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Installing the QEMU guest agent on virtual machines

The QEMU guest agent is a daemon that runs on the virtual machine and passes information to the host about the virtual machine, users, file systems, and secondary networks.

Installing QEMU guest agent on a Linux virtual machine

The qemu-guest-agent is widely available and available by default in Red Hat virtual machines. Install the agent and start the service

Procedure

  1. Access the virtual machine command line through one of the consoles or by SSH.

  2. Install the QEMU guest agent on the virtual machine:

    $ yum install -y qemu-guest-agent

  3. Ensure the service is persistent and start it:

    $ systemctl enable --now qemu-guest-agent

You can also install and start the QEMU guest agent by using the custom script field in the cloud-init section of the wizard when creating either virtual machines or virtual machines templates in the web console.

Installing QEMU guest agent on a Windows virtual machine

For Windows virtual machines, the QEMU guest agent is included in the VirtIO drivers, which can be installed using one of the following procedures:

Installing VirtIO drivers on an existing Windows virtual machine

Install the VirtIO drivers from the attached SATA CD drive to an existing Windows virtual machine.

This procedure uses a generic approach to adding drivers to Windows. The process might differ slightly between versions of Windows. Refer to the installation documentation for your version of Windows for specific installation steps.
Procedure

  1. Start the virtual machine and connect to a graphical console.

  2. Log in to a Windows user session.

  3. Open Device Manager and expand Other devices to list any Unknown device.

    1. Open the Device Properties to identify the unknown device. Right-click the device and select Properties.

    2. Click the Details tab and select Hardware Ids in the Property list.

    3. Compare the Value for the Hardware Ids with the supported VirtIO drivers.

  4. Right-click the device and select Update Driver Software.

  5. Click Browse my computer for driver software and browse to the attached SATA CD drive, where the VirtIO drivers are located. The drivers are arranged hierarchically according to their driver type, operating system, and CPU architecture.

  6. Click Next to install the driver.

  7. Repeat this process for all the necessary VirtIO drivers.

  8. After the driver installs, click Close to close the window.

  9. Reboot the virtual machine to complete the driver installation.

Installing VirtIO drivers during Windows installation

Install the VirtIO drivers from the attached SATA CD driver during Windows installation.

This procedure uses a generic approach to the Windows installation and the installation method might differ between versions of Windows. Refer to the documentation for the version of Windows that you are installing.
Procedure

  1. Start the virtual machine and connect to a graphical console.

  2. Begin the Windows installation process.

  3. Select the Advanced installation.

  4. The storage destination will not be recognized until the driver is loaded. Click Load driver.

  5. The drivers are attached as a SATA CD drive. Click OK and browse the CD drive for the storage driver to load. The drivers are arranged hierarchically according to their driver type, operating system, and CPU architecture.

  6. Repeat the previous two steps for all required drivers.

  7. Complete the Windows installation.