Objective
The following quick guide will help you setup Redhat Enterprise Linux server as a virtualization host using KVM.
Operating System and Software Versions
- Operating System: – Red Hat 7
Requirements
Privileged access to RHEL installation will be required.
Difficulty
EASY
Conventions
- # – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of
sudocommand - $ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user
Instructions
Check Hardware Requirements
In order to configure Redhat as a Virtualization host, your system must support hardware-assisted virtualization. To find out whether your system is configured to support hardware-assisted virtualization, query /proc/cpuinfo file for either the vmx (Intel) or svm (AMD) flag. Run the following linux command to check your virtualzation support:
$(grep -qE 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo) && echo "Virtualization IS supported" || echo "Virtualization is NOT supported"
In case the Virtualization is NOT supported on your system, you may need to restart to BIOS and enable it or your hardware simply does not support it.
Virtualization Host installation
The following linux command will install KVM and all its prerequisites:
# yum group install "Virtualization Host"
Virtualization Client installation
In order to manage or create new VMs install Virtual Machine Manager:
# yum install "Virtualization Client"
Confirm Virtualization Installation
At this stage you should be able to start Virtual Machine Manager from command line:
$ virt-manager
or from start menu by navigation to Applications -> System Tools -> Virtual Machine Manager. In case you run into issues, confirm that kvm_intel or kvm_amd is loaded correctly:
$ lsmod | grep kvm kvm_intel 170181 4 kvm 554609 1 kvm_intel irqbypass 13503 3 kvm