$ mkdir /home/foo/libvirt/Ĭreate symbolic links to these new directories in /var/lib/libvirt. Since I have root and home on separate partitions - and I have much more storage space in home - I create an images directory there, plus an isos directory to hold Linux installer images. $ sudo adduser foo kvmĭefault directory to hold VM images is /var/lib/libvirt/images. $ sudo apt install qemu-system-x86 libvirt-clients libvirt-daemon libvirt-daemon-system virtinst virt-manager bridge-utilsĪdd user (example: foo) to the kvm, libvirt, and libvirt-qemu groups. A result of 0 means it does not, though double-check the BIOS and see if the extensions are available and just need to be enabled. $ egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfoĪ result of 1 or more means the CPU supports virtualization extensions. I use virt-manager and virsh as graphical and console interfaces respectively.įirst, check whether the host computer's CPU supports virtualization. Finally, libvirt provides the tools for creating and managing VMs. QEMU (Quick EMUlator) emulates the various hardware components of a physical machine. KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is built into the Linux kernel and handles the CPU and memory details. Setup a stack of virtualization tools on a Debian 12 host for creating and managing virtual machines (VMs). Home → Archive Virtualization using KVM + QEMU + libvirt Virtualization using KVM + QEMU + libvirt ☯ Daniel Wayne Armstrong Daniel Wayne Armstrong