changing_hardware_version.md

Changing the Hardware version

Use case

As a customer, I want to change the Hardware version of the node image to use the latest hardware functionalities.

Background

By default, node images use the hardware version(VMX) 17 defined in default-args.j2(Windows uses hardware version 18 by default defined in default-args-windows.j2). Please refer to the below documents to learn more about the hardware version and its compatibility with the vSphere environment.

• Hardware Features Available with Virtual Machine Compatibility Settings
• ESXi/ESX hosts and compatible virtual machine hardware versions list

Customization

Kubernetes Image Builder has a vmx_version packer variable through which the hardware version can be configured. Edit the vmx_version filed in the default-args.j2 present in packer variables folder with the appropriate hardware version and build the image

    "vmx_version": "17",

• Note: For Windows, update the vmx_version in the default-args-windows.j2 file.