I created a special Debian 10 preseed iso just for my Proxmox kvm machines. I can go from zero to ready to rock in under 10 minutes!

The preseeded iso starts automatically, installs a few key packages, sets vim as my default editor and copies my ssh public key to my authorized_keys file so I can run the Ansible playbook right after install.

• I created the preseed file then added it to the ISO using my Zero Interaction method.
• https://gitlab.com/preseed/preseed-kvm/-/blob/da3402a1f9331fd23816703f62057091b7a36045/preseed.cfg

I created a small playbook to configure the system for me so it's set up the way I like.

• Run it like so:

  ansible-playbook -v -b --ask-become-pass -i xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, ansible.yml

• The file:

  kvm_init.yml

  ---
  - name: Initialize KVM VM
    hosts: all
    vars:
      admin_user: chuck
      admin_group: chuck
    tasks:
      - name: Create ssh-user group
        group:
          name: ssh-user
          gid: 1010
          state: present
   
      - name: Add {{ admin_user }} to ssh-user group
        user:
          name: "{{ admin_user }}"
          groups: ssh-user
          append: yes
   
      - name: Create dotfiles directory
        become: yes
        become_user: "{{ admin_user }}"
        file:
          path: "/home/{{ admin_user }}/.dotfiles"
          owner: "{{ admin_user }}"
          group: "{{ admin_group }}"
          state: directory
          mode: '0755'
   
      - name: Delete default dotfiles
        become: yes
        become_user: "{{ admin_user }}"
        file:
          path: "/home/{{ admin_user }}/{{ item }}"
          state: absent
        with_items:
          - .bashrc
          - .bash_profile
          - .bash_logout
   
      - name: Clone dotfiles
        become: yes
        become_user: "{{ admin_user }}"
        git:
          repo: "{{ item.repo }}"
          dest: "/home/{{ admin_user }}/.dotfiles/{{ item.name }}"
        loop:
          - { name: 'bash', repo: 'https://gitlab.com/dotfiles1/dotfiles-bash.git' }
          - { name: 'screen', repo: 'https://gitlab.com/dotfiles1/dotfiles-screen.git' } 
          - { name: 'vim', repo: 'https://gitlab.com/dotfiles1/dotfiles-vim.git' }
          - { name: 'git', repo: 'https://gitlab.com/dotfiles1/dotfiles-git.git' }
          - { name: 'motd', repo: 'https://gitlab.com/dotfiles1/dotfiles-motd.git' }
   
      - name: Stow dotfiles
        become: yes
        become_user: "{{ admin_user }}"
        command: stow "{{ item }}"
        args:
          chdir: "/home/{{ admin_user }}/.dotfiles"
        loop: 
          - bash
          - git
          - screen
          - vim
   
      - name: Install MOTD
        become: yes
        copy:
          src: "/home/{{ admin_user }}/.dotfiles/motd/{{ item }}"
          dest: "/etc/update-motd.d/{{ item }}"
          remote_src: yes
          owner: root
          group: root
          mode: 0755
        loop:
          - 10-uname
          - 20-sysinfo
          - 90-fortune
   
      - name: Set PAM motd
        become: yes
        lineinfile:
          backup: yes
          path: /etc/pam.d/sshd
          regexp: 'noupdate$'
          line: '#session    optional      pam_motd.so noupdate'
   
      - name: Disable password ssh
        become: yes
        lineinfile:
          path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config
          regexp: "#PasswordAuthenticaiton yes"
          line: "PasswordAuthentication no"
   
      - name: Restrict ssh to ssh-user group
        become: yes
        blockinfile:
          path: /etc/ssh/sshd_config
          block: "AllowGroups ssh-user"
   
      - name: Add {{ admin_user }} to /etc/security/access.conf
        become: yes
        blockinfile:
          path: /etc/security/access.conf
          block: '+:{{ admin_user }}:ALL'
   
      - name: Configure PAM
        become: yes
        lineinfile:
          path: /etc/pam.d/sshd
          regexp: 'pam_access.so$'
          line: 'account required    pam_access.so'

• Open the Proxmox web interface
• Upload the newly created preseed-iso to your Proxmox storage
• Create a VM with whatever settings you want, using the preseed-iso for the CD/DVD disk image.
• Start the virtual machine.
• Wait for it to complete. It took roughly 7 minutes for mine.
• Run the ansible playbook.
• Enjoy!

• ssh into Proxmox:

  ssh user@proxmox

• The iso's on my system are located at /media/sas/data/template/iso. Use your favorite file transfer method to get the iso file there (or the iso storage location on your system).
• List current VMs:

  sudo qm list

• Pick a free vmid and create a new VM with your preferred settings:

  sudo qm create 150 --cdrom sas-storage:iso/preseed-debian-10.4.iso \
  --name preseed --numa 0 --ostype l26 \
  --cpu cputype=host --cores 2 --sockets 2 \
  --memory 4096  \
  --net0 bridge=vmbr90,virtio \
  --bootdisk scsi0 --scsihw virtio-scsi-pci --scsi0 file=ssd-lvm:32 \
  --serial0 socket --vga qxl --audio0 device=ich9-intel-hda,driver=spice

• Start the vm:

  sudo qm start <vmid>

• Wait for it to complete.
• Run the ansible playbook.
• Enjoy!