
| $v++ | |
| $vmStatus = "[{0} of {1}] {2}" -f $v, $totalVMs, $vmName | |
| Write-Progress -Activity "Deploying VMs" -Status $vmStatus -PercentComplete (100*($v/$totalVMs)) | |
| # Create custom OS Custumization spec | |
| If ($vm.DHCP -match "true") { | |
| $spec = Get-OSCustomizationSpec -Name $VM.CustSpec | |
| $tempSpec = $spec | New-OSCustomizationSpec -Name temp$vmName | |
| $tempSpec | Get-OSCustomizationNicMapping | Set-OSCustomizationNicMapping ` | |
| -IpMode UseDhcp | Out-Null | |
| } Else { | |
| If ($VM.OSType -eq "Windows") { | |
| $spec = Get-OSCustomizationSpec -Name $VM.CustSpec | |
| $tempSpec = $spec | New-OSCustomizationSpec -Name temp$vmName | |
| $tempSpec | Get-OSCustomizationNicMapping | Set-OSCustomizationNicMapping ` | |
| -IpMode UseStaticIP -IpAddress $VM.IPAddress -SubnetMask $VM.SubnetMask ` | |
| -Dns $VM.pDNS,$VM.sDNS -DefaultGateway $VM.Gateway | Out-Null | |
| } ElseIF ($VM.OSType -eq "Linux") { | |
| $spec = Get-OSCustomizationSpec -Name $VM.CustSpec | |
| $tempSpec = $spec | New-OSCustomizationSpec -Name temp$vmName | |
| $tempSpec | Get-OSCustomizationNicMapping | Set-OSCustomizationNicMapping ` | |
| -IpMode UseStaticIP -IpAddress $VM.IPAddress -SubnetMask $VM.SubnetMask ` | |
| -DefaultGateway $VM.Gateway | Out-Null | |
| } | |
| } | |
| # Create VM | |
| Out-Log "Deploying $vmName" | |
| $taskTab[(New-VM -Name $VM.Name -ResourcePool $VM.ResourcePool -Location $VM.Folder -Datastore $VM.Datastore -DiskStorageFormat $VM.DiskStorageFormat ` | |
| -Notes $VM.Notes -Template $VM.Template -OSCustomizationSpec temp$vmName -RunAsync -EA SilentlyContinue).Id] = $VM.Name | |
| # Remove temp OS Custumization spec | |
| Remove-OSCustomizationSpec -OSCustomizationSpec temp$vmName -Confirm:$false | |
| # Log errors | |
| If ($Error.Count -ne 0) { | |
| If ($Error.Count -eq 1 -and $Error.Exception -match "'Location' expects a single value") { | |
| $vmLocation = $VM.Folder | |
| Out-Log "Unable to place $vmName in desired location, multiple $vmLocation folders exist, check root folder" "Red" | |
| } Else { | |
| Out-Log "`n$vmName failed to deploy!" "Red" | |
| Foreach ($err in $Error) { | |
| Out-Log "$err" "Red" | |
| } | |
| $failDeploy += @($vmName) | |
| } | |
| } | |
| } | |
| Out-Log "`n`nAll Deployment Tasks Created" "Yellow" | |
| Out-Log "`n`nMonitoring Task Processing" "Yellow" | |
| # When finsihed deploying, reconfigure new VMs | |
| $totalTasks = $taskTab.Count | |
| $runningTasks = $totalTasks | |
| while($runningTasks -gt 0){ | |
| $vmStatus = "[{0} of {1}] {2}" -f $runningTasks, $totalTasks, "Tasks Remaining" | |
| Write-Progress -Activity "Monitoring Task Processing" -Status $vmStatus -PercentComplete (100*($totalTasks-$runningTasks)/$totalTasks) | |
| Get-Task | % { | |
| if($taskTab.ContainsKey($_.Id) -and $_.State -eq "Success"){ | |
| #Deployment completed | |
| $Error.Clear() | |
| $vmName = $taskTab[$_.Id] | |
| Out-Log "`n`nReconfiguring $vmName" "Yellow" | |
| $VM = Get-VM $vmName | |
| $VMconfig = $newVMs | Where {$_.Name -eq $vmName} | |
| # Set CPU and RAM | |
| Out-Log "Setting vCPU(s) and RAM on $vmName" "Yellow" | |
| $VM | Set-VM -NumCpu $VMconfig.CPU -MemoryGB $VMconfig.RAM -Confirm:$false | Out-Null | |
| # Set port group on virtual adapter | |
| Out-Log "Setting Port Group on $vmName" "Yellow" | |
| If ($VMconfig.NetType -match "vSS") { | |
| $network = @{ | |
| 'NetworkName' = $VMconfig.network | |
| 'Confirm' = $false | |
| } | |
| } Else { | |
| $network = @{ | |
| 'Portgroup' = $VMconfig.network | |
| 'Confirm' = $false | |
| } | |
| } | |
| $VM | Get-NetworkAdapter | Set-NetworkAdapter @network | Out-Null | |
| # Add additional disks if needed | |
| If ($VMConfig.Disk2 -gt 1) { | |
| Out-Log "Adding additional disk on $vmName – don't forget to format within the OS" "Yellow" | |
| $VM | New-HardDisk -CapacityGB $VMConfig.Disk2 -StorageFormat $VMConfig.DiskStorageFormat -Persistence persistent | Out-Null | |
| } | |
| If ($VMConfig.Disk3 -gt 1) { | |
| Out-Log "Adding additional disk on $vmName – don't forget to format within the OS" "Yellow" | |
| $VM | New-HardDisk -CapacityGB $VMConfig.Disk3 -StorageFormat $VMConfig.DiskStorageFormat -Persistence persistent | Out-Null | |
| } | |
| If ($VMConfig.Disk4 -gt 1) { | |
| Out-Log "Adding additional disk on $vmName – don't forget to format within the OS" "Yellow" | |
| $VM | New-HardDisk -CapacityGB $VMConfig.Disk4 -StorageFormat $VMConfig.DiskStorageFormat -Persistence persistent | Out-Null | |
| } | |
| # Boot VM | |
| If ($VMconfig.Boot -match "true") { | |
| Out-Log "Booting $vmName" "Yellow" | |
| $VM | Start-VM -EA SilentlyContinue | Out-Null | |
| } | |
| $taskTab.Remove($_.Id) | |
| $runningTasks– | |
| If ($Error.Count -ne 0) { | |
| Out-Log "$vmName completed with errors" "Red" | |
| Foreach ($err in $Error) { | |
| Out-Log "$Err" "Red" | |
| } | |
| $failReconfig += @($vmName) | |
| } Else { | |
| Out-Log "$vmName is Complete" "Green" | |
| $successVMs += @($vmName) | |
| } | |
| } | |
| elseif($taskTab.ContainsKey($_.Id) -and $_.State -eq "Error"){ | |
| # Deployment failed | |
| $failed = $taskTab[$_.Id] | |
| Out-Log "`n$failed failed to deploy!`n" "Red" | |
| $taskTab.Remove($_.Id) | |
| $runningTasks– | |
| $failDeploy += @($failed) | |
| } | |
| } | |
| Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 | |
| } | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # Close Connections | |
| Disconnect-VIServer -Server $vcenter -Force -Confirm:$false | |
| #——————————————————————– | |
| # Outputs | |
| Out-Log "`n**************************************************************************************" | |
| Out-Log "Processing Complete" "Yellow" | |
| If ($successVMs -ne $null) { | |
| Out-Log "`nThe following VMs were successfully created:" "Yellow" | |
| Foreach ($success in $successVMs) {Out-Log "$success" "Green"} | |
| } | |
| If ($failReconfig -ne $null) { | |
| Out-Log "`nThe following VMs failed to reconfigure properly:" "Yellow" | |
| Foreach ($reconfig in $failReconfig) {Out-Log "$reconfig" "Red"} | |
| } | |
| If ($failDeploy -ne $null) { | |
| Out-Log "`nThe following VMs failed to deploy:" "Yellow" | |
| Foreach ($deploy in $failDeploy) {Out-Log "$deploy" "Red"} | |
| } | |
| $finishtime = Get-Date -uformat "%m-%d-%Y %I:%M:%S" | |
| Out-Log "`n`n" | |
| Out-Log "**************************************************************************************" | |
| Out-Log "$scriptName`t`t`t`t`tFinish Time:`t$finishtime" | |
| Out-Log "**************************************************************************************" |
DeployVM Console
In my case it fails all the reconfigurations
Hello, If you could provide any errors thrown I may be able to track down what you issues may be seeing. Feel free to email me directly if you wish (smasterson (at) gmail)
Hi, Can you please provide me your email address? So i can seek your help.
Thank you very much sir.
You got email, thanks!
Hi SMasterson,
Could you please help me in resolving my issue. I can’t see the location of logs for failreconfig and faildeploy. I would like the cleanup the logs everytime i run the script to refresh for a new one. In the logs, it always add the new value like below.
Processing Complete
The following VMs were successfully created:
Test1
The following VMs failed to reconfigure properly:
Test1
Test2
The following VMs failed to deploy:
Test1
Test2
Test1
Test2
Hello
First – please be sure you are using the latest version, found here.
A new log should be created each time the script is run (there is only one log per run).
If your issues are not present in the log, you can check the vSphere tasks or powershell console for additional info.