Installing KVM on Ubuntu OS ?

Installing KVM on Ubuntu OS ?

KVM should be run on a processor that supports hardware virtualization. Ubuntu has utilities which can help you in checking whether your processor supports it or not.

KVM Installation:

First you need to install certain packages which are very necessary, assuming your Ubuntu version is Lucis (10.04) or later:

$ sudo apt-get install qemu-kvm libvirt-bin ubuntu-vm-builder bridge-utils

·         libvirt-bin

·         ubuntu-vm-builder

·         qemu-kvm

·         bridge-utils

You can also install virt-viewer which is for viewing the instances.

Adding Users to Groups

$ sudo adduser `id -un` libvirtd

Adding user '<username>' to group 'libvirtd'

To test whether the installation has been successful or not, use the following command:

$ virsh -c qemu:///system list

 Id Name                 State

---------------------------------- 
The following command can be used to install the virt manager which is the Graphical User Interface: 
$ sudo apt-get install virt-manager

 

Creating Virtual Machine
Virtual Machine can be created using the Graphical utility, Virtual Machine Manager. It’s a very simple process as it is graphical in nature and the Manager will walk you through all the steps of installing and configuring of the virtual machine. It’s very similar to other virtualization applications like VirtualBox, VMware. You can install from either ISO image or from a disc. This manager also enables you to manage the virtual machines very easily.

And for the maximum numbers of machines that can be used from KVM depend on the amount of RAM you have on your host machine and how much do you assign to the virtual machine. There can be only one machine which is resource intensive and there can be 10/20 small machines running.
Happy Computing 🙂

-Jack Hostler