KVM Installation

KVM Installation on Debian

This installation guide uses Debian 9 as the base operating system.

1. Install KVM Packages

First, install the necessary packages using the apt package manager. This command installs the core KVM components, networking utilities, and the virtualization daemon.

apt install qemu-kvm bridge-utils libvirt-daemon libvirt-daemon-system
  • qemu-kvm: Provides the backend machine emulation and virtualization.
  • bridge-utils: Contains tools to create and manage network bridges, allowing VMs to connect to the host's network.
  • libvirt-daemon-system: The libvirtd daemon that manages the virtual machines and hypervisor.

KVM Installation on CentOS 7

For CentOS 7, the installation process uses the yum package manager and includes a different set of packages.

1. Install KVM Packages

Install the required packages, including graphical management tools and command-line utilities. The -y flag automatically confirms the installation.

yum install virt-install qemu-kvm libvirt libvirt-python \
   libguestfs-tools virt-install virt-manager -y
  • virt-install: A command-line tool for provisioning new virtual machines.
  • libguestfs-tools: A set of tools for accessing and modifying VM disk images.
  • virt-manager: A graphical user interface for managing virtual machines.

Post-Installation Steps

After installing the packages, you must enable and verify the KVM services.

2. Enable the libvirtd Service

Enable the service to ensure it starts automatically every time the system boots.

systemctl enable libvirtd

3. Check KVM Daemon Status

Check the KVM daemon status to confirm it is active and running.

  • For Debian 9:

    bash service libvirtd status

  • For CentOS 7:

    bash systemctl status libvirtd

4. Verify KVM Module

Finally, check that the KVM kernel module has been loaded correctly. This command provides details about the kvm module if it's active.

modinfo kvm