en-US/about_Media.help.txt

TOPIC
        about_Media
 
SHORT DESCRIPTION
 
        Additional custom media/images can be used to either supplement the default built-in media or to override
        the built-in media with alternative media/images.
 
LONG DESCRIPTION
 
        By default, Lability only includes evaluation media (and will automatically download this if it is not present
        on the host machine). If you wish to use VLK or MAK media you must provide your own media.
 
        You can also override the default media with your own implementation(s). This is useful if you have an
        existing image that you wish to use instead of the built-in media or wish to specify a shared file server in a
        team environment.
 
        Additional media can be added to the default Lability media either by registering it (in advance) in the
        host's configuration or by defining it within the PowerShell DSC configuration (.psd1) document. The following
        custom media types are supported:
 
            * VHD
            * WIM
            * ISO
 
        This media can be downloaded from a web server or from an accessible file server as long as it is contactable
        from the host machine. It is possible to manually download media on to the host machine.
        See about_CustomResource for more infomation.
 
        NOTE: WHEN USING ISO MEDIA, ONLY WINDOWS 8.1/SERVER 2012R2 (AND NEWER) OPERATING SYSTEMS ARE SUPPORTED.
 
        WMF 4+ must already be included for ISO images - does not support Win 7, 2008 R2, Win 8 and 2012
 
SUPPORTED MEDIA PROPERTIES
 
        Id [string]
        Description [string]
        Filename [string]
        Architecture [string] { x86 | x64 }
        Uri [string]
        Checksum [string]
        MediaType [string] { VHD | ISO | WIM }
        ImageName [string] ( supports [int32] for image numbers )
        OperatingSystem [string] { Windows | Linux } ( defaults to Windows if not specified )
        CustomData = @{
            PartitionStyle [string] { MBR | GPT }
            WimPath [string]
            SourcePath [string]
            WindowsOptionalFeature [string[]]
            Package [string[]]
            PackagePath [string]
            SetupComplete [string] { CoreCLR }
            CustomBootstrap [string[]]
            VmGeneration [int] { 1 | 2 }
            DefaultShell [string]
        }
        Hotfixes
 
NANO DISK IMAGES
 
        Deploying Nano server images is possible, but requires registering custom media specifying the packages to
        include or using the . The built-in Nano server media only contains the Guest, DSC, Compute, Containers and DNS packages.
        To see an example of the existing Nano server configuration, run the following command:
 
            PS C:\> Get-LabMedia -Id 2016TP4_x64_NANO_EN
 
            Id : 2016_x64_Standard_Nano_EN_Eval
            Filename : 2016_x64_EN_Eval.iso
            Description : Windows Server 2016 Standard Nano 64bit English Evaluation
            Architecture : x64
            ImageName : Windows Server 2016 SERVERSTANDARDNANO
            MediaType : ISO
            OperatingSystem : Windows
            Uri : http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/6/F/16FA20E6-4662-482A-920B-1A45CF5AAE3C/14393.
                              0.160715-1616.RS1_RELEASE_SERVER_EVAL_X64FRE_EN-US.ISO
            Checksum : 18A4F00A675B0338F3C7C93C4F131BEB
            CustomData : @{SetupComplete=CoreCLR; PackagePath=\NanoServer\Packages; PackageLocale=en-US;
                              WimPath=\NanoServer\NanoServer.wim; Package=System.Object[]}
            Hotfixes : {}
 
        The Nano specific packages included in the VHDX are contained in the CustomData property. Custom media can be
        added to installed alternate packages as required, or use the NanoServerPackage provider.
 
EXISTING DISK IMAGES
 
        Lability natively supports all Windows operating systems that include the Windows Management Framework (WMF)
        v4 or later: Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. To support earlier
        operating systems, for example Windows 7, registering existing custom VHD(X) disk images is required.
 
        To use an existing disk image, the following prerequisites are required:
 
            * WMF 4+ must be installed on Win 7, 2008 R2, Win 8 and 2012 disk images to support PowerShell Desired
               State Configuration within the VM.
                - KB3109118 should also be installed on pre- Win 8.1 and 2012 R2 disk images.
            * PowerShell Desired State Configuration hotfixes must either be installed in the disk image or specified
               in the Hotfixes property in the custom media definition.
            * Disk images with Windows installed must be generalised with Sysprep.
 
        Existing VHD(X) images can be registered with the `Register-LabMedia` cmdlet. The following example registers
        an existing `2012R2_x64_Standard_EN_VL.vhdx` virtual hard disk file.
 
            PS C:\> $customMedia = @{
                Id = 2012R2_x64_Standard_EN_VL;
                Filename = 2012R2_x64_Standard_EN_VL.vhdx;
                Description = 'Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard 64bit English Volume License';
                Architecture = x64;
                MediaType = VHD;
                Uri = '\\MyFileServer\Images\2012R2_x64_Standard_EN_VL.vhdx';
            }
            PS C:\> Register-LabMedia @customMedia
 
LINUX DISK IMAGES
 
        Deploying a Linux-based virtual machine from a master VHD(X) file is supported, but configuration inside of
        the virtual machine is not (currently) possible. For example, deploying a Citrix NetScaler VM from a master
        VHD(X) is supported, but there is no (current) way of injecting files or applying an additional configuration.
 
        The following example registers a Citrix NetScaler image:
 
            PS C:\> $NSVPX11 = @{
                Id = "NSVPX_11";
                Filename = "NSVPX-11.0-63.16_nc.vhd"
                Description = "Citrix NetScaler 11.0 VPX Build 63.16_nc";
                Architecture = "x64";
            MediaType = "VHD";
                OperatingSystem = "Linux";
                Uri = "\\MyFileServer\Images\NSVPX-11.0-63.16_nc.vhd";
            }
            PS C:\> Register-LabMedia @NSVPX11 -Force;
 
KEYWORDS
 
        Custom Media
        Linux Media
        Disk Images
        Nano Server
 
SEE ALSO
 
        about_CustomResources
        Register-LabMedia
        Unregister-LabMedia