Create Rocky Linux VM using ISO file

[Akshay31]

Hello,

I want to create Rocky Linux VM in GCP using https://update.erad.com/iso/Rocky-8.10-x86_64-20250402_1336-UNRELEASED-dvd.iso this file, I tried many different ways and was successful to convert it to disk.raw and then to image.tar.gz file, but the VM created using that image is not operating.

Thank you 

[a_aleinikov]

Hi @Akshay31 ,
To create a Rocky Linux VM in GCP, you can’t just convert the ISO → raw → image.tar.gz — GCP needs a bootable image prepared properly.Here’s what you should do:

1. Use tools like Packer or virt-install to install Rocky Linux onto a raw disk.

2. Once you have a working disk.raw, compress it:

tar -cvzf image.tar.gz disk.raw

1. Import to GCP:

gcloud compute images import rocky-linux \ --source-file=image.tar.gz \ --os=rocky-linux-8

Direct ISO conversion won’t work because it lacks a pre-installed OS.