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Using virtual Trusted Platform Module devices

Add a virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) device to a new or existing virtual machine by editing the VirtualMachine (VM) or VirtualMachineInstance (VMI) manifest.

About vTPM devices

A virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) device functions like a physical Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware chip.

You can use a vTPM device with any operating system, but Windows 11 requires the presence of a TPM chip to install or boot. A vTPM device allows VMs created from a Windows 11 image to function without a physical TPM chip.

If you do not enable vTPM, then the VM does not recognize a TPM device, even if the node has one.

vTPM devices also protect virtual machines by temporarily storing secrets without physical hardware. However, using vTPM for persistent secret storage is not currently supported. vTPM discards stored secrets after a VM shuts down.

Adding a vTPM device to a virtual machine

Adding a virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM) device to a virtual machine (VM) allows you to run a VM created from a Windows 11 image without a physical TPM device. A vTPM device also temporarily stores secrets for that VM.

Procedure

  1. Run the following command to update the VM configuration:

    $ oc edit vm <vm_name>

  2. Edit the VM spec so that it includes the tpm: {} line. For example:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
metadata:
    name: example-vm
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          tpm: {} (1)
...
    1 Adds the TPM device to the VM.

  3. To apply your changes, save and exit the editor.

  4. Optional: If you edited a running virtual machine, you must restart it for the changes to take effect.