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Creating virtual machines

Use one of these procedures to create a virtual machine:

Do not create virtual machines in openshift-* namespaces. Instead, create a new namespace or use an existing namespace without the openshift prefix.

When you create virtual machines from the web console, select a virtual machine template that is configured with a boot source. Virtual machine templates with a boot source are labeled as Available boot source or they display a customized label text. Using templates with an available boot source expedites the process of creating virtual machines.

Templates without a boot source are labeled as Boot source required. You can use these templates if you complete the steps for adding a boot source to the virtual machine.

Using a Quick Start to create a virtual machine

The web console provides Quick Starts with instructional guided tours for creating virtual machines. You can access the Quick Starts catalog by selecting the Help menu in the Administrator perspective to view the Quick Starts catalog. When you click on a Quick Start tile and begin the tour, the system guides you through the process.

Tasks in a Quick Start begin with selecting a Red Hat template. Then, you can add a boot source and import the operating system image. Finally, you can save the custom template and use it to create a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the website where you can download the URL link for the operating system image.

Procedure

  1. In the web console, select Quick Starts from the Help menu.

  2. Click on a tile in the Quick Starts catalog. For example: Creating a Red Hat Linux Enterprise Linux virtual machine.

  3. Follow the instructions in the guided tour and complete the tasks for importing an operating system image and creating a virtual machine. The Virtual Machines tab displays the virtual machine.

Running the virtual machine wizard to create a virtual machine

The web console features a wizard that guides you through the process of selecting a virtual machine template and creating a virtual machine. Red Hat virtual machine templates are preconfigured with an operating system image, default settings for the operating system, flavor (CPU and memory), and workload type (server). When templates are configured with a boot source, they are labeled with a customized label text or the default label text Available boot source. These templates are then ready to be used for creating virtual machines.

You can select a template from the list of preconfigured templates, review the settings, and create a virtual machine in the Create virtual machine from template wizard. If you choose to customize your virtual machine, the wizard guides you through the General, Networking, Storage, Advanced, and Review steps. All required fields displayed by the wizard are marked by a *.

Create network interface controllers (NICs) and storage disks later and attach them to virtual machines.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads → Virtualization from the side menu.

  2. From the Virtual Machines tab or the Templates tab, click Create and select Virtual Machine with Wizard.

  3. Select a template that is configured with a boot source.

  4. Click Next to go to the Review and create step.

  5. Clear the Start this virtual machine after creation checkbox if you do not want to start the virtual machine now.

  6. Click Create virtual machine and exit the wizard or continue with the wizard to customize the virtual machine.

  7. Click Customize virtual machine to go to the General step.

    1. Optional: Edit the Name field to specify a custom name for the virtual machine.

    2. Optional: In the Description field, add a description.

  8. Click Next to go to the Networking step. A nic0 NIC is attached by default.

    1. Optional: Click Add Network Interface to create additional NICs.

    2. Optional: You can remove any or all NICs by clicking the Options menu kebab and selecting Delete. A virtual machine does not need a NIC attached to be created. You can create NICs after the virtual machine has been created.

  9. Click Next to go to the Storage step.

    1. Optional: Click Add Disk to create additional disks. These disks can be removed by clicking the Options menu kebab and selecting Delete.

    2. Optional: Click the Options menu kebab to edit the disk and save your changes.

  10. Click Next to go to the Advanced step to review the details for Cloud-init and configure SSH access.

    Statically inject an SSH key by using the custom script in cloud-init or in the wizard. This allows you to securely and remotely manage virtual machines and manage and transfer information. This step is strongly recommended to secure your VM. 

  11. Click Next to go to the Review step and review the settings for the virtual machine.

  12. Click Create Virtual Machine.

  13. Click See virtual machine details to view the Overview for this virtual machine.

    The virtual machine is listed in the Virtual Machines tab.

Refer to the virtual machine wizard fields section when running the web console wizard.

Virtual machine wizard fields

Name Parameter Description

Name

The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), and hyphens (-), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, periods (.), or special characters.

Description

Optional description field.

Operating System

The operating system that is selected for the virtual machine in the template. You cannot edit this field when creating a virtual machine from a template.

Boot Source

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content from an image available from an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint. Example: Obtaining a URL link from the web page with the operating system image.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existent persistent volume claim available on the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Provision virtual machine from a bootable operating system container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. Example: kubevirt/cirros-registry-disk-demo.

PXE (network boot - adds network interface)

Boot an operating system from a server on the network. Requires a PXE bootable network attachment definition.

Persistent Volume Claim project

Project name that you want to use for cloning the PVC.

Persistent Volume Claim name

PVC name that should apply to this virtual machine template if you are cloning an existing PVC.

Mount this as a CD-ROM boot source

A CD-ROM requires an additional disk for installing the operating system. Select the checkbox to add a disk and customize it later.

Flavor

Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Custom

Presets the amount of CPU and memory in a virtual machine template with predefined values that are allocated to the virtual machine, depending on the operating system associated with that template.

If you choose a default template, you can override the cpus and memsize values in the template using custom values to create a custom template. Alternatively, you can create a custom template by modifying the cpus and memsize values in the Details tab on the Workloads → Virtualization page.

Workload Type

If you choose the incorrect Workload Type, there could be performance or resource utilization issues (such as a slow UI).

Desktop

A virtual machine configuration for use on a desktop. Ideal for consumption on a small scale. Recommended for use with the web console.

Server

Balances performance and it is compatible with a wide range of server workloads.

High-Performance

A virtual machine configuration that is optimized for high-performance workloads.

Start this virtual machine after creation.

This checkbox is selected by default and the virtual machine starts running after creation. Clear the checkbox if you do not want the virtual machine to start when it is created.

Networking fields

Name Description

Name

Name for the network interface controller.

Model

Indicates the model of the network interface controller. Supported values are e1000e and virtio.

Network

List of available network attachment definitions.

Type

List of available binding methods. For the default pod network, masquerade is the only recommended binding method. For secondary networks, use the bridge binding method. The masquerade method is not supported for non-default networks. Select SR-IOV if you configured an SR-IOV network device and defined that network in the namespace.

MAC Address

MAC address for the network interface controller. If a MAC address is not specified, one is assigned automatically.

Storage fields

Name Selection Description

Source

Blank (creates PVC)

Create an empty disk.

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content via URL (HTTP or HTTPS endpoint).

Use an existing PVC

Use a PVC that is already available in the cluster.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existing PVC available in the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Import content via container registry.

Container (ephemeral)

Upload content from a container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. The container disk should be used only for read-only filesystems such as CD-ROMs or temporary virtual machines.

Name

Name of the disk. The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), and periods (.), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, or special characters.

Size

Size of the disk in GiB.

Type

Type of disk. Example: Disk or CD-ROM

Interface

Type of disk device. Supported interfaces are virtIO, SATA, and SCSI.

Storage Class

The storage class that is used to create the disk.

Advanced → Volume Mode

Defines whether the persistent volume uses a formatted file system or raw block state. Default is Filesystem.

Advanced → Access Mode

Access mode of the persistent volume. Supported access modes are Single User (RWO), Shared Access (RWX), and Read Only (ROX).

Advanced storage settings

The following advanced storage settings are available for Blank, Import via URL, and Clone existing PVC disks. These parameters are optional. If you do not specify these parameters, the system uses the default values from the kubevirt-storage-class-defaults config map.

Name Parameter Description

Volume Mode

Filesystem

Stores the virtual disk on a file system-based volume.

Block

Stores the virtual disk directly on the block volume. Only use Block if the underlying storage supports it.

Access Mode

Single User (RWO)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by a single node.

Shared Access (RWX)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by many nodes.

This is required for some features, such as live migration of virtual machines between nodes.

Read Only (ROX)

The disk can be mounted as read-only by many nodes.

Cloud-init fields

Name Description

Hostname

Sets a specific hostname for the virtual machine.

Authorized SSH Keys

The user’s public key that is copied to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the virtual machine.

Custom script

Replaces other options with a field in which you paste a custom cloud-init script.

To configure storage class defaults, use storage profiles. For more information, see Customizing the storage profile.

Pasting in a pre-configured YAML file to create a virtual machine

Create a virtual machine by writing or pasting a YAML configuration file. A valid example virtual machine configuration is provided by default whenever you open the YAML edit screen.

If your YAML configuration is invalid when you click Create, an error message indicates the parameter in which the error occurs. Only one error is shown at a time.

Navigating away from the YAML screen while editing cancels any changes to the configuration you have made.
Procedure

  1. Click Workloads → Virtualization from the side menu.

  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.

  3. Click Create and select Virtual Machine With YAML.

  4. Write or paste your virtual machine configuration in the editable window.

    1. Alternatively, use the example virtual machine provided by default in the YAML screen.

  5. Optional: Click Download to download the YAML configuration file in its present state.

  6. Click Create to create the virtual machine.

The virtual machine is listed in the Virtual Machines tab.

Using the CLI to create a virtual machine

You can create a virtual machine from a virtualMachine manifest.

Procedure

  1. Edit the VirtualMachine manifest for your VM. For example, the following manifest configures a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) VM:

    Example manifest for a RHEL VM 
    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
metadata:
  labels:
    app: <vm_name> (1)
  name: <vm_name>
spec:
  dataVolumeTemplates:
  - apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: <vm_name>
    spec:
      sourceRef:
        kind: DataSource
        name: rhel9
        namespace: openshift-virtualization-os-images
      storage:
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 30Gi
  running: false
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        kubevirt.io/domain: <vm_name>
    spec:
      domain:
        cpu:
          cores: 1
          sockets: 2
          threads: 1
        devices:
          disks:
          - disk:
              bus: virtio
            name: rootdisk
          - disk:
              bus: virtio
            name: cloudinitdisk
          interfaces:
          - masquerade: {}
            name: default
          rng: {}
        features:
          smm:
            enabled: true
        firmware:
          bootloader:
            efi: {}
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: 8Gi
      evictionStrategy: LiveMigrate
      networks:
      - name: default
        pod: {}
      volumes:
      - dataVolume:
          name: <vm_name>
        name: rootdisk
      - cloudInitNoCloud:
          userData: |-
            #cloud-config
            user: cloud-user
            password: '<password>' (2)
            chpasswd: { expire: False }
        name: cloudinitdisk
    1 Specify the name of the virtual machine.
    2 Specify the password for cloud-user.

  2. Create a virtual machine by using the manifest file:

    $ oc create -f <vm_manifest_file>.yaml

  3. Optional: Start the virtual machine:

    $ virtctl start <vm_name>

Virtual machine storage volume types

Storage volume type Description

ephemeral

A local copy-on-write (COW) image that uses a network volume as a read-only backing store. The backing volume must be a PersistentVolumeClaim. The ephemeral image is created when the virtual machine starts and stores all writes locally. The ephemeral image is discarded when the virtual machine is stopped, restarted, or deleted. The backing volume (PVC) is not mutated in any way.

persistentVolumeClaim

Attaches an available PV to a virtual machine. Attaching a PV allows for the virtual machine data to persist between sessions.

Importing an existing virtual machine disk into a PVC by using CDI and attaching the PVC to a virtual machine instance is the recommended method for importing existing virtual machines into OpenShift Container Platform. There are some requirements for the disk to be used within a PVC.

dataVolume

Data volumes build on the persistentVolumeClaim disk type by managing the process of preparing the virtual machine disk via an import, clone, or upload operation. VMs that use this volume type are guaranteed not to start until the volume is ready.

Specify type: dataVolume or type: "". If you specify any other value for type, such as persistentVolumeClaim, a warning is displayed, and the virtual machine does not start.

cloudInitNoCloud

Attaches a disk that contains the referenced cloud-init NoCloud data source, providing user data and metadata to the virtual machine. A cloud-init installation is required inside the virtual machine disk.

containerDisk

References an image, such as a virtual machine disk, that is stored in the container image registry. The image is pulled from the registry and attached to the virtual machine as a disk when the virtual machine is launched.

A containerDisk volume is not limited to a single virtual machine and is useful for creating large numbers of virtual machine clones that do not require persistent storage.

Only RAW and QCOW2 formats are supported disk types for the container image registry. QCOW2 is recommended for reduced image size.

A containerDisk volume is ephemeral. It is discarded when the virtual machine is stopped, restarted, or deleted. A containerDisk volume is useful for read-only file systems such as CD-ROMs or for disposable virtual machines.

emptyDisk

Creates an additional sparse QCOW2 disk that is tied to the life-cycle of the virtual machine interface. The data survives guest-initiated reboots in the virtual machine but is discarded when the virtual machine stops or is restarted from the web console. The empty disk is used to store application dependencies and data that otherwise exceeds the limited temporary file system of an ephemeral disk.

The disk capacity size must also be provided.

About RunStrategies for virtual machines

A RunStrategy for virtual machines determines a virtual machine instance’s (VMI) behavior, depending on a series of conditions. The spec.runStrategy setting exists in the virtual machine configuration process as an alternative to the spec.running setting. The spec.runStrategy setting allows greater flexibility for how VMIs are created and managed, in contrast to the spec.running setting with only true or false responses. However, the two settings are mutually exclusive. Only either spec.running or spec.runStrategy can be used. An error occurs if both are used.

There are four defined RunStrategies.

Always

A VMI is always present when a virtual machine is created. A new VMI is created if the original stops for any reason, which is the same behavior as spec.running: true.

RerunOnFailure

A VMI is re-created if the previous instance fails due to an error. The instance is not re-created if the virtual machine stops successfully, such as when it shuts down.

Manual

The start, stop, and restart virtctl client commands can be used to control the VMI’s state and existence.

Halted

No VMI is present when a virtual machine is created, which is the same behavior as spec.running: false.

Different combinations of the start, stop and restart virtctl commands affect which RunStrategy is used.

The following table follows a VM’s transition from different states. The first column shows the VM’s initial RunStrategy. Each additional column shows a virtctl command and the new RunStrategy after that command is run.

Initial RunStrategy start stop restart

Always

-

Halted

Always

RerunOnFailure

-

Halted

RerunOnFailure

Manual

Manual

Manual

Manual

Halted

Always

-

-

In OpenShift Virtualization clusters installed using installer-provisioned infrastructure, when a node fails the MachineHealthCheck and becomes unavailable to the cluster, VMs with a RunStrategy of Always or RerunOnFailure are rescheduled on a new node.

 
apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
spec:
  RunStrategy: Always (1)
  template:
...
1 The VMI’s current RunStrategy setting.

Additional resources