1VIRT-IMAGE(1) Virtual Machine Install Tools VIRT-IMAGE(1)
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6 virt-image - create virtual machines from an image descriptor
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9 virt-image [OPTION]... IMAGE.XML
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12 virt-image is a command line tool for creating virtual machines from an
13 XML image descriptor "IMAGE.XML" (virt-image(5)). Most attributes of
14 the virtual machine are taken from the XML descriptor (e.g., where the
15 files to back the virtual machine's disks are and how to map them into
16 the guest), though certain information must be added on the command
17 line, such as the name of the guest.
18 The XML descriptor defines most attributes of the guest, making it
20 possible to bundle and distribute it together with the files backing
21 the guest's disks.
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24 Most options can be omitted, in which case virt-image will use defaults
25 from the XML descriptor. When defaults are taken from the XML
26 descriptor, they are indicated below as a path. --name is the only
27 required command line option.
28 -h, --help
30 Show the help message and exit
31 --connect=CONNECT
33 Connect to a non-default hypervisor. See virt-install(1) for
34 details
35 General Options
37 General configuration parameters that apply to all types of guest
38 installs.
39 -n NAME, --name=NAME
41 Name of the guest instance
42 -r MEMORY, --ram=MEMORY
44 Memory to allocate for guest instance in megabytes. Defaults to
45 "/image/devices/memory" in the XML descriptor.
46 -u UUID, --uuid=UUID
48 UUID for the guest; if none is given a random UUID will be generated.
49 If you specify UUID, you should use a 32-digit hexadecimal number.
50 --vcpus=VCPUS
52 Number of vcpus to configure for your guest. Defaults to
53 "/image/devices/vcpu" in the XML descriptor. This option can also be
54 used to set CPU topology, please see virt-install(1) for more info.
55 --cpuset
57 Set which physical cpus the guest can use. Please see virt-install(1)
58 for more info.
59 --cpu
61 Configure the CPU and CPU features exposed to the guest. Please see
62 virt-install(1) for more info.
63 --check-cpu
65 Check that vcpus do not exceed physical CPUs and warn if they do.
66 --os-type=OS_TYPE
68 Optimize the guest configuration for a type of operating system (ex.
69 'linux', 'windows'). This will attempt to pick the most suitable ACPI
70 & APIC settings, optimally supported mouse drivers, virtio, and
71 generally accommodate other operating system quirks. See
72 virt-install(1) for valid values.
73 --os-variant=OS_VARIANT
75 Further optimize the guest configuration for a specific operating
76 system variant (ex. 'fedora8', 'winxp'). This parameter is optional,
77 and does not require an "--os-type" to be specified. See
78 virt-install(1) for valid values.
79 Full Virtualization specific options
81 Parameters specific only to fully virtualized guest installs.
82 --noapic
84 Disables APIC for fully virtualized guest (overrides value in XML
85 descriptor)
86 --noacpi
88 Disables ACPI for fully virtualized guest (overrides value in XML
89 descriptor)
90 Networking Configuration
92 -m MAC, --mac=MAC
93 This is deprecated in favor of "--network ...,mac=MAC,..."
94 -b BRIDGE, --bridge=BRIDGE
96 This is deprecated in favor of "--network bridge=BRIDGE"
97 -w NETWORK, --network=NETWORK
99 Connect the guest to the host network. See virt-install(1) for
100 details
101 Graphics Configuration
103 If no graphics option is specified, "virt-install" will default to
104 --vnc if the DISPLAY environment variable is set, otherwise
105 --nographics is used.
106 --vnc
108 Setup a virtual console in the guest and export it as a VNC server in
109 the host. See virt-install(1) for details
110 --vncport=VNCPORT
112 Request a permanent, statically assigned port number for the guest
113 VNC console. See virt-install(1) for details
114 --vnclisten=VNCLISTEN
116 Address to listen on for VNC connections. See virt-install(1) for
117 details.
118 -k KEYMAP, --keymap=KEYMAP
120 Request that the virtual VNC console be configured to run with a non-
121 English keyboard layout.
122 --sdl
124 Setup a virtual console in the guest and display an SDL window in the
125 host to render the output. See virt-install(1) for details
126 --nographics
128 Do not attach a graphical device to the guest. See virt-install(1)
129 for details
130 Miscellaneous Options
132 -p, --print
133 Print the libvirt XML, but do not start the guest.
134 --boot=BOOT
136 The zero-based index of the boot record to use. The XML descriptor
137 can contain multiple "/image/domain/boot" elements for use on
138 different hypervisors. By default, the one that is most appropriate
139 for the current hypervisor is selected.
140 --replace
142 Shutdown and remove any existing guest with the passed "--name"
143 before installing from the image.
144 --skip-checksum
146 Do not check disk images against checksums (if they are listed in the
147 image xml).
148 -d, --debug
150 Print debugging information
151 --force
153 Prevent interactive prompts. If the intended prompt was a yes/no
154 prompt, always say yes. For any other prompts, the application will
155 exit.
156
158 Create and start a guest called "example" with a VNC console from
159 "image.xml":
160 # virt-image --name example --vnc -i image.xml
162 Print the libvirt XML for a guest called "example" without graphics,
164 but do not create or start a virtual machine:
165 # virt-image --print --name example --nographics --image image.xml
167
169 Written by David Lutterkort. See the AUTHORS file in the source
170 distribution for the complete list of credits.
171
173 Please see http://virt-manager.org/page/BugReporting
174
176 Copyright (C) 2006-2007 Red Hat, Inc, and various contributors. This
177 is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of
178 the GNU General Public License "http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html".
179 There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
180
182 virt-image(5), virt-install(1), the project website
183 "http://virt-manager.org"
184 2011-03-24 VIRT-IMAGE(1)