Rich

Azure DevOps, Terraform, PowerShell, Azure Policy and more.

Linux - How to a Setup Virtual Machine Server

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS installed on a computer. If you are using a Virtual Machine you must ensure that nested virtualisation is supported and enabled. egrep -i '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo will show if virtualisation is supported.
• A Workstation to connect to the Virtual Machine Server.
• The Virtual Machine Server should have 2 NICs, 1 for SSH connectivity and a 2nd that can be used to configure a network bridge device. If you are using a Virtual Machine you must ensure that MAC address spoofing is allowed for the 2nd NIC.
• A DHCP Server on the same network as the 2nd NIC.
• Adequate storage to store vDisks and VM Images. These instructions assume that you have created a new logical volume for this purpose.

Steps

Virtual Machine Server Setup

• Install packages and check libvirtd is running:
  • sudo apt update
  • sudo apt install bridge-utils libvirt-clients libvirt-daemon-system qemu-system-x86
  • systemctl status libvirtd
• Configure logical volume for vDisk and VM Image storage:
  • sudo vi /etc/fstab and add the following line: /dev/vg-images/lv-images /var/lib/libvirt/images ext4 defaults 0 1
  • Mount the filesystem using sudo mount -a
  • Grant the kvm group permission to /var/lib/libvirt/images using:
    • sudo chown :kvm /var/lib/libvirt/images
    • sudo chmod g+rw /var/lib/libvirt/images
    • sudo systemctl restart libvirtd
    • sudo systemctl status libvirtd
• Grant your user permission to manage the Virtual Machine Server:
  • sudo usermod -aG kvm rich
  • sudo usermod -aG libvirt rich
• Update the network configuration to include a network bridge device so that Virtual Machines may connect to the network - sudo vi /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml:

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    eth0:
      addresses:
        - 192.168.101.83/24
      nameservers:
        addresses: [192.168.101.81]
      routes:
        - to: default
          via: 192.168.101.1
    eth1:
      dhcp4: false

  bridges:
    br0:
      interfaces: [eth1]
      dhcp4: true
      parameters:
        stp: false
        forward-delay: 0

• sudo netplan apply

Virtual Machine Manager Workstation Setup

• Install Virtual Machine Manager to connect to Virtual Machine Server:
  • sudo apt install ssh-askpass virt-manager
  • Connect to the Virtual Machine Server using SSH before you attempt to use Virtual Machine Manager.
  • Open Virtual Machine Manager and Add Connection
• Create a storage pool to store ISOs:
  • Right-click the Connection> Details then select the Storage tab.
  • Create a storage pool with Target Path: /var/lib/libvirt/images/ISO.

Virtual Machine Server ISO Library Setup

• Make sure the permissions are set correctly for /var/lib/libvirt/images/ISO:
  • sudo chown root:kvm /var/lib/libvirt/images/ISO
  • sudo chmod g+rw /var/lib/libvirt/images/ISO
• Download ISO Image ready to create a Virtual Machine:
  • cd /var/lib/libvirt/images/ISO
  • wget https://releases.ubuntu.com/22.04.1/ubuntu-22.04.1-live-server-amd64.iso

Virtual Machine Deployment

• Within Virtual Machine Manager, right-click a Connection and create New VM.
  • Use the ISO Library path to select an ISO.
  • A Bridge device… with Device name: br0 should be set for your Network selection.