The LiquidVM launcher is used to create and/or start LiquidVM instances. The launcher is a Java program that is run from an ordinary OS. The program connects to VMware Virtual Infrastructure over Web Services (either https or http depending on how you have configured it), and asks VMware to create, start or, stop LiquidVM instances.
Starting and Creating a LiquidVM Instance
Use the following general format to create and start a LiquidVM instance:
This section describes the available command-line arguments when using the LiquidVM Launcher.
General Commands
Table 4-1 describes the general commands for using the LiquidVM Launcher.
Table 4-1 General LiquidVM Launcher Commands
Key
Default Value
Description
name
LiquidVM-<user>
The name the virtual machine will have (as displayed by VMware).
configFile
A path to a file on the local machine that can include additional LiquidVM arguments on this key=value format. The configfile key can be used to shorten the command line and to organize configuration options that are common among many different LiquidVM instances in the same location.
cpus
1
The number of CPUs this instance should have. (VMware supports 1, 2, or 4 instance VMs.)
memory
How much virtual physical memory the LiquidVM instance should have. This should typically be greater than the maximum Java heap size (-Xmx).
logFile
<vm-name>.lvm.out
The path inside the LiquidVM instance where the log file will be stored.
startMode=passive
active
Causes the LiquidVM to start all its built-in services (in particular SSH) but not start the main class. This allows you to copy files using SSH to and from the server before the main application is started. The main class is started by logging in using SSH and executing the start command.
copyAtBoot
Usage: copyAtBoot='src dst'
Copies the src directory recursively to the destination directory at startup before the Java application itself has started. src and dst could also be files. If you want to copy multiple different directories you can separate them using a semicolon. For example, copyAtBoot='src1 dst1;src2 dst2'.
When this feature is used, src is typically a directory mapped to an NFS-share and used to initialize or update the LiquidVM instance using external files.
copyAtShutdown
Usage: see copyAtBoot.
Copies the src directory to the destination directory after the Java application has shutdown, but before LiquidVM itself shuts down. The destination directory is typically an NFS-share so that an external agent can process the end-result of some operation.
Disk Commands
Table 4-2 describes the disk commands for using the LiquidVM Launcher.
Table 4-2 General LiquidVM Launcher Commands
Key
Description
diskSize
The size of the local disk (if no disk is specified at VM-creation time no local disk is added)
cwd
The working directory the LiquidVM instance will stand in
mount
Can be used to mount an NFS-share somewhere in the LiquidVM directory tree
mountFile
A path to a file on the launching machine that contains a number of mounts
Networking Commands
Table 4-3 describes the networking commands for using the LiquidVM Launcher.
Table 4-3 Networking LiquidVM Launcher Commands
Key
Default Value
Description
ip
If not set, dhcp is attempted
The networking IP address the virtual machine will use.
netMask
If not set, dhcp is attempted
The networking netmask the virtual machine will use.
gateway
If not set, dhcp is attempted
The networking gateway the virtual machine will use.
dns
If not set, dhcp is attempted
The networking domain name server this LiquidVM instance will use.
networkDomainName
The networking domain name this LiquidVM instance will use.
SSH Commands
Table 4-4 describes the SSH commands for using the LiquidVM Launcher.
Table 4-4 SSH LiquidVM Launcher Commands
Key
Default Value
Description
ssh=on
off
Turns the built-in SSH-server on to enable file transfers to and from the LiquidVM instance.
sshPublicKey
Specifies the launcher local path to the SSH public key that will be put in the LiquidVM instance’s authorized_keys file upon VM creation. Presenting the corresponding private key at login will result in successful authentication. Keep in mind that you still have to log in as the user liquidvm.
waitForSSH=true
false
Makes the launcher wait for the SSH-server to be up and running before the launcher returns. This makes it possible to write scripts that first call the launcher, and, upon return from the launcher, can copy files to the LiquidVM instance, since the return from the launcher guarantees that the ssh-server is running. The default is false, and the launcher will most likely return before the ssh-server has been fully started.
sshUnsafePassword
Specifies a clear-text, unsafe password to be used to log in on the LiquidVM instance over SSH. This option should be avoided as it is unsafe. As soon as someone has put a public key in the authorized_keys file, or set a SSH password explicitly, this option is ignored.
Logging Commands
Table 4-5 describes the logging commands for using the LiquidVM Launcher.
Table 4-5 Logging LiquidVM Launcher Commands
Key
Default Value
Description
logReceiver
no remote log receiver
Should be a hostname or IP address of a remote syslog receiver. This is a RFC3164-compliant remote syslog receiver that LiquidVM will send syslog messages to.
VMware Virtual Infrastructure-specific Commands
Table 4-6 describes the VMware Virtual Infrastructure-specific commands for using the LiquidVM Launcher.
The cluster or host in which to put the VM (also see the vmwareResourcePool).
vmwareResourcePool
none
The pool within a compute resource in which to put the VM
vmwareVmFolder
The datacenter
The logical folder in which to put a newly created VM. The user needs to have Inventory rights on this folder.
vmwareVmDatastore
The same datastore as the ISO
The datastore in which to put the VM.
vmwareNetwork
The VMware network to connect the VMs NIC to.
Stopping a LiquidVM Instance
The LiquidVM launcher can be used to stop a LiquidVM instance. The first argument is stop, followed by the name=<name-of-the-vm-you-want-to-stop>, as follows:
