To build Microsoft Windows images for use in Google Compute Engine, the following resources are needed:

• Microsoft OS Volume license media in ISO format
• PowerShell 7.0 or greater MSI installer
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 offline installer for Windows
• Google Cloud SDK Installer

The following resources are optional:

• Windows Updates to slipstream install in the installation process
• A Windows Server Update Services server.

To reduce the time needed to build a Microsoft Windows image we can apply .msu based updated to the OS. This process is more beneficial for older operating systems. To do this the build process will install all of the .msu files from the specified updates directory or GCS location in numerical and alphanumeric order.

For Windows Server 2016 and newer operating systems, it is beneficial to install at least the most recent Servicing Stack Update (SSU), Cumulative Update (CU), and .NET framework updates.

It is best to install updates in the following order:

1. Microsoft .NET Framework Installation
2. Cumulative Update for .NET Framework
3. The OS's Servicing Stack Update
4. The OS's Cumulative Update

1. All of the provided files are uploaded to a GSC bucket that will be used with the workflow.
2. A new installation disk of the specified size is created and attached to a Windows Server 2019 "bootstrap instance".
3. The WIM image from the media, the provided Windows updates, GCE drivers, and installation files are applied to the installation disk. Optionally, the SBOM is also generated and exported. This is all done in the bootstrap_install.ps1.
4. The "bootstrap instance" is stopped and a new "install instance" is created that boots the installation disk.
5. The "install instance" is started and will run the SetupComplete.cmd and then the post_install.ps1.
6. The "install instance" is stopped and a GCE Image is created from the installation disk with the appropriate on-demand licenses for Windows Server and features.

The workflow files provide default values for many of the variables. When calling a workflow, any required variable will need to be provided when calling daisy using the -var: flag. The OS specific workflow files simplify the image creation process by populating the OS specific variables to windows-build.wf.json and also creates a GCE image with the appropriate features and license.

We have provided multiple workflows per operating system to provide different configurations of each image.

The workflow files use the following naming convention.

OperatingSystem-OperatingSystemEdition-BootType-LicenseType.wf.json

• OperatingSystem: The operating system name and version
• OperatingSystemEdition: The edition of the operating system
• BootType: bios or uefi
  • bios: BIOS boot with an MBR formatted boot disk.
  • uefi: UEFI boot with an GPT formatted boot disk. Supports Shielded VM features.
• LicenseType: byol or payg
  • byol - bring your own license
  • payg - on-demand Windows Server license

Here are some example of what each filename means:

• windows-server-2019-dc-uefi-payg.wf.json
  • Windows Server 2019 Data Center using UEFI with an GPT formatted boot disk that is using an on-demand Windows Server license
• windows-server-2019-dc-uefi-byol.wf.json
  • Windows Server 2019 Data Center using UEFI with an GPT formatted boot disk that is using a bring your own license
• windows-10-20h2-ent-x86-bios-byol.wf.json
  • Windows 10 Enterprise 20h2 x86 using BIOS with an MBR formatted boot disk that is using a bring your own license
• windows-10-20h2-ent-x64-uefi-byol.wf.json
  • Windows 10 Enterprise 20h2 x64 using using UEFI with an GPT formatted boot disk that is using a bring your own license

Below are some example of how to call daisy using the provided workflows and required variables.

Place the following resources in a local folder, for this example we'll use c:\example-build-resources

• The windows media ISO file.
• PowerShell 7.0 or greater MSI installer
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 offline installer for Windows
• Google Cloud SDK Installer
• (Optional) To slipstream any Windows update, places the .msu files in c:\example-build-resources\2016_updates.

$ daisy -project my_project -zone us-west1-c \
-var:media="c:\example-build-resources\WindowServer2016.ISO" \
-var:updates="c:\example-build-resources\2016_updates" \
-var:pwsh="c:\example-build-resources\PowerShell-7.0.3-win-x64.msi" \
-var:dotnet48="c:\example-build-resources\ndp48-x86-x64-allos-enu.exe" \
-var:cloudsdk="c:\example-build-resources\GoogleCloudSDKInstaller.exe" \
windows-server-2016-dc-uefi.wf.json

Place the following resources in a GCS bucket, for this example we'll use gs://example-build-resources

• The windows media ISO file.
• PowerShell 7.0 or greater MSI installer
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 offline installer for Windows
• Google Cloud SDK Installer
• (Optional) To slipstream any Windows update, places the .msu files in gs://example-build-resources/2019_updates.

$ daisy -project my_project -zone us-west1-c \
-var:media="gs://example-build-resources/WindowServer2019.ISO" \
-var:updates="gs://example-build-resources/2019_updates" \
-var:pwsh="gs://example-build-resources/PowerShell-7.0.3-win-x64.msi" \
-var:dotnet48="gs://example-build-resources/ndp48-x86-x64-allos-enu.exe" \
-var:cloudsdk="gs://example-build-resources/GoogleCloudSDKInstaller.exe" \
windows-server-2019-dc-uefi.wf.json

In this example we'll be using an image Server 2019 image created on 12/09/2020 and it is named windows-server-2016-dc-v12092020 and stored in the the my_project project.

$ gcloud compute instances create instance_name --async --machine-type n1-standard-8 \
--project my_project --zone us-west1-c --image windows-server-2019-dc-v12092020

Cloud SDK Reference for compute instances create