VIRT-IMAGE(1) Virtual Machine Install Tools VIRT-IMAGE(1)
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. Missing information will be
queried interactively.
The XML descriptor defines most attributes of the guest, making it pos-
sible to bundle and distribute it together with the files backing the
guest’s disks.
OPTIONS
Any of the options can be omitted, in which case virt-image will either
use defaults from the XML descriptor or interactively prompt for input
as required. When defaults are taken from the XML descriptor, they are
indicated below as a path.
-h, --help
Show the help message and exit
-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 gener-
ated. 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.
--check-cpu
Check that vcpus do not exceed physical CPUs and warn if they do.
-m MAC, --mac=MAC
Fixed MAC address for the guest. See virt-install(1) for details
-b BRIDGE, --bridge=BRIDGE
Bridge device to connect the guest NIC to. See virt-install(1) for
details
-w NETWORK, --network=NETWORK
Connect the guest to the host network. See virt-install(1) for
details
--vnc
Setup a virtual console in the guest and export it as a VNC server
in the host. See virt-install(1) for details
--vncport=VNCPORT
Request a permanent, statically assigned port number for the guest
VNC console. See virt-install(1) for details
--sdl
Setup a virtual console in the guest and display an SDL window in
the host to render the output. See virt-install(1) for details
--nographics
Disable all interactive prompts for the guest virtual console. See
virt-install(1) for details
-k KEYMAP, --keymap=KEYMAP
Request that the virtual console be configured to run with a non-
English keyboard layout.
--connect=CONNECT Connect to hypervisor with URI
Connect to a non-default hypervisor. See virt-install(1) for
details
--noapic
Disables APIC for fully virtualized guest (overrides value in XML
descriptor)
--noacpi
Disables ACPI for fully virtualized guest (overrides value in XML
descriptor)
-d, --debug
Print debugging information
-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 dif-
ferent hypervisors. By default, the one that is most appropriate
for the current hypervisor is selected.
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 distri-
bution for the complete list of credits.
BUGS
Report bugs to the mailing list "http://www.redhat.com/mail-
man/listinfo/et-mgmt-tools" or directly to BugZilla
"http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/" against the "Fedora" product,
and the "python-virtinst" component.
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-man-
ager.org"
perl v5.8.8 2007-08-24 VIRT-IMAGE(1)
