NAME¶

virt-image - create virtual machines from an image descriptor

SYNOPSIS¶

virt-image [OPTION]... IMAGE.XML

DESCRIPTION¶

virt-image is a command line tool for creating virtual machines from an XML image descriptor "IMAGE.XML" ( virt-image(5)). Most attributes of the virtual machine are taken from the XML descriptor (e.g., where the files to back the virtual machine's disks are and how to map them into the guest), though certain information must be added on the command line, such as the name of the guest. The XML descriptor defines most attributes of the guest, making it possible to bundle and distribute it together with the files backing the guest's disks.

OPTIONS¶

Most options can be omitted, in which case virt-image will use defaults from the XML descriptor. When defaults are taken from the XML descriptor, they are indicated below as a path. --name is the only required command line option.

-h, --help

Show the help message and exit

--connect=CONNECT

Connect to a non-default hypervisor. See virt-install(1) for details

General Options¶

General configuration parameters that apply to all types of guest installs.

-n NAME, --name=NAME

Name of the guest instance

-r MEMORY, --ram=MEMORY

Memory to allocate for guest instance in megabytes. Defaults to "/image/devices/memory" in the XML descriptor.

-u UUID, --uuid=UUID

UUID for the guest; if none is given a random UUID will be generated. If you specify UUID, you should use a 32-digit hexadecimal number.

--vcpus=VCPUS

Number of vcpus to configure for your guest. Defaults to "/image/devices/vcpu" in the XML descriptor. This option can also be used to set CPU topology, please see virt-install(1) for more info.

--cpuset

Set which physical cpus the guest can use. Please see virt-install(1) for more info.

--cpu

Configure the CPU and CPU features exposed to the guest. Please see virt-install(1) for more info.

--check-cpu

Check that vcpus do not exceed physical CPUs and warn if they do.

--os-type=OS_TYPE

Optimize the guest configuration for a type of operating system (ex. 'linux', 'windows'). This will attempt to pick the most suitable ACPI & APIC settings, optimally supported mouse drivers, virtio, and generally accommodate other operating system quirks. See virt-install(1) for valid values.

--os-variant=OS_VARIANT

Further optimize the guest configuration for a specific operating system variant (ex. 'fedora8', 'winxp'). This parameter is optional, and does not require an "--os-type" to be specified. See virt-install(1) for valid values.

Full Virtualization specific options¶

Parameters specific only to fully virtualized guest installs.

--noapic

Force disable APIC for the guest.

--noacpi

Force disable ACPI for the guest.

Networking Configuration¶

-w NETWORK, --network=NETWORK

Connect the guest to the host network. See virt-install(1) for details

-m MAC, --mac=MAC

This is deprecated in favor of "--network ...,mac=MAC,..."

-b BRIDGE, --bridge=BRIDGE

This is deprecated in favor of "--network bridge=BRIDGE"

Graphics Configuration¶

If no graphics option is specified, "virt-image" will default to '--graphics vnc' if the DISPLAY environment variable is set, otherwise '--graphics none' is used.

--graphics TYPE,opt1=arg1,opt2=arg2,...

Specifies the graphical display configuration. This does not configure any virtual hardware, just how the guest's graphical display can be accessed. See virt-install(1) for details usage info.

--vnc

This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,..."

--vncport=VNCPORT

This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,port=PORT,..."

--vnclisten=VNCLISTEN

This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,listen=LISTEN,..."

-k KEYMAP, --keymap=KEYMAP

This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,keymap=KEYMAP,..."

--sdl

This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics sdl,..."

--nographics

This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics none"

Miscellaneous Options¶

-p, --print

Print the libvirt XML, but do not start the guest.

--boot=BOOT

The zero-based index of the boot record to use. The XML descriptor can contain multiple "/image/domain/boot" elements for use on different hypervisors. By default, the one that is most appropriate for the current hypervisor is selected.

--replace

Shutdown and remove any existing guest with the passed "--name" before installing from the image.

--noreboot

Prevent the domain automatatically booting after importing the image.

--skip-checksum

Do not check disk images against checksums (if they are listed in the image xml).

-d, --debug

Print debugging information.

EXAMPLES¶

Create and start a guest called "example" with a VNC console from "image.xml":

  # virt-image --name example --vnc -i image.xml

Print the libvirt XML for a guest called "example" without graphics, but do not create or start a virtual machine:

  # virt-image --print --name example --nographics --image image.xml

AUTHOR¶

Written by David Lutterkort. See the AUTHORS file in the source distribution for the complete list of credits.

BUGS¶

Please see http://virt-manager.org/page/BugReporting

COPYRIGHT¶

Copyright (C) 2006-2007 Red Hat, Inc, and various contributors. This is free software. You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of the GNU General Public License "http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html". There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

SEE ALSO¶

virt-image(5), virt-install(1), the project website "http://virt-manager.org"