6.2. Creating guests with virt-install

You can use the virt-install command to create virtualized guests from the command line. virt-install is used either interactively or as part of a script to automate the creation of virtual machines. Using virt-install with Kickstart files allows for unattended installation of virtual machines.

The virt-install tool provides a number of options one can pass on the command line. To see a complete list of options run:

$ virt-install --help

The virt-install man page also documents each command option and important variables.

qemu-img is a related command which may be used before virt-install to configure storage options.

An important option is the --vnc option which opens a graphical window for the guest's installation.

Example 6.1. Using virt-install to install a RHEL 5 guest

This example creates a RHEL 5 guest with the following settings:

Uses LVM partitioning
Is a plain QEMU guest
Uses virtual networking
Boots from PXE
Uses VNC server/viewer

# virt-install \
   --network network:default \
   --name rhel5support --ram=756\
   --file=/var/lib/libvirt/images/rhel5support.img \
   --file-size=6 --vnc --cdrom=/dev/sr0

Refer to man virt-install for more examples.