Build

VIS currently uses Packer's vmware-iso workflow against a standalone ESX host. The build exports an OVA into output-vmware-iso/.

Repository Layout
Requirements
Build Artifacts
Configure Builder Settings

Repository Layout

Path	Purpose
`vis/`	Flask web application and VIS service control plane
`vis.json`	Packer `vmware-iso` template
`vis-builder.json`	Local ESX builder settings
`vis-version.json`	Appliance version, ISO path, disk sizes, and guest defaults
`artifacts/`	User-supplied build artifacts such as the Ubuntu ISO and optional VCFDT archive
`files/`	Appliance first-boot/setup payloads copied into the VM
`scripts/`	Packer provisioning scripts
`http/`	Ubuntu autoinstall NoCloud seed data
`tests/`	Unit tests for the VIS control plane
`prototype/`	Static HTML prototypes used during UI design

Requirements

Build Workstation

Packer with the VMware builder plugin.
ovftool.
Network access to the ESX build host.
SSH access to the ESX build host.
Enough local disk space for the Ubuntu ISO, Packer cache, and exported OVA.

HashiCorp documents that the VMware builder communicates with ESX over SSH and, for vSphere Hypervisor/ESX usage, may require GuestIPHack and firewall allowances for the remote build workflow. See the official Packer VMware builder documentation.

Standalone ESX Build Host

On the standalone ESX host:

Enable SSH.
Ensure the build workstation can reach the ESX management IP.
Ensure the target datastore has enough free space.
Ensure the target port group has network access for the temporary build VM.
Enable the Packer ESX guest IP helper:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Net/GuestIPHack -i 1

Build Artifacts

Place user-supplied build artifacts in artifacts/.

Required:

artifacts/ubuntu-26.04-live-server-amd64.iso

Optional:

artifacts/vcf-download-tool-*.tar.gz

VCFDT is an optional manual Broadcom download. The default public-style build does not bake VCFDT into the appliance. After deployment, install it from the Software Depot page by dragging vcf-download-tool-*.tar.gz into the VCF Download Tool panel.

For private lab builds, you can still preinstall VCFDT by placing artifacts/vcf-download-tool-*.tar.gz in artifacts/ and setting:

"install_vcf_download_tool": "true"

When enabled, Packer installs VCFDT under /usr/local/lib/vcf-download-tool and links vcf-download-tool into /usr/local/bin.

files/ is reserved for appliance setup payloads. Do not place large user downloads there.

Configure Builder Settings

Edit vis-builder.json for your ESX build host:

{
  "builder_host": "192.168.30.62",
  "builder_host_username": "root",
  "builder_host_password": "VMware1!",
  "builder_host_datastore": "datastore1",
  "builder_host_portgroup": "VM Network"
}

Edit vis-version.json if you need to adjust appliance versioning, ISO checksum, disk sizes, CPU, memory, guest defaults, or the Docker pod CIDR.

Validate the template:

packer validate -var-file=vis-builder.json -var-file=vis-version.json vis.json

Build the appliance:

./build.sh

The OVA is packaged with uncompressed stream-optimized VMDKs for broad vSphere UI import compatibility; release files can be split afterward for GitHub distribution.