Building a VM with virt-install


Introduction

   This assumes that the network will be used in "macvtap" mode. This is
   the preferred method, as it is faster than a regular bridge and does
   not need any additional network configuration on the host.

   The disadvantage of macvtap is that host-to-vm and vm-to-host
   communication is blocked. This can be worked around with an
   "internal" switch, or by having the macvtap connection bind to a
   second interface.


Creating the VM

   The following command assumes the OS is "rhel9.1" and the network
   card is "eno1". It should be run as the root user or with sudo, and
   should be run inside tmux for safety.

      virt-install --name rhel9                                        \
         --osinfo rhel9.1                                              \
         --boot uefi                                                   \
         --cdrom /var/lib/libvirt/isos/rhel-baseos-9.1-x86_64-dvd.iso  \
         --disk /var/lib/libvirt/rhel9.qcow2,size=20                   \
         --network type=direct,source=enp2s0,source_mode=bridge        \
         --graphics vnc                                                \
         --console pty,target.type=virtio                              \
         --autoconsole none

   Paths and names should be changed as appropriate. The VNC port can be
   found for this example by running "virsh vncdisplay rhel9".


Alternative install options

   Import a template image by copying the template into place and
   replacing "--cdrom /path/to/disc.iso" with "--import". The file size
   is not needed in the --disk option in this case.

   PXE-boot a VM by replacing the "--cdrom /path/to/disc.iso" option
   with "--pxe".


Tips

   For a virtio network card on Windows machines, add "model=virtio" to
   the --network option.

   Other useful options are "--memory 4096" for 4 GB RAM, and
   "--vcpus 2" for a dual-CPU guest.

   A list of supported operating systems can be found by running:

      virt-install --osinfo list

   If the host hypervisor has a bridged network set up already, such as
   br0, replace the --network option with:

      --network bridge=br0