Hi Lucian, Thanks for sharing. I agree that Debian 13 would be a nice option.
The script looks good and the steps are very similar to one I am working on. Mine supports customizing other cloud images (Debian, of course, as well as Ubuntu, Rocky, AlmaLinux, etc.) and converting them into specific formats. Packer would be a good option for production templates. However, customizing existing cloud images is much easier and faster - I can get qcow2, VHD, and OVA templates ready in about 10 minutes. Sorry @Wido den Hollander <[email protected]> -Wei On Thu, Oct 15, 2026 at 3:10 AM Nux <[email protected]> wrote: > I've manipulated a Debian 13 genericcloud image into a possible > CloudStack default template. > Build script and samples here, everything is explained in the script, > I'd appreciate your thoughts, especially around security and SSH access. > > https://jenkins.openvm.eu/files/deftmpl/ > > Lucian > > On 2026-10-12 10:14, Kiran Chavala wrote: > > Subject: [DISCUSS] Replacing the default built-in CentOS template in > > CloudStack > > > > Hi all, > > > > I'd like to start a discussion on replacing the default built-in > > template > > that ships with every CloudStack installation. > > > > The original GitHub discussion is here, and you're welcome to comment > > there > > as well: > > https://github.com/apache/cloudstack/discussions/13797 > > > > Today, the built-in templates registered for each hypervisor are quite > > outdated: > > > > - KVM: CentOS 5.5 (64-bit) no GUI > > > > > http://download.cloudstack.org/releases/2.2.0/eec2209b-9875-3c8d-92be-c001bd8a0faf.qcow2.bz2 > > - XenServer: CentOS 5.6 (64-bit) no GUI > > > > http://download.cloudstack.org/templates/builtin/centos56-x86_64.vhd.bz2 > > - vSphere: CentOS 5.3 (64-bit) no GUI > > http://download.cloudstack.org/releases/2.2.0/CentOS5.3-x86_64.ova > > > > These templates are no longer practical, even for basic testing: > > > > 1. The VM deploys, but the SSH service doesn't work, so it's of little > > use > > for validating a fresh installation. > > 2. They're starting to break outright on newer hypervisors. On ACS 4.22 > > with XenServer 8.4, deploying a VM from the default CentOS template > > fails > > with "Cannot find Template CentOS 7 on XenServer host", because > > XenServer > > 8.4 has deprecated the CentOS 7 guest template (tracked in > > https://github.com/apache/cloudstack/issues/13798). > > > > What I'd like to see is a new default template that is: > > > > - current, and in line with what users actually run today > > - small in footprint, so it downloads quickly and can be used for quick > > testing right after installation > > - functional for the core guest features: root password reset, SSH > > keys, > > user data, and cloud-init > > > > Candidates I've looked at: > > > > - macchinina (https://github.com/NuxRo/macchinina) > > - Alpine Linux cloud images (https://alpinelinux.org/cloud/) > > - CirrOS (https://github.com/cirros-dev/cirros) > > - Debian cloud images (https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/) > > - Ubuntu minimal cloud images ( > > https://cloud-images.ubuntu.com/minimal/releases/) > > - AlmaLinux Generic Cloud ( > > https://wiki.almalinux.org/cloud/Generic-cloud.html) > > - Rocky Linux (https://wiki.rockylinux.org/rocky/image/) > > - Fedora Cloud (https://fedoraproject.org/cloud/download/) > > > > My personal preference is between two options: > > > > 1. macchinina: built for CloudStack testing, but it needs a refresh and > > someone to maintain it going forward. > > 2. Alpine cloud image: very small and well maintained upstream. We'd > > need > > to run tests to confirm password, SSH key, and user-data behaviour > > across > > hypervisors. > > > > Most of the mainstream distro cloud images are in the 500-600 MB range, > > which goes against the "quick test after install" goal. > > > > I'd love to hear the community's views on: > > > > - which image (or images) you'd prefer as the default > > - any hypervisor-specific concerns (KVM / XenServer-XCP-ng / VMware) > > > > > > If there's rough consensus, I'm happy to follow up with a PR and > > testing > > across hypervisors. > > > > Thanks, > > Kiran Chavala >
