Proxmox Windows Image Builder

Build automated Windows Server 2022 VM images on Proxmox VE using Packer and Cloudbase-Init.

This project is designed for home/lab environments.

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What This Does

Creates a ready-to-use Windows Server 2022 template with:

• Windows Server 2022 installed
• Cloudbase-Init configured (for automated sysprep/generalize)
• RDP enabled by default
• VirtIO drivers pre-configured

The resulting image can be converted to a Proxmox template for reuse across multiple builds.

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Quick Start

Prerequisites

1. Proxmox VE installed on your server (IP shown in config: 192.168.1.200)
2. Packer installed: https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/packer/getting-started-install
3. QEMU/KVM installed on the build machine
4. ISO available at /root/iso/2022.iso on the Proxmox node (or update the config path)

Build Commands

# Install dependencies first
chmod +x requirements.sh
./requirements.sh

# Build Windows Server 2022 image
make proxmox-images TARGET=windows-2022.pkr.hcl IMAGE_NAME=win2022-cloudinit-template

The build outputs to build/images/ once complete.

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Project Structure

packervms/
├── windows-2022.pkr.hcl    # Packer configuration (main file)
├── requirements.sh          # Dependency checks (packer, qemu)
├── Makefile                 # Build targets
├── build/
│   ├── images/              # Output location for built VM images
│   └── windows/             # Windows-specific assets:
│       ├── 2022/Autounattend.xml    # Autounattend configuration
│       ├── scripts/winrm.ps1        # RDP enablement script
│       └── cloud_init/               # Cloudbase-Init setup files
└── README.md                # This file

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Configuration Options

Edit windows-2022.pkr.hcl to customize:

Network Settings

Setting	Default	Notes
proxmox_url	https://192.168.1.200:8006/api2/json	Change to your Proxmox API endpoint
username	root@pam!builder	Proxmox API user for builds
node	pve-0	Target Proxmox node name

VM Settings

Setting	Default	Notes
vm_id	9011	VM ID (change if already in use)
vm_name	win2022-cloudinit-template	Customizable name
cores	8	CPU cores
memory	8192	Memory in MB

Storage

Setting	Default	Notes
disk_size	32G	Initial disk size
storage_pool	local-lvm	Proxmox storage pool
iso_file	local:iso/2022.iso	Windows Server 2022 ISO path

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Build Workflow

The Packer build performs these steps automatically:

1. Creates VM on specified Proxmox node with configured specs
2. Attaches Windows ISO and boots installer
3. Installs Windows Server 2022 with autounattend configuration
4. Mounts virtIO drivers ISO for storage driver installation
5. Installs Cloudbase-Init via MSI from custom CD
6. Enables RDP through PowerShell script
7. Runs Sysprep to generalize the image
8. Shuts down and detaches ISO media
9. Outputs final image to build/images/
10. Outputs final image to Proxmox

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Troubleshooting

Build Fails with "401 Unauthorized"

• Verify Proxmox API credentials in config file
• Check token is valid: pvesh get /access/tokens/root@pam/<token-name>

Cannot Connect to Proxmox Node

• Ensure firewall allows port 8006 (API) and 443 (HTTPS)
• Verify network connectivity from build machine

No virtio-drivers ISO

• The build auto-downloads virtio-win drivers if not present
• Check Proxmox local:iso storage has the downloaded file

Autounattend Issues

• Verify XML syntax in build/windows/2022/Autounattend.xml
• Ensure product key field is commented out for home use

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License

This project is provided as-is for personal/home lab use.