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. Missing information will be
18 queried interactively.
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20 The XML descriptor defines most attributes of the guest, making it pos‐
21 sible to bundle and distribute it together with the files backing the
22 guest's disks.
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25 Any of the options can be omitted, in which case virt-image will either
26 use defaults from the XML descriptor or interactively prompt for input
27 as required. When defaults are taken from the XML descriptor, they are
28 indicated below as a path.
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30 -h, --help
31 Show the help message and exit
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33 -n NAME, --name=NAME
34 Name of the guest instance
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36 -r MEMORY, --ram=MEMORY
37 Memory to allocate for guest instance in megabytes. Defaults to
38 "/image/devices/memory" in the XML descriptor.
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40 -u UUID, --uuid=UUID
41 UUID for the guest; if none is given a random UUID will be gener‐
42 ated. If you specify UUID, you should use a 32-digit hexadecimal
43 number.
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45 --vcpus=VCPUS
46 Number of vcpus to configure for your guest. Defaults to
47 "/image/devices/vcpu" in the XML descriptor.
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49 --check-cpu
50 Check that vcpus do not exceed physical CPUs and warn if they do.
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52 -m MAC, --mac=MAC
53 Fixed MAC address for the guest. See virt-install(1) for details
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55 -b BRIDGE, --bridge=BRIDGE
56 Bridge device to connect the guest NIC to. See virt-install(1) for
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59 -w NETWORK, --network=NETWORK
60 Connect the guest to the host network. See virt-install(1) for
61 details
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63 --vnc
64 Setup a virtual console in the guest and export it as a VNC server
65 in the host. See virt-install(1) for details
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67 --vncport=VNCPORT
68 Request a permanent, statically assigned port number for the guest
69 VNC console. See virt-install(1) for details
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71 --sdl
72 Setup a virtual console in the guest and display an SDL window in
73 the host to render the output. See virt-install(1) for details
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75 --nographics
76 Disable all interactive prompts for the guest virtual console. See
77 virt-install(1) for details
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79 -k KEYMAP, --keymap=KEYMAP
80 Request that the virtual console be configured to run with a non-
81 English keyboard layout.
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83 --connect=CONNECT Connect to hypervisor with URI
84 Connect to a non-default hypervisor. See virt-install(1) for
85 details
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87 --noapic
88 Disables APIC for fully virtualized guest (overrides value in XML
89 descriptor)
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91 --noacpi
92 Disables ACPI for fully virtualized guest (overrides value in XML
93 descriptor)
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95 -d, --debug
96 Print debugging information
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98 -p, --print
99 Print the libvirt XML, but do not start the guest.
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101 --boot=BOOT
102 The zero-based index of the boot record to use. The XML descriptor
103 can contain multiple "/image/domain/boot" elements for use on dif‐
104 ferent hypervisors. By default, the one that is most appropriate
105 for the current hypervisor is selected.
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108 Create and start a guest called "example" with a VNC console from
109 "image.xml":
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111 # virt-image --name example --vnc -i image.xml
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113 Print the libvirt XML for a guest called "example" without graphics,
114 but do not create or start a virtual machine:
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116 # virt-image --print --name example --nographics --image image.xml
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119 Written by David Lutterkort. See the AUTHORS file in the source distri‐
120 bution for the complete list of credits.
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123 Report bugs to the mailing list "http://www.redhat.com/mail‐
124 man/listinfo/et-mgmt-tools" or directly to BugZilla
125 "http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/" against the "Fedora" product,
126 and the "python-virtinst" component.
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129 Copyright (C) 2006-2007 Red Hat, Inc, and various contributors. This
130 is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of
131 the GNU General Public License "http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html".
132 There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
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135 virt-image(5), virt-install(1), the project website "http://virt-man‐
136 ager.org"
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140perl v5.8.8 2007-08-24 VIRT-IMAGE(1)