Configuring a virtual server

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The configuration of a virtual server includes the configuration of properties, such as a name, system resources, such as CPUs, memory, and a boot device, and devices, such as storage, and network devices.

Before you begin

Tip: With a single virt-install command, you can configure and define a virtual server, and install and boot a guest, see Fast path to a running guest - virt-install.
Note: Virtual servers for guests in IBM® Secure Execution mode have specific configuration requirements, see Configuring for IBM Secure Execution for Linux.

Procedure

  1. Create a domain configuration-XML file.

    See Domain configuration-XML.

  2. Specify a name for the virtual server.

    Use the name element to specify a unique name according to your naming conventions.

  3. Configure system resources, such as virtual CPUs, or the virtual memory.
    1. Configure a boot process.

      See Configuring the boot process.

    2. Configure virtual CPUs.

      See Configuring virtual CPUs.

    3. Configure memory.

      See Configuring virtual memory.

    4. Optional: Configure the collection of QEMU core dumps.

      See Configuring the collection of QEMU core dumps.

  4. In the domain configuration-XML file, enter the virtual server device configuration.
    1. Optional: Configure the user space.

      If you do not configure the user space, libvirt configures an existing user space automatically.

      See Configuring the user space.

    2. Configure persistent devices.

      See Configuring devices with the virtual server.

    3. Configure the console device.

      See Configuring the console.

    4. Optional: Configure a watchdog device.

      See Configuring a watchdog device.

    5. Optional: Disable the generation of cryptographic wrapping keys and the use of protected key management operations on the virtual server.

      See Disabling protected key encryption.

    6. Optional: Libvirt automatically generates a default memory balloon device for the virtual server.

      To prohibit this automatism, see Suppressing the automatic configuration of a default memory balloon device.

  5. Save the domain configuration-XML file according to your virtual server administration policy.

What to do next

Define the virtual server to libvirt based on the created domain configuration-XML file as described in Defining a virtual server.