How to Mount ISO in a PCD VM?

Problem

Platform9 Private Cloud Director (PCD) does not support directly attaching an ISO image to a running instance (VM). Users who try to mount an ISO; for example, to install software, mount installation media, or load drivers inside a guest OS will find no direct option in the PCD UI.

Environment

• Private Cloud Director - v2025.4 and Higher.

• Self-Hosted Private Cloud Director Virtualization – v2025.4 and Higher.

• Component: ISO

Procedure

Currently, the only viable workaround to use ISO files in a VM is to convert the ISO into a Persistent Storage volume, then attach that volume to the existing VM. Once attached, the guest OS can mount it like any other block device.

Prerequisites

• PCD CLI access with the OpenStack client installed and configured (openstack --version works).

• PCD project credentials sourced (e.g., source pcdctl.rc).

• The VM must be in STOPPED state before mounting/unmounting ISO.

• The ISO file is either already uploaded to Image Library, or available locally to upload.

• The target VM exists, and the user must have permission to attach volumes to it.

• Sufficient quota for an additional volume in the project.

1

Upload the ISO to Glance (skip if already present)

openstack image create <IMAGE_NAME> --os-interface admin --insecure --disk-format iso --container-format bare --file </PATH/TO/FILE.iso>

Verify the image is available:

openstack image list | grep <IMAGE_NAME>

2

Create a volume from the ISO image

openstack volume create --image <IMAGE_NAME> --size 5 <ISO_VOLUME_NAME>

• --size must be at least as large as the ISO, rounded up to the next whole GB.

• Replace <IMAGE_NAME> with the image name or ID from Step 1.

Wait for the volume to reach available status:

openstack volume show <ISO_VOLUME_UUID> -c status

3

Attach the volume to the existing VM

openstack server add volume <VM_UUID> <ISO_VOLUME_UUID>

To specify a device path inside the guest:

openstack server add volume <VM_UUID> <ISO_VOLUME_UUID> --device /dev/vdb

4

Verify the attachment

openstack server show <VM_UUID> 
openstack volume show <ISO_VOLUME_UUID>

The volume status should be in-use and the server should list the attached volume.

5

Mount the ISO inside the guest OS

• On a Linux guest:

Inside VM

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/iso
sudo mount /dev/<DEVICE_ID> /mnt/iso
ls /mnt/iso

• On a Windows guest, the new disk will appear in Disk Management. Assign a drive letter to access its contents.

6

Detach the volume when finished

• On a Linux guest:

  • Unmount inside the guest first:

    Inside VM

    sudo umount /mnt/iso

  • Then detach from the VM:

    openstack server remove volume <VM_UUID> <ISO_VOLUME_UUID>

  • Optionally delete the volume if no longer needed:

    openstack volume delete <ISO_VOLUME_UUID>

• On a Windows guest:

  • Open Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc).

  • Right-click the ISO disk in the lower pane and select Eject (for the CD/ISO drive letter), or

  • Right-click the disk number on the left and select Offline

Additional Information:

• Platform9 is devising a feature to enable users to mount ISO files to VMs via PCD UI via PCD-924