So I've made a bit more progress today. My build server (a physical system with 64GB RAM, 8 cores) is running Red Hat 7, and it is only setup for SSH, not X11 (which was the root of part of my problem).
Here's what I've done so far: 1. Install some X11 and Kernel packages VMware Workstation needs: * sudo yum install xorg-x11-xauth libXtst xorg-x11-fonts-* xorg-x11-font-utils xorg-x11-fonts-Type1 kernel-devel kernel-headers 2. Download and install VMware Workstation ".bundle": * sudo ./VMware-Workstation-Full-15.5.0-14665864.x86_64.bundle --console --set-setting vmware-workstation serialNumber MY-SER-IAL-NUM-RED-ACT-ED --eulas-agreed * Accept the default configuration options it provides 3. Ensure the physical server has 4GiB swap (mine had 2GiB and VMware complained). 4. For good measure I ran "vmware" and confirmed that I could build a simple VM manually * Since the VMWare Workstation uses X11 and I don't use that much, I installed the free "MobaXterm" application on my Windows workstation so the VMware Workstation GUI would work. If I run it with in headless mode I get an "Unexpected signal: 7" error: ==> vmware-iso: Building and writing VMX file 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 stderr: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Located networkmapper configuration file using Workstation: /etc/vmware/netmap.conf 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Writing VMX to: RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619.vmx 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Configuring VMX... 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'cpuid.coresPerSocket' = '1' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'memsize' = '8192' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'numvcpus' = '2' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'ethernet0.virtualDev' = 'vmxnet3' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'virtualHW.version' = '8' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'ethernet0.connectionType' = 'nat' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'applianceView.coverPage.author' = '[email protected]' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Setting VMX: 'applianceView.coverPage.version' = '20191028_1619' 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Floppy path present, setting in VMX 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Writing VMX to: RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619.vmx 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Suppressing messages in VMX 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Found available port: 8015 on IP: 0.0.0.0 ==> vmware-iso: Starting HTTP server on port 8015 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Looking for available port between 5900 and 6000 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Found available port: 5990 on IP: 127.0.0.1 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Found available VNC port: 127.0.0.1:5990 2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Writing VMX to: RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619.vmx ==> vmware-iso: Starting virtual machine... vmware-iso: view the screen of the VM, connect via VNC with the password "DobAhVuR" to vmware-iso: vnc://127.0.0.1:5990 *2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 Executing: /usr/bin/vmrun -T ws start RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1619.vmx nogui vmware-iso: The VM will be run headless, without a GUI. If you want to vmware-iso: view the screen of the VM, connect via VNC with the password "DobAhVuR" to vmware-iso: vnc://127.0.0.1:59902019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 stdout: Error: Unknown error2019/10/28 16:20:13 packer: 2019/10/28 16:20:13 stderr: Unexpected signal: 7.==> vmware-iso: Error starting VM: VMware error: Unexpected signal: 7.==> vmware-iso: Error starting VM: VMware error: Unexpected signal: 7.==> vmware-iso: Step "StepRun" failed* ==> vmware-iso: [c] Clean up and exit, [a] abort without cleanup, or [r] retry step (build may fail even if retry succeeds)? If I run in "headless: false" mode the VMware Workstation GUI pops up for a split second, then goes away and eventually the execution of "vmrun" times out. 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: Virtual disk creation successful. ==> vmware-iso: Building and writing VMX file 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 stderr: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Located networkmapper configuration file using Workstation: /etc/vmware/netmap.conf 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Writing VMX to: RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621.vmx 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Configuring VMX... 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'ethernet0.connectionType' = 'nat' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'applianceView.coverPage.author' = '[email protected]' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'applianceView.coverPage.version' = '20191028_1621' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'cpuid.coresPerSocket' = '1' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'memsize' = '8192' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'numvcpus' = '2' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'ethernet0.virtualDev' = 'vmxnet3' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Setting VMX: 'virtualHW.version' = '8' 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Floppy path present, setting in VMX 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Writing VMX to: RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621.vmx 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Suppressing messages in VMX 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Found available port: 8413 on IP: 0.0.0.0 ==> vmware-iso: Starting HTTP server on port 8413 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Looking for available port between 5900 and 6000 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Found available port: 5983 on IP: 127.0.0.1 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Found available VNC port: 127.0.0.1:5983 2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Writing VMX to: RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621.vmx ==> vmware-iso: Starting virtual machine... *2019/10/28 16:22:14 packer: 2019/10/28 16:22:14 Executing: /usr/bin/vmrun -T ws start RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621/RHEL-7-novra-20191028_1621.vmx gui* *2019/10/28 16:23:44 packer: 2019/10/28 16:23:44 stdout: Error: Cannot connect to the virtual machine2019/10/28 16:23:44 packer: 2019/10/28 16:23:44 stderr:==> vmware-iso: Error starting VM: VMware error: Error: Cannot connect to the virtual machine==> vmware-iso: Error starting VM: VMware error: Error: Cannot connect to the virtual machine* ==> vmware-iso: Step "StepRun" failed On Monday, October 28, 2019 at 11:52:03 AM UTC-5, Dan Linder wrote: > > No-one has any ideas? Where should I look for additional VMware > Workstation debug logs/messages? > > I've tried turning on the firewall, setting SELinux to Permissive, and > validating that the CPU supports virtualization. > > My next step is to see if I can confirm VMWare workstation will run under > X11/NoMachine to see if it is an issue with headless still expecting some > X11 stuff. > > Dan > > On Monday, October 21, 2019 at 1:41:05 PM UTC-5, Dan Linder wrote: >> >> I'm using Packer with VMWare Workstation 15.5 to build VM templates for >> our VMware environment. >> >> Problem: The same process that works to build on a Windows 10 system >> fails with `VMware error: Error: The operation was cnceled` when performed >> on a Red Hat Linux 7 system. >> >> Working environment: >> >> - Windows 10 >> - Packer 1.4.4 >> - VMWare Workstation 15.5.0 build-14665864 >> >> >> Failing environment: >> >> - Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 >> - Packer 1.4.4 >> - VMWare Workstation 15.5.0 build-14665864 >> >> The only difference is the OS build environment - packer and >> VMworkstation are the same release versions. >> >> When I execute it from the Windows environment, the execution starts >> normally: >> ==> vmware-iso: Building and writing VMX file >> ==> vmware-iso: Starting HTTP server on port 8802 >> ==> vmware-iso: Starting virtual machine... >> vmware-iso: The VM will be run headless, without a GUI. If you want to >> vmware-iso: view the screen of the VM, connect via VNC with the >> password "hUOf31vh" to >> vmware-iso: vnc://127.0.0.1:5964 >> ==> vmware-iso: Waiting 8s for boot... >> ==> vmware-iso: Connecting to VM via VNC (127.0.0.1:5964) >> ==> vmware-iso: Typing the boot command over VNC... >> ==> vmware-iso: Using ssh communicator to connect: 192.168.141.134 >> ==> vmware-iso: Waiting for SSH to become available... >> [...the build proceeds normally...] >> >> >> When I execute it from the Red Hat environment it fails when it executes >> the VMware `/usr/bin/vmrun` command: >> (with `PACKER_LOG=1` set) >> ==> vmware-iso: Creating required virtual machine disks >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 [INFO] Creating disk with >> Path: RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/disk.vmdk and Size: 61440M >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Executing: >> /usr/bin/vmware-vdiskmanager -c -s 61440M -a lsilogic -t 0 >> RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/disk.vmdk >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 stdout: Creating disk >> 'RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/disk.vmdk' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: Virtual disk creation successful. >> ==> vmware-iso: Building and writing VMX file >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 stderr: >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Located networkmapper >> configuration file using Player: /etc/vmware/netmap.conf >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Writing VMX to: >> RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433.vmx >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Configuring VMX... >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: >> 'cpuid.coresPerSocket' = '1' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: 'memsize' = >> '8192' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: 'numvcpus' = >> '2' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: >> 'ethernet0.virtualDev' = 'vmxnet3' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: >> 'virtualHW.version' = '8' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: >> 'ethernet0.connectionType' = 'nat' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: >> 'applianceView.coverPage.author' = '[email protected]' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Setting VMX: >> 'applianceView.coverPage.version' = '20191021_1433' >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Floppy path present, >> setting in VMX >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Writing VMX to: >> RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433.vmx >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Suppressing messages in >> VMX >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Found available port: >> 8214 on IP: 0.0.0.0 >> ==> vmware-iso: Starting HTTP server on port 8214 >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Looking for available >> port between 5900 and 6000 >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Found available port: >> 5980 on IP: 127.0.0.1 >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Found available VNC port: >> 127.0.0.1:5980 >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Writing VMX to: >> RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433.vmx >> ==> vmware-iso: Starting virtual machine... >> vmware-iso: view the screen of the VM, connect via VNC with the >> password "qlKPz2Bm" to >> vmware-iso: vnc://127.0.0.1:5980 >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 Executing: /usr/bin/vmrun >> -T player start RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433.vmx >> nogui >> vmware-iso: The VM will be run headless, without a GUI. If you want to >> vmware-iso: view the screen of the VM, connect via VNC with the >> password "qlKPz2Bm" to >> vmware-iso: vnc://127.0.0.1:5980 >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 stdout: Error: The >> operation was canceled >> 2019/10/21 14:34:14 packer: 2019/10/21 14:34:14 stderr: >> ==> vmware-iso: Error starting VM: VMware error: Error: The operation was >> canceled >> ==> vmware-iso: Error starting VM: VMware error: Error: The operation was >> canceled >> ==> vmware-iso: Step "StepRun" failed >> ==> vmware-iso: [c] Clean up and exit, [a] abort without cleanup, or [r] >> retry step (build may fail even if retry succeeds)? >> >> >> When I try to manually run the "/usr/bin/vmrun -T player start >> RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433.vmx nogui" it >> exits with the same "VMware error: Error: The operation was canceled", >> nothing more: >> [u@h Oct-21 14:35:53 W ]$ /usr/bin/vmrun -T player start >> RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433/RHEL-8-novra-20191021_1433.vmx nogui ; echo Exit >> code: $? >> Error: The operation was canceled >> Exit code: 255 >> [u@h Oct-21 14:35:59 W ]$ >> >> >> -- This mailing list is governed under the HashiCorp Community Guidelines - https://www.hashicorp.com/community-guidelines.html. 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