Windows KVM templates - cloning to new VMs - SID/GUID?

[victorhooi]

Hi,

We're using Proxmox to create a test environment for Windows.

The idea is to create templates with each version of Windows already setup - then create new VMs each time we run a test.

What needs to change in each machine?

Will KVM take care of changing the MAC automatically, when we create a VM from the template?

I believe Windows also has SIDs and GUIDs right - do these need to change? What happens if you don't?

Thanks,
Victor

 

[WhiteStarEOF]

I believe the only issue with SIDs and GUIDs is if you add two or more VMs with the same SID to the an Active Directory environment. I don't know what bad things, just that "weird things start to happen." But if they're not part of the same AD environment, you'll probably be fine. If you want, you can setup each OS, sysprep it, and at then turn it into a template. That way each time you create a VM from the template, you get a new SID.

 

[victorhooi]

Right - but Proxmox takes care of changing the network MAC address each time you clone, right? I can see that might cause an issue, since both machines would likely be connected to the same router.

However, what you're saying is - if the SID/GUID collides, as long as they're not connected to AD, it's not an issue?

In our case, the Windows client machines are just standalone machines, not joined to an AD domain.

The Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sysprep) mentions computer name, SID and drive-cache. But in my case, I don't care about the computer name for the test machines, and it seems like duplicate SIDs aren't actually a big deal (https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com...sid-duplication-myth-and-why-sysprep-matters/). And drive-cache - I assume for a Proxmox KVM, not an issue, right?

Are there any other good reasons I should run something like sysprep?

 

[WhiteStarEOF]

but Proxmox takes care of changing the network MAC address each time you clone, right?

It's been a while since I used templates in Proxmox, but IIRC, yes, you should get a new MAC when you clone from template.

Are there any other good reasons I should run something like sysprep?

If you're not big on the name of the computer, and you don't care about the SID, there's probably not a whole lot useful in the sysprep process. I'd recommend running through it once or twice sometime, just so you see how it works and know exactly what it does. Sysprep can be handy for things like streamlining machine deployments. It's just one more tool to add to the tool box.