virt-install(1M)

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Name

virt-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 system 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:

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 hostname.
Amount of RAM to be allocated to the guest, in MB. Solaris domains should use 512MB minimum.
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.
If the path specified in the preceding bullet does not already exist, the size, in GB, of the virtual disk for your guest.
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.
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 autoconfiguration 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 following is the path to a NFS directory containing Solaris autoconfiguration data:

nfs:netinstall:/export/guests/guest.autocf

For OpenSolaris paravirtualized guests installing using an OpenSolaris 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 example, 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 paravirtualized 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 omitted. 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-separated 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 significantly 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 settings, 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 parameter 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 storage 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 paravirtualization 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 subcommand 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 obsolete.
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 --noautoconsole 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 arguments 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	SUNWxvmu
Interface Stability	Volatile