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Showing posts from November, 2024

Setting Up a RADV and NAT64 Router with Packer and VirtualBox

Setting Up a RADV and NAT64 Router with Packer and VirtualBox In this post, I'll go through setting up the core functionalities to make the bare bones VM fully operational as an IPv6 router, including configuring RADV and NAT64. After that, I'll secure the VM, power it down, and run some final checks to ensure everything is working as expected. Once validated the build phase will be complete and will be setting up for the final step, packaging it for deployment. Prevent Premature OVF Export To ensure that the VM remains available for further customisation before being wrapped into an OVF, I adjusted the Packer HCL file. This change allows me to apply additional configurations directly within the guest environment. By keeping the VM in this state, I have more flexibility to refine the build process before creating the final image. Here's the adjustment I made to the HCL file: skip_export = true keep_registered = true The skip_export setting prevents ...

Learning How to Deploy a AlmaLinux VM With Packer (Part 2)

Troubleshooting and Refining the AlmaLinux VM Build With Packer Learning How to Deploy a AlmaLinux VM With Packer (Part 2) Recap of Part 1 In Part 1, I started building an AlmaLinux VM using Packer but encountered several challenges during the installation process, including insufficient disk size and memory allocation, as well as issues retrieving the Kickstart file due to network configuration. In Part 1, I outlined the troubleshooting steps taken to address these issues, such as increasing the disk size to 256GB, upgrading the memory to 8GB, and switching from a NAT to a bridged network for improved access to the Kickstart file. While these adjustments allowed the Kickstart to begin executing, the installation was not yet complete, highlighting the ongoing challenges and lessons learned in this iterative process. Introduction to Part 2 Continuing from the progress made in Part 1, this section dives deeper into the troubleshooting phase of my AlmaLinux VM build using Packer. Afte...

Learning How to Deploy a AlmaLinux VM With Packer (Part 1)

Learning How to Deploy a AlmaLinux VM With Packer I looked into the process for using Packer, and while I understand its purpose, I wanted to gain a clearer insight into how to effectively implement it for my needs. Packer is a tool that automates the creation of machine images across various platforms. It allows you to define a configuration file that specifies how to build your images, ensuring consistency and repeatability in deployments. However, as I explored several templates for cloud-based systems, I found myself somewhat perplexed by the complexity of it all. I learn best by doing, but I didn’t want to dive into writing a template from scratch. So, I asked myself, what would Captain Picard do to get this thing up and running? He’d ask the ship’s computer. And in this case, I believed he might also consult Commander Data for a bit of extra insight. Consequently, I sought help from our own artificial intelligences to streamline the process, drawing on the information I had gat...

Background Analysis - OS Selection for the IPv6 RADV Router (Picking a Distro)

Background Analysis: OS Selection for the IPv6 RADV Router (Picking a Distro) As I continue building my lab, it's almost time to deploy the first virtual machine: a network appliance in the form of a Router Advertisement Daemon (RADV) router, which will be crucial for configuring an efficient IPv6-only network. I'll be investigating how RADV, in combination with DHCPv6, can streamline the network setup. RADV will send out router advertisements, informing devices about the network prefix and configuration parameters, enabling them to auto-generate their own IPv6 addresses using Stateless Address Autoconfiguration (SLAAC). I have created virtual networks that I need and laid the foundations of the lab by looking at the complexities of the IPv6 address space that i will use,  I’ll deepen my understanding of Packer and Vagrant as I iterate through the VM build. This hands-on approach will help solidify my knowledge.  The RADV router is probably going to be the most complicated ...