Kernel-based Virtual Machine

Partially adapted from https://ubuntu.com/blog/kvm-hypervisor, https://developer.hashicorp.com. And with references to Red Hat article(s).

Introduction

Refer to Red Hat’s article.

Prerequisites

sudo apt install -y qemu qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon bridge-utils virt-manager libvirt-clients

Start a VM

1. Create empty image

   Synopsis:

   qemu-img create -f <format> <vm-disk-name>.img <size><unit>
   

   Example:

   qemu-img create -f qcow2 some-vm.img 60G
   

2. Boot from CDROM/ISO image

   Synopsis:

   qemu-system-x86_64 -m <mem_size> -boot d -enable-kvm -smp 3 \
                        -net nic -net user -hda <vm-disk-name>.img -cdrom /path/to/downloaded/iso.iso
   

   Example:

   qemu-system-x86_64 -m 2048 -boot d -enable-kvm -smp 3 \
                        -net nic -net user -hda some-vm.img -cdrom ubuntu-22.04-amd64.iso
   

3. Go through the installation process of the respected distro onto the created VM image.

4. Shut down the VM.

5. Boot from the image with the installed OS

   Synopsis:

   qemu-system-x86_64 -m <mem_size> -boot d -enable-kvm -smp 3 \
                       -net nic -net user -hda <vm-disk-name>.img
   

   Example:

   qemu-system-x86_64 -m 2048 -boot d -enable-kvm -smp 3 -net nic -net user -hda some-vm.img
   

Management

Virtual Machine Manager

sudo apt install virt-manager

GUI for easier management.

Vagrant

Infrastructure-as-Code implementation of VM and container management by HashiCorp.

wget -O- https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg && echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list && sudo apt update && sudo apt install vagrant

Terraform

Infrastructure-as-Code implementation of VM, container, network stackc management also by HashiCorp.

• Installation

wget -O- https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | \
    gpg --dearmor | \
    sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg && gpg --no-default-keyring \
    --keyring /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg \
    --fingerprint && echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] \
    https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list && sudo apt update && sudo apt install terraform

• Libvirt provider https://github.com/dmacvicar/terraform-provider-libvirt