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    Easy to manage KVM host setup

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    • Pete.S
      Pete.S last edited by

      We have been running Citrix Xenserver for simple virtualization needs.

      I was thinking about setting up a KVM host as an alternative and was wondering what I should install to make it as easy as possible to manage?

      On xenserver we would use xencenter. So it has to be a GUI of some kind. Is ovirt what I'm looking for?

      Also is CentOS the easiest way to install KVM? Xenserver has it's own ISO so it's really easy to install and I'm looking for something equally hassle free.

      Emad R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • black3dynamite
        black3dynamite last edited by black3dynamite

        Use Fedora Server instead of CentOS for your KVM host.

        Cockpit is capable of managing virtual machines.

        sudo dnf install cockpit cockpit-machines
        sudo systemctl enable --now cockpit.socket
        sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=cockpit
        sudo firewall-cmd --reload
        
        https://ip-address:9090/
        
        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
        • scottalanmiller
          scottalanmiller last edited by

          I agree, Fedora over CentOS. You don't want your host that outdated.

          V 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Emad R
            Emad R @Pete.S last edited by Emad R

            @pete-s

            shhhh dont listen to them, Centos rocks for KVM. They just love living bleeding edge.

            Also KVM has no standard GUI even the semi-official stuff in the repo wont allow you to create VM but will allow you to monitor their status, assuming you wont everything on one machine, the KVM + management tools.

            The defacto best GUI is applicaiton called Virt-Manager, this can be on Fedora to get the latest version of it, while the web interface manager is called cockpit and it has addon for KVM called cockpit-machines

            Start from minimal Centos :

            1. Check CPU support for Virtualization:
              grep -E '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

            2. Install KVM:
              yum groupinstall Virtualization "Virtualization Platform" "Virtualization Tools" -y

            3. For remote managment install cockpit:
              yum install cockpit cockpit-machines cockpit-storaged cockpit-networkmanager -y
              systemctl start cockpit
              systemctl enable cockpit.socket

            4. Setup passwordless SSH login from the KVM server to the Virt-Manager machine (can be VM or real)
              ssh-keygen
              ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub 192.168.1.x

            5. Validate by "virt-host-validate"
              and visit => https://192.168.1.x:9090

            black3dynamite 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
            • V
              VoodooRabbit87 @scottalanmiller last edited by

              @scottalanmiller would it not depend on what you want to gain from using kvm on a certain dist? say, wanting to gain experience in the most widely used distribution in linux shops? i assumed that would be centos.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • stacksofplates
                stacksofplates last edited by

                No matter what OS you use Virt-Manager is the only GUI that will do everything. Cockpit isn't there yet, you can only do limited tasks with it.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                • A
                  abcy last edited by

                  Anyone has an idea that how to set CPU limit per vm. The vm has to be limited to use only 10% of one core. Cggroups? Thanks a lot

                  black3dynamite JaredBusch 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • black3dynamite
                    black3dynamite @abcy last edited by

                    @abcy said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                    Anyone has an idea that how to set CPU limit per vm. The vm has to be limited to use only 10% of one core. Cggroups? Thanks a lot

                    Using Virt-Manager, these are the only options available.
                    0_1530888219747_screenshot.png

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • Pete.S
                      Pete.S last edited by

                      Fedora Server was a no go on the old HP server I had. It would hang during install.
                      I tried xcp-ng (= xenserver ~ centos) on it and it installed fine. Debian 9 also installs fine.

                      I'll try CentOS next.

                      scottalanmiller 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • black3dynamite
                        black3dynamite @Emad R last edited by

                        @emad-r said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                        Centos rocks for KVM

                        I still use CentOS too. I just hate how old packages like cockpit is on it especially related to cockpit-machine.

                        stacksofplates 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • scottalanmiller
                          scottalanmiller @Pete.S last edited by

                          @pete-s said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                          Fedora Server was a no go on the old HP server I had. It would hang during install.
                          I tried xcp-ng (= xenserver ~ centos) on it and it installed fine. Debian 9 also installs fine.

                          I'll try CentOS next.

                          That's surprising. What server is it?

                          Pete.S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • JaredBusch
                            JaredBusch @abcy last edited by

                            @abcy said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                            Anyone has an idea that how to set CPU limit per vm. The vm has to be limited to use only 10% of one core. Cggroups? Thanks a lot

                            What is the ungodly use case for this restriction?

                            I mean this seriously. I want to know what business need could possibly cause a restriciton like this to come into play.

                            stacksofplates 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • stacksofplates
                              stacksofplates @JaredBusch last edited by

                              @jaredbusch said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                              @abcy said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                              Anyone has an idea that how to set CPU limit per vm. The vm has to be limited to use only 10% of one core. Cggroups? Thanks a lot

                              What is the ungodly use case for this restriction?

                              I mean this seriously. I want to know what business need could possibly cause a restriciton like this to come into play.

                              I wanted to let someone else ask the question lol.

                              JaredBusch 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • JaredBusch
                                JaredBusch @stacksofplates last edited by

                                @stacksofplates said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                                @jaredbusch said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                                @abcy said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                                Anyone has an idea that how to set CPU limit per vm. The vm has to be limited to use only 10% of one core. Cggroups? Thanks a lot

                                What is the ungodly use case for this restriction?

                                I mean this seriously. I want to know what business need could possibly cause a restriciton like this to come into play.

                                I wanted to let someone else ask the question lol.

                                Well, I get that there are weird snowflake use cases out there. I won't argue the need for something like this being mandated.

                                But gods above, please tell me why.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                                • stacksofplates
                                  stacksofplates @black3dynamite last edited by

                                  @black3dynamite said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                                  @emad-r said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                                  Centos rocks for KVM

                                  I still use CentOS too. I just hate how old packages like cockpit is on it especially related to cockpit-machine.

                                  There really isn't that much extra in the Fedora edition.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • Pete.S
                                    Pete.S @scottalanmiller last edited by Pete.S

                                    @scottalanmiller said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                                    @pete-s said in Easy to manage KVM host setup:

                                    Fedora Server was a no go on the old HP server I had. It would hang during install.
                                    I tried xcp-ng (= xenserver ~ centos) on it and it installed fine. Debian 9 also installs fine.

                                    I'll try CentOS next.

                                    That's surprising. What server is it?

                                    I had to go check what it was and it's a HP DL360 G5.
                                    It's too old and slow anyway so not a big deal, but still surprising.

                                    I have two Dell R710 laying around as well that I could use instead. They're a little less ancient I think (xeon 5500 series). It just for testing so as long as it works performance doesn't matter much. Just need to have enough RAM.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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