Windows Images

CoreWeave offers a variety of Operating System base images, enhanced to run on CoreWeave Cloud. Images are stored in the vd-images namespace.

Cloud-Init

Windows images on CoreWeave cloud use Cloudbase-Init, a Windows implementation of Canonical's cloud-init.

By default, we enable the following plugins, which are executed sequentially:

Add custom userdata

When creating a new Virtual Server on CoreWeave Cloud, instance-specific information such as user account information and SSH keys are automatically passed through as Cloud-Init Userdata. When deploying a new Virtual Server, one has the ability to add additional information via Userdata as well.

Via kubectl YAML:

  cloudInit: |
    write_files:
    -   encoding: b64
        content: JFBTVmVyc2lvblRhYmxlIHwgT3V0LUZpbGUgQzpcdGVzdC50eHQ=
        path: C:\test.ps1
        permissions: '0644'
    runcmd:
      - 'Powershell.exe -File C:\test.ps1'

View the rest of the source file on GitHub.

Within the Virtual Server deployment form, switch to the YAML tab:

Towards the bottom of the page, a commented out cloudInit section will be pre-populated. Uncomment to add custom user data:

Note

For more information on what be added via native cloud-init Userdata, see the Cloudbase Solutions documentation.

CoreWeave userdata features

There are several CoreWeave init scripts included in our base Windows image, that can be enabled via cloudInit Userdata.

Add SMB mounts

Samba shares, or any SMB/CIFS-compliant shares, can be added via cloudInit to be mounted to the first available drive letter at initial user login.

Using an example from a Samba instance hosted via CoreWeave Cloud Apps, we can derive the following information:

  • The SMB client's FQDN is fil01.tenant-orgname-namespace-cpierre.coreweave.cloud

  • The SMB mount login information is:

    • Username: gaben

    • Password: hunter2

  • The shares mounted are named vol01 and vol02

Using this information, we can populate the cloudInit key-value pairs as follows:

  cloudInit: |
    SmbMounts:
    - share: vol01
      server: fil01.tenant-orgname-namespace.coreweave.cloud
      username: gaben
      password: hunter2
    - share: vol02
      server: fil01.tenant-orgname-namespace.coreweave.cloud
      username: gaben
      password: hunter2

Note

By default, available drive letters are randomized, and the first available one is selected per share. Drive letters can be manually specified by adding them, such as Drive: Z.

Enroll a Parsec Teams machine

CoreWeave Windows images support Parsec Teams. To enroll a Parsec Teams machine, include the following in the cloudInit block when deploying a Virtual Server:

  cloudInit: |
    ParsecTeams:
      ComputerKey: key_generated_from_parsec_admin_panel
      TeamId: parsec_team_id
      # Use EITHER Group ID or EMail or User ID
      GroupId: parsec_group_id
      UserId: parsec_user_id
      EMail: parsec_user_email

Note

If a Parsec machine is assigned to an email that isn't part of the Team, the machine will be made available to them after they've been invited and accepted the invitation. If none of GroupId, UserId, or EMail is provided, the machine will be added to the Parsec Team unassigned.

For more information on Parsec Teams and where to obtain your enrollment key, please visit Parsec's documentation.

Note

When enrolling a Parsec Teams machine, Boolean values Parsec: true and EDID: true will also need to be added to your manifest.

Install Additional Software

All CoreWeave Windows images are pre-loaded with the Chocolatey package manager. On non-Server editions of Windows, WinGet is included as well.

Software specified via cloudInit is installed automatically at initial user logon:

  cloudInit: |
    Choco_Install:
      - googlechrome
      - firefox
    WinGet_Install:
      - Discord.Discord
      - Microsoft.VisualStudioCode

Power-off with no interactive input

Windows images include scripts that can detect user activity such as moving the mouse or keyboard inputs. When enabled, it detects a specified period of no user input, then automatically shuts down. A prompt is presented, along with a five-minute grace period, when the timer threshold is reached. Adding the following will prompt the user after ten minutes of no activity, and shut off automatically after an additional five minutes if the prompt is not acknowledged.

  cloudInit: |
    shutoff_on_idle: 10

Important

This feature should be combined with RunStrategy: RerunOnFailure via vm.Spec to prevent the instance from automatically powering back on once shutoff. Additionally, boolean flag Autologon should be set to true, as the idle tracker runs within the user context.

Configure Readiness Probe

The CoreWeave Cloud UI adds a Readiness Probe to Windows Virtual Servers by default to better communicate when start-up procedures have completed. Windows images include a simple TCP listener on default port 1337 to communicate with the Kubernetes API.

Learn more about Readiness Probe configuration in Configuration Options: Operating System and Root Disk.

Display requests override

Certain applications in Windows, like Parsec, can disrupt idle an inactivity timers. This means that despite setting a lock screen or screensaver timer, they may never engage when a Parsec session or other application is active.

This behavior can be overridden via cloudInit. For Parsec or Teradici, only the application name is required. For other applications, specify the executable name.

  cloudInit: |
    DisplayRequestsOverride:
      - Parsec
      - Teradici
      - chrome.exe

Boolean userdata features

Some Userdata features can be enabled with Boolean values true or false.

Teradici PCoIP graphics agent for Windows

CoreWeave Cloud supports Teradici PCoIP on both Linux and Windows. Adding the following will install the graphics agent on initial logon, pointed to our licensing server:

  cloudInit: |
    Teradici: true

Important

Teradici should not be combined with either Parsec or Virtual Display options below.

Virtual display

Many applications running on Windows require a display connected to GPU in order to render on the display. Adding the below value will attach a virtual 4K monitor to all available outputs, and disconnect the built-in VNC display.

  cloudInit: |
    EDID: true

Important

When the Virtual Display is enabled, Windows will only output to the attached GPU, making the built-in VNC terminal inaccessible.

Connecting via virtctl vnc will result in one of the blank screens shown below:

For serial console access (Windows Special Admin Console), use virtctl console instead.

Parsec Remote Desktop

CoreWeave strongly recommends Parsec for remote access on Windows GPU instances. Adding the following will install Parsec on initial logon:

  cloudInit: |
    EDID: true
    Parsec: true

Note

Parsec requires the use of a Virtual Display, and thus must always be installed alongside EDID: true.

Automatic logon

This flag configures the user account created for automatic logon.

  cloudInit: |
    Autologon: true

Operating System customizations

There are several modifications made to a vanilla Windows instance in order to optimize for use on CoreWeave Cloud. Depending on the use case, the following may be disabled or modified.

CoreWeave resize disk

By default, when the root disk of a Windows image is expanded, Windows will automatically expand the root disk partition to use all of the available space. Additionally, any new block volumes mounted to a Windows instance will automatically be initialized and partitioned as GPT, and formatted as NTFS.

Via the Windows Apps and Features menu, the default behavior can be modified:

Selecting Modify will prompt for an action to perform when it is detected that the root disk can be expanded. The default action of ReSize will expand the root disk. NewPartition will create a new partition with the unallocated space, and automatically assign a drive letter. Entering no value will disable any automatic action.

After selecting the desired re-size disk option, an additional prompt appears to set an action for newly detected RAW disks. Automatic formatting can be enabled or disabled with true or false.

CoreWeave auto-shutdown

Whether or not an instance powers off based on interactive user input is configured via cloudInit when an instance is initially deployed. Once an instance has already been deployed, this feature is also configurable via Windows Apps and Features:

Clicking Modify prompts for an integer value in minutes to configure auto-shutoff, or set to 0 to disable:

CoreWeave Windows update

In order to ensure system stability and predictability, the native Windows Update manager is disabled by default on CoreWeave instances. Instead, through custom scripts, updates are applied as follows:

  • Windows Defender updates are applied daily at 3:00AM UTC, or as soon as possible if missed. These are silent, and do not require reboots.

  • On the second Wednesday of the month, one day after Patch Tuesday, at 3:00AM UTC, or as soon as possible if missed:

    • The PSWindowsUpdate module is updated

    • On non-Server OSes, WinGet is updated, where applicable

    • All Windows Updates are applied silently, without forcing reboots

    • If there is a pending reboot and no user is logged in, the system is rebooted to finish applying patches

    • If there is a pending reboot and a user logged in, the user is presented with a GUI prompt notifying them of pending system patches requiring a reboot

  • Each day at 3:00AM UTC, the system is again checked for pending reboots. If there is a user logged in, they are notified, and asked to reboot. If there is no user logged in, the system will automatically be rebooted.

There are no user-configurable options for CoreWeave Windows Update. To revert to the default Windows Update behavior, simply uninstall the Windows Update manager from the Windows Apps and Features menu.

CoreWeave PowerShell Profile

When launching a new PowerShell session, users are presented with some helpful system stats.

To disable this functionality, simply delete the profile:

rm "$env:SystemRoot\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1" -Force -Verbose

CoreWeave PowerShell module

Included in CoreWeave Windows Images is a PowerShell module that provides functions for useful tasks and automation; moreover, some of the Cloud-Init Userdata features rely on the CoreWeave PowerShell module.

Using the CoreWeave PowerShell module

The CoreWeave PowerShell Module is a system-wide module - as all Windows Images on CoreWeave Cloud use at minimum PowerShell version 5.1, the module will be automatically imported when any of its functions are called.

To manually import the CoreWeave Module:

Import-Module CoreWeave -WarningAction SilentlyContinue

Get-nVidiaDeviceDriverParameters

This function matches and returns properties of the currently attached NVIDIA GPU. If there is not a valid driver installed and Windows cannot identify the attached GPU, the PCI ID will attempt to be matched instead. The output from this function is formatted for use in automating NVIDIA driver downloads.

Get-nVidiaDeviceDriverParameters
VERBOSE: After matching, GPU is NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000, type is Quadro, series is Quadro RTX Series, product is Quadro
RTX 4000, OS is Windows Server 2022, Current driver is 516.25

Name                           Value
----                           -----
ProductType                    Quadro
ProductSeries                  Quadro RTX Series
Product                        Quadro RTX 4000
OperatingSystem                Windows Server 2022
RunningDriverVersion           516.25

Download-nVidiaDisplayDriver

This function automates downloading drivers from NVIDIA. This function has many parameters, each of which include argument completers:

Syntax
    Download-nVidiaDisplayDriver [-ProductType] <string> [-ProductSeries] <string> [-Product] <string> [-OperatingSystem] <string> [-Language] <string> [[-DCH] <bool>] [[-RunningDriverVersion] <string>] [-Force ] [<CommonParameters>]

The easiest way to use this function is to combine it with Get-nVidiaDeviceDriverParameters. The returned output will be the location of the downloaded driver file:

PS C:\> $Parameters = Get-nVidiaDeviceDriverParameters
VERBOSE: After matching, GPU is NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000, type is Quadro, series is Quadro RTX Series, product is Quadro RTX 4000, OS is Windows Server 2019

PS C:\> Download-nVidiaDisplayDriver @Parameters -Language 'English (US)'
VERBOSE: Target driver version is 516.25
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\1\516.25-nvidia-rtx-winserv-2016-2019-2022-64bit-international-dch-whql.exe

Install-nVidiaDisplayDriver

This function installs a downloaded NVIDIA driver file. If no path is provided, it will attempt to match and download the correct driver.

Setup will be ran directly and silently if it is detected that there is an attached NVIDIA GPU device. If no NVIDIA GPU device is detected, drivers will be manually added to the Windows Driver Store via pnputil.

Synopsis
 
    Install-nVidiaDisplayDriver [[-DriverPath] <string>] [-CleanInstall] [-ForceInstall] [<CommonParameters>]

Note

-ForceInstall will force the installation of the same or older driver version. -CleanInstall will wipe existing driver configurations.

The easiest way to use this function is to run it directly, allowing auto-match of the attached NVIDIA GPU. If you're already running the latest driver, no action will be taken:

PS C:\> Install-nVidiaDisplayDriver
Transcript started, output file is C:\Logs\InstallnVidiaDisplayDriver.LOG
VERBOSE: After matching, GPU is NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000, type is Quadro, series is Quadro RTX Series, product is Quadro  RTX 4000, OS is Windows Server 2022, Current driver is 516.25                                                           VERBOSE: Target driver version is 516.25
VERBOSE: Target driver 516.25 is less than or equal to running driver 516.25 and Force flag was not passed, we're not
gonna download anything
Transcript stopped, output file is C:\Logs\InstallnVidiaDisplayDriver.LOG
0

Note

In the event new drivers are installed, a reboot is required, but not enforced.

Configure-AutoLogon

This function is called when Autologon: true. The -Action parameter will either enable or disable automatic logon, with $true or $false respectively.

Synopsis
    
    Configure-AutoLogon [[-InputObject] <pscredential>] [-Action] <bool> [<CommonParameters>]

The easiest way to use this function is to combine with Get-Credential:

Configure-AutoLogon -Action:$true -InputObject (Get-Credential)

Enroll-ParsecTeamMachine

This function is called by the Parsec Teams Cloud-Init feature. If an instance was not enrolled at the time of deployment, enrollment can be completed silently using this function.

Synopsis
    
    Enroll-ParsecTeamMachine [[-APIHost] <string>] [-ComputerKey] <string> [-TeamID] <string> [[-AppRuleID] <string>] [[-GuestAccess] <bool>] [[-UserID] <int>] [[-GroupID] <int>] [[-EMail] <string>] [[-BinPath] <string>] [<CommonParameters>]

Invoke-SilentMSI

This function automates silently installing a provided Windows Installer file.

Synopsis
    
    Invoke-SilentMSI [-Action] <string> [[-MSI] <string>] [[-InstallerArgs] <string[]>] [<CommonParameters>]

An example, installing PowerShell 7:

PS C:\> Start-BitsTransfer -Source https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell/releases/download/v7.2.4/PowerShell-7.2.4-win-x64.msi -Destination $env:TEMP
PS C:\> Invoke-SilentMSI -Action Install -MSI "$env:TEMP\PowerShell-7.2.4-win-x64.msi" -InstallerArgs @('ADD_FILE_CONTEXT_MENU_RUNPOWERSHELL=1','ADD_EXPLORER_CONTEXT_MENU_OPENPOWERSHELL=1','ENABLE_PSREMOTING=1','REGISTER_MANIFEST=1')
Transcript started, output file is C:\Logs\PowerShell7-x647.2.4.0.LOG
VERBOSE: Beginning installation of PowerShell 7-x64 7.2.4.0
VERBOSE: PowerShell 7-x64 7.2.4.0  has completed with exit code 0: ERROR_SUCCESS
Transcript stopped, output file is C:\Logs\PowerShell7-x647.2.4.0.LOG
0

A given MSI can also be uninstalled using the same function:

PS C:\> Invoke-SilentMSI -Action Remove -MSI "$env:TEMP\PowerShell-7.2.4-win-x64.msi"
Transcript started, output file is C:\Logs\PowerShell7-x647.2.4.0.LOG
VERBOSE: Beginning REMOVAL of PowerShell 7-x64 7.2.4.0
VERBOSE: PowerShell 7-x64 7.2.4.0  REMOVAL has completed with exit code 0: ERROR_SUCCESS
Transcript stopped, output file is C:\Logs\PowerShell7-x647.2.4.0.LOG
0

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