Datacenter

Server-build automation across Nutanix and VMware

Connected server delivery across Nutanix and VMware into one repeatable path spanning images, provisioning, network, inventory, and service-management handoffs.

The problem

An enterprise ran parallel server-build paths across VMware and Nutanix. Template builds, VM provisioning, network reservations, inventory updates, and request-system handoffs all had to line up, but too much of the process depended on manual steps and different tooling for different platforms.

How we worked

  1. Assess. We mapped the existing server-build paths across VMware and Nutanix, including template creation, provisioning, network reservations, inventory updates, and service-management handoffs. The VMware estate already had an off-the-shelf build platform, while the Nutanix path needed a repeatable automation model.

  2. Codify. We used Packer to define Windows Server and Linux images for Nutanix AHV, including unattended installation, hardening, cleanup, and template publication. Terraform defined Nutanix provisioning, including image selection, sizing, network and disk attachment, and category assignment.

  3. Operationalize. We connected the workflow through GitLab CI. The pipeline validated and built images, ran Terraform plan and apply for Nutanix, reserved network records, triggered post-provisioning, updated the service-management request, and cleaned up failed builds.

  4. Enable. We kept VMware provisioning on the existing build platform and mapped its inputs into the surrounding CI and handoff workflow. This gave the team one operating path across both platforms without claiming Terraform ownership of the VMware build process.

The outcome

Server builds moved from environment-specific handoffs to one repeatable pipeline that supported both the Nutanix AHV automation path and the existing VMware build platform.