RHEL 7 Virtualization Host Installation: Difference between revisions

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* [[Linux Virtualization Installation#Subjects|Linux Virtualization Installation]]
* [[Linux Virtualization Installation#Subjects|Linux Virtualization Installation]]


=Host Prerequisites=
=Relevance=
 
* RHEL 7.3
 
=Virtualization Host Prerequisites=


The host requires minimum 6 GB of free disk space and minimum 2 GB or RAM.
The host requires minimum 6 GB of free disk space and minimum 2 GB or RAM.


=Host Installation=
Installed with 50 GB root partition, 4 GB RAM and 4 GB swap.
 
=Virtualization Host Installation=
 
if the virtualization host runs on a Dell server, install the host operating system following the procedure described here:


Install the host operating system as described here:
{{Internal|Dell Server Install OS with LifeCycle Controller|OS Installation with LifeCycle Controller}}


{{Internal|RHEL_7/Centos_7_Installation|RHEL 7 Installation}}
The procedure will update the Dell firmware and drivers and then will pass control to the native O/S installer, that should be driven as described below. Note that '''the only areas in which the virtualization host installation procedure differs from a regular server installation procedure is''' [[#Storage_Provisioning|Storage Provisioning]] '''and''' [[#Virtualization_Host-Specific_Configuration|Virtualization Host-Specific Configuration]]. In consequence:


The only area in which the installation procedure differs is the storage provisioning. When configuring storage, follow the instructions below: [[#Storage_Provisioning|Storage Provisioning]].
* first configure storage, follow the [[#Storage_Provisioning|Storage Provisioning]] instructions, below.
* then execute the normal server installation procedure [[RHEL_7/Centos_7_Installation|RHEL 7 Installation]].
* then return to  [[#Virtualization_Host-Specific_Configuration|Virtualization Host-Specific Configuration]].


=Storage Provisioning=
=Storage Provisioning=


=Dell=
Mount Point: /boot capacity 1024 MiB, standard partition xfs file system (/dev/sda3)
 
Mount Point: / capacity 50 GiB, standard partition xfs file system (/dev/sda5)
 
Mount Point: /swap capacity 4 GiB (/dev/sda6)
 
Leave the rest of the space unallocated, will create later the local storage pool for virtual machines using one of the procedures described here: [[Linux Virtualization Operations#Storage_Pool_Configuration|KVM Storage Pool Configuration]].
 
[[Image:RHELVirtualizationHostStorageConfiguration.png]]
 
=Virtualization Host-Specific Configuration=


=Packages=
==Virtualization Packages==


<pre>
<pre>
qemu-kvm
yum install -y qemu-kvm qemu-img libvirt virt-manager libguestfs-tools libvirt-client virt-install libguestfs-tools-c virt-top virt-what
qemu-img
libvirt
virt-manager
</pre>
</pre>


=Configure Log Rotation=
Among other things, installing these packages enables [[Linux_Virtualization_Concepts#libvirtd|libvirtd]] to start at boot, automatically.
 
==Virtualization Host Storage Provisioning==
<span id='Storage_Pool_Provisioning'></span>


Create a host [[Linux_Virtualization_Concepts#Storage_Pool|storage pool]] and [[Linux_Virtualization_Concepts#Storage_Volume|storage volumes]], as described here:
{{Internal|Linux_Virtualization_Operations#Virtualization_Host_Storage_Operations|Virtualization Host Storage Operations}}
Create a directory-based storage pool for DVD ISO images, as described here. We usually expose /iso-images as a storage pool and we add the ISO image files there as storage volumes:
{{Internal|KVM_Virtualization_Directory-Based_Storage_Pool_Configuration#Procedure|Directory-Based Storage Pool Configuration}}
==Virtualization Host Network Configuration==
Modify the DHCP range of the default virtual network - or any network being installed - to allow for statically configured addresses. Follow the procedure descried here:
{{Internal|Virsh_net-edit#Modify_DHCP_Range|Modifying the Range of the DHCP Server for a Virtual Network}}
==Enable libvirt-guests==
Enable [[Linux_Virtualization_Concepts#libvirt-guests|libvirt-guests]] and configure guest startup/shutdown behavior:
<pre>
systemctl enable libvirt-guests
</pre>
{{Internal|Linux_Virtualization_Configuration#Configure_Guests_to_Gracefully_Shut_Down|Configure Guests to Gracefully Shut Down}}
{{Internal|Linux_Virtualization_Configuration#Configure_Guests_to_Start_at_Boot|Configure Guests to Start at Boot}}


=Guest Creation=
=Guest Creation=


[[virt-install]]
Create guest as needed, on command-line with [[virt-install]] or from previously generated XML definitions with [[virsh define]]:
 
{{Internal|Linux_Virtualization_Operations#Create_a_Guest_Virtual_Machine|Create a Guest Virtual Machine}}

Latest revision as of 23:54, 17 October 2017

Internal

Relevance

  • RHEL 7.3

Virtualization Host Prerequisites

The host requires minimum 6 GB of free disk space and minimum 2 GB or RAM.

Installed with 50 GB root partition, 4 GB RAM and 4 GB swap.

Virtualization Host Installation

if the virtualization host runs on a Dell server, install the host operating system following the procedure described here:

OS Installation with LifeCycle Controller

The procedure will update the Dell firmware and drivers and then will pass control to the native O/S installer, that should be driven as described below. Note that the only areas in which the virtualization host installation procedure differs from a regular server installation procedure is Storage Provisioning and Virtualization Host-Specific Configuration. In consequence:

Storage Provisioning

Mount Point: /boot capacity 1024 MiB, standard partition xfs file system (/dev/sda3)

Mount Point: / capacity 50 GiB, standard partition xfs file system (/dev/sda5)

Mount Point: /swap capacity 4 GiB (/dev/sda6)

Leave the rest of the space unallocated, will create later the local storage pool for virtual machines using one of the procedures described here: KVM Storage Pool Configuration.

RHELVirtualizationHostStorageConfiguration.png

Virtualization Host-Specific Configuration

Virtualization Packages

yum install -y qemu-kvm qemu-img libvirt virt-manager libguestfs-tools libvirt-client virt-install libguestfs-tools-c virt-top virt-what

Among other things, installing these packages enables libvirtd to start at boot, automatically.

Virtualization Host Storage Provisioning

Create a host storage pool and storage volumes, as described here:

Virtualization Host Storage Operations

Create a directory-based storage pool for DVD ISO images, as described here. We usually expose /iso-images as a storage pool and we add the ISO image files there as storage volumes:

Directory-Based Storage Pool Configuration

Virtualization Host Network Configuration

Modify the DHCP range of the default virtual network - or any network being installed - to allow for statically configured addresses. Follow the procedure descried here:

Modifying the Range of the DHCP Server for a Virtual Network

Enable libvirt-guests

Enable libvirt-guests and configure guest startup/shutdown behavior:

systemctl enable libvirt-guests
Configure Guests to Gracefully Shut Down
Configure Guests to Start at Boot

Guest Creation

Create guest as needed, on command-line with virt-install or from previously generated XML definitions with virsh define:

Create a Guest Virtual Machine