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Base images are OS/hardware-specific. In some cases, we can leverage existing installers; in others, we must use snapshots of installed systems. In either case, the idea is to get a minimal system set up to run puppetize.sh, which will take care of getting a certificate and running puppet in a loop until it succeeds.

See Puppetization Process for how a base image becomes a running instance.

CentOS 6.x with Kickstart

The bulk of a kickstart script is available in setup. Run 'make' to create the script. The top section will need a few site-specific modifications. Most of the action is in the %post section, which:

looks for PUPPET_PASS on the kernel command line, and stores it in /root/deploypass
installs minimal packages
- Using a possibly site-specific yum-repo location (under http://repos/repos/)
installs puppetize.sh and sets it to run on boot.

The same script supports both i386 and x86_64 ISAs; the determining factor is the kernel used to run the installer.

Ubuntu with Kickstart

Ubuntu is very similar to CentOS. While it doesn't use Anaconda, it reads a kickstart profile similar to, but not exactly like, that for CentOS. Beyond those minor differences, it does the same things:

looks for PUPPET_PASS on the kernel command line, and stores it in /root/deploypass
installs some repos and minimal packages
installs puppetize.sh and sets it to run on boot.

The same script supports both i386 and x86_64 ISAs; the determining factor is the kernel used to run the installer.

Mac OS X 10.9 - Mavericks

Reproducing with VMWare Fusion

Download OS X Mavericks from the app store, but do not install it
Using disk utility, create a new, 8GB DMG file partitioned as a CD/DVD
Launch Terminal to show hidden files and relaunch the Finder using this defaults command string:

   defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE;\killall Finder;\say Files Revealed

Go to the /Applications/ folder to locate the “Install OS X 10.9 Developer Preview.app” file
Right-click and choose “Show Package Contents”, then open “Contents” and open “SharedSupport”
Double-click to mount “InstallESD.dmg”
Open the mounted ‘OS X Install ESD’ image, and right-click “BaseSystem.dmg” choosing “Open” to mount the image (BaseSystem.dmg is invisible by default, thus why invisible files must be made visible in the earlier step)
Go back to Disk Utility, then select “BaseSystem.dmg” from the sidebar and then click the “Restore” tab
With “Source” set to “BaseSystem.dmg”, set “Destination” to the volume in the empty DMG by dragging the Untitled Volume in the blang DMG, then click “Restore” to begin – confirm that contents of the drive will be erased
When finished, go to Finder and navigate within the newly created USB drive or dmg image to System > Installation > and delete the file (alias) located here named “Packages” – keep this window open
Go back to the ‘OS X Install ESD’ mounted drive, and drag & drop the “Packages” folder into the /System/Installation/ directory you just deleted the Packages alias from, let this large folder copy
Once that Packages folder is finished copying to the drive, unmount everything.
Set up a new VM to boot from DVD, and point the DVD drive to your new image
Follow the install steps until it begins installing and reboots. You may have to shut down, remove the DVD, and re-start.
Accept the defeault language and keyboard, skip logging with an Apple ID, and agree
Create a new user named 'Administrator' with the kickstart password
- uncheck "Require password to unlock screen", "Set time zone..", and "Send Diagnostics.."
Accept the default (Cupertino) timezone
Don't register the system
Wait a while, and you'll end up in the Finder
Open System Preferences -> Sharing
- Enable:
  - Screen Sharing
  - Remote Login
Open System Preferences -> Enery Saver
- Move Computer sleep slider to Never
- Move Disply sleep slider to Never
- Disable:
  - put hard disks to sleep when possible
  - Allow power button to put computer to sleep (doesn't seem to be present, at least in Fusion)
- Enable:
  - Wake for network access
Shut down
..and capture

Capturing from VMWare Fusion

Shut down the VM
Duplicate the VM's .vmdk in Finder
Add a new, existing hard disk to the VM, pointing it at the duplicate
Boot the VM
Fire up Disk Utility within the VM
Click on the second "Mac OS X" hard drive
File -> New -> Image from "Mac OS X"

Mac OS X 10.8 (12A269) - Mountain Lion

The current base image is built from installing 10.7 Lion via the recovery boot option (cmd + R) and then upgrading to 10.8 Mountain Lion through the App Store. You will need to log in to the apple developer site and redeem OS X Mountain Lion under your credentials

Using a R5 Mac Mini, boot into OS X Lion Recovery mode

Hold down command + R during the boot process

Once in recovery mode; launch the disk utility and remove any software raid configuration
Erase all disks. This partitions and formats all disks
Close disk utility and launch lion osx recovery from the menu
Go get coffee and take a nap
Once the recovery is complete, the system will reboot

At this point the system will have a fresh install of 10.7 OS X Lion

walk through the setup screen and create a default user
- default user should be 'administrator' using the current releng root/admin kickstart password
skip all of the apple account registration screens
At the login screen, use the 'administrator' credentials that were entered earlier
Launch the App store using your apple developer credentials
Search 'os x mountain lion'
Click download under OS X Mountain Lion
- Make sure to sign out of the app store once the download is complete
Once the download is complete, launch the OS X Mountain Lion installer and proceed through the setup process
Once installed, the system will reboot

The system is now upgraded and running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

At the login screen, use the 'administrator' credentials that were entered earlier
Open System Preferences -> Sharing
- Disable:
  - Remote Management
- Enable:
  - Screen Sharing and Remote Login
Open System Preferences -> Enery Saver
- Move Computer sleep slider to Never
- Move Disply sleep slider to Never
- Disable:
  - put hard disks to sleep when possible
  - Allow power button to put computer to sleep
- Enable:
  - Wake for network access
Capture the image for Deploy Studio
Integrate into the workflows to image 10.8 systems

Mac OS X Server 10.7.2 (11C74) - Lion

Install OS X 10.7.2 on an r4 or r5 mini
walk through the setup screen and create a default user
- default user should be 'administrator' using the current releng root/admin kickstart password
skip all of the apple account registration screens
At the login screen, use the 'administrator' credentials that were entered earlier
Open System Preferences -> Sharing
- Enable Screen Sharing and Remote Login
Open System Preferences -> Enery Saver
- Move Computer sleep slider to Never
- Move Display sleep slider to Never
Capture the image for Deploy Studio
Integrate into the workflows to image 10.7.2 systems

Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Snow Leopard

Install OS X 10.6.4 on an r4 mini from disk.
walk through the setup screen and create a default user
- default user should be 'administrator' using the current releng root/admin kickstart password
skip all of the apple account registration screens
At the login screen, use the 'administrator' credentials that were entered earlier
Open System Preferences -> Sharing
- Enable Screen Sharing and Remote Login
Open System Preferences -> Enery Saver
- Move Computer sleep slider to Never
- Move Display sleep slider to Never
Apply the 10.6.8 update.
Capture the image for Deploy Studio
Integrate into the workflows to image 10.8.6 systems