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Managing VMs

Overview

While Docker Containers are the preferred mechanism for running Linux-based applications such as media servers, backup software, and file sharing solutions, virtual machines add support for non-Linux workloads and the ability to utilize devices that the host cannot (think graphics pass through, USB pass through/assignment, etc). Localized Virtualization is our method of supporting VMs where all resources assigned to the guest are local to the host.

For information on what operating systems have been tested for use with Unraid Server OS, please see the VM Support wiki page.

Prerequisites

To create virtual machines on Unraid, you will need HVM hardware support (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). To assign host-based PCI devices to those VMs, your hardware must also support IOMMU (Intel VT-d or AMD-Vi). Lastly, all virtualization features must be enabled in your motherboard BIOS (typically found in the CPU or System Agent sections). NOTE: Not all hardware that claims support for this has been proven to work effectively, so see the "tested hardware" section for known working component combinations. Virtual machines can also drive a need for much more RAM/CPU cores depending on the type. Here are some general recommendations on how much RAM should be allocated per virtual machine:

  • Virtual servers (Windows, Arch, etc.): 256MB - 1GB, 1-2 CPU cores
  • Virtual desktops (Windows, Ubuntu, etc.): 512MB - 8GB, 2-4 CPU cores
  • Hybrid VMs (GPU assignment, gaming, etc.): 1GB - 12GB, 2-6 CPU cores

Keep in mind that memory usage for virtual machines only occurs when they are running, so it's just important to think about these requirements in terms of peak concurrent usage on your system.

Determining HVM/IOMMU Hardware Support

To determine if hardware has support for HVM or IOMMU, there are two primary methods available:

Online Research

  • To check if your Intel processor has support for VT-x or VT-d, visit http://ark.intel.com/Search/Advanced.  On the left hand filter panel, you can filter by processors that have support for VT-x, VT-d, or both.
  • For guidance with AMD processors, there is not an equivalent to the ARK site, but this Wikipedia article may assist you.
  • Motherboard support for virtualization is usually available as part of the product documentation or user manual.

Through the Unraid webGui

  • When accessing your Unraid system through the web interface, you can determine if your system is virtualization compatible by clicking the Info button on the right side of the top menu bar.
    • HVM Support refers to Intel VT-x or AMD-V
      • Not Available means that your hardware is not HVM capable.
      • Disabled means that your hardware is HVM capable, but the settings in your motherboard BIOS are not enabled.
      • Enabled means that your hardware is both HVM capable and the appropriate settings in your motherboard BIOS are also enabled.
    • IOMMU Support refers to Intel VT-d or AMD-Vi
      • Not Available only displays if your system is not HVM capable.
      • Disabled means that either your hardware is not capable of IOMMU or the appropriate settings in your motherboard BIOS are not enabled.
      • Enabled means that your hardware is both IOMMU capable and the appropriate settings in your motherboard BIOS are also enabled.

Assigning Graphics Devices

Unlike other PCI devices, graphics devices can be more difficult to pass through to a VM for control. With Unraid 6, we've implemented a number of tweaks to maximize success with graphics pass through for our users. Here are the currently known limitations associated with GPU pass through on Unraid 6:

  • NVIDIA GTX-series GPUs should work fine as of the 600 series or newer, but not all models have been tested.
  • AMD cards have had some issues depending on the make or model and which guest operating system is attached.
  • Some devices may work better for pass through to specific guest operating systems.
  • With OVMF-based virtual machines, if your GPU has UEFI support, it should work fine, but some users still report card-specific issues.

System Preparation

Before you can get started with creating virtual machines, there are a few preparatory tasks that must be completed.

Adjust BIOS Settings

In order to utilize all the virtualization features of Unraid 6, you must ensure your BIOS is configured properly for hardware-assisted virtualization as well as IO memory mapping (HVM / IOMMU support). In your BIOS settings, look for anything marked with Virtualization, Intel VT-x, Intel VT-d, AMD-V, or AMD-Vi and set it to Enabled.

examples of where virtualization settings can be found from various motherboard BIOS screens.

Configure a Network Bridge

There are two methods by which your virtual machines can get access to host-based networking: through a private NAT bridge managed by libvirt or through a public bridge managed by Unraid directly. The private bridge (virbr0) is automatically configured when libvirt starts. The public bridge (br0) can be created through the Network Settings page on the Unraid webGui.

The private bridge generates an internal DHCP server/address pool to create IPs for VMs automatically, but the VMs will be on a subnet that cannot be accessed by other devices or even other services on Unraid. This type of bridge is ideal if you want your VM to be completely isolated from all other network services except internet access and the host's network file sharing protocols. VM management can be performed through a VNC session provided by the browser.

The public bridge provides VMs with an IP address from your router, but internally bridges communications between VMs and each other, as well as the host. This type of bridge is ideal if you want your VMs to act just like another device on your network, where you manage its network access at the LAN-router instead of inside the VM. We persist MAC address settings for the virtual interfaces you create, ensuring the VMs should get the same IP address each time they connect, as long as your router-managed DHCP pool doesn't run out of addresses. So if you want to connect to your VM from another PC, laptop, tablet, or another type of device, you should use the public bridge. Enable public bridge in Network settings > Enable bridging: Yes

Whichever bridge you prefer can be defined as the Default Network Bridge on the VM Settings page. You may have to enable the Advanced view using the toggle at the top right before this setting is visible.

User Shares for Virtualization

By default, Unraid will create two user shares for use with virtualization on Unraid. One share to store your installation media files (ISOs) and another to store your virtual machines themselves (domains). If you don't already have a share you use for backups, you might consider adding one as well to use for backing up your virtual machines.

Recommendations for Share Configuration

  • Virtual machines will perform best when their primary vDisk is stored on a cache-only share.
  • While SSDs are not required for virtual machines to function, performance gains are substantial with their use.
  • For your ISO library share (containing your installation media), cache usage is optional.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT store your active virtual machines on a share where the Use Cache setting is set to Yes. Doing so will cause your VMs to be moved to the array when the mover is invoked.

Setup Virtualization Preferences

Before you can get started creating virtual machines, we need to perform a few configuration steps:

  • Use your web browser to navigate to the VM Manager Settings page (Settings -> VM Manager)

  • For Windows VMs, you will need to download virtual drivers for storage, network, and memory.

    • Download the latest 'stable' VirtIO Windows drivers ISO found here: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Windows_Virtio_Drivers#Direct_download
    • Copy the ISO file for the drivers to the ISO Library Share that you created earlier
    • Use the file picker for VirtIO Windows Drivers ISO to select the ISO file you copied
    • You can override the default driver ISO on a per-VM basis (under Advanced View).
  • Select virbr0 (default) for a private network bridge or select a public network bridge that you created on the Network Settings page.

    • You can override the default network bridge on a per-VM basis (under Advanced View).
  • Toggle PCIe ACS Override to On if you wish to assign multiple PCI devices to disparate virtual machines

    • The override breaks apart IOMMU groups so that individual devices can be assigned to different virtual machines
    • Without this setting enabled, you may not be able to pass through devices to multiple virtual machines simultaneously
    • WARNING: This setting is experimental! Take caution when using. 1
  • Click Apply when done to apply your settings

  • Troubleshoot: If it says stopped after clicking apply, check /boot/config/domains.cfg, you may need to set fields: (See also Forum help by Squid)

    • MEDIADIR="/mnt/user/system/"
    • VIRTIOISO="/mnt/user/system" (the share with virtio image)

Creating Your Own Virtual Machines

With the preparation steps completed, you can create your first VM by clicking Add VM from the Virtual Machines page.

Basic VM Creation

The webGui will by default present the minimum number of fields required in order for you to create a VM.

  • Set the Template type to Custom
  • Give the VM a Name and a Description
  • Toggle the Autostart setting if you want the VM to start with the array automatically
  • Select the Operating System you wish to use, which will also adjust the icon used for the VM
  • Select which CPUs you wish to assign the VM
    • You can select up to as many physical CPUs that are present on your host
  • Specify how much Initial Memory you wish to assign the VM
    • See the documentation for the OS you are installing to determine how much RAM to allocate.
  • Select an OS Install ISO for your installation media
  • Specify the vDisks you wish to create (or select an existing vDisk)
    • The Primary vDisk is used to store your VM's operating system
    • Additional vDisks can be added by clicking
  • Specify a Graphics Card to use to interact with the VM
    • If you are NOT assigning a physical graphics card, specify VNC
    • If you ARE assigning a physical graphics card, select it from the list
    • VNC can only be specified as the primary graphics display or it can't be assigned at all
    • A password can be optionally specified for the VNC connection
    • Not all graphics cards will work as a secondary display
    • If you assign a physical graphics device, be sure to assign a USB keyboard and mouse as well
    • Additional graphics devices can be assigned by clicking
  • Assign a Sound Card if you're assigning a graphics card to get audio support in your VM
    • Most GPUs have their own built-in sound card as a function of the graphics card for HDMI audio
    • Additional sound cards can be assigned by clicking
  • USB Devices can be assigned to the VM that are plugged into the host
    • USB hot-plugging is not currently supported, so devices must be attached before the VM is started in order for USB pass through to function
    • Some USB devices may not work properly when passed through to a guest (though most do work fine)
    • The Unraid USB flash device is not displayed here, to prevent accidental assignment
  • Click Create VM to create your virtual disks (if necessary), which will start automatically unless you unchecked the Start VM after creation checkbox.

Advanced Options

If you wish to toggle other advanced settings for the VM, you can toggle from Basic to Advanced View (switch located on the Template Settings section bar from the Add VM page).

  • You can adjust the CPU Mode setting
    • Host Passthrough will expose the guest to all the capabilities of the host CPU (this can significantly improve performance)
    • Emulated will use the QEMU emulated CPU and not expose the guest to all of the host processor's features
  • Specifying a Max Memory value will enable memory ballooning, allowing KVM to shrink/expand memory assignments dynamically as needed.
    • This feature does not apply to VMs where a physical PCI device has been assigned (GPU, sound, etc.)
  • The Machine type presented to your VM can be toggled between QEMU's i440fx or Q35 chipsets
    • For Windows-based VMs, i440fx is the default setting and should only be changed if you are having difficulty passing through a PCI-based graphics card (this may prompt Windows to reactivate)
    • For Linux-based VMs, Q35 is the default setting and should not be changed if passing through a GPU
  • The BIOS can only be adjusted when adding a new VM (existing VMs cannot modify this setting).
    • SeaBIOS is a traditional VGA BIOS for creating most virtual machines
    • OVMF utilizes a UEFI BIOS interface, eliminating the use of traditional VGA
    • OVMF requires that the VM's operating system supports UEFI (Windows 8 or newer, most modern Linux distros) and if you wish to assign a physical graphics device, it too must support UEFI
  • If you specify Windows as the guest operating system, you can toggle the exposure of Hyper-V extensions to the VM
  • You can choose to override the default VirtIO Drivers ISO should you so desire
  • You can toggle the vDisk Type between RAW and QCOW2 (RAW is recommended for best performance)
  • With Linux-based VMs, you can add multiple VirtFS mappings to your guest
  • If you desire, you can modify the Network MAC address for the virtual network interface of the VM as well as specify an alternate Network Bridge.
    • You can click the blue refresh symbol to auto-generate a new MAC address for the virtual network interface.
    • Additional virtual network interfaces can be assigned by clicking

Expanding a vdisk

In the event that you need to increase the size of your virtual disk device, you can do so with the following procedure:

  • Navigate to the VMs tab in the webGui.
  • Make sure your VM is stopped.
  • Click on the name of your VM to expand the view to show you the various disk devices attached to the VM.
  • Click on the value in the capacity field for the vdisk to make it editable.
  • Edit a value of how large you want the vdisk to be and press enter (e.g. for 100 gigabytes, enter 100G)
  • You will now see the new capacity take affect.

After doing this, you can start your VM and the new storage will be available, though you will need to either create a new partition out of that space or extend an existing partition to make use of it. For instructions on how to expand your Windows partition, please see this article.

Troubleshooting Stuck at UEFI Shell

In the event you are stuck at the UEFI shell after booting your VM, you can enter a few commands to manually trigger the boot sequence:

fs0:
cd efi/boot
bootx64.efi

This will manually trigger your VM to boot.

Assigning Graphics Devices to Virtual Machines (GPU Pass Through)

The ability to assign a GPU to a virtual machine for direct I/O control comes with some additional provisions:

  1. Not all motherboard/GPU combinations will work for GPU assignment.
  2. Integrated graphics devices (on-board GPUs) are not assignable to virtual machines at this time.
  3. Additional community-tested configurations can be found in this spreadsheet.
  4. Lime Technology provides a list of validated and tested hardware combinations within the wiki.
  5. You can also discuss hardware selection in the Lime Technology community forums.

Additional information regarding virtual function I/O (VFIO) and GPU pass through can be found in the following F.A.Q from Alex Williamson, the project's maintainer.

Warning: Passing through a GPU to a SeaBIOS-based VM will disable console VGA access

If you rely upon a locally-attached monitor and keyboard to interact with the Unraid terminal directly, you will lose this ability once you create a SeaBIOS VM with a GPU assigned. This is due to a bug with VGA arbitration and cannot be solved. This does NOT affect your ability to access the console using a telnet or SSH session, but local console access directly will appear to be frozen (blinking cursor, but no visible response to keyboard input). It does not matter if you are using on-board graphics for the console compared to a discrete GPU for the pass through to a VM or not. With OVMF, however, VGA isn't utilized, therefore arbitration isn't needed and therefore your console graphics will remain intact. Note that not all GPUs support OVMF as OVMF requires UEFI support on your GPU.

Help! Failed to set iommu for container: Operation not permitted

If you are getting the above message when trying to assign a graphics device to a VM, it is most likely that your device is in an IOMMU group along with another active/in-use device on your system. Please see this article written by Alex Williamson on IOMMU groups if you wish to better understand this issue and how it impacts you. Under Settings -> VM Manager you will find an option to toggle for PCIe ACS Override, which will forcibly break out each device into its own IOMMU group (following a reboot of the system). This setting is experimental, so use with caution.

Another possibility here is that your system doesn't support interrupt remapping, which is critical for VFIO and GPU pass through. There is a workaround for this, but you will not be protected against MSI-based interrupt injection attacks by guests (more info about MSI injection attacks through VT-d). If you completely trust your VM guests and the drivers inside them, enabling this workaround should resolve the issue. The alternative is to purchase hardware that offers interrupt remapping support. To enable the workaround, you will need to modify your syslinux.cfg file, adding the bolded bit below:

label Unraid OS
menu default
kernel /bzimage
append vfio_iommu_type1.allow_unsafe_interrupts=1 initrd=/bzroot

Help! I can start my VM with a GPU assigned but all I get is a black screen on my monitor!

If you aren't receiving an error message, but the display doesn't "light up" when your VM is started, it means that while the device is being assigned properly, you may have an issue with your motherboard or GPU preventing proper VGA arbitration from occurring. There are several things you can do to try to fix this:

  • Boot into your motherboard BIOS and make sure your primary graphics is NOT set to a card you wish to pass through (the best option is to set it to integrated graphics, aka iGPU; make sure it's not PCI or PCIe).
  • Ensure your motherboard BIOS and video card BIOS are up to date.
  • Try adjusting the BIOS under Advanced View when adding a new VM from SeaBIOS to OVMF (existing VMs cannot have this setting changed once created).
  • Try adjusting the Machine Type from i440fx to Q35 under Advanced View when editing or adding a VM.
  • As a last resort, you can attempt to manually provide the ROM file for your video card by editing the XML for your VM (see below procedure).

Edit XML for VM to supply GPU ROM manually

  • From another PC, navigate to this webpage: http://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/
  • Use the Refine Search Parameters section to locate your GPU from the database.
  • Download the appropriate ROM file for your video card and store the file on any user share in Unraid.
  • With your VM stopped, click the icon for your VM, then select Edit XML from the context menu.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the XML and locate this section (the <address> parts may look different for you than from the example below):
<hostdev mode='subsystem' type='pci' managed='yes'>
<driver name='vfio'/>
<source>
<address domain='0x0000' bus='0x02' slot='0x00' function='0x0'/>
</source>
<address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x05' function='0x0'/>
</hostdev>
  • After the </source> tag, add the following code:
<rom file='/mnt/user/sharename/foldername/rom.bin'/>
  • Change the path after /mnt/user/ to the actual user share / sub-folder path to your romfile.

Once done editing the XML, click Update and try starting your VM again to see if the GPU assignment works properly.

Physical to Virtual Machine Conversion

If you have an existing physical PC or server that you wish to convert to a virtual machine for use on Unraid 6, the process is fairly simple. Steps 1-3 apply for almost any modern Linux-based guest. Steps 4-6 apply for Windows-based guests.

Prerequisites

  • Your system must meet the hardware requirements and complete these preparation steps before utilizing virtual machines on Unraid Server OS 6.
  • You must have enough disk space available on a single storage device in your array (total free space in the cache pool) that is equal to or greater in size than the physical disk you wish to convert.
  • It is highly encouraged to make a complete backup of your most important files before attempting a conversion.

Step 1: Identify the disk to be converted using the Unraid webGui

  • With the array stopped, attach the physical disk you wish to convert to your server (SATA and power)
  • Login to your Unraid webGui (http://tower or http://tower.local)
  • Click the Main tab.
  • If the array hasn't been started yet, start it by clicking Start.
  • Locate your disk device from the Unassigned Devices section on the Main tab.
  • Under the identification column, notate the disk id by letter handle (e.g. sdb, sdc, sdd, sde, ...)
  • Also make note of the size, as you will need at least this much space free on an available array device or the cache (pool) to create your new virtual disk.

Step 2: Add a new Virtual Machine from the VMs tab

  • Login to your Unraid webGui (http://tower or http://tower.local)
  • Click on the VMs tab (if the tab isn't visible, you haven't completed these preparation steps or may not meet the hardware requirements; post in general support for further assistance)
  • Click the Add VM button.
  • Follow this guide to create your VM, making sure to adhere to these specific settings:
    • Leave the BIOS setting to SeaBIOS.
    • Leave OS Install ISO blank.
    • Be sure to have the VirtIO Drivers ISO specified, you will need these in a later step.
    • Make the primary virtual disk large enough for the physical disk you are copying.
    • If converting a disk containing a Windows OS
      • Add a second virtual disk by clicking the green plus symbol
      • Make the size of this second virtual disk 1M.
      • Uncheck the option to Start VM after creation

Step 3: Convert disk to image

  • Utilizing a telnet or SSH capable client, connect to your Unraid system over a Local Area Network. The default username is root and there is no password by default.
  • Enter the following command to begin the conversion of your physical disk to a virtual image:
qemu-img convert -p -O raw /dev/sdX /mnt/user/vdisk_share/vmname/vdisk1.img
  • Replace sdX with the device letter handle you noted in step 1, replace vdisk_share with the share you created to store your virtual disks, and replace vmname with the name you gave it when you created it in step 2.
  • The -p tag will output progress in the form of a percentage while the conversion is occurring.

Step 4: Edit the XML for your virtual machine (Windows Guests Only)

  • From the VMs tab, click the VM icon and select Edit XML from the context menu.
  • Scroll down the XML and locate the <target> tag for the <disk> with a <source> file set to vdisk1.img, which will look like such:
<disk type='file' device='disk'>
<driver name='qemu' type='raw' cache='writeback'/>
<source file='/mnt/cache/vdisk_share/vmname/vdisk1.img'/>
<backingStore/>
<target dev='hda' bus='virtio'/>
<boot order='1'/>
<alias name='virtio-disk0'/>
<address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x05' function='0x0'/>
</disk>
  • Adjust vdisk1.img by changing the bus attribute to the <target> tag to ide.
  • Delete the entire <address> line for that <disk>.
  • Corrected XML example below:
<disk type='file' device='disk'>
<driver name='qemu' type='raw' cache='writeback'/>
<source file='/mnt/cache/vdisk_share/vmname/vdisk1.img'/>
<backingStore/>
<target dev='hda' bus='ide'/>
<boot order='1'/>
</disk>
  • Click Update to update the virtual machine XML.

Step 5: Install the VirtIO drivers from inside the VM (Windows Guests Only)

  • Using Windows File Explorer, navigate to the VirtIO virtual cd-rom to browse its contents.
    • Navigate inside the Balloon folder.
    • Navigate to the subfolder named after your Windows OS version (e.g. w8.1)
    • Navigate to the amd64 subfolder
    • Right-click on the balloon.inf file inside and click Install from the context menu (you may need to enable viewing of file extensions to do this)
  • Repeat the above process for each of the following folders:
    • NetKVM
    • vioserial
    • viostor
  • When done installing drivers, navigate inside the virtual cd-rom one more time and open the guest-agent folder.
  • Double-click on qemu-ga-x64.msi to install the QEMU/KVM guest agent.

Step 6: Remove the secondary vdisk from your VM (Windows Guests Only)

  • Shutdown your VM if it isn't already.
  • From the VMs tab, click the VM icon and select Edit from the context menu.
  • Remove the vdisk2.img virtual disk by clicking the red minus symbol.
  • Click Update to update the VM.
  • Start your newly converted virtual machine!

Extra: HELP! Stuck at SeaBIOS with "Booting from Hard Disk"

If your OS was installed using UEFI (as opposed to traditional VGA BIOS), start over from step 3, but select OVMF as the BIOS type instead of SeaBIOS. Most OS installations install using a traditional VGA BIOS, but it is possible to have a UEFI installation, in which case SeaBIOS will not work. The remainder of the conversion procedure is identical.

Using a physical disk in a VM, including one with an OS already installed

The steps for creating a VM using a physical disk are similar to that of using a virtual disk. However, there are two use cases for which one would be using a physical disk: creating a VM with a physical disk with no OS installed (new install) and one that already has an OS installed (conversion). We will only cover converting from a previous installation as the other should be straightforward enough. You can use a physical disk with any OS but this conversion guide only covers Windows.

Prerequisites

  • A spare USB flash drive
  • Acronis Universal Restore (or similar tool):

http://www.acronis.com/redirector/products/atih2016/aur?build=6569&edition=16&gaID=1987015932.2478000884&language=1&winver=10.0

  • It is also recommended you back up an image of your drive just in case. I recommend just using dd in the command line. It's very easy to use, just Google it.

Step 1: Preparing the disk

Moving a hard drive with a Windows installation on it from one machine to another can be problematic and cause blue screens if not prepped prior. This is because of differences in machine hardware. This applies whether or not it is a physical or a virtual machine. As such we need to make changes to the Windows HAL, or hardware abstraction layer. There are a few tools that can accomplish this, including one built into Windows itself called 'sysprep'. However, sysprep is meant more for cloning a disk image across multiple machines and will activate the Windows OOBE (out-of-box experience) upon restoration, requiring things like user account setup and other changes that are undesirable and unnecessary for our situation. As such we will be using a third-party tool by Acronis (Universal Restore). This software has a 30-Day free trial, although there are likely other freeware versions that accomplish the same thing if you have an issue with that.

  • Download and install the following: http://www.acronis.com/redirector/products/atih2016/aur?build=6569&edition=16&gaID=1987015932.2478000884&language=1&winver=10.0
  • Insert your USB drive, open the program, and follow the onscreen instruction to create a bootable flash drive
    • Select 'Windows-like representation'
    • No Linux kernel parameters
    • Check 32-bit or 64-bit, depending on your hardware (or both just to be sure)
    • Select your USB device
  • Once your bootable media has been created reboot your machine and boot into the USB drive
  • Just follow the onscreen instructions to apply a universal restore to your existing Windows installation on the drive. It should only take a second or two.
  • Shutdown once that is done and boot back into Unraid

Step 2: Identify the physical disk to be used in the Unraid webGui

  • Login to your Unraid webGui (http://tower or http://tower.local)
  • Click the Main tab.
  • If the array hasn't been started yet, start it by clicking Start.
  • Locate your disk device from the Unassigned Devices section on the Main tab.
  • Under the identification column, notate the disk id by letter handle (e.g. sdb, sdc, sdd, sde, ...)

Step 3: Add a new Virtual Machine from the VMs tab

  • Login to your Unraid webGui (http://tower or http://tower.local)
  • Click on the VMs tab (if the tab isn't visible, you haven't completed these preparation steps or may not meet the hardware requirements; post in general support for further assistance)
  • Click the Add VM button.
  • Follow this guide to create your VM, making sure to adhere to these specific settings:
    • Leave the BIOS setting to SeaBIOS. (If you have trouble starting your VM using SeaBIOS recreate it using OVMF)
    • Leave OS Install ISO blank.
    • Be sure to have the VirtIO Drivers ISO specified, you will need these in a later step.
    • Select a location and size for the "primary virtual disk". The name and size don't really matter as we will be changing it in the next step. This step isn't really necessary, but it makes it a little easier to edit later.
    • Uncheck the option to Start VM after creation

Step 4: Edit the XML for your virtual machine

  • From the VMs tab, click the VM icon and select Edit XML from the context menu.
  • Scroll down the XML and locate the the primary virtual disk you assigned. It will look similar to this:
<disk type='file' device='disk'>
<driver name='qemu' type='raw' cache='writeback'/>
<source file='/mnt/cache/vdisk_share/vmname/vdisk1.img'/>
<backingStore/>
<target dev='hda' bus='virtio'/>
<boot order='1'/>
<alias name='virtio-disk0'/>
<address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x05' function='0x0'/>
</disk>
  • Replace it with this, where "sdX" is the location of the disk from step 2:
<disk type='block' device='disk'>
<driver name='qemu' type='raw' cache='writeback'/>
<source dev='/dev/sdX'/>
<target dev='hdd' bus='sata'/>
</disk>
  • If your physical disk is IDE and not SATA, replace the bus from "sata" to "ide" and re-evaluate your life choices.
  • Click Update to update the virtual machine XML.

Step 5: Installing drivers

  • Start your VM
  • Once in Windows go to the device manager in the control panel
  • If there are any drivers that have errors (a yellow exclamation mark) update them by right-clicking and selecting 'update'
    • Point to the drive where the VirtIO Drivers ISO is located and make sure you check the 'include subfolders' box.
    • Do this for any drivers that have errors
    • If you have a program that installs software drivers, such as some anti-virus programs do, you may need to reinstall those programs

Extra: HELP! Stuck at SeaBIOS with "Booting from Hard Disk"

If your OS was installed using UEFI (as opposed to traditional VGA BIOS), start over from step 3, but select OVMF as the BIOS type instead of SeaBIOS. Most OS installations install using a traditional VGA BIOS, but it is possible to have a UEFI installation, in which case SeaBIOS will not work. The remainder of the conversion procedure is identical.

Converting from Xen to KVM

Virtual machines that were running in Xen to KVM will require different procedures depending on whether they were created as paravirtualized or hardware-virtualized guests. Regardless of your conversion scenario, it is highly-recommended that you create a copy of your existing Xen virtual disk before proceeding. Use the copy to test your conversion process and if successful, you can remove your own Xen-based virtual disk should you so desire. In addition, you should ensure your hardware has support for hardware-assisted virtualization (Intel VT-x / AMD-V) as this is a requirement for use with KVM. Xen PV guests do not leverage hardware-virtualization extensions, which makes their process for converting slightly more involved than Xen HVM guests to KVM (it is not documented at the time of this writing).

Windows Conversion Procedure

To convert a Windows virtual machine from Xen to KVM, the process is fairly simple and takes about 10 minutes to perform. Remove any PCI device pass through that you are doing via your Xen domain cfg file before you begin. These devices can be re-added after the conversion process is complete.

Step 1: Determine if your VM is using Xen's GPLPV drivers

  1. From within your Xen VM, open Windows Device Manager (click Start -> right-click on Computer -> click Manage)
  2. Expand the node for Network adapters and note the name. If the name of the network device contains "Xen", then you are using GPLPV drivers. Anything else means you are not.

NOTE: IF YOU ARE NOT USING GPLPV DRIVERS, YOU CAN SKIP THE NEXT SEVERAL STEPS AND RESUME THE PROCEDURE FROM REBOOTING INTO KVM MODE.

Step 2: Prepare Windows for GPLPV driver removal

  1. Open a command prompt, running it as administrator (click Start -> click All Programs -> click Accessories -> right-click Command Prompt -> click Run as administrator)
  2. Type the following command from the prompt: bcdedit -set loadoptions nogplpv
  3. Reboot your VM

Step 3: Download the uninstaller and remove the GPLPV drivers

  1. Once rebooted, open a browser and download the following zip file: gplpv_uninstall_bat.zip
  2. Extract the uninstall_0.10.x.bat file to your desktop
  3. Right click on the file and click Run as administrator (this will happen very quick)
  4. Reboot your VM
  5. After rebooting, open up Windows Device Manager again.
  6. Under the System Devices section, right-click on Xen PCI Device Driver and select Uninstall, and the confirmation dialog, click the checkbox to Delete the device driver software for this device.
  7. Shut down the VM

Step 4: Create a new VM with the VM Manager

  1. If you haven't already, follow the procedure documented here to enable VM Manager
  2. Click on the VMs tab and click Add VM
  3. Give the VM a name and if you haven't already, download the VirtIO drivers ISO and specify it
  4. Under Operating System be sure Windows is selected
  5. Under Primary vDisk Location, browse and select your Xen virtual disk
  6. Add a 2nd vdisk and give it a size of 1M (you can put this vdisk anywhere, it is only temporary)
  7. Leave graphics, sound, etc. all to defaults and click Create
  8. Upon creation, immediately force shutdown the VM (click the eject symbol from the VMs page)
  9. Click the </> symbol from the VMs page next to the VM to edit the XML
  10. Locate the <disk> section for your primary virtual disk.
  11. Remove the <address> line completely.
  12. Change the bus='virtio' from the <target> section to bus='ide'
  13. Click Update

Step 5: Starting your new VM and loading the VirtIO drivers

  1. From the VMs page, click the VM icon, then click Start.
  2. Once the VM is started, click the icon again, then click VNC Remote.
  3. When the VM boots up, it will install several drivers and prompt a reboot, select Reboot later
  4. Open Windows Device Manager again and you'll notice 3 warnings under Other devices (Ethernet Controller, PCI Device, SCSI Controller, Serial controller)
  5. For each device, double click the device, click Update Driver, then select Browse my computer for driver software
    1. Specify a path of the virtio drivers ISO (e.g. d:\) for the path for each device, and the appropriate drivers will be automatically loaded.
    2. Select to Always trust Red Hat if prompted.
  6. Open Windows File Explorer and browse to the guest-agent folder on the virtio driver disk and double click the qemu-ga-x64.msi file to install the QEMU guest agent.
  7. Shut down your VM.

Step 6: Remove the temporary vdisk and start the VM

  1. Click to edit the VM using the form-based editor (the pencil symbol)
  2. Remove the secondary vdisk
  3. Ensure the primary vdisk is pointing to your original vdisk file (it may be pointing to the secondary vdisk, and if so, update it to point to your actual vdisk)
  4. When completed, click Update
  5. Start your VM
  6. Verify your device manager shows no warnings
  7. DONE!