virt-install(1M) System Administration Commands virt-install(1M)NAMEvirt-install - install guest operating system on xVM system
SYNOPSIS
/usr/bin/virt-install [options]
DESCRIPTION
The virt-install program enables you to install a guest operating sys‐
tem on a machine running Solaris xVM.
virt-install allows you to enter information about a guest as a set of
command-line options that enable you to specify the following:
o Name of your guest domain. This name serves as the label of
the guest operating system and will be the name of the file
that stores the guest's configuration. For network-based
installs, the name of the domain must match its real host‐
name.
o Amount of RAM to be allocated to the guest, in MB. Solaris
domains should use 512MB minimum.
o Path to the disk image of the guest. This path is exported
as an entire disk to your guest. It is on the xVM control
domain and can be to a physical disk, a flat file, or any
device that provides a block device interface; for example,
a ZFS volume or a Solaris Volume Manager volume.
o If the path specified in the preceding bullet does not
already exist, the size, in GB, of the virtual disk for your
guest.
o You must choose whether to enable graphics support for the
domain. Note that paravirtualized Solaris domains do not
currently support a graphical console in this manner.
o URI for the location of the installation software. This can
be an NFS path, or the path to a local directory or ISO.
Some operating systems do not yet support ISO installs. Some
operating systems require that the install host be fully
qualified (for example, my.nfs.server.com) for the install
to work. Examples of acceptable installation paths are:
nfs:my.nfs.server.com:/home/install/test/tree
/export/solarisdvd.iso
After entering required information, installation starts. If you
enabled graphics, a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) window opens and
presents the graphical installer. If graphics are not enabled, the text
installer is displayed.
You can connect to the graphical console by finding the correct display
with the command:
% virsh vncdisplay dom-name
...and then running:
% vncviewer localhost:d
...where d is the display returned by the preceding virsh vncdisplay
command.
Autoconfiguration data (see the --autocf option, below) is presented to
the guest as a floppy device. For Solaris, this can be a UFS or PCFS
file system image containing sysidcfg(4) and Jumpstart profile data.
To run virt-install, you must become superuser or assume the Primary
Administrator role.
OPTIONS
The following options are supported:
--autocf=location
Specifies location of autoconfiguration data for the guest.
For fully virtualized guests installing from an ISO file or DVD,
location specifies the pathname of a disk image to be presented to
the guest as the floppy device fda. The following is the path to a
local filename containing a floppy image:
/path/to/guest/autocf.img
This option is ignored for fully virtualized guests installing over
a network using PXE. Such a guest will retrieve any autoconfigura‐
tion data over the network. For paravirtualized guests, support for
this option is guest-specific.
For Solaris paravirtualized guests installing over NFS, this option
allows you to specify the NFS pathname to a directory containing a
sysidcfg(4) file along with a Solaris Jumpstart profile. The fol‐
lowing is the path to a NFS directory containing Solaris autocon‐
figuration data:
nfs:netinstall:/export/guests/guest.autocf
For OpenSolaris paravirtualized guests installing using an OpenSo‐
laris AI (Automated Installer) server using the opensolaris os-
variant flag, specify a set of comma-separated name/value pairs
used by AI. These are:
install_service=[install_service_name]
install_media=[HTTP server containing AI image]
At present, only install_service is required. install_media can be
used to override the install_media path specified in the --location
option (see below). Additional name/value pairs can be appended
should the AI server require them.
At such time as the OpenSolaris AI supports the ability of clients
to self-discover the AI install service, an empty string should be
used for install_service to indicate an AI install is desired.
For fully virtualized guests (HVM domains), use the --pxe argument
to perform AI installs.
See EXAMPLES for an example of the use of the OpenSolaris AI.
-b bridge, --bridge=bridge
Bridge to which to connect the network interface. If you do not
specify a bridge, the system attempts to determine the default.
This should be the name of the interface in the control domain
through which to route the domain's networking traffic, for exam‐
ple, bge0. This option is obsolete. Use the -w/--network option,
instead.
-c cdrom, --cdrom=cdrom
File to use as a virtual CD-ROM device for fully virtualized
guests. This option works with HVM domains and is ignored with par‐
avirtualized domains. It can be path to an ISO image, or to a CD-
ROM device. It can also be a URL from which to fetch or access a
minimal boot ISO image. The URLs take the same format as described
for the --location argument. If this option is omitted then either
the --location argument must be entered, to specify a location for
the kernel and initrd, or the --pxe option used, to install from
the network.
--check-cpu
Check that VCPUs do not exceed physical CPUs and warn if they do.
--connect=URI
Connect to hypervisor at URI.
--cpuset=cpuset
Specify which physical CPUs the guest can use. cpuset is a comma-
separated list of numbers, which can be specified in ranges. For
example:
0,2,3,5 Use processors 0, 2, 3, and 5
1-3,5,6-8 Use processors 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8
-d, --debug
Display debugging information. The debugging information is stored
in $HOME/.virtinst/virt-install.log, even if this option is omit‐
ted. In this path, $HOME is the home directory of the user invoking
virt-install, such as / or /root.
--disk path=... [options]
Specify a disk to attach to the guest domain. This is a comma-sepa‐
rated list of options, which must start with the path argument. For
example:
--disk path=/guest/root.img,sparse=true
The available argument and options are:
path=...
Path to the file, disk partition, or logical volume to use as
the backing store for the guest's virtual disk.
perms=ro
The disk should be read-only.
device=disk|cdrom|floppy
The disk should be presented as a normal hard disk, CD-ROM, or
floppy disk.
size=...
Size of the disk in Gb, if it does not yet exist.
sparse=true|false
Where appropriate, mark the disk as sparse or fully-allocated.
-f pathname, --file=pathname
Path to the file, disk partition, or logical volume to use as the
backing store for the guest's virtual disk. If the path does not
exist, then --file-size option should also be specified, allowing
the disk to be created.
-h, --help
Display list of virt-install options.
--import
Skip the OS installation process, and build a guest around an
existing disk image. The device used for booting is the first
device specified by means of the --disk or --file options.
-k keymap, --keymap=keymap
Request that the virtual console be configured to run with a non-
English keyboard layout.
-l location, --location=location
Installation source for paravirtualized guest. Fully virtualized
guests must use either --location to specify a kernel and initrd or
the --cdrom option to specify an ISO/CDROM image. The location
argument can take the forms, nfs:host:/path, or a file system path
in the control domain, as described above.
--livecd
Treat the CD-ROM media as a live CD.
-m mac_addr, --mac=mac_addr
Specifies a fixed MAC address for the guest. If this parameter is
omitted, or the value random is specified, a suitable address will
be randomly generated. For xVM virtual machines it is required that
the first 3 pairs in the MAC address be the sequence 00:16:3e. This
option could be used when performing PXE or NFS-based installations
of Solaris guests. This option is obsolete. Use the -w/--network
option, instead.
-n name, --name=name
Name of the new guest virtual machine instance. This must be unique
among all guests known to the hypervisor on this machine, including
those not currently active.
--noacpi
Disables Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) for
fully virtualized guest. Overrides configuration setting stored in
systems specified by --os-type and --os-variant options.
--noapic
Disables Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) for
fully virtualized guest. Overrides configuration setting stored in
systems specified by --os-type and --os-variant options.
--noautoconsole
Do not automatically try to connect to the guest console. The
default behavior is to launch a VNC client to display the graphical
console, or to run the virsh console command to display the text
console. Use of this option disables this behavior.
Use of this option should be combined with the --wait option, as
described below.
--nodisks
Request a virtual machine without any local disk storage, typically
used for running "Live CD" images or installing to network storage
(iSCSI or NFS root). This disables all interactive prompts for disk
setup.
--nographics
Disable all interactive prompts for the guest virtual console. No
graphical console will be allocated for the guest. A text-based
console will always be available on the first serial port (or
equivalent paravirtualised console device).
--nonetworks
Do not create network interfaces for the guest.
--nonsparse
Request creation of a non-sparse file for the guest virtual disk.
Note that use of this option causes guest creation to be signifi‐
cantly slower than otherwise.
--noreboot
Do not automatically reboot the guest domain after the first stage
of installation.
--os-type=os_type
Optimize the guest configuration for a type of operating system.
This option attempts to pick the most suitable ACPI and APIC set‐
tings, select optimally supported mouse drivers, and generally
accommodate other operating system peculiarities. See "OS Types and
OS Variants", below for a list of acceptable values.
For optimal guest operating system performance, you should specify
the --os-type and --os-variant options.
--os-variant=os_variant
The OS variant for fully virtualized guests. See "OS Types and OS
Variants", below for a list of acceptable values.
For optimal guest operating system performance, you should specify
the --os-type and --os-variant options.
-p, --paravirt
Indicates that guest is paravirtualized. If the host supports both
paravirtualization and full virtualization, and neither this param‐
eter nor the --hvm option are specified, this will be prompted for
interactively.
--pxe
Use the PXE boot protocol to load the initial ramdisk and kernel
for starting the guest installation process. If this option is
omitted, then either the --location or --cdrom options must be
entered, to specify a location for the kernel and initrd.
-r mem_amount, --ram=mem_amount
Memory to allocate for guest instance, in megabytes.
-s filesize, --file-size=filesize
Size of the file to create for the guest virtual disk, if the path
specified with the --file does not already exist. The filesize is
specified in gigabytes, with fractional numbers allowed. The stor‐
age for the file will not be pre-allocated unless the --nonsparse
option is also specified.
--sdl
Use Simple DirectMedia Layer (SDL) for graphics support. This
option works with some guest domains, including HVM, but not with
Solaris.
--sound
Use sound device emulation. Does not work on Solars xVM.
-u UUID, --uuid=UUID
Specifies UUID, as a 32-digit hexadecimal number, for the guest. if
no UUID is specified, the system generates a random UUID. If you
enter a UUID, keep in mind that it is intended to be a globally
unique value.
-v, --hvm
Specifies that the guest is a Hardware-assisted Virtual Machine
(HVM). Requests the use of full virtualization, if both paravirtu‐
alization and full virtualization are available on the host. This
parameter might not be available if connecting to a hypervisor on a
machine without hardware virtualization support.
This guest should be fully virtualized.
--vcpus=vcpus
Number of Virtual (VCPUs) to configure for your guest.
--vnc
Use Virtual Network Computing (VNC) for graphics support. This
option works with HVM domains but not with paravirtualized domains.
Unless the --vncport parameter is also provided, the VNC server
will run on the first free port number at 5900 or above. The actual
VNC display allocated can be obtained using the vncdisplay subcom‐
mand to virsh(1M).
--vncport=vncport
Request a permanent, statically assigned port number for the guest
VNC console. Use of this option is discouraged as another guest
might automatically choose to run on the specified port, creating a
conflict.
-w property_list, --network=property_list
Describes a virtual interface by means of a list of property-value
pairs, each pair separated by a comma. Supported properties are:
bridge=bridge
Bridge to which to connect the virtual interface. If you do not
specify a bridge, the system attempts to determine the default.
This should be the name of the interface in the control domain
through which to route the domain's networking traffic, for
example, bge0. This property makes the -b/--bridge option obso‐
lete.
mac=mac_addr
Specifies a fixed MAC address for the guest. If this parameter
is omitted, or the value RANDOM is specified, a suitable
address will be randomly generated. For Solaris xVM virtual
machines it is required that the first three pairs in the MAC
address be the sequence 00:16:3e. This property is required
when performing PXE or NFS-based installations of Solaris
guests. This property makes the -m/--mac option obsolete.
capped-bandwidth=bandwidth
Sets bandwidth of this interface. Bandwidth should be specified
as an integer with one of the scale suffixes (K, M, or G for
Kbps, Mbps, or Gbps, respectively). Bandwidth will be rounded
up to 1.2M, if the input is smaller than that figure.
vlanid=vid
Sets VLAN ID of this interface to vid.
If this option is omitted, a single NIC will be created in the
guest. If there is a bridge device in the host with a physical
interface enslaved, this interface will be used for connectivity.
This option can be specified multiple times to setup more than one
NIC. Do not mix it with any one of the -b/--bridge and -m/--mac
options.
--wait=num_minutes
If a VNC viewer could not be launched for a graphical installation,
and the guest is a Windows domain, virt-install waits indefinitely
for the guest to finish installation.
For the domain to correctly reboot during install, virt-install
must stay running until installation is complete. This happens by
default when virt-install connects to the console. If the --noauto‐
console option is used, or you need to disconnect from the console,
use this option to keep virt-install running. A value of -1 will
wait indefinitely. A value of 0 will exit immediately (and thus
implies --noautoconsole).
It is recommended that scripts use:
--wait=-1 --noautoconsole
...as needed.
-x extra_args, --extra-args=extra_args
When installing paravirtualized guests, specifies additional argu‐
ments to pass to the installer.
OS Types and OS Variants
The following are the valid OS type and OS variant values for --os-type
and --os-variant options described above.
os-type os-variant
-----------------
linux (Linux 2.x series)
rhel2.1
rhel3
rhel4
rhel5
fedora5
fedora6
fedora7
fedora8
fedora9
fedora10
fedora11
ubuntuhardy
ubuntuintrepid
ubuntujaunty
sles10
debianEtch
debianLenny
generic24
generic26
windows (Microsoft Windows 9x or later)
winxp
winxp64
win2k
win2k3
win2k8
vista
unix (Traditional UNIX BSD or SysV derivatives)
freebsd6
freebsd7
openbsd4
solaris (Solaris 9 or later)
solaris9
solaris10
opensolaris
other (Not in one of groups above)
msdos
netware4
netware5
netware6
generic
For Windows 7, use vista.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 Installing Solaris onto a Local Disk from an ISO
The following command installs a paravirtualized Solaris guest from an
ISO file.
# virt-install--name solaris2 --ram 1024 --nographics \
--file /dev/md/dsk/solaris2-disk \
--os-type=solaris os-variant=solaris10 \
--location /export/isos/nv75-dvd.iso
Example 2 Installing Microsoft Windows
The following command installs a Microsoft Windows guest using a local
file as a root disk.
# virt-install--hvm --name windows1 --ram 1024 \
--cdrom //en_winxp_pro_with_sp2.iso \
--file /guests/windows1-disk --file-size 10 \
--os-type=windows os-variant=winxp \
--vnc
Example 3 Installing Paravirtualized Solaris Guest from an NFS Server
The following command installs a Solaris paravirtualized xVM guest, 500
MB of RAM, 6 GB of disk, from an NFS server, in text-only mode:
# virt-install \
--paravirt \
--name demo \
--ram 500 \
--file /export/guests/demo/images/demo.img \
--file-size 6 \
--nographics \
--mac=00:16:3e:2f:8a:1a \
--os-type=solaris os-variant=opensolaris \
--location nfs:netinstall:/export/s10u6/combined.s10x_u6wos/latest \
--autocf=nfs:netinstall:/export/guests/demo/autocf
Example 4 Installing xVM Guest Using ZFS zvol
The following command installs an xVM guest, using a ZFS zvol, booting
from the host CD-ROM, using the VNC server/viewer:
# virt-install \
--hvm --name demo \
--ram 500 \
--file /dev/zvol/dsk/guests/root \
--vnc \
--hvm \
--os-type=solaris os-variant=opensolaris \
--autocf=/export/guests/demo/images/autocf.img \
--cdrom /dev/dsk/c2t0d0s2
Example 5 Installing Paravirtualized Guest over HTTP
The following command installs a paravirtualized Fedora guest domain
over HTTP using the text installer:
# virt-install-n demo -x 'console=hvc0' --paravirt \
-f /dev/zvol/dsk/guests/root \
-l http://mirror.cc.vt.edu/pub/fedora/linux/releases/8/Fedora/x86_64/os/ \
--os-type=linux os-variant=fedora8 \
-r 512 --nographics
Example 6 Installing Red Hat Enterprise Linux Guest over NFS
The following sequence of commands installs a Red Hat Enterprise Linux
guest over NFS using the text installer:
# mount -F hsfs /rhel.iso /mnt
# share -o ro /mnt
# virt-install-n pv-rhel -r 1024 -l nfs:mydom0:/mnt \
--os-type=linux os-variant=rhel4 \
-f /dev/zvol/dsk/pv-rhel.zvol -p --nographics
Example 7 Installing with Kickstart Automation
The following command installs a RedHat guest using the media in the
dom0 CD-ROM, utilizing kickstart to automate the installation process.
# virt-install \
--name rhat \
--ram 500 \
--file /dev/zvol/dsk/rhat.zvol \
--paravirt \
--location /dev/dsk/c2t0d0s2 \
--os-type=linux os-variant=rhel5 \
--extra-args "ks=/export/install/rhat/ks.cfg"
Example 8 Installing an HVM Solaris Domain Using Network Boot
The following commands install HVM Solaris domains using network boot
(PXE).
# virt-install-n pxe-domu -r 1024 --hvm --mac 00:16:3e:2f:8a:1a \
--os-type=solaris --os-variant=opensolaris \
-f /dev/zvol/dsk/guests/root \
--vnc --pxe --vcpus=4
# virt-install-n domu-221 -r 1024 --hvm \
--mac `~johnlev/bin/maca domu-221` --os-type=solaris \
--os-variant=opensolaris -f /iscsi/nevada-hvm --vnc --pxe --vcpus=4
Example 9 Installing with OpenSolaris AI
The following command installs an OpenSolaris guest using the
x86_install AI install service from a specified install media.
# virt-install--name osol \
--location http://10.0.0.1:5555/space/images/osol_111b \
--ram 1024 \
--file /rpool/guests/osol.raw \
--os-variant=opensolaris \
--autocf install_service=myservice
The following command installs an OpenSolaris guest, under conditions
in which the guest is able to self-discover its install service:
# virt-install--name osol \
--location http://10.0.0.1:5555/space/images/osol_111b \
--ram 1024 \
--file /rpool/guests/osol.raw \
--os-variant=opensolaris \
--autocf ""
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
│ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Availability │system/xvm/header-xvm │
├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│Interface Stability │Volatile │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
SEE ALSOvirsh(1M), virt-clone(1M), xend(1M), xentop(1M), xenstored(1M), xm(1M),
sysidcfg(4), attributes(5), xVM(5)SunOS 5.11 23 Feb 2010 virt-install(1M)
