Virtualization is the process of using software to create a virtual resource of something; usually, it refers to hardware virtualization, the act of running an operating system (referred to as guest) inside an host system.
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16answers
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Any reason NOT to run Linux in a VM all the time?
I've switched to using Arch Linux for most of my day to day work and don't need Windows for anything but gaming and the couple of apps that aren't ported to Linux like OneNote. My Linux distro is ...
29
votes
7answers
2k views
Easy way to determine virtualization technology
I have command line access to a Linux machine which may or may not be virtualized. I want to determine what kind of virtualization technology it runs on, if any (VMWare, VirtualBox, KVM, OpenVZ, Xen, ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
Tools for Monitoring Steal Time (st)
We're running on a virtual "dedicated" server, which should, in theory, mean that we're the only guys on the server. In practice.... I'm thinking we might not be.
Notice that although it looks ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Lightweight isolated linux environment
I want an isolated (guest) Linux environment on my computer that I can mess up without worrying about the host. E.g. install a lot of stuff from source without package management, pollute environment ...
7
votes
7answers
8k views
Should LVM partitions be used in virtual machine images?
Should LVM be used for the partitions when creating VM images (e.g., KVM images)? It seems like it adds complexity if you want to, say, mount a qcow2 image in the host if the image has LVM partitions. ...
7
votes
1answer
9k views
Do VirtualBox or VMWare use the Intel VT-d feature?
I'm thinking about a new laptop, which has Intel VT support, but recently I discovered a feature other than Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x), which is Intel® Virtualization Technology for ...
7
votes
1answer
597 views
Lightweight virtualization on Linux with user isolation
What Linux-on-Linux virtualization technologies provide user isolation? Specifically, I want root in the virtual machine not to have any privilege on the host.
This was not the case for LXC, but was ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Fast X for LXC guest on localhost?
How can I run X apps inside an LXC container efficiently?
ssh -Y guest
is too slow - there is no graphics acceleration with ssh -Y - everything has to travel over the virtual network with the ...
6
votes
1answer
501 views
Creating VLANs between network namespaces
I want to implement the topology shown in the figure below using network namespaces (ns1 to ns4).
...
5
votes
8answers
2k views
WebGUI for Virtualization?
Are there any virtualizations that can be accessed via a WebGUI too?
I mean the administration part is enough on a terminal, but we need a virtualization/webgui solution for "customers".
So that ...
5
votes
1answer
873 views
Does quiesce exist for Linux?
Quiescing a file system allows you to make a backup of the database while it is still running and other programs and their data as well.
The application generally needs to be notified of the quiesce ...
5
votes
6answers
291 views
How can I be sure that my server is not virtualised?
How can I make sure that my Linux server is running on a non-virtualised real box?
This is the scenario I am thinking of:
I install some distro on a rack-mounted server,
I rent some rack space on ...
5
votes
1answer
184 views
Running one OS per core
I'm interested in using a COTS board like the Wandboard for a project. On one hand I'd like to use something like Ubuntu for user interaction, sounds, TCP/IP stuff, etc. But I also need an RTOS like ...
4
votes
3answers
480 views
Can libvirt check if virtual machine is fully booted? Can another tool?
I currently have small VM to do certain tests (it has multiple benefits - like testing on another distribution, Fedora 15, as well as running make distcheck without the problem of polluting /).
...
4
votes
2answers
995 views
Openstack for home cloud hosting
I am experimenting with a couple of technologies that I soon may have to use at work. So for now, I was thinking about duplicating the environment which I may have to create for my office at home so ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
CPU usage of KVM
I have a linux host with 4 KVM linux guests. All the guest are pretty much idle, having a load of <0.1 inside the guest.
Now, if I do a top on the host, each KVM process is using something about ...
4
votes
2answers
663 views
VM benchmark tools?
I would like to benchmark of few XEN-constallations:
PV DomU
HVM DomU with PV network and disk drivers
HVM DomU with emulated IDE and PV network
The base will be the same VM with the same ...
4
votes
2answers
80 views
How to set up interchangeable VM guest/hosts
I'm looking for a way to set up a computer so that the disk is partitioned for multi-booting to two operating systems: Linux and Windows.
Whichever one is booted, I want the other to be accessible as ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
kvm doesn't load Windows 8
I'm launching kvm with the following parameter:
kvm -m 2g -smp ncores=2 -hda disk.img -cdrom win8.iso
My CPU has VT support and enabled,
EDIT
I seems to have limited emulate type:
pc ...
4
votes
1answer
637 views
One host, two virtual machines that cannot ping each other. How to solve
We have Virtual Machines operating within the KVM environment. We setup one as a dev server running Apache etc., and the other as a Windows development environment.
The two environments are setup ...
3
votes
4answers
342 views
How can I zero files out inside a VMware image file so that their space can be reclaimed?
is there a command on Linux to remove a file but zeroing it's contents first?
so if i do, something like this:
rm -rf /var/cache/pacman/pkg/*
it would overwrite each file on that directory with 0 ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
“echo 3 > /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches” - Permission denied as root
I am currently having some issues with the cache. It is a little too much right now so I wanted to clear it. I googled and found this little command: sync && echo 3 > ...
3
votes
2answers
3k views
Are there any virtualization solutions for OpenBSD that aren't from ports?
I'm searching for a virtualization solutions for an OpenBSD host and a CentOS guest. What are my options? I'm searching for one that doesn't use packages from ports. Are there any?
3
votes
2answers
670 views
How to force the time and date settings to refresh from the internet?
I'm running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS under vmWare. When I restart a suspended image, the system clock doesn't detect that the system time is out of date. In the Time and Date settings dialog, I've selected ...
3
votes
2answers
43 views
Running -march optimized software on another architechture?
I'm running an Athlon64 server with LFS and would like to have a local copy of the server in a virtual machine for testing purposes and building software.
My PC uses an i7 and the existing server ...
3
votes
3answers
466 views
Problem with mount namespaces under Fedora
I've run into an odd problem regarding mount namespaces on Linux. I have two systems, both X86_64 running kernel 3.2.3-2 under Fedora 16. I am attempting to mount a tmpfs filesystem in a child ...
3
votes
2answers
232 views
Terminal-based (non GUI) virtual-computer program?
Are there any terminal-based (ie. non-GUI) virtual-computer programs out there?
I've been using programs like VirtualBox and QEMU, but they're obviously GUI-based...
I was hoping for a virtual PC ...
3
votes
2answers
6k views
How to find VM OS installation media file in the Proxmox Web Interface?
I have installed Proxmox and wanted to create a VM by using the Proxmox web interface GUI (now the version is 2.0-38/af81df02)
However I have problem to find my Guest VM OS installation CD/DVD ISO ...
3
votes
2answers
285 views
Prevent hacking the grub.conf using a 'live rescue' from a live linux iso
It happened that I had set the grub password in grub.conf. But, using a live linux iso, I was able to delete the password from the grub.conf. Please read the steps for the same mentioned in this link: ...
3
votes
2answers
45 views
LiveCD “Remembers” Earlier Partitioning
Whenever I use VirtualBox to install a Linux distro, I usually install the LiveISO onto the hard drive instead of just using it as a live CD. However, sometimes the ISO doesn't install fully (usually ...
3
votes
1answer
47 views
memory buffering in virtual machines
Is there any point to doing disk buffer caching in a virtual machine, if the hypervisor OS is doing it? I wonder if buffering in the VM will just waste memory that could be better allocated to VM use, ...
3
votes
2answers
482 views
Does FreeBSD support network virtualization like Crossbow?
Does FreeBSD support network virtualization like Solaris Crossbow?
I've tried to follow the VImage links from the FreeBSD wiki page, but the links are mostly dead.
If VImage is no longer part of ...
3
votes
1answer
222 views
Custom live distro - ways to detect it is running inside virtual machine (or prevent running in VM altogether)
I am creating a custom live distro that will be a specialist work environment for those of my employees that are on the road.
I am looking for ways to detect or, ideally, prevent my live distro from ...
3
votes
1answer
73 views
X and xdotool in LXC instead of KVM
So far I am using various xautomation/xdotool scripts in a KVM virtual machine (linux guest) in order to let them do their work and let me work uninterruptedly. I am using a VirtIO disk, but still the ...
3
votes
2answers
359 views
How to add a ms-dos partition table to a loop device?
I recently made a dd from a disk partition. I want to use it as a disk in a virtual machine. I can't because the disk has no partition table.
Can I had a partition table to a loop device? how?
...
3
votes
2answers
3k views
Mouting a kvm qemu disk image with multiple partitions
I am trying to mount a KVM-qemu disk image with this command:
sudo mount -o loop,offset=32256 centos6.img /mnt/centos6. But it shows this error: you must specify filesystem type. As I have more ...
3
votes
0answers
1k views
PCI passthrough with Xen
I am trying to run Windows XP in a Xen DomU virtual machine with a PCIe device, for which there are no Linux drivers, being passed through from a Debian Squeeze Dom0. My hardware supports ...
3
votes
0answers
175 views
Setup Cloudmin on Centos installed in LVM
I installed CentOS 6 with default LVM partition pattern. according to this pattern Can I use Cloudmin and store KVM Disks in LVM as Logical Volume? I think Cloudmin requires creating new logical ...
3
votes
1answer
575 views
Xen domU fails to start with kernel panic
My dom0 is Gento 3.3.2, the kernel is compiled with Xen support. And I am planing to use the same kernel to boot my domU.
This is my domU configuration file:
1 vif = [ 'bridge=xenbr0' ]
2 vcpus ...
2
votes
2answers
302 views
Solaris11: Alternative to xVM Hypervisor?
AFAIK, support for the xVM Hypervisor - basically Xen - has been dropped in Solaris 11. Is there an alternative/replacement for it? How does it compare to Xen?
Obviously there is zones if you want ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Installing Freebsd as guest OS on kvm without using VNC
I want to run Freebsd as a guest OS on kVM running on Ubuntu server 10.04. All howtos mention VNC as a necessity to start and finish the installation process. Can I install freebsd on kVM without ...
2
votes
1answer
690 views
How to achieve the effect of chroot in userspace in Linux (without being root)?
The goal is to install and run programs in a displaced (relocated) distro (whose / must not coincide with the global /) inside a host Linux system. The programs are not adapted for using a different / ...
2
votes
2answers
214 views
Can I have a bridged interface without an IP?
I have 2 NICs: eth0 & eth1 on a host OS which runs some VMs (LXC) under it.
The hosts eth0 is connected to a private network and configured as the primary interface.
The hosts eth1 is connected ...
2
votes
1answer
241 views
Virtualbox under Proxmox
On a Jenkins Master-Slave configuration and need to run on the slaves Kitchen tests on several jobs. Kitchen for those who do not know it, runs infrastructure on demand using Vagrant and VirtualBox ...
2
votes
1answer
353 views
How to Free Up Space in a Dynamically Growing qcow2 VM image?
This has happened to one of my VM's that's running CentOS under Proxmox.
I copied about 40 GB of data into a VM. I then deleted that 40 GB data a day later. Now taking a backup of the same VM takes ...
2
votes
1answer
250 views
Emulate unplugging a network cable with qemu-kvm
[Background: I'd like to actually test How to take down a static network interface when not connected? ]
I'm setting up a QEMU-KVM virtual machine using libvirt (via virt-manager). I put two NICs on ...
2
votes
3answers
676 views
How to access a KVM virtual-machine?
I've created a KVM VM using virt-install. There is an image file in the directory /ssd/kvms.
How do I access the virtual machine and turn it on? Do I need to assign an IP address, and if so, how do I ...
2
votes
1answer
60 views
Qemu Backing Files Question
If I'm creating a new.qcow2 qcow2 image based on a backing file (called base.qcow2) and the backing file is located on an nfs share. What happens if someone tries to modify, replace, or delete the ...
2
votes
2answers
279 views
Wireless bridged networking in KVM. Why is it so complicated?
I've been using VirtualBox (and sometimes VMWare) for years and I've never had any problem with the virtual network adapters, no matter if the physical ones were wired or not.
I also played some time ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
Installing KVM on CentOS 6.4 without GUI (yet)
I've installed CentOS 6.4 from the 'minimal' iso, so it doesn't come with a GUI. Will this question's answer allow me to install KVM, or do I need to install KDE or X-server or something first?
