This article provides detailed information for users with ‘Create’ permission on how to manage VMs.
Viewing All VMs
To view all VMs in your organisation, click Content [1] and then VMs [2] tab on the sidebar. This will display the ‘Manage VMs’ page.
This page allows you to manage the VMs in your organisation and upload your own VMs.
Uploading a VM
From the ‘Manage VMs’ page, click the Upload VM button, as shown in the image below.
This will open a modal where you’ll be required to enter a VM Name [1]. You can then add any details about your VM by using the VM Notes [2] text box. The next part is to upload the VM file by clicking the Browse [3] button. You can only upload .zip files that contain a .ova, .ovf or .vmx file. If you wish to remove the file you’ve selected, click the Cross [4] icon next to the file.
Once you’re ready, click Upload [5] to start uploading your VM or click Cancel [6] to close the modal and lose all changes made. Note - you cannot make any changes to the VM file once you click 'Upload'.
Editing a VM
From the ‘Manage VMs' page, click the Actions [1] icon and then Edit [2] from the dropdown menu.
This will open up a modal form that lets you edit the VM Name [1] and VM Notes [2]. Once you’ve finished editing, click Save [3] to publish your changes or click Cancel [4] to lose any changes made.
Deleting a VM - NEED TO BE UPDATED
From the ‘Manage VMs' page, click the Actions [1] icon and then click Delete [2] from the dropdown menu.
Note: You cannot delete a VM that has been added to a lab.
After you have clicked the Delete button, a warning message will display asking if you’re sure you want to delete the VM. To delete the VM, press the OK [1] button or click
Cancel [2] to keep the VM.
Best Practices for Building and Configuring Virtual Machines
Uploading virtual machine images to our platform requires specific configurations and the correct versions to ensure compatibility with our environment. The virtual machines must be VMWARE compatible, and the images should support VMware ESXi version 6.7 with a VMX Hardware Version of 15 or lower. The current size limit is 10GB.
For more information on VMWARE compatibility, please refer to the compatibility guide available at VMware Compatibility Guide - System Search.
Building and Configuring VMs
To ensure platform compatibility when building and configuring the virtual machine, we require the use of a VMware Workstation. VMware Workstation offers a 30-day trial period, but a license must be purchased thereafter.
By taking a Kali VM as an example:
Launch VMware Workstation.
Click New Virtual Machine.
Select the type of virtual machine you want to create and click Next.
Custom: This gives you the option to create a virtual machine and choose its hardware compatibility (VMWare ESXI version 6.7).
Click Next.
Select 'I will install the operating system later'.
Click Next. Select your guest operating system (OS), and the version from the drop-down. Then click Next.
Enter a virtual machine name and specify a location for virtual machine files to be saved, then click Next.
8. Establish the virtual machine's disk size and select to store the virtual disk as a single file (the recommended virtual disk size is 20 GB).
9. When setting up a virtual machine (VM) for labs/labs challenges, follow these recommended specifications:
Disk size: 20GB
CPU: 2 cores
RAM: 4GB
Note: Use these standard sizes unless the lab specifically requires a larger VM.
10. Click on the 'Customise Hardware' option. Next, select 'CD/DVD (SATA)' from the available hardware options. Under the 'Connections' section, choose 'Use ISO Image File' and then browse your computer to find the ISO image file that you want to install. Once you have selected the file, you can proceed with the installation process.
11. Verify the other configuration settings.
12. Click Finish.
13. When the virtual machine is powered on, the VMware Tools installation starts. You are prompted to restart your virtual machine once the Tools installation completes.
After completing the installation, power off the virtual machine and edit its settings. Select the CD/DVD (SATA) and click "Remove," then click "OK."
To confirm that the operating system has been successfully installed on the SATA hard disk, power on the virtual machine.
If the virtual machine turns on and off properly, power it off again and return to VMware Workstation. Click on “File” and select “Export to OVF.”
The export process for the OVF file may take some time. Once the export is complete, you should see a file containing:
.ovf file
.VMDK disk
.mf manifest
Note: Before you export, ensure that you remove all unnecessary virtual hardware devices - this is required in some cases to get VM upload to function correctly. Devices like floppy disks and sound cards are not supported and will cause errors in the VM upload process. In the example image below, the USB controller, Sound Card, Network Adaptor, Floppy, and CD SATA must be removed.
Enabling Copy-Paste Functionality in Virtual Machines
When deploying Virtual Machines (VMs) via a browser-based Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), copy-paste functionality between the host machine and the VM is disabled by default due to various constraints.
Steps to Enable Copy-Paste Functionality:
Open the “.ovf” file using any text editor.
Locate the <VirtualHardwareSection> within the file.
Insert the following ExtraConfig parameters:
<vmw:ExtraConfig ovf:required="false" vmw:key="isolation.tools.copy.disable" vmw:value="FALSE"/> <vmw:ExtraConfig ovf:required="false" vmw:key="isolation.tools.paste.disable" vmw:value="FALSE"/> <vmw:ExtraConfig ovf:required="false" vmw:key="isolation.tools.hgfs.disable" vmw:value="FALSE"/>
Save the “.ovf” file.
Screen Snip of the ".ovf" file:
Parameter Details:
The "isolation.tools.copy.disable" parameter manages the capability to copy data from the host machine to the virtual machine.
Similarly, "isolation.tools.paste.disable" controls the pasting of data from the virtual machine to the host.
Lastly, the "isolation.tools.hgfs.disable" parameter governs the Host-Guest File System (HGFS), typically responsible for file-sharing functionalities between the host machine and the virtual machine.
Setting each of these parameters to "FALSE" activates their respective capabilities.
Compressing and Uploading Virtual Machine Files in tar.gz Format
The image file should be compressed for upload in the tar.gz format.
Please upload the '.tar.gz' file containing:
'.ova' file OR
'.ovf' file or '.VMDK disk ' with its supporting files
Delete any manifest files “.mf”
To compress this file, please use the following commands:
tar -czvf kalios.tar.gz *
The compression of these files in tar.gz format may take some time. Once the compression process is complete, the tar.gz file can be uploaded to the platform. 🙂
Kali Specific Configuration
Kali doesn't customise properly because it gets matched to the Debian < 8 deployment package code. To make it match the >= Debian 8 code the /etc/issue file must match the following regex:
/Debian.*GNU.*Linux.*\s+(\d{1,2})/iwhere d == 8,9,10example Debian.GNU.Linux.Kali 10 \n \l