fix: always apply hardware configuration

Updated `StepConfigureHardware` to always run hardware configuration, even when the config is empty, to ensure template settings are preserved.

Signed-off-by: Ryan Johnson <[email protected]>

Author: tenthirtyam

builder/vsphere/common/step_hardware.go

@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ package common
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
-	"reflect"
 
 	"github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-sdk/multistep"
 	packersdk "github.com/hashicorp/packer-plugin-sdk/packer"
@@ -147,8 +146,15 @@ func (s *StepConfigureHardware) Run(_ context.Context, state multistep.StateBag)
 	ui := state.Get("ui").(packersdk.Ui)
 	vm := state.Get("vm").(driver.VirtualMachine)
 
-	if !reflect.DeepEqual(*s.Config, HardwareConfig{}) {
-		ui.Say("Customizing hardware...")
+	hasCustomConfig := s.hasCustomHardwareConfig()
+
+	// Always run hardware configuration to preserve template settings.
+	{
+		if hasCustomConfig {
+			ui.Say("Customizing hardware...")
+		} else {
+			ui.Say("Applying hardware configuration...")
+		}
 
 		var allowedDevices []driver.PCIPassthroughAllowedDevice
 		for _, device := range s.Config.AllowedDevices {
@@ -184,4 +190,29 @@ func (s *StepConfigureHardware) Run(_ context.Context, state multistep.StateBag)
 	return multistep.ActionContinue
 }
 
+// hasCustomHardwareConfig checks if user provided custom hardware configuration.
+func (s *StepConfigureHardware) hasCustomHardwareConfig() bool {
+	c := s.Config
+
+	hasCpuConfig := c.CPUs != 0 || c.CpuCores != 0 || c.CPUReservation != 0 || c.CPULimit != 0
+	hasMemoryConfig := c.RAM != 0 || c.RAMReservation != 0 || c.RAMReserveAll
+	hasHotAddConfig := c.CpuHotAddEnabled || c.MemoryHotAddEnabled
+	hasDisplayConfig := c.VideoRAM != 0 || c.Displays != 0
+	hasNestedConfig := c.NestedHV
+	hasGpuConfig := c.VGPUProfile != ""
+	hasFirmwareConfig := c.Firmware != "" || c.ForceBIOSSetup || c.VTPMEnabled
+	hasClockConfig := c.VirtualPrecisionClock != ""
+	hasDeviceConfig := len(c.AllowedDevices) > 0
+
+	return hasCpuConfig ||
+		hasMemoryConfig ||
+		hasHotAddConfig ||
+		hasDisplayConfig ||
+		hasNestedConfig ||
+		hasGpuConfig ||
+		hasFirmwareConfig ||
+		hasClockConfig ||
+		hasDeviceConfig
+}
+
 func (s *StepConfigureHardware) Cleanup(multistep.StateBag) {}

builder/vsphere/common/step_hardware_test.go

@@ -150,11 +150,12 @@ func TestStepConfigureHardware_Run(t *testing.T) {
 			hardwareConfig:  driverHardwareConfigFromConfig(basicStepConfigureHardware().Config),
 		},
 		{
-			name:            "Don't configure hardware when config is empty",
+			name:            "Configure hardware even when config is empty (preserves template settings)",
 			step:            &StepConfigureHardware{Config: &HardwareConfig{}},
 			action:          multistep.ActionContinue,
 			configureError:  nil,
-			configureCalled: false,
+			configureCalled: true,
+			hardwareConfig:  driverHardwareConfigFromConfig(&HardwareConfig{}),
 		},
 		{
 			name:            "Halt when configure return error",
@@ -234,20 +235,23 @@ func driverHardwareConfigFromConfig(config *HardwareConfig) *driver.HardwareConf
 	}
 
 	return &driver.HardwareConfig{
-		CPUs:                config.CPUs,
-		CpuCores:            config.CpuCores,
-		CPUReservation:      config.CPUReservation,
-		CPULimit:            config.CPULimit,
-		RAM:                 config.RAM,
-		RAMReservation:      config.RAMReservation,
-		RAMReserveAll:       config.RAMReserveAll,
-		NestedHV:            config.NestedHV,
-		CpuHotAddEnabled:    config.CpuHotAddEnabled,
-		MemoryHotAddEnabled: config.MemoryHotAddEnabled,
-		VideoRAM:            config.VideoRAM,
-		AllowedDevices:      allowedDevices,
-		VGPUProfile:         config.VGPUProfile,
-		Firmware:            config.Firmware,
-		ForceBIOSSetup:      config.ForceBIOSSetup,
+		CPUs:                  config.CPUs,
+		CpuCores:              config.CpuCores,
+		CPUReservation:        config.CPUReservation,
+		CPULimit:              config.CPULimit,
+		RAM:                   config.RAM,
+		RAMReservation:        config.RAMReservation,
+		RAMReserveAll:         config.RAMReserveAll,
+		NestedHV:              config.NestedHV,
+		CpuHotAddEnabled:      config.CpuHotAddEnabled,
+		MemoryHotAddEnabled:   config.MemoryHotAddEnabled,
+		VideoRAM:              config.VideoRAM,
+		Displays:              config.Displays,
+		AllowedDevices:        allowedDevices,
+		VGPUProfile:           config.VGPUProfile,
+		Firmware:              config.Firmware,
+		ForceBIOSSetup:        config.ForceBIOSSetup,
+		VTPMEnabled:           config.VTPMEnabled,
+		VirtualPrecisionClock: config.VirtualPrecisionClock,
 	}
 }