Advanced tools

Objective

This guide will show you all the administration tools, other than the Prism Central and Prim Element web interfaces, which are:

  • ncli which can be accessed locally, via SSH on Prism Central and Prism Element.
  • acli which can be used via SSH on CVMs.
  • Cmdlets for Powershell.
  • The REST API from the Prism Central or Prism Element URL.
Warning

OVHcloud provides services for which you are responsible, with regard to their configuration and management. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that they work properly.

This guide is designed to assist you as much as possible with common tasks. Nevertheless, we recommend contacting a specialist provider if you experience any difficulties or doubts when it comes to managing, using or setting up a service on a server.

Requirements

  • a Nutanix cluster in your OVHcloud account
  • access to the
  • For the REST API, you must have a virtual machine running Linux with a text editor to run the curl and jq commands.
Info

Some commands can only be used if you have SSH access to Prism Central and Prism Element.

Tools overview

ncli command

ncli is located on Prism Central and all CVMs through an SSH connection. You can also install it locally on a Windows or Linux desktop from the Prism Central web interface.

ncli allows you to manage aspects of the Nutanix cluster such as storage, tasks and some actions on virtual machines within the cluster.

acli tool

The acli command is only available on CVMs. It is used for managing VMs, network and snapshot hosts.

Powershell extensions

Powershell is a scripting language developed by Microsoft and based on Net.Framework.

It works in Microsoft, Linux and MacOS environments but is mainly used in a Microsoft environment.
All of the examples below have been run only on this environment.

Nutanix has added extensions that allow cluster and VM administration using Powershell scripts.

API REST administration interface

Through the URL of Prism Central or Prism Element, you can use an API named REST API either in the command line with the curl tool, or through another programming language such as python or php or even with the standard commands of Powershell.

For more information on these commands, see the Go further section of this guide.

Instructions

Examples of ncli use

Connect via SSH with an SSH client on one of the CVMs:

ssh nutanix@oneofcvm

The ncli command is used followed by options, as in this example ``ncli entity action option1=value option2=`value2but it also can be used interactively by running onlyncli```.

Creating a Storage Container named newcontainer in interactive mode

ncli
<ncli> 
<ncli> ctr create name="NewContainer" sp-name="default-storage-pool-10728992352041"

    Id                        : 0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::2900908
    Uuid                      : c3db4020-2a98-4636-b9eb-8ebf10a1b351
    Name                      : Moncontainer
    Storage Pool Id           : 0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::9
    Storage Pool Uuid         : 111d4e91-10df-4f6c-a774-b79b53077131
    Free Space (Logical)      : 37.69 TiB (41,445,056,716,652 bytes)
    Used Space (Logical)      : 0 bytes
    Allowed Max Capacity      : 37.69 TiB (41,445,056,716,652 bytes)
    Used by other Containers  : 260.86 GiB (280,096,141,312 bytes)
    Explicit Reservation      : 0 bytes
    Thick Provisioned         : 0 bytes
    Replication Factor        : 2
    Oplog Replication Factor  : 2
    NFS Whitelist Inherited   : true
    Container NFS Whitelist   : 192.168.0.77/255.255.255.255
    VStore Name(s)            : Moncontainer
    Random I/O Pri Order      : SSD-PCIe, SSD-SATA, DAS-SATA
    Sequential I/O Pri Order  : SSD-PCIe, SSD-SATA, DAS-SATA
    Compression               : off
    Fingerprint On Write      : off
    On-Disk Dedup             : off
    Erasure Code              : off
    Software Encryption       : off
<ncli>

Deleting the Storage Container

Run the following command to delete the Storage Container without confirmation:

ncli ctr remove name="Newcontainer"

Examples of using the acli command

Connect via SSH with an SSH client on one of the CVMs:

ssh nutanix@oneofcvmipaddress

The acli command is used followed by options, such as acli entities.action for-which option1="value1" option2="value2", but it also can be used interactively by running only acli from a CVM

If acli is used followed by a sequence of orders, a confirmation request will always be offered if a choice is made.

To automate the task and make a default choice, use this syntax instead acli -y entities.action for-which option1="value" option2="value2"

Creating a snapshot in interactive mode

Run these commands from one of the CVMs:

acli 
<acropolis> vm.snapshot_create VM-TEST snapshot_name_list="Example"
<acropolis> exit

View and delete a snapshot without going through interactive mode

Run these commands to view and delete a snapshot with a confirmation request:

# Snapshot listing
acli snapshot.list
Snapshot Name  Snapshot ID                           Creation Time                         VM Name
Example2       fce5483f-5a9d-4b76-9ad7-48685fb4a638  Wednesday March 23 2022, 09:27:16 AM  VM-TEST
# Snapshot delete
acli snapshot.delete Example2
Delete 1 snapshots? (yes/no)
Delete 1 snapshots? (yes/no) yes
Example2: pending
Example2: complete

Use this syntax without prompting when deleting the snapshot:

# Snapshot delete
acli -y snapshot.delete Example2
Example2: pending
Example2: complete

How to configure and use Powershell on Windows

Installing Powershell 7 and Nutanix modules

You need to install the latest version of Powershell from this Powershell installation website.

Download and install the installer that corresponds to your version of Windows, in 32 bits or more generally in 64 bits.
Launch the Powershell 7 command prompt in administrator mode.

PS C:\Users\Administrator> Install-Module Nutanix.Cli

Untrusted repository
You are installing the modules from an untrusted repository. If you trust this repository, change its
InstallationPolicy value by running the Set-PSRepository cmdlet. Are you sure you want to install the modules from
'PSGallery'?
[Y] Yes  [A] Yes to All  [N] No  [L] No to All  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "N"):A
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Install-module Nutanix.Prism.PS.Cmds
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Install-module Nutanix.Prism.Common

Command examples with Powershell for Nutanix

Import modules for Powershell from the PowerShell 7 console:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> Import-Module Nutanix.Cli -Prefix NTNX
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Import-Module Nutanix.Prism.Common -Prefix NTNX
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Import-Module Nutanix.Prism.PS.Cmds -Prefix NTNX

Log in to Prism Central by executing the command below and edit these items:

  • < PRISM CENTRAL IP > replace this item with the IP address or FQDN of Prism Central
  • < PRISM CENTRAL USERNAME > replace this item with the Prism Central user name
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Connect-NTNXPrismCentral <PRISM CENTRAL IP>  -UserName < PRISM CENTRAL USERNAME > -AcceptInvalidSSLCerts
Password: *****************
[Warning]: This Prism Central version[pc.2022.1] might not be compatible.This might cause some cmdlets to not function correctly.Please consider upgrading to pc.2020.7 or later Do you still want to continue [Y/N]?:Y

Server                : ipprismcentral
Version               : pc.2022.1
UserName              : < PRISM CENTRAL IP >
AcceptInvalidSSLCerts : True
ForcedConnection      : False

Run the command below to see a list of all virtual machines:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-NTNXvm

pcHostName                    : 192.168.0.222
vmId                          : 0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::c8ef83db-a095-49f3-9bb8-cbcdc85c3ebf
uuid                          : c8ef83db-a095-49f3-9bb8-cbcdc85c3ebf
powerState                    : off
vmName                        : OVHgateway
guestOperatingSystem          :
ipAddresses                   : {}
hypervisorType                : kKvm
hostName                      :
hostId                        :
hostUuid                      :
containerIds                  : {0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::728, 0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::728}
containerUuids                : {98e67c38-77c4-4e05-bc20-b38bab5b28b2, 98e67c38-77c4-4e05-bc20-b38bab5b28b2}
nutanixVirtualDisks           : {/SelfServiceContainer/.acropolis/vmdisk/a7da0957-9f90-4c07-8d12-65f851350453,
                                /SelfServiceContainer/.acropolis/vmdisk/b308778d-594f-4903-bc30-c2a2fd45ed5d}
nutanixVirtualDiskIds         : {0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::a7da0957-9f90-4c07-8d12-65f851350453,
                                0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::b308778d-594f-4903-bc30-c2a2fd45ed5d}
nutanixVirtualDiskUuids       : {a7da0957-9f90-4c07-8d12-65f851350453, b308778d-594f-4903-bc30-c2a2fd45ed5d}
virtualNicIds                 : {0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::c8ef83db-a095-49f3-9bb8-cbcdc85c3ebf:50:6b:8d:c5
                                :d4:8a, 0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6::c8ef83db-a095-49f3-9bb8-cbcdc85c3ebf:50:6
                                b:8d:e2:16:4e}
virtualNicUuids               : {1e8defc6-ea18-4d67-ba41-d3ae21047940, 537632dc-4db3-483e-a7bb-500d2c1e56ba}
clusterUuid                   : 0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6
virtualGpuUuids               :
memoryCapacityInBytes         : 1073741824
memoryReservedCapacityInBytes : 0
numVCpus                      : 1
cpuReservedInHz               :
numNetworkAdapters            : 2
controllerVm                  : False
controlDomain                 :
vdiskNames                    : {}
vdiskFilePaths                : {/SelfServiceContainer/.acropolis/vmdisk/a7da0957-9f90-4c07-8d12-65f851350453,
                                /SelfServiceContainer/.acropolis/vmdisk/b308778d-594f-4903-bc30-c2a2fd45ed5d}
diskCapacityInBytes           : 11811543040
displayable                   : False
acropolisVm                   : True
protectionDomainName          :
protectionType                :
consistencyGroupName          :
description                   :
runningOnNdfs                 : True
nonNdfsDetails                :
fingerPrintOnWrite            :
onDiskDedup                   :
gpusInUse                     : False
vmType                        :

Reuse the previous command followed by | and the ft command to display only the virtual machine name:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-NTNXvm | ft vmname

vmName
------
vmfromrestapimajhttpd3
WS2022TEMPLATE
vmfromrestapiws
NTNX-221060034-A-CVM
VM-WS2019
gateway368
PFSENSE-POUR-MOVE
VM-TESTFG
WS2022b
prism-central
NutaDemo1
NTNX-520001155-A-CVM
NTNX-520001158-A-CVM
MOVE
NTNX-520000892-A-CVM
VM-WS2022
OVHgateway

Use this command sequence to find and remove a virtual machine named VW-WS2022:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-NTNXVM | where-object {$_.Source.vmname -like "VM-WS2022" } | Remove-NTNXVM

Using REST API commands

All of the examples shown below must be run on a virtual machine running Linux with the curl tool.
Some commands need other tools that are available in most Linux distributions.

Display all API options from Central Prism

You can get the list of REST API options from Prism Central.

In the top right-hand corner of the Prism Central interface, click Username, then REST API Explorer.

Display RESTAPI commands 01

The list of command groups is displayed on the left.

Click List operations to the right of one of the command groups to display all possible commands in that group.

Display RESTAPI commands 02

Click Expand operations to list the syntax for a particular command.

Display RESTAPI commands 03 Display RESTAPI commands 04

Various simple examples

Connect via SSH to a Linux VM in the cluster that has the curl and jq commands installed.

For these examples to work, replace:

  • < PRISMCENTRAL IP > by the IP address or FQDN of Prism Central.
  • < PRISM CENTRAL USER > by the Prism Central user.
  • < PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD > by the Prism Central user password.
View the list of ISO and QCOW2 images installed on Prism Central
curl -k -X POST --header "Content-Type: application/json" --header "Accept: application/json" -u "< PRISM CENTRAL USER >:< PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD >" -d {} "https://< PRISM CENTRAL IP >:9440/api/nutanix/v3/images/list" | jq

This command generated a file in a readable json format using the jq command, which contains the list of images and the information needed for other REST API commands.

{
  "api_version": "3.1",
  "metadata": {
    "total_matches": 14,
    "kind": "image",
    "length": 14,
    "offset": 0
  },
  "entities": [
    {
      "status": {
        "state": "COMPLETE",
        "execution_context": {
          "task_uuid": [
            "3a4315c8-0f9e-4182-be89-9083371ef40e"
          ]
        },
        "name": "ubuntu-20.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso",
        "resources": {
          "retrieval_uri_list": [
            "https://127.0.0.1:9440/api/nutanix/v3/images/4a48f395-80f3-4afe-a3e4-91700db88901/file"
          ],
          "current_cluster_reference_list": [
            {
              "kind": "cluster",
              "uuid": "0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6"
            }
          ],
          "architecture": "X86_64",
          "size_bytes": 1261371392,
          "image_type": "ISO_IMAGE",
          "source_uri": "file://4a48f395-80f3-4afe-a3e4-91700db88901"
        },
        "description": "Ubuntu Server 20.04"
      },
      "spec": {
        "name": "ubuntu-20.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso",
        "resources": {
          "image_type": "ISO_IMAGE",
          "source_uri": "file://4a48f395-80f3-4afe-a3e4-91700db88901",
          "architecture": "X86_64"
        },
        "description": "Ubuntu Server 20.04"
      },
      "metadata": {
        "last_update_time": "2021-10-12T13:38:55Z",
        "kind": "image",
        "uuid": "4a48f395-80f3-4afe-a3e4-91700db88901",
        "creation_time": "2021-10-12T13:38:49Z",
        "spec_version": 2,
        "spec_hash": "00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000",
        "categories_mapping": {},
        "owner_reference": {
          "kind": "user",
          "uuid": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
          "name": "admin"
        },
        "categories": {}
      }
    },
Viewing the list of virtual machines

Run this command to display the list of virtual machines:

curl -k -X POST --header "Content-Type: application/json" --header "Accept: application/json" -u "< PRISM CENTRAL USER >:< PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD >" -d {} "https://< PRISM CENTRAL IP >:9440/api/nutanix/v3/vms/list" | jq

The result is always in json format.

Below is a part of the generated file, containing the virtual machine UUID.

There is a UUID for each element of the Nutanix clusters (VM, Vdisks, images, etc..). This number is unique.

"kind:" "vm" corresponds to the type of the object.

        "kind": "vm",
        "uuid": "46574b90-333b-4cd9-a737-3af0f8e242b7",
Viewing VM Information from its uuid

Run the following command by replacing < VM UID > with the UUID of a previously listed virtual machine:

curl -k -X GET --header "Accept: application/json" - u "< PRISM CENTRAL USER >:< PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD >" "https://< PRISM CENTRAL IP >:9440/api/nutanix/v3/vms/< VM UUID >" | jq
Viewing the Network List

Run this command to display the list of networks in Nutanix:

 curl -k -X POST --header "Content-Type: application/json" --header "Accept: application/json" -u "< PRISM CENTRAL USER >:< PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD >" -d {} "https://< PRISM CENTRAL IP >:9440/api/nutanix/v3/subnets/list" | jq

Viewing Information about Administered Clusters in the Prism Central Console

Run the following command to display information about the clusters administered by Prism Central:

curl -k --request POST --url "https://< PRISM CENTRAL IP >:9440/api/nutanix/v3/clusters/list" -u "< PRISM CENTRAL USER >:< PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD >" --header 'Content-Type: application/json' --data '{ }' | jq

Advanced examples

In addition to displaying information, you can act on the Nutanix cluster to create or modify elements of a cluster.

We will see how to create two virtual machines in an automated way, one in a Linux environment, the other on Windows.

Creating a virtual machine on Linux

You can install Linux from pre-installed images, and you can customise the configuration with cloud-init, which uses the yaml file format. To import images into a Nutanix cluster, you can refer to our guide on importing ISO images.

Follow these instructions to create a virtual machine from a Ubuntu cloud-init customisable image.

On Linux, create a password in SHA-512 format with the command mkpasswd:

mkpasswd --method=SHA-512 -s
Password:
ExampleSHA512axUNIzgF$4R6hbeVF7Nqz3JMUSI47vINSmwt3XufAIC1lvu15twR/8HMkuRIGd7ZNNLMDGYYGyrgZXwgI7q2BP2rCAv9BU1

Edit the cloud-config.yaml file. Replace:

  • < RSAKEYFORLOGIN > by an RSA key that will connect via the SSH userlinux account.
  • < PASSWORDGENERATEDBYMKPASSWORD > by the password created in SHA-512 format.
#cloud-config
hostname: vm-fromcloudinit
fqdn: vm-fromcloudinit.localdomain
users:
  - name: userlinux
    ssh-authorized-keys:
      - ssh-rsa < RSAKEYFORLOGIN >
    sudo: ['ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL']
    groups: sudo
    shell: /bin/bash
    lock_passwd: false
    passwd: < PASSWORDGENERATEDBYMKPASSWD >

package_upgrade: true

packages:
  - nginx

runcmd:
  - sleep 60 & reboot

The file in yaml format is created with the possibility to install a virtual machine under LINUX with the NGINX WEB server.

Transform the yaml file into mime64 format and store it in a variable so that it can be integrated into the virtual machine configuration file.

USERDATA=$(base64 -w 0 cloud-config.yaml)
echo $USERDATA

Edit the vmlinux.json file below by editing these elements to fit your environment:

  • < VMNAME > must be replaced with the name of the virtual machine you want to give in the Nutanix console.
  • < UUID-IMAGE-LINUX-CLOUD-INIT > must be replaced with the UUID of the cloud-init-compatible Linux image.
  • < UID-NETWORK > must be replaced with the UUID of the network on which the virtual machine will operate.
  • < MIME64FORMATEDYAMLFILE > must be replaced with the contents of the $USERDATA variable.
  • < CLUSTER-NAME > must be replaced with the cluster name.
  • < CLUSTER-UUID > must be replaced with the cluster UUID.

All the necessary information is either accessible from the Prism central web interface or through the REST API access seen above.

{
	"spec":{
		"name":"< VMNAME >",
		"resources":{
			"power_state":"ON",
			"num_vcpus_per_socket":1,
			"num_sockets":1,
			"memory_size_mib":1024,
			"disk_list":[{
				"device_properties":{
					"device_type":"DISK",
					"disk_address": {
						"device_index": 0,
						"adapter_type": "SCSI"
					}
				},
				"data_source_reference": {
					"kind": "image",
					"uuid": "< UUID-IMAGE-LINUX-CLOUD-INIT >"
				}
			},
			{
				"device_properties":{
					"device_type":"CDROM",
					"disk_address": {
                                                "device_index": 0,
                                                "adapter_type": "IDE"
					}
				}
			}],
			"nic_list":[{
				"nic_type":"NORMAL_NIC",
				"is_connected":true,
				"ip_endpoint_list":[{
					"ip_type":"DHCP"
				}],
				"subnet_reference":{
					"kind":"subnet",
					"name":"base",
					"uuid":"< UUID-NETWORK >"
				}
			}],
			"guest_tools":{
				"nutanix_guest_tools":{
					"state":"ENABLED",
					"iso_mount_state":"MOUNTED"
				}
			},
			"guest_customization": {
				"cloud_init": {
					"user_data": "< MIME64FORMATEDYAMLFILE >"
				},
				"is_overridable": false
			}
		},
		"cluster_reference":{
			"kind":"cluster",
			"name":"Cluster_368",
			"uuid":"0005ce15-3f3c-a8ce-3802-043f72bf18a6"
		}
	},
	"api_version":"3.1.0",
	"metadata":{
		"kind":"vm"
	}
}

Run this command to install the virtual machine:

curl -k -H Accept:application/json -H Content-Type:application/json -u "< PRISM CENTRAL USER >:< PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD >"  -X POST "https://< PRISM CENTRAL IP >:9440/api/nutanix/v3/vms" -d @vmlinux.json | jq .

The new virtual machine will then appear in Prism Central with NGINX installed and updates performed.

Creating a virtual machine on Windows

You can install virtual machines on Windows from a prepared image using the Windows-integrated sysprep command and apply a customisation file to it.
The image can be imported directly from a virtual machine in the cluster.

The configuration file is an XML file. You can create this file using the Windows ADK tools that you can download from the Microsoft site via this link and use Windows system image manager to create a suitable XML file.

Below is an example XML file for Windows 2019 that creates an admin user and changes the password for the admin and Administrator account to P@ssw0rd:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="windowsPE">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core-WinPE" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <SetupUILanguage>
                <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
                <WillShowUI>Never</WillShowUI>
            </SetupUILanguage>
            <InputLocale>0409:00000409</InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UserLocale>en-US</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <UserData>
                <AcceptEula>true</AcceptEula>
                <FullName>Nutanix Doc</FullName>
                <Organization>Nutanix Doc</Organization>
            </UserData>
            <EnableFirewall>true</EnableFirewall>
            <EnableNetwork>true</EnableNetwork>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="specialize">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <TimeZone>Central Standard Time</TimeZone>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <settings pass="oobeSystem">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <UserAccounts>
                <AdministratorPassword>
                    <Value>UABAAHMAcwB3ADAAcgBkAEEAZABtAGkAbgBpAHMAdAByAGEAdABvAHIAUABhAHMAcwB3AG8AcgBkAA==</Value>
                    <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                </AdministratorPassword>
                <LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Password>
                            <Value>UABAAHMAcwB3ADAAcgBkAFAAYQBzAHMAdwBvAHIAZAA=</Value>
                            <PlainText>false</PlainText>
                        </Password>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>admin</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                </LocalAccounts>
            </UserAccounts>
            <OOBE>
                <HideEULAPage>true</HideEULAPage>
                <HideOEMRegistrationScreen>true</HideOEMRegistrationScreen>
                <HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
                <HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
                <ProtectYourPC>1</ProtectYourPC>
                <HideLocalAccountScreen>true</HideLocalAccountScreen>
            </OOBE>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="wow64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <UILanguage>en-US</UILanguage>
            <UserLocale>en-US</UserLocale>
            <SystemLocale>en-US</SystemLocale>
            <InputLocale>0409:00000409</InputLocale>
        </component>
    </settings>
    <cpi:offlineImage cpi:source="wim:c:/sw2019/sources/install.wim#Windows Server 2019 SERVERSTANDARD" xmlns:cpi="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:cpi" />
</unattend>

Copy the XML file to a Linux VM in the cluster and transform it into MIME64 format, as below, to integrate it into the VM configuration file in json format:

USERDATA=$(base64 -w 0 answerfile.xml)
echo $USERDATA

Edit the vmwindows.json file below by editing these items to fit your environment:

  • < VMNAME > must be replaced with the name of the VM you want to give in the Nutanix console.
  • < UID-IMAGE-WINDOWS2022SYSPREPED > must be replaced with the UUID of the Windows SYSPREPED image that can be used with an XML file.
  • < UID-NETWORK > must be replaced with the name of the network on which the virtual machine will operate.
  • < MIME64FORMATEDYAMLFILE > must be replaced with the contents of the $USERDATA variable.
  • < CLUSTER-NAME > must be replaced with the cluster name.
  • < CLUSTER-UUID > must be replaced with the cluster UUID.

All necessary information is either accessible from the Prism Central web interface or through REST API commands.

{
	"spec":{
		"name":"< VMNAME >",
		"resources":{
			"power_state":"ON",
			"num_vcpus_per_socket":2,
			"num_sockets":2,
			"memory_size_mib":4096,
			"disk_list":[{
				"device_properties":{
					"device_type":"DISK",
					"disk_address": {
						"device_index": 0,
						"adapter_type": "SCSI"
					}
				},
				"data_source_reference": {
					"kind": "image",
					"uuid": "< UUID-IMAGE-WINDOWS2022SYSPREPED >"
				}
			},
			{
				"device_properties":{
					"device_type":"CDROM",
					"disk_address": {
                                                "device_index": 0,
                                                "adapter_type": "IDE"
					}
				}
			}],
			"nic_list":[{
				"nic_type":"NORMAL_NIC",
				"is_connected":true,
				"ip_endpoint_list":[{
					"ip_type":"DHCP"
				}],
				"subnet_reference":{
					"kind":"subnet",
					"name":"base",
					"uuid":"< UUID-NETWORK >"
				}
			}],
			"guest_tools":{
				"nutanix_guest_tools":{
					"state":"ENABLED",
					"iso_mount_state":"MOUNTED"
				}
			},
			"guest_customization": {
				"sysprep": {
					"unattend_xml": "< MIME64FORMATEDYAMLFILE >"

},
				"is_overridable": false
			}
		},
		"cluster_reference":{
			"kind":"cluster",
			"name":"< CLUSTER-NAME >",
			"uuid":"< CLUSTER-UUID >"
		}
	},
	"api_version":"3.1.0",
	"metadata":{
		"kind":"vm"
	}
}
curl -k -H Accept:application/json -H Content-Type:application/json -u "< PRISM CENTRAL USER >:< PRISM CENTRAL PASSWORD >"  -X POST "https://< PRISM CENTRAL IP >:9440/api/nutanix/v3/vms" -d @vmwindows.json | jq .

The new virtual machine will appear in Prism Central, it is then started with the response file options.

Go further

Nutanix NCLI references

ACLI references of NUTANIX

Installing Nutanix CmdLets

References to Nutanix development tools

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