Please add Hyper-V configuration versions information in box.xml during vagrant post processor.

[hc-github-team-packer]

This issue was originally opened by @fsdrw08 in hashicorp/packer#11129 and has been migrated to this repository. The original issue description is below.

---

Description

Please add Hyper-V configuration versions information in box.xml during vagrant post processor.
I found that even if we specify the configuration_version (https://www.packer.io/docs/builders/hyperv/iso#configuration_version) in packer template, with vagrant post-processor to build a vagrant box (which means as expect, it should be a lower configuration version Hyper-V VM box). But Vagrant up this box will still create a VM in hyper-V with the latest configuration version .

After investigate Vagrant's related HYPER-V VM create script, I found that Vagrant will primary use the information from box.xml (under .vagrant.d\boxes\ <vm name>\0\hyperv\Virtual Machines) as VM parameter to create a new VM with PowerShell CMDLET New-VM. And if we don't specify the -Version (VM configuration version) parameter in this New-VM command, it will create the VM with the as latest as the host support version. e.g. in Win10 21H1, this command will create a 9.0 version VM without -version parameter.

My Request:

• First, in packer vagrant post processor part:
  Add Hyper-V configuration versions information in box.xml during vagrant post processor.

• After first part, in vagrant up process part:
  Improve vagrant hyper-v plug in script module "VagrantVM.psm" to let vagrant up a hyper-v vm box with it's own configuration version.

Use Case(s)

The purpose use case is vagrant up a Hyper-V VM box as what the box original configuration version is.

Potential configuration

• Add Hyper-V configuration versions information in box.xml during vagrant post processor. The expect result like
  <configuration>
<properties>
...
<version type="string">8.0</version>
</properties>
...
</configuration>

• After box.xml improve, in vagrant up process part:
  add some script snippet to detect the box xml version node in https://github.com/hashicorp/vagrant/blob/5b501a3fb05ed0ab16cf10991b3df9d231edb5cf/plugins/providers/hyperv/scripts/utils/VagrantVM/VagrantVM.psm1 's New-VagrantVMXML function
  something like insert below code in line 241
  $Version = [string]($VMConfig.configuration.properties.version."#text")
# Version parameter in PS4 so validate before using
if((Get-Command Hyper-V\New-VM).Parameters.Keys.Contains("version")) {
$NewVMConfig.Version = $Version
}

Potential References

[horvaro]

@fsdrw08
I am facing the same issue and I found a trace to what we could do, but I cant get past it.

On some builds it will create a Box which will start as configuration version 8.0 and some will start as 9.0.
I found that the information about which configuration version Hyper-V should use is only in the *.vmcx files.
On 'vagrant up', Vagrant searches for any configuration files in the 'Virtual Machines' folder. It will stop on the first valid one (no matter if it is a box.xml or *.vmcx).
https://github.com/hashicorp/vagrant/blob/5b501a3fb05ed0ab16cf10991b3df9d231edb5cf/plugins/providers/hyperv/action/import.rb#L31

*.vmcx are named after the UUID of the VM, which is randomly generated.
So: Some builds from packer create a Box with a structure inside the 'Virtual Machines' Folder like this:

• 'box.xml'
• 'F1C7C5C3-F7EA-45CA-8B87-119864E08A35.vmcx'
• 'F1C7C5C3-F7EA-45CA-8B87-119864E08A35.vmrs'

And some will be like this:

• '29A77F80-839B-488E-8233-9F2E16FE4E86.vmcx'
• '29A77F80-839B-488E-8233-9F2E16FE4E86.vmrs'
• 'box.xml'

Notice that some vmcx files start with a number and will be further up in a Folder listing.

Packer will read all artifact names inside the builder plugin and will return a list of files for the post-processors.
(https://github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-hyperv/blob/main/builder/hyperv/common/artifact.go#L27)
This means, renaming the VMCX files to start with a number or '_' in a post-processing step wont work, because packer already knows which files need to be exported.
The only thing left would be to set the range of the UUIDs which Hyper-V creates and let it only create ones that start with a number. And that's where I am stuck ...

[fsdrw08]

@fsdrw08
I am facing the same issue and I found a trace to what we could do, but I cant get past it.

On some builds it will create a Box which will start as configuration version 8.0 and some will start as 9.0.
I found that the information about which configuration version Hyper-V should use is only in the *.vmcx files.
On 'vagrant up', Vagrant searches for any configuration files in the 'Virtual Machines' folder. It will stop on the first valid one (no matter if it is a box.xml or *.vmcx).
https://github.com/hashicorp/vagrant/blob/5b501a3fb05ed0ab16cf10991b3df9d231edb5cf/plugins/providers/hyperv/action/import.rb#L31

*.vmcx are named after the UUID of the VM, which is randomly generated.
So: Some builds from packer create a Box with a structure inside the 'Virtual Machines' Folder like this:

• 'box.xml'
• 'F1C7C5C3-F7EA-45CA-8B87-119864E08A35.vmcx'
• 'F1C7C5C3-F7EA-45CA-8B87-119864E08A35.vmrs'

And some will be like this:

• '29A77F80-839B-488E-8233-9F2E16FE4E86.vmcx'
• '29A77F80-839B-488E-8233-9F2E16FE4E86.vmrs'
• 'box.xml'

Notice that some vmcx files start with a number and will be further up in a Folder listing.

Packer will read all artifact names inside the builder plugin and will return a list of files for the post-processors.
(https://github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-hyperv/blob/main/builder/hyperv/common/artifact.go#L27)
This means, renaming the VMCX files to start with a number or '_' in a post-processing step wont work, because packer already knows which files need to be exported.
The only thing left would be to set the range of the UUIDs which Hyper-V creates and let it only create ones that start with a number. And that's where I am stuck ...

I notice this issue in these days too, I think it should make a improvement in vagrant side, vagrant should take vmcx config file as primary than the box.xml file

[saily]

Hi, any update on this topic?

[fsdrw08]

now I use terraform hyperv provider instead of Vagrant, Vagrant is dead