4 easy steps of kvm installation in Ubuntu 16.4

KVM stands for Kernel Based Virtual Machine. It's a virtualisation software. kvm provides ability to run a multiple guest operating systems with the help of hardware virtualization extensions.

KVM managed by Virt-Manager (Virtual Machine Manager) it supports creating, editing, starting, and stopping KVM-based virtual machines.

Step 1:

Pre-installation checklist

Check that your CPU supports hardware virtualization

egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

If 0 it means that your CPU doesn't support hardware virtualization.

If 1 or more it does - but you still need to make sure that virtualization is enabled in the BIOS.

OR-->

kvm-ok

which may provide an output like this:

INFO: /dev/kvm exists

KVM acceleration can be used

If you see :

INFO: Your CPU does not support KVM extensions

KVM acceleration can NOT be used

To see if your processor is 64-bit Or 32-bit, you can run this command:

egrep -c ' lm ' /proc/cpuinfo

 

If 0 is printed, it means that your CPU is not 64-bit.

If 1 or higher, it is. Note: lm stands for Long Mode which equates to a 64-bit CPU.

Now see if your running kernel is 64-bit, just issue the following command:

uname -m

x86_64 indicates a running 64-bit kernel. If you use see i386, i486, i586 or i686, you're running a 32-bit kernel.

Note: x86_64 is synonymous with amd64.

Step 2

Installation KVM

Install Necessary Packages

apt-get install qemu-kvm qemu bridge-utils virtinst libvirt-bin virt-manager virt-viewer cpu-checker  

Step 3

Configure bridged networking

backup interface file :

cp /etc/network/interfaces /etc/network/interfaces.backup

vi /etc/network/interfaces

# interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)

auto lo

iface lo inet loopback

auto eth0

iface eth0 inet manual

auto br0

iface br0 inet static

        address 172.17.20.110

        netmask 255.255.0.0

          gateway 172.17.25.1

        bridge_ports eth0

        bridge_stp off

        bridge_fd 0

        bridge_maxwait 0

Restart the networking service, OR reboot system to take effact enter:

systemctl restart networking

   Or

reboot

Check bridge

brctl show

bridge name    bridge id       STP enabled    interfaces

br0       8000.0800279ac61a    no       enp0s3

Step 4

Create Virtual Machine

In this tutorial i install  centos 7 minimal, you can download from “https://mirrors.kernel.org/centos/7.3.1611/isos/x86_64/”

mkdir /iso

wget https://mirrors.kernel.org/centos/7.3.1611/isos/x86_64/CentOS-7-x86_64-Minimal-1611.iso

CREATE CENTOS 7 VM

Method - 1 : Terminal Mode:

In this example, I’m creating CentOS 7 VM with 1GB RAM, 1 CPU core, 1 nics and 16 GB disk space, enter:

virt-install --name=CentOS7 --ram=1024 --vcpus=1 --cdrom=/iso/CentOS-7-x86_64-Minimal-1611.iso --os-type=linux --os-variant=rhel7 --network bridge=br0 --graphics=spice --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/centos7-minimal.qcow2,size=16

--name        –  Name of the Virtual machine

--ram        –  Memory size in MB

--vcpus    –  Virtual cpu’s in numbers

--cdrom    –  Location of the ISO image

--os-type    –  OS type like Linux, Windows and Unix

--os-variant    –  OS variant like rhel 6, solaris, windows

--network    –  networking

--graphics    –  display settings

--disk path    –  image store location of the disk with size of 16 GB

A new virt-viewer window will be open,Now you can install your centos

Method -2 : Graphical Mode:

Type the following command in terminal in GUI mode.

virt-manager

1. Press “Create a new virtual machine”   icon - new window will open

   Here i choose "Local Install Media ( ISO image or CD-ROM ).  & Press  “Forward”

2. Locate your install media :

  

Press Browse Button → Browse Local → Select path of  ISO file

Press “Forward”

3. Choose memory & cpu

 

here i set 1GB ram and 1 Core  & Press “Forward”

4. Create disk image/volume for virtual machine

Here i set 16GB  disk Space for VM & Press “Forward”

5. Ready to be install

Type os name - < any name > & Press  “Finish”

6. a new window will open for installation of os

Enjoy !