How to Create Multiple Virtual Machines Using Vagrant Tool

Prerequisites

9 min readMay 29, 2023

· A computer with at least 8GB of RAM
· Basic knowledge of the linux operating system

A tool for building and managing VMs in a single workflow
Automation tool (IaC)
It supports Oracle VirtualBox (default, mostly used with vagrant), VMware, Hyper-V, Libvirt… Hypervisors

Required Tools and Installation

Download and install Git Bash
· Download the Git Bash setup from the official website: https://git-scm.com/.
· Download the installer.
· Run the .exe file you just downloaded and follow the instructions in the installer.
· Run Git Bash by right-clicking on any folder and selecting the Git Bash Here option from the context menu (right-click menu).

2. Download and install latest version of VirtualBox
· To download VirtualBox, go to the official site VirtualBox downloads and click the Windows hosts link.
· Locate the installer file and double-click on it to run the installation process.
· The VirtualBox installation wizard will launch. Click Next to proceed.
· Select a list of the features and browse the location you want to install. By default, all components are selected. Click Next when you’re ready to continue.
· Choose whether you want to create shortcuts in the start menu folder. You can leave the default selection and click Next to continue.
· Click Install to begin the installation process. Wait for the installer to complete the installation of VirtualBox.
· The installation process takes several minutes, depending on your system speed. Click Finish to close the wizard after the installation and start using VirtualBox.

3. Download and install latest version of Vagrant
· Download the latest vagrant installation file from https://www.vagrantup.com/downloads
· Open the installer, proceed with Next and Finish prompts to set up Vagrant.
· After successful installation, you can find Vagrant icon the dashboard or from the Windows starter menu. You can also verify it on Git Bash. For that just open Git Bash and run the below command.

If the installation is successful, you will see the Vagrant version.

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop
$ vagrant --version
Vagrant 2.3.6

4. Search vagrant boxes
To view options related to the vagrant command

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop
$ vagrant --help
Usage: vagrant [options] <command> [<args>]

    -h, --help                       Print this help.

Common commands:
     autocomplete    manages autocomplete installation on host
     box             manages boxes: installation, removal, etc.
     cloud           manages everything related to Vagrant Cloud
     destroy         stops and deletes all traces of the vagrant machine
     global-status   outputs status Vagrant environments for this user
     halt            stops the vagrant machine
     help            shows the help for a subcommand
     init            initializes a new Vagrant environment by creating a Vagrantfile
     login
     package         packages a running vagrant environment into a box
     plugin          manages plugins: install, uninstall, update, etc.
     port            displays information about guest port mappings
     powershell      connects to machine via powershell remoting
     provision       provisions the vagrant machine
     push            deploys code in this environment to a configured destination
     rdp             connects to machine via RDP
     reload          restarts vagrant machine, loads new Vagrantfile configuration
     resume          resume a suspended vagrant machine
     serve           start Vagrant server
     snapshot        manages snapshots: saving, restoring, etc.
     ssh             connects to machine via SSH
     ssh-config      outputs OpenSSH valid configuration to connect to the machine
     status          outputs status of the vagrant machine
     suspend         suspends the machine
     up              starts and provisions the vagrant environment
     upload          upload to machine via communicator
     validate        validates the Vagrantfile
     version         prints current and latest Vagrant version
     winrm           executes commands on a machine via WinRM
     winrm-config    outputs WinRM configuration to connect to the machine

For help on any individual command run `vagrant COMMAND -h`

Additional subcommands are available, but are either more advanced
or not commonly used. To see all subcommands, run the command
`vagrant list-commands`.
        --[no-]color                 Enable or disable color output
        --machine-readable           Enable machine readable output
    -v, --version                    Display Vagrant version
        --debug                      Enable debug output
        --timestamp                  Enable timestamps on log output
        --debug-timestamp            Enable debug output with timestamps
        --no-tty                     Enable non-interactive output

To see a list of all installed boxes on your computer

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop
$ vagrant box list
There are no installed boxes! Use `vagrant box add` to add some.

To download a box image to your computer: vagrant box add <name> <url>

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop
$ vagrant box add centos/8
==> box: Loading metadata for box 'centos/8'
    box: URL: https://vagrantcloud.com/centos/8
This box can work with multiple providers! The providers that it
can work with are listed below. Please review the list and choose
the provider you will be working with.

1) libvirt
2) virtualbox

Enter your choice: 2
==> box: Adding box 'centos/8' (v2011.0) for provider: virtualbox
    box: Downloading: https://vagrantcloud.com/centos/boxes/8/versions/2011.0/providers/virtualbox.box
Download redirected to host: cloud.centos.org
    box:
    box: Calculating and comparing box checksum...
==> box: Successfully added box 'centos/8' (v2011.0) for 'virtualbox'!

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop
$ vagrant box list
centos/8 (virtualbox, 2011.0)

Create a Single Virtual Machine Using Vagrant

Go to your project directory and initialize vagrant to create a vagrant file: vagrant init

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop
$ mkdir dotnetdevelopers

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop
$ cd dotnetdevelopers/

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ pwd
/c/Users/user/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant init
A `Vagrantfile` has been placed in this directory. You are now
ready to `vagrant up` your first virtual environment! Please read
the comments in the Vagrantfile as well as documentation on
`vagrantup.com` for more information on using Vagrant.

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ ls
Vagrantfile

2. Open the Vagrantfile on the vim editor and remove the informational comments and define the VM specification i.e. what operating system you want, how much RAM you allocate, how many CPU cores you want to provide, what software packages you want to install automatically, etc. will leave the file like this:

# -*- mode: ruby -*-
# vi: set ft=ruby :

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.box = "centos/8"
  config.vm.box_check_update = false
  config.vm.hostname = "dotnetdev1.srg.com"
  config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
     vb.gui = false
     vb.memory = "2048"
     vb.cpus = 2
  end
end

3. Once you defined your VM specifications, you can start the VM just by running the below command: vagrant up

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant up
Bringing machine 'default' up with 'virtualbox' provider...
==> default: Importing base box 'centos/8'...

4. SSH into vagrant virtual machine: vagrant ssh

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant ssh
Last login: Mon May 29 06:01:49 2023
[vagrant@dotnetdev1 ~]$ whoami
vagrant
[vagrant@dotnetdev1 ~]$ hostname
dotnetdev1.srg.com
[vagrant@dotnetdev1 ~]$ cat /etc/redhat-release
CentOS Linux release 8.3.2011
[vagrant@dotnetdev1 ~]$ ls /vagrant/
Vagrantfile

5. To shows the current status of the virtual machine, including whether it’s running, stopped, or suspended: vagrant status

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant.exe status
Current machine states:

default                   running (virtualbox)

The VM is running. To stop this VM, you can run `vagrant halt` to
shut it down forcefully, or you can run `vagrant suspend` to simply
suspend the virtual machine. In either case, to restart it again,
simply run `vagrant up`.

6. To power off/down the virtual machine: vagrant halt

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant halt
==> default: Attempting graceful shutdown of VM...

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant status
Current machine states:

default                   poweroff (virtualbox)

The VM is powered off. To restart the VM, simply run `vagrant up`

7. To stop and delete the virtual machine and all associated resources: vagrant destroy

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant destroy
    default: Are you sure you want to destroy the 'default' VM? [y/N] y
==> default: Destroying VM and associated drives...

Create Multiple Virtual Machines Using Vagrant

Open the Vagrantfile on the vim editor and modify the configurations as per your requirements. You can change the memory, CPU, network settings, etc., for each virtual machine individually.

# -*- mode: ruby -*-
# vi: set ft=ruby :

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.box_check_update = false

  #App server
  config.vm.define "app" do |app|
    app.vm.hostname = "appserver.srg.com"
    app.vm.box = "centos/8"
    app.vm.network :private_network, ip: "10.0.0.101"
  end

  #DB server
  config.vm.define "db" do |db|
    db.vm.hostname = "dbserver.srg.com"
    db.vm.box = "centos/8"
    db.vm.network :private_network, ip: "10.0.0.102"
  end

  #Mail server
  config.vm.define "mail" do |mail|
    mail.vm.hostname = "mailserver.srg.com"
    mail.vm.box = "centos/8"
    mail.vm.network :private_network, ip: "10.0.0.103"
  end

  config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
     vb.gui = false
     vb.memory = "2048"
     vb.cpus = 2
  end
end

2. To starts vagrant environment: vagrant up

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant status
Current machine states:

app                       running (virtualbox)
db                        running (virtualbox)
mail                      running (virtualbox)

This environment represents multiple VMs. The VMs are all listed
above with their current state. For more information about a specific
VM, run `vagrant status NAME`.

3. To view particular vm status: vagrant status <vm name>

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant status mail
Current machine states:

mail                      running (virtualbox)

The VM is running. To stop this VM, you can run `vagrant halt` to
shut it down forcefully, or you can run `vagrant suspend` to simply
suspend the virtual machine. In either case, to restart it again,
simply run `vagrant up`.

4. To enter into particular vm: vagrant ssh <vm name>

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant ssh db
[vagrant@dbserver ~]$ hostname
dbserver.srg.com
[vagrant@dbserver ~]$ exit
logout

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant ssh mail
[vagrant@mailserver ~]$ hostname -I
10.0.2.15 10.0.0.103

5. To halt particular machine: vagrant halt <vm name>

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant halt mail
==> mail: Attempting graceful shutdown of VM...

6. To destroy machine: vagrant destroy <vm name>

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant destroy mail
    mail: Are you sure you want to destroy the 'mail' VM? [y/N] y
==> mail: Destroying VM and associated drives...

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant destroy
==> mail: VM not created. Moving on...
    db: Are you sure you want to destroy the 'db' VM? [y/N] y
==> db: Forcing shutdown of VM...
==> db: Destroying VM and associated drives...
    app: Are you sure you want to destroy the 'app' VM? [y/N] y
==> app: Forcing shutdown of VM...
==> app: Destroying VM and associated drives...

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant status
Current machine states:

app                       not created (virtualbox)
db                        not created (virtualbox)
mail                      not created (virtualbox)

This environment represents multiple VMs. The VMs are all listed
above with their current state. For more information about a specific
VM, run `vagrant status NAME`.

Create a VM Using Vagrant and Provision It Using Bash Shell Script

Open the Vagrantfile in a vim editor and configure it as follows:

# -*- mode: ruby -*-
# vi: set ft=ruby :

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.box = "centos/8"
  config.vm.provision :shell, path: "configweb.sh"
  config.vm.box_check_update = false
  config.vm.hostname = "webserver.srg.com"
  config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
     vb.gui = false
     vb.memory = "2048"
     vb.cpus = 2
  end
end

2. Create a new file called configweb.sh in the same directory and add your desired provisioning script. For example, let’s install httpd and add a sample html page using the Bash script:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
yum -y install httpd curl

#setenforce 0

systemctl start httpd
systemctl enable httpd

firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
firewall-cmd --reload

echo "<h1> This is a test website </h1>" >/var/www/html/index.html

3. Start the VM by running the following command: vagrant up
It will create a VM and execute the provisioning script defined in the Vagrantfile.

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant up

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant ssh
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ rpm -q httpd curl
httpd-2.4.6-98.el7.centos.7.x86_64
curl-7.29.0-59.el7_9.1.x86_64
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ systemctl status httpd
● httpd.service - The Apache HTTP Server
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/httpd.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
   Active: active (running) since Mon 2023-05-29 13:52:05 UTC; 29min ago
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ ls /var/www/html/
index.html
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ cat /var/www/html/index.html
<h1> This is a test website </h1>
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ curl http://localhost
<h1> This is a test website </h1>

Another way:

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ mkdir html

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vi html/index.html

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ cat html/index.html
<h1>Deploying webserver using vagrant.....</h1>

configweb.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
yum -y install httpd curl

setenforce 0

systemctl start httpd
systemctl enable httpd

firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
firewall-cmd --reload

#echo "<h1> This is a test website </h1>" >/var/www/html/index.html

if [ -e /var/www ]; then
        rm -rf /var/www/html
        ln -s /vagrant/html /var/www/html
fi

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant up

user@DESKTOP-HD846LJ MINGW64 ~/Desktop/dotnetdevelopers
$ vagrant ssh
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ rpm -q httpd curl
httpd-2.4.6-98.el7.centos.7.x86_64
curl-7.29.0-59.el7_9.1.x86_64
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ systemctl status httpd
● httpd.service - The Apache HTTP Server
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/httpd.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
   Active: active (running) since Mon 2023-05-29 14:50:24 UTC; 2min 21s ago
     Docs: man:httpd(8)
           man:apachectl(8)
 Main PID: 2778 (httpd)
   Status: "Total requests: 0; Current requests/sec: 0; Current traffic:   0 B/sec"
   CGroup: /system.slice/httpd.service
           ├─2778 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
           ├─2779 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
           ├─2781 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
           ├─2782 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
           ├─2783 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
           └─2784 /usr/sbin/httpd -DFOREGROUND
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ ls -l /var/www/
total 0
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root root  6 Apr  5 17:19 cgi-bin
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 root root 13 May 29 14:50 html -> /vagrant/html
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ ls -l /var/www/html/
total 4
-rw-r--r--. 1 vagrant vagrant 48 May 29 14:42 index.html
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ cat /var/www/html/index.html
<h1>Deploying webserver using vagrant.....</h1>
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ getenforce
Enforcing
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ sudo -i
[root@webserver ~]# setenforce 0
[root@webserver ~]# exit
logout
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ getenforce
Permissive
[vagrant@webserver ~]$ curl http://localhost
<h1>Deploying webserver using vagrant.....</h1>