Chapter 8. Virtual machines


8.1. Creating virtual machines

Use one of these procedures to create a virtual machine:

Warning

Do not create virtual machines in openshift-* namespaces. Instead, create a new namespace or use an existing namespace without the openshift prefix.

When you create virtual machines from the web console, select a virtual machine template that is configured with a boot source. Virtual machine templates with a boot source are labeled as Available boot source or they display a customized label text. Using templates with an available boot source expedites the process of creating virtual machines.

Templates without a boot source are labeled as Boot source required. You can use these templates if you complete the steps for adding a boot source to the virtual machine.

8.1.1. Using a Quick Start to create a virtual machine

The web console provides Quick Starts with instructional guided tours for creating virtual machines. You can access the Quick Starts catalog by selecting the Help menu in the Administrator perspective to view the Quick Starts catalog. When you click on a Quick Start tile and begin the tour, the system guides you through the process.

Tasks in a Quick Start begin with selecting a Red Hat template. Then, you can add a boot source and import the operating system image. Finally, you can save the custom template and use it to create a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the website where you can download the URL link for the operating system image.

Procedure

  1. In the web console, select Quick Starts from the Help menu.
  2. Click on a tile in the Quick Starts catalog. For example: Creating a Red Hat Linux Enterprise Linux virtual machine.
  3. Follow the instructions in the guided tour and complete the tasks for importing an operating system image and creating a virtual machine. The Virtual Machines tab displays the virtual machine.

8.1.2. Running the virtual machine wizard to create a virtual machine

The web console features a wizard that guides you through the process of selecting a virtual machine template and creating a virtual machine. Red Hat virtual machine templates are preconfigured with an operating system image, default settings for the operating system, flavor (CPU and memory), and workload type (server). When templates are configured with a boot source, they are labeled with a customized label text or the default label text Available boot source. These templates are then ready to be used for creating virtual machines.

You can select a template from the list of preconfigured templates, review the settings, and create a virtual machine in the Create virtual machine from template wizard. If you choose to customize your virtual machine, the wizard guides you through the General, Networking, Storage, Advanced, and Review steps. All required fields displayed by the wizard are marked by a *.

Create network interface controllers (NICs) and storage disks later and attach them to virtual machines.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. From the Virtual Machines tab or the Templates tab, click Create and select Virtual Machine with Wizard.
  3. Select a template that is configured with a boot source.
  4. Click Next to go to the Review and create step.
  5. Clear the Start this virtual machine after creation checkbox if you do not want to start the virtual machine now.
  6. Click Create virtual machine and exit the wizard or continue with the wizard to customize the virtual machine.
  7. Click Customize virtual machine to go to the General step.

    1. Optional: Edit the Name field to specify a custom name for the virtual machine.
    2. Optional: In the Description field, add a description.
  8. Click Next to go to the Networking step. A nic0 NIC is attached by default.

    1. Optional: Click Add Network Interface to create additional NICs.
    2. Optional: You can remove any or all NICs by clicking the Options menu kebab and selecting Delete. A virtual machine does not need a NIC attached to be created. You can create NICs after the virtual machine has been created.
  9. Click Next to go to the Storage step.

    1. Optional: Click Add Disk to create additional disks. These disks can be removed by clicking the Options menu kebab and selecting Delete.
    2. Optional: Click the Options menu kebab to edit the disk and save your changes.
  10. Click Next to go to the Advanced step to review the details for Cloud-init and configure SSH access.

    Note

    Statically inject an SSH key by using the custom script in cloud-init or in the wizard. This allows you to securely and remotely manage virtual machines and manage and transfer information. This step is strongly recommended to secure your VM. 

  11. Click Next to go to the Review step and review the settings for the virtual machine.
  12. Click Create Virtual Machine.
  13. Click See virtual machine details to view the Overview for this virtual machine.

    The virtual machine is listed in the Virtual Machines tab.

Refer to the virtual machine wizard fields section when running the web console wizard.

8.1.2.1. Virtual machine wizard fields

NameParameterDescription

Name

 

The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), and hyphens (-), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, periods (.), or special characters.

Description

 

Optional description field.

Operating System

 

The operating system that is selected for the virtual machine in the template. You cannot edit this field when creating a virtual machine from a template.

Boot Source

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content from an image available from an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint. Example: Obtaining a URL link from the web page with the operating system image.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existent persistent volume claim available on the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Provision virtual machine from a bootable operating system container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. Example: kubevirt/cirros-registry-disk-demo.

PXE (network boot - adds network interface)

Boot an operating system from a server on the network. Requires a PXE bootable network attachment definition.

Persistent Volume Claim project

 

Project name that you want to use for cloning the PVC.

Persistent Volume Claim name

 

PVC name that should apply to this virtual machine template if you are cloning an existing PVC.

Mount this as a CD-ROM boot source

 

A CD-ROM requires an additional disk for installing the operating system. Select the checkbox to add a disk and customize it later.

Flavor

Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Custom

Presets the amount of CPU and memory in a virtual machine template with predefined values that are allocated to the virtual machine, depending on the operating system associated with that template.

If you choose a default template, you can override the cpus and memsize values in the template using custom values to create a custom template. Alternatively, you can create a custom template by modifying the cpus and memsize values in the Details tab on the Workloads Virtualization page.

Workload Type

Note

If you choose the incorrect Workload Type, there could be performance or resource utilization issues (such as a slow UI).

Desktop

A virtual machine configuration for use on a desktop. Ideal for consumption on a small scale. Recommended for use with the web console.

Server

Balances performance and it is compatible with a wide range of server workloads.

High-Performance

A virtual machine configuration that is optimized for high-performance workloads.

Start this virtual machine after creation.

 

This checkbox is selected by default and the virtual machine starts running after creation. Clear the checkbox if you do not want the virtual machine to start when it is created.

8.1.2.2. Networking fields

NameDescription

Name

Name for the network interface controller.

Model

Indicates the model of the network interface controller. Supported values are e1000e and virtio.

Network

List of available network attachment definitions.

Type

List of available binding methods. For the default pod network, masquerade is the only recommended binding method. For secondary networks, use the bridge binding method. The masquerade method is not supported for non-default networks. Select SR-IOV if you configured an SR-IOV network device and defined that network in the namespace.

MAC Address

MAC address for the network interface controller. If a MAC address is not specified, one is assigned automatically.

8.1.2.3. Storage fields

NameSelectionDescription

Source

Blank (creates PVC)

Create an empty disk.

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content via URL (HTTP or HTTPS endpoint).

Use an existing PVC

Use a PVC that is already available in the cluster.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existing PVC available in the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Import content via container registry.

Container (ephemeral)

Upload content from a container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. The container disk should be used only for read-only filesystems such as CD-ROMs or temporary virtual machines.

Name

 

Name of the disk. The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), and periods (.), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, or special characters.

Size

 

Size of the disk in GiB.

Type

 

Type of disk. Example: Disk or CD-ROM

Interface

 

Type of disk device. Supported interfaces are virtIO, SATA, and SCSI.

Storage Class

 

The storage class that is used to create the disk.

Advanced Volume Mode

 

Defines whether the persistent volume uses a formatted file system or raw block state. Default is Filesystem.

Advanced Access Mode

 

Access mode of the persistent volume. Supported access modes are Single User (RWO), Shared Access (RWX), and Read Only (ROX).

Advanced storage settings

The following advanced storage settings are available for Blank, Import via URL, and Clone existing PVC disks. These parameters are optional. If you do not specify these parameters, the system uses the default values from the kubevirt-storage-class-defaults config map.

NameParameterDescription

Volume Mode

Filesystem

Stores the virtual disk on a file system-based volume.

Block

Stores the virtual disk directly on the block volume. Only use Block if the underlying storage supports it.

Access Mode

Single User (RWO)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by a single node.

Shared Access (RWX)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by many nodes.

Note

This is required for some features, such as live migration of virtual machines between nodes.

Read Only (ROX)

The disk can be mounted as read-only by many nodes.

8.1.2.4. Cloud-init fields

NameDescription

Hostname

Sets a specific hostname for the virtual machine.

Authorized SSH Keys

The user’s public key that is copied to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the virtual machine.

Custom script

Replaces other options with a field in which you paste a custom cloud-init script.

To configure storage class defaults, use storage profiles. For more information, see Customizing the storage profile.

8.1.2.5. Pasting in a pre-configured YAML file to create a virtual machine

Create a virtual machine by writing or pasting a YAML configuration file. A valid example virtual machine configuration is provided by default whenever you open the YAML edit screen.

If your YAML configuration is invalid when you click Create, an error message indicates the parameter in which the error occurs. Only one error is shown at a time.

Note

Navigating away from the YAML screen while editing cancels any changes to the configuration you have made.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Click Create and select Virtual Machine With YAML.
  4. Write or paste your virtual machine configuration in the editable window.

    1. Alternatively, use the example virtual machine provided by default in the YAML screen.
  5. Optional: Click Download to download the YAML configuration file in its present state.
  6. Click Create to create the virtual machine.

The virtual machine is listed in the Virtual Machines tab.

8.1.3. Using the CLI to create a virtual machine

You can create a virtual machine from a virtualMachine manifest.

Procedure

  1. Edit the VirtualMachine manifest for your VM. For example, the following manifest configures a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) VM:

    Example 8.1. Example manifest for a RHEL VM

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: <vm_name> 1
      name: <vm_name>
    spec:
      dataVolumeTemplates:
      - apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
        kind: DataVolume
        metadata:
          name: <vm_name>
        spec:
          sourceRef:
            kind: DataSource
            name: rhel9
            namespace: openshift-virtualization-os-images
          storage:
            resources:
              requests:
                storage: 30Gi
      running: false
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            kubevirt.io/domain: <vm_name>
        spec:
          domain:
            cpu:
              cores: 1
              sockets: 2
              threads: 1
            devices:
              disks:
              - disk:
                  bus: virtio
                name: rootdisk
              - disk:
                  bus: virtio
                name: cloudinitdisk
              interfaces:
              - masquerade: {}
                name: default
              rng: {}
            features:
              smm:
                enabled: true
            firmware:
              bootloader:
                efi: {}
            resources:
              requests:
                memory: 8Gi
          evictionStrategy: LiveMigrate
          networks:
          - name: default
            pod: {}
          volumes:
          - dataVolume:
              name: <vm_name>
            name: rootdisk
          - cloudInitNoCloud:
              userData: |-
                #cloud-config
                user: cloud-user
                password: '<password>' 2
                chpasswd: { expire: False }
            name: cloudinitdisk
    1
    Specify the name of the virtual machine.
    2
    Specify the password for cloud-user.
  2. Create a virtual machine by using the manifest file:

    $ oc create -f <vm_manifest_file>.yaml
  3. Optional: Start the virtual machine:

    $ virtctl start <vm_name>

8.1.4. Virtual machine storage volume types

Storage volume typeDescription

ephemeral

A local copy-on-write (COW) image that uses a network volume as a read-only backing store. The backing volume must be a PersistentVolumeClaim. The ephemeral image is created when the virtual machine starts and stores all writes locally. The ephemeral image is discarded when the virtual machine is stopped, restarted, or deleted. The backing volume (PVC) is not mutated in any way.

persistentVolumeClaim

Attaches an available PV to a virtual machine. Attaching a PV allows for the virtual machine data to persist between sessions.

Importing an existing virtual machine disk into a PVC by using CDI and attaching the PVC to a virtual machine instance is the recommended method for importing existing virtual machines into OpenShift Container Platform. There are some requirements for the disk to be used within a PVC.

dataVolume

Data volumes build on the persistentVolumeClaim disk type by managing the process of preparing the virtual machine disk via an import, clone, or upload operation. VMs that use this volume type are guaranteed not to start until the volume is ready.

Specify type: dataVolume or type: "". If you specify any other value for type, such as persistentVolumeClaim, a warning is displayed, and the virtual machine does not start.

cloudInitNoCloud

Attaches a disk that contains the referenced cloud-init NoCloud data source, providing user data and metadata to the virtual machine. A cloud-init installation is required inside the virtual machine disk.

containerDisk

References an image, such as a virtual machine disk, that is stored in the container image registry. The image is pulled from the registry and attached to the virtual machine as a disk when the virtual machine is launched.

A containerDisk volume is not limited to a single virtual machine and is useful for creating large numbers of virtual machine clones that do not require persistent storage.

Only RAW and QCOW2 formats are supported disk types for the container image registry. QCOW2 is recommended for reduced image size.

Note

A containerDisk volume is ephemeral. It is discarded when the virtual machine is stopped, restarted, or deleted. A containerDisk volume is useful for read-only file systems such as CD-ROMs or for disposable virtual machines.

emptyDisk

Creates an additional sparse QCOW2 disk that is tied to the life-cycle of the virtual machine interface. The data survives guest-initiated reboots in the virtual machine but is discarded when the virtual machine stops or is restarted from the web console. The empty disk is used to store application dependencies and data that otherwise exceeds the limited temporary file system of an ephemeral disk.

The disk capacity size must also be provided.

8.1.5. About RunStrategies for virtual machines

A RunStrategy for virtual machines determines a virtual machine instance’s (VMI) behavior, depending on a series of conditions. The spec.runStrategy setting exists in the virtual machine configuration process as an alternative to the spec.running setting. The spec.runStrategy setting allows greater flexibility for how VMIs are created and managed, in contrast to the spec.running setting with only true or false responses. However, the two settings are mutually exclusive. Only either spec.running or spec.runStrategy can be used. An error occurs if both are used.

There are four defined RunStrategies.

Always
A VMI is always present when a virtual machine is created. A new VMI is created if the original stops for any reason, which is the same behavior as spec.running: true.
RerunOnFailure
A VMI is re-created if the previous instance fails due to an error. The instance is not re-created if the virtual machine stops successfully, such as when it shuts down.
Manual
The start, stop, and restart virtctl client commands can be used to control the VMI’s state and existence.
Halted
No VMI is present when a virtual machine is created, which is the same behavior as spec.running: false.

Different combinations of the start, stop and restart virtctl commands affect which RunStrategy is used.

The following table follows a VM’s transition from different states. The first column shows the VM’s initial RunStrategy. Each additional column shows a virtctl command and the new RunStrategy after that command is run.

Initial RunStrategystartstoprestart

Always

-

Halted

Always

RerunOnFailure

-

Halted

RerunOnFailure

Manual

Manual

Manual

Manual

Halted

Always

-

-

Note

In OpenShift Virtualization clusters installed using installer-provisioned infrastructure, when a node fails the MachineHealthCheck and becomes unavailable to the cluster, VMs with a RunStrategy of Always or RerunOnFailure are rescheduled on a new node.

apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
spec:
  RunStrategy: Always 1
  template:
...
1
The VMI’s current RunStrategy setting.

8.1.6. Additional resources

8.2. Editing virtual machines

You can update a virtual machine configuration using either the YAML editor in the web console or the OpenShift CLI on the command line. You can also update a subset of the parameters in the Virtual Machine Details screen.

8.2.1. Editing a virtual machine in the web console

Edit select values of a virtual machine in the web console by clicking the pencil icon next to the relevant field. Other values can be edited using the CLI.

Labels and annotations are editable for both preconfigured Red Hat templates and your custom virtual machine templates. All other values are editable only for custom virtual machine templates that users have created using the Red Hat templates or the Create Virtual Machine Template wizard.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine.
  4. Click the Details tab.
  5. Click the pencil icon to make a field editable.
  6. Make the relevant changes and click Save.
Note

If the virtual machine is running, changes to Boot Order or Flavor will not take effect until you restart the virtual machine.

You can view pending changes by clicking View Pending Changes on the right side of the relevant field. The Pending Changes banner at the top of the page displays a list of all changes that will be applied when the virtual machine restarts.

8.2.2. Editing a virtual machine YAML configuration using the web console

You can edit the YAML configuration of a virtual machine in the web console. Some parameters cannot be modified. If you click Save with an invalid configuration, an error message indicates the parameter that cannot be changed.

If you edit the YAML configuration while the virtual machine is running, changes will not take effect until you restart the virtual machine.

Note

Navigating away from the YAML screen while editing cancels any changes to the configuration you have made.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Select a virtual machine.
  3. Click the YAML tab to display the editable configuration.
  4. Optional: You can click Download to download the YAML file locally in its current state.
  5. Edit the file and click Save.

A confirmation message shows that the modification has been successful and includes the updated version number for the object.

8.2.3. Editing a virtual machine YAML configuration using the CLI

Use this procedure to edit a virtual machine YAML configuration using the CLI.

Prerequisites

  • You configured a virtual machine with a YAML object configuration file.
  • You installed the oc CLI.

Procedure

  1. Run the following command to update the virtual machine configuration:

    $ oc edit <object_type> <object_ID>
  2. Open the object configuration.
  3. Edit the YAML.
  4. If you edit a running virtual machine, you need to do one of the following:

    • Restart the virtual machine.
    • Run the following command for the new configuration to take effect:

      $ oc apply <object_type> <object_ID>

8.2.4. Adding a virtual disk to a virtual machine

Use this procedure to add a virtual disk to a virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Disks tab.
  5. In the Add Disk window, specify the Source, Name, Size, Type, Interface, and Storage Class.

    1. Optional: In the Advanced list, specify the Volume Mode and Access Mode for the virtual disk. If you do not specify these parameters, the system uses the default values from the kubevirt-storage-class-defaults config map.
  6. Click Add.
Note

If the virtual machine is running, the new disk is in the pending restart state and will not be attached until you restart the virtual machine.

The Pending Changes banner at the top of the page displays a list of all changes that will be applied when the virtual machine restarts.

To configure storage class defaults, use storage profiles. For more information, see Customizing the storage profile.

8.2.4.1. Storage fields

NameSelectionDescription

Source

Blank (creates PVC)

Create an empty disk.

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content via URL (HTTP or HTTPS endpoint).

Use an existing PVC

Use a PVC that is already available in the cluster.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existing PVC available in the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Import content via container registry.

Container (ephemeral)

Upload content from a container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. The container disk should be used only for read-only filesystems such as CD-ROMs or temporary virtual machines.

Name

 

Name of the disk. The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), and periods (.), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, or special characters.

Size

 

Size of the disk in GiB.

Type

 

Type of disk. Example: Disk or CD-ROM

Interface

 

Type of disk device. Supported interfaces are virtIO, SATA, and SCSI.

Storage Class

 

The storage class that is used to create the disk.

Advanced Volume Mode

 

Defines whether the persistent volume uses a formatted file system or raw block state. Default is Filesystem.

Advanced Access Mode

 

Access mode of the persistent volume. Supported access modes are Single User (RWO), Shared Access (RWX), and Read Only (ROX).

Advanced storage settings

The following advanced storage settings are available for Blank, Import via URL, and Clone existing PVC disks. These parameters are optional. If you do not specify these parameters, the system uses the default values from the kubevirt-storage-class-defaults config map.

NameParameterDescription

Volume Mode

Filesystem

Stores the virtual disk on a file system-based volume.

Block

Stores the virtual disk directly on the block volume. Only use Block if the underlying storage supports it.

Access Mode

Single User (RWO)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by a single node.

Shared Access (RWX)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by many nodes.

Note

This is required for some features, such as live migration of virtual machines between nodes.

Read Only (ROX)

The disk can be mounted as read-only by many nodes.

8.2.5. Adding a network interface to a virtual machine

Use this procedure to add a network interface to a virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Network Interfaces tab.
  5. Click Add Network Interface.
  6. In the Add Network Interface window, specify the Name, Model, Network, Type, and MAC Address of the network interface.
  7. Click Add.
Note

If the virtual machine is running, the new network interface is in the pending restart state and changes will not take effect until you restart the virtual machine.

The Pending Changes banner at the top of the page displays a list of all changes that will be applied when the virtual machine restarts.

8.2.5.1. Networking fields

NameDescription

Name

Name for the network interface controller.

Model

Indicates the model of the network interface controller. Supported values are e1000e and virtio.

Network

List of available network attachment definitions.

Type

List of available binding methods. For the default pod network, masquerade is the only recommended binding method. For secondary networks, use the bridge binding method. The masquerade method is not supported for non-default networks. Select SR-IOV if you configured an SR-IOV network device and defined that network in the namespace.

MAC Address

MAC address for the network interface controller. If a MAC address is not specified, one is assigned automatically.

8.2.6. Editing CD-ROMs for Virtual Machines

Use the following procedure to edit CD-ROMs for virtual machines.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Disks tab.
  5. Click the Options menu kebab for the CD-ROM that you want to edit and select Edit.
  6. In the Edit CD-ROM window, edit the fields: Source, Persistent Volume Claim, Name, Type, and Interface.
  7. Click Save.

8.3. Editing boot order

You can update the values for a boot order list by using the web console or the CLI.

With Boot Order in the Virtual Machine Overview page, you can:

  • Select a disk or network interface controller (NIC) and add it to the boot order list.
  • Edit the order of the disks or NICs in the boot order list.
  • Remove a disk or NIC from the boot order list, and return it back to the inventory of bootable sources.

8.3.1. Adding items to a boot order list in the web console

Add items to a boot order list by using the web console.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Details tab.
  5. Click the pencil icon that is located on the right side of Boot Order. If a YAML configuration does not exist, or if this is the first time that you are creating a boot order list, the following message displays: No resource selected. VM will attempt to boot from disks by order of appearance in YAML file.
  6. Click Add Source and select a bootable disk or network interface controller (NIC) for the virtual machine.
  7. Add any additional disks or NICs to the boot order list.
  8. Click Save.
Note

If the virtual machine is running, changes to Boot Order will not take effect until you restart the virtual machine.

You can view pending changes by clicking View Pending Changes on the right side of the Boot Order field. The Pending Changes banner at the top of the page displays a list of all changes that will be applied when the virtual machine restarts.

8.3.2. Editing a boot order list in the web console

Edit the boot order list in the web console.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Details tab.
  5. Click the pencil icon that is located on the right side of Boot Order.
  6. Choose the appropriate method to move the item in the boot order list:

    • If you do not use a screen reader, hover over the arrow icon next to the item that you want to move, drag the item up or down, and drop it in a location of your choice.
    • If you use a screen reader, press the Up Arrow key or Down Arrow key to move the item in the boot order list. Then, press the Tab key to drop the item in a location of your choice.
  7. Click Save.
Note

If the virtual machine is running, changes to the boot order list will not take effect until you restart the virtual machine.

You can view pending changes by clicking View Pending Changes on the right side of the Boot Order field. The Pending Changes banner at the top of the page displays a list of all changes that will be applied when the virtual machine restarts.

8.3.3. Editing a boot order list in the YAML configuration file

Edit the boot order list in a YAML configuration file by using the CLI.

Procedure

  1. Open the YAML configuration file for the virtual machine by running the following command:

    $ oc edit vm example
  2. Edit the YAML file and modify the values for the boot order associated with a disk or network interface controller (NIC). For example:

    disks:
      - bootOrder: 1 1
        disk:
          bus: virtio
        name: containerdisk
      - disk:
          bus: virtio
        name: cloudinitdisk
      - cdrom:
          bus: virtio
        name: cd-drive-1
    interfaces:
      - boot Order: 2 2
        macAddress: '02:96:c4:00:00'
        masquerade: {}
        name: default
    1
    The boot order value specified for the disk.
    2
    The boot order value specified for the network interface controller.
  3. Save the YAML file.
  4. Click reload the content to apply the updated boot order values from the YAML file to the boot order list in the web console.

8.3.4. Removing items from a boot order list in the web console

Remove items from a boot order list by using the web console.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Details tab.
  5. Click the pencil icon that is located on the right side of Boot Order.
  6. Click the Remove icon delete next to the item. The item is removed from the boot order list and saved in the list of available boot sources. If you remove all items from the boot order list, the following message displays: No resource selected. VM will attempt to boot from disks by order of appearance in YAML file.
Note

If the virtual machine is running, changes to Boot Order will not take effect until you restart the virtual machine.

You can view pending changes by clicking View Pending Changes on the right side of the Boot Order field. The Pending Changes banner at the top of the page displays a list of all changes that will be applied when the virtual machine restarts.

8.4. Deleting virtual machines

You can delete a virtual machine from the web console or by using the oc command line interface.

8.4.1. Deleting a virtual machine using the web console

Deleting a virtual machine permanently removes it from the cluster.

Note

When you delete a virtual machine, the data volume it uses is automatically deleted.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Click the Options menu kebab of the virtual machine that you want to delete and select Delete Virtual Machine.

    • Alternatively, click the virtual machine name to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen and click Actions Delete Virtual Machine.
  4. In the confirmation pop-up window, click Delete to permanently delete the virtual machine.

8.4.2. Deleting a virtual machine by using the CLI

You can delete a virtual machine by using the oc command line interface (CLI). The oc client enables you to perform actions on multiple virtual machines.

Note

When you delete a virtual machine, the data volume it uses is automatically deleted.

Prerequisites

  • Identify the name of the virtual machine that you want to delete.

Procedure

  • Delete the virtual machine by running the following command:

    $ oc delete vm <vm_name>
    Note

    This command only deletes objects that exist in the current project. Specify the -n <project_name> option if the object you want to delete is in a different project or namespace.

8.5. Managing virtual machine instances

If you have standalone virtual machine instances (VMIs) that were created independently outside of the OpenShift Virtualization environment, you can manage them by using the web console or the command-line interface (CLI).

8.5.1. About virtual machine instances

A virtual machine instance (VMI) is a representation of a running virtual machine (VM). When a VMI is owned by a VM or by another object, you manage it through its owner in the web console or by using the oc command-line interface (CLI).

A standalone VMI is created and started independently with a script, through automation, or by using other methods in the CLI. In your environment, you might have standalone VMIs that were developed and started outside of the OpenShift Virtualization environment. You can continue to manage those standalone VMIs by using the CLI. You can also use the web console for specific tasks associated with standalone VMIs:

  • List standalone VMIs and their details.
  • Edit labels and annotations for a standalone VMI.
  • Delete a standalone VMI.

When you delete a VM, the associated VMI is automatically deleted. You delete a standalone VMI directly because it is not owned by VMs or other objects.

Note

Before you uninstall OpenShift Virtualization, list and view the standalone VMIs by using the CLI or the web console. Then, delete any outstanding VMIs.

8.5.2. Listing all virtual machine instances using the CLI

You can list all virtual machine instances (VMIs) in your cluster, including standalone VMIs and those owned by virtual machines, by using the oc command-line interface (CLI).

Procedure

  • List all VMIs by running the following command:

    $ oc get vmis

8.5.3. Listing standalone virtual machine instances using the web console

Using the web console, you can list and view standalone virtual machine instances (VMIs) in your cluster that are not owned by virtual machines (VMs).

Note

VMIs that are owned by VMs or other objects are not displayed in the web console. The web console displays only standalone VMIs. If you want to list all VMIs in your cluster, you must use the CLI.

Procedure

  • Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu. A list of VMs and standalone VMIs displays. You can identify standalone VMIs by the dark colored badges that display next to the virtual machine instance names.

8.5.4. Editing a standalone virtual machine instance using the web console

You can edit annotations and labels for a standalone virtual machine instance (VMI) using the web console. Other items displayed in the Details page for a standalone VMI are not editable.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu. A list of virtual machines (VMs) and standalone VMIs displays.
  2. Click the name of a standalone VMI to open the Virtual Machine Instance Overview screen.
  3. Click the Details tab.
  4. Click the pencil icon that is located on the right side of Annotations.
  5. Make the relevant changes and click Save.
Note

To edit labels for a standalone VMI, click Actions and select Edit Labels. Make the relevant changes and click Save.

8.5.5. Deleting a standalone virtual machine instance using the CLI

You can delete a standalone virtual machine instance (VMI) by using the oc command-line interface (CLI).

Prerequisites

  • Identify the name of the VMI that you want to delete.

Procedure

  • Delete the VMI by running the following command:

    $ oc delete vmi <vmi_name>

8.5.6. Deleting a standalone virtual machine instance using the web console

Delete a standalone virtual machine instance (VMI) from the web console.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Container Platform web console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the ⋮ button of the standalone virtual machine instance (VMI) that you want to delete and select Delete Virtual Machine Instance.

    • Alternatively, click the name of the standalone VMI. The Virtual Machine Instance Overview page displays.
  3. Select Actions Delete Virtual Machine Instance.
  4. In the confirmation pop-up window, click Delete to permanently delete the standalone VMI.

8.6. Controlling virtual machine states

You can stop, start, restart, and unpause virtual machines from the web console.

Note

To control virtual machines from the command-line interface (CLI), use the virtctl client.

8.6.1. Starting a virtual machine

You can start a virtual machine from the web console.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Find the row that contains the virtual machine that you want to start.
  4. Navigate to the appropriate menu for your use case:

    • To stay on this page, where you can perform actions on multiple virtual machines:

      1. Click the Options menu kebab located at the far right end of the row.
    • To view comprehensive information about the selected virtual machine before you start it:

      1. Access the Virtual Machine Overview screen by clicking the name of the virtual machine.
      2. Click Actions.
  5. Select Start Virtual Machine.
  6. In the confirmation window, click Start to start the virtual machine.
Note

When you start virtual machine that is provisioned from a URL source for the first time, the virtual machine has a status of Importing while OpenShift Virtualization imports the container from the URL endpoint. Depending on the size of the image, this process might take several minutes.

8.6.2. Restarting a virtual machine

You can restart a running virtual machine from the web console.

Important

To avoid errors, do not restart a virtual machine while it has a status of Importing.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Find the row that contains the virtual machine that you want to restart.
  4. Navigate to the appropriate menu for your use case:

    • To stay on this page, where you can perform actions on multiple virtual machines:

      1. Click the Options menu kebab located at the far right end of the row.
    • To view comprehensive information about the selected virtual machine before you restart it:

      1. Access the Virtual Machine Overview screen by clicking the name of the virtual machine.
      2. Click Actions.
  5. Select Restart Virtual Machine.
  6. In the confirmation window, click Restart to restart the virtual machine.

8.6.3. Stopping a virtual machine

You can stop a virtual machine from the web console.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Find the row that contains the virtual machine that you want to stop.
  4. Navigate to the appropriate menu for your use case:

    • To stay on this page, where you can perform actions on multiple virtual machines:

      1. Click the Options menu kebab located at the far right end of the row.
    • To view comprehensive information about the selected virtual machine before you stop it:

      1. Access the Virtual Machine Overview screen by clicking the name of the virtual machine.
      2. Click Actions.
  5. Select Stop Virtual Machine.
  6. In the confirmation window, click Stop to stop the virtual machine.

8.6.4. Unpausing a virtual machine

You can unpause a paused virtual machine from the web console.

Prerequisites

  • At least one of your virtual machines must have a status of Paused.

    Note

    You can pause virtual machines by using the virtctl client.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Find the row that contains the virtual machine that you want to unpause.
  4. Navigate to the appropriate menu for your use case:

    • To stay on this page, where you can perform actions on multiple virtual machines:

      1. In the Status column, click Paused.
    • To view comprehensive information about the selected virtual machine before you unpause it:

      1. Access the Virtual Machine Overview screen by clicking the name of the virtual machine.
      2. Click the pencil icon that is located on the right side of Status.
  5. In the confirmation window, click Unpause to unpause the virtual machine.

8.7. Accessing virtual machine consoles

OpenShift Virtualization provides different virtual machine consoles that you can use to accomplish different product tasks. You can access these consoles through the OpenShift Container Platform web console and by using CLI commands.

8.7.1. Accessing virtual machine consoles in the OpenShift Container Platform web console

You can connect to virtual machines by using the serial console or the VNC console in the OpenShift Container Platform web console.

You can connect to Windows virtual machines by using the desktop viewer console, which uses RDP (remote desktop protocol), in the OpenShift Container Platform web console.

8.7.1.1. Connecting to the serial console

Connect to the serial console of a running virtual machine from the Console tab in the Virtual Machine Overview screen of the web console.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview page.
  4. Click Console. The VNC console opens by default.
  5. Select Disconnect before switching to ensure that only one console session is open at a time. Otherwise, the VNC console session remains active in the background.
  6. Click the VNC Console drop-down list and select Serial Console.
  7. Click Disconnect to end the console session.
  8. Optional: Open the serial console in a separate window by clicking Open Console in New Window.

8.7.1.2. Connecting to the VNC console

Connect to the VNC console of a running virtual machine from the Console tab in the Virtual Machine Overview screen of the web console.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview page.
  4. Click the Console tab. The VNC console opens by default.
  5. Optional: Open the VNC console in a separate window by clicking Open Console in New Window.
  6. Optional: Send key combinations to the virtual machine by clicking Send Key.
  7. Click outside the console window and then click Disconnect to end the session.

8.7.1.3. Connecting to a Windows virtual machine with RDP

The desktop viewer console, which utilizes the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), provides a better console experience for connecting to Windows virtual machines.

To connect to a Windows virtual machine with RDP, download the console.rdp file for the virtual machine from the Consoles tab in the Virtual Machine Details screen of the web console and supply it to your preferred RDP client.

Prerequisites

  • A running Windows virtual machine with the QEMU guest agent installed. The qemu-guest-agent is included in the VirtIO drivers.
  • A layer-2 NIC attached to the virtual machine.
  • An RDP client installed on a machine on the same network as the Windows virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a Windows virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Console tab.
  5. In the Console list, select Desktop Viewer.
  6. In the Network Interface list, select the layer-2 NIC.
  7. Click Launch Remote Desktop to download the console.rdp file.
  8. Open an RDP client and reference the console.rdp file. For example, using remmina:

    $ remmina --connect /path/to/console.rdp
  9. Enter the Administrator user name and password to connect to the Windows virtual machine.

8.7.1.4. Copying the SSH command from the web console

Copy the command to access a running virtual machine (VM) via SSH from the Actions list in the web console.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Container Platform console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview page.
  4. From the Actions list, select Copy SSH Command. You can now paste this command onto the OpenShift CLI (oc).

8.7.2. Accessing virtual machine consoles by using CLI commands

8.7.2.1. Accessing a virtual machine instance via SSH

You can use SSH to access a virtual machine (VM) after you expose port 22 on it.

The virtctl expose command forwards a virtual machine instance (VMI) port to a node port and creates a service for enabled access. The following example creates the fedora-vm-ssh service that forwards traffic from a specific port of cluster nodes to port 22 of the <fedora-vm> virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • You must be in the same project as the VMI.
  • The VMI you want to access must be connected to the default pod network by using the masquerade binding method.
  • The VMI you want to access must be running.
  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Run the following command to create the fedora-vm-ssh service:

    $ virtctl expose vm <fedora-vm> --port=22 --name=fedora-vm-ssh --type=NodePort 1
    1
    <fedora-vm> is the name of the VM that you run the fedora-vm-ssh service on.
  2. Check the service to find out which port the service acquired:

    $ oc get svc

Example output

NAME            TYPE       CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)           AGE
fedora-vm-ssh   NodePort   127.0.0.1      <none>        22:32551/TCP   6s

+ In this example, the service acquired the 32551 port.

  1. Log in to the VMI via SSH. Use the ipAddress of any of the cluster nodes and the port that you found in the previous step:

    $ ssh username@<node_IP_address> -p 32551

8.7.2.2. Accessing a virtual machine via SSH with YAML configurations

You can enable an SSH connection to a virtual machine (VM) without the need to run the virtctl expose command. When the YAML file for the VM and the YAML file for the service are configured and applied, the service forwards the SSH traffic to the VM.

The following examples show the configurations for the VM’s YAML file and the service YAML file.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • Create a namespace for the VM’s YAML file by using the oc create namespace command and specifying a name for the namespace.

Procedure

  1. In the YAML file for the VM, add the label and a value for exposing the service for SSH connections. Enable the masquerade feature for the interface:

    Example VirtualMachine definition

    ...
    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      namespace: ssh-ns 1
      name: vm-ssh
    spec:
      running: false
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            kubevirt.io/vm: vm-ssh
            special: vm-ssh 2
        spec:
          domain:
            devices:
              disks:
              - disk:
                  bus: virtio
                name: containerdisk
              - disk:
                  bus: virtio
                name: cloudinitdisk
              interfaces:
              - masquerade: {} 3
                name: testmasquerade 4
              rng: {}
            machine:
              type: ""
            resources:
              requests:
                memory: 1024M
          networks:
          - name: testmasquerade
            pod: {}
          volumes:
          - name: containerdisk
            containerDisk:
              image: kubevirt/fedora-cloud-container-disk-demo
          - name: cloudinitdisk
            cloudInitNoCloud:
              userData: |
                #!/bin/bash
                echo "fedora" | passwd fedora --stdin
    ...

    1
    Name of the namespace created by the oc create namespace command.
    2
    Label used by the service to identify the virtual machine instances that are enabled for SSH traffic connections. The label can be any key:value pair that is added as a label to this YAML file and as a selector in the service YAML file.
    3
    The interface type is masquerade.
    4
    The name of this interface is testmasquerade.
  2. Create the VM:

    $ oc create -f <path_for_the_VM_YAML_file>
  3. Start the VM:

    $ virtctl start vm-ssh
  4. In the YAML file for the service, specify the service name, port number, and the target port.

    Example Service definition

    ...
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Service
    metadata:
      name: svc-ssh 1
      namespace: ssh-ns 2
    spec:
      ports:
      - targetPort: 22 3
        protocol: TCP
        port: 27017
      selector:
        special: vm-ssh 4
      type: NodePort
    ...

    1
    Name of the SSH service.
    2
    Name of the namespace created by the oc create namespace command.
    3
    The target port number for the SSH connection.
    4
    The selector name and value must match the label specified in the YAML file for the VM.
  5. Create the service:

    $ oc create -f <path_for_the_service_YAML_file>
  6. Verify that the VM is running:

    $ oc get vmi

    Example output

    NAME    AGE     PHASE       IP              NODENAME
    vm-ssh 6s       Running     10.244.196.152  node01

  7. Check the service to find out which port the service acquired:

    $ oc get svc

    Example output

    NAME            TYPE       CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)           AGE
    svc-ssh     NodePort       10.106.236.208 <none>        27017:30093/TCP   22s

    In this example, the service acquired the port number 30093.

  8. Run the following command to obtain the IP address for the node:

    $ oc get node <node_name> -o wide

    Example output

    NAME    STATUS   ROLES   AGE    VERSION          INTERNAL-IP      EXTERNAL-IP
    node01  Ready    worker  6d22h  v1.20.0+5f82cdb  192.168.55.101   <none>

  9. Log in to the VM via SSH by specifying the IP address of the node where the VM is running and the port number. Use the port number displayed by the oc get svc command and the IP address of the node displayed by the oc get node command. The following example shows the ssh command with the username, node’s IP address, and the port number:

    $ ssh fedora@192.168.55.101 -p 30093

8.7.2.3. Accessing the serial console of a virtual machine instance

The virtctl console command opens a serial console to the specified virtual machine instance.

Prerequisites

  • The virt-viewer package must be installed.
  • The virtual machine instance you want to access must be running.

Procedure

  • Connect to the serial console with virtctl:

    $ virtctl console <VMI>

8.7.2.4. Accessing the graphical console of a virtual machine instances with VNC

The virtctl client utility can use the remote-viewer function to open a graphical console to a running virtual machine instance. This capability is included in the virt-viewer package.

Prerequisites

  • The virt-viewer package must be installed.
  • The virtual machine instance you want to access must be running.
Note

If you use virtctl via SSH on a remote machine, you must forward the X session to your machine.

Procedure

  1. Connect to the graphical interface with the virtctl utility:

    $ virtctl vnc <VMI>
  2. If the command failed, try using the -v flag to collect troubleshooting information:

    $ virtctl vnc <VMI> -v 4

8.7.2.5. Connecting to a Windows virtual machine with an RDP console

The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) provides a better console experience for connecting to Windows virtual machines.

To connect to a Windows virtual machine with RDP, specify the IP address of the attached L2 NIC to your RDP client.

Prerequisites

  • A running Windows virtual machine with the QEMU guest agent installed. The qemu-guest-agent is included in the VirtIO drivers.
  • A layer 2 NIC attached to the virtual machine.
  • An RDP client installed on a machine on the same network as the Windows virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the OpenShift Virtualization cluster through the oc CLI tool as a user with an access token.

    $ oc login -u <user> https://<cluster.example.com>:8443
  2. Use oc describe vmi to display the configuration of the running Windows virtual machine.

    $ oc describe vmi <windows-vmi-name>

    Example output

    ...
    spec:
      networks:
      - name: default
        pod: {}
      - multus:
          networkName: cnv-bridge
        name: bridge-net
    ...
    status:
      interfaces:
      - interfaceName: eth0
        ipAddress: 198.51.100.0/24
        ipAddresses:
          198.51.100.0/24
        mac: a0:36:9f:0f:b1:70
        name: default
      - interfaceName: eth1
        ipAddress: 192.0.2.0/24
        ipAddresses:
          192.0.2.0/24
          2001:db8::/32
        mac: 00:17:a4:77:77:25
        name: bridge-net
    ...

  3. Identify and copy the IP address of the layer 2 network interface. This is 192.0.2.0 in the above example, or 2001:db8:: if you prefer IPv6.
  4. Open an RDP client and use the IP address copied in the previous step for the connection.
  5. Enter the Administrator user name and password to connect to the Windows virtual machine.

8.8. Triggering virtual machine failover by resolving a failed node

If a node fails and machine health checks are not deployed on your cluster, virtual machines (VMs) with RunStrategy: Always configured are not automatically relocated to healthy nodes. To trigger VM failover, you must manually delete the Node object.

Note

If you installed your cluster by using installer-provisioned infrastructure and you properly configured machine health checks:

  • Failed nodes are automatically recycled.
  • Virtual machines with RunStrategy set to Always or RerunOnFailure are automatically scheduled on healthy nodes.

8.8.1. Prerequisites

  • A node where a virtual machine was running has the NotReady condition.
  • The virtual machine that was running on the failed node has RunStrategy set to Always.
  • You have installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).

8.8.2. Deleting nodes from a bare metal cluster

When you delete a node using the CLI, the node object is deleted in Kubernetes, but the pods that exist on the node are not deleted. Any bare pods not backed by a replication controller become inaccessible to OpenShift Container Platform. Pods backed by replication controllers are rescheduled to other available nodes. You must delete local manifest pods.

Procedure

Delete a node from an OpenShift Container Platform cluster running on bare metal by completing the following steps:

  1. Mark the node as unschedulable:

    $ oc adm cordon <node_name>
  2. Drain all pods on the node:

    $ oc adm drain <node_name> --force=true

    This step might fail if the node is offline or unresponsive. Even if the node does not respond, it might still be running a workload that writes to shared storage. To avoid data corruption, power down the physical hardware before you proceed.

  3. Delete the node from the cluster:

    $ oc delete node <node_name>

    Although the node object is now deleted from the cluster, it can still rejoin the cluster after reboot or if the kubelet service is restarted. To permanently delete the node and all its data, you must decommission the node.

  4. If you powered down the physical hardware, turn it back on so that the node can rejoin the cluster.

8.8.3. Verifying virtual machine failover

After all resources are terminated on the unhealthy node, a new virtual machine instance (VMI) is automatically created on a healthy node for each relocated VM. To confirm that the VMI was created, view all VMIs by using the oc CLI.

8.8.3.1. Listing all virtual machine instances using the CLI

You can list all virtual machine instances (VMIs) in your cluster, including standalone VMIs and those owned by virtual machines, by using the oc command-line interface (CLI).

Procedure

  • List all VMIs by running the following command:

    $ oc get vmis

8.9. Installing the QEMU guest agent on virtual machines

The QEMU guest agent is a daemon that runs on the virtual machine and passes information to the host about the virtual machine, users, file systems, and secondary networks.

8.9.1. Installing QEMU guest agent on a Linux virtual machine

The qemu-guest-agent is widely available and available by default in Red Hat virtual machines. Install the agent and start the service

Procedure

  1. Access the virtual machine command line through one of the consoles or by SSH.
  2. Install the QEMU guest agent on the virtual machine:

    $ yum install -y qemu-guest-agent
  3. Ensure the service is persistent and start it:

    $ systemctl enable --now qemu-guest-agent

You can also install and start the QEMU guest agent by using the custom script field in the cloud-init section of the wizard when creating either virtual machines or virtual machines templates in the web console.

8.9.2. Installing QEMU guest agent on a Windows virtual machine

For Windows virtual machines, the QEMU guest agent is included in the VirtIO drivers, which can be installed using one of the following procedures:

8.9.2.1. Installing VirtIO drivers on an existing Windows virtual machine

Install the VirtIO drivers from the attached SATA CD drive to an existing Windows virtual machine.

Note

This procedure uses a generic approach to adding drivers to Windows. The process might differ slightly between versions of Windows. See the installation documentation for your version of Windows for specific installation steps.

Procedure

  1. Start the virtual machine and connect to a graphical console.
  2. Log in to a Windows user session.
  3. Open Device Manager and expand Other devices to list any Unknown device.

    1. Open the Device Properties to identify the unknown device. Right-click the device and select Properties.
    2. Click the Details tab and select Hardware Ids in the Property list.
    3. Compare the Value for the Hardware Ids with the supported VirtIO drivers.
  4. Right-click the device and select Update Driver Software.
  5. Click Browse my computer for driver software and browse to the attached SATA CD drive, where the VirtIO drivers are located. The drivers are arranged hierarchically according to their driver type, operating system, and CPU architecture.
  6. Click Next to install the driver.
  7. Repeat this process for all the necessary VirtIO drivers.
  8. After the driver installs, click Close to close the window.
  9. Reboot the virtual machine to complete the driver installation.

8.9.2.2. Installing VirtIO drivers during Windows installation

Install the VirtIO drivers from the attached SATA CD driver during Windows installation.

Note

This procedure uses a generic approach to the Windows installation and the installation method might differ between versions of Windows. See the documentation for the version of Windows that you are installing.

Procedure

  1. Start the virtual machine and connect to a graphical console.
  2. Begin the Windows installation process.
  3. Select the Advanced installation.
  4. The storage destination will not be recognized until the driver is loaded. Click Load driver.
  5. The drivers are attached as a SATA CD drive. Click OK and browse the CD drive for the storage driver to load. The drivers are arranged hierarchically according to their driver type, operating system, and CPU architecture.
  6. Repeat the previous two steps for all required drivers.
  7. Complete the Windows installation.

8.10. Viewing the QEMU guest agent information for virtual machines

When the QEMU guest agent runs on the virtual machine, you can use the web console to view information about the virtual machine, users, file systems, and secondary networks.

8.10.1. Prerequisites

8.10.2. About the QEMU guest agent information in the web console

When the QEMU guest agent is installed, the Details pane within the Virtual Machine Overview tab and the Details tab display information about the hostname, operating system, time zone, and logged in users.

The Virtual Machine Overview shows information about the guest operating system installed on the virtual machine. The Details tab displays a table with information for logged in users. The Disks tab displays a table with information for file systems.

Note

If the QEMU guest agent is not installed, the Virtual Machine Overview tab and the Details tab display information about the operating system that was specified when the virtual machine was created.

8.10.3. Viewing the QEMU guest agent information in the web console

You can use the web console to view information for virtual machines that is passed by the QEMU guest agent to the host.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtual Machines from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine name to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen and view the Details pane.
  4. Click Logged in users to view the Details tab that shows information for users.
  5. Click the Disks tab to view information about the file systems.

8.11. Managing config maps, secrets, and service accounts in virtual machines

You can use secrets, config maps, and service accounts to pass configuration data to virtual machines. For example, you can:

  • Give a virtual machine access to a service that requires credentials by adding a secret to the virtual machine.
  • Store non-confidential configuration data in a config map so that a pod or another object can consume the data.
  • Allow a component to access the API server by associating a service account with that component.
Note

OpenShift Virtualization exposes secrets, config maps, and service accounts as virtual machine disks so that you can use them across platforms without additional overhead.

8.11.1. Adding a secret, config map, or service account to a virtual machine

Add a secret, config map, or service account to a virtual machine by using the OpenShift Container Platform web console.

Prerequisites

  • The secret, config map, or service account that you want to add must exist in the same namespace as the target virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Environment tab.
  5. Click Select a resource and select a secret, config map, or service account from the list. A six character serial number is automatically generated for the selected resource.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Optional. Add another object by clicking Add Config Map, Secret or Service Account.
Note
  1. You can reset the form to the last saved state by clicking Reload.
  2. The Environment resources are added to the virtual machine as disks. You can mount the secret, config map, or service account as you would mount any other disk.
  3. If the virtual machine is running, changes will not take effect until you restart the virtual machine. The newly added resources are marked as pending changes for both the Environment and Disks tab in the Pending Changes banner at the top of the page.

Verification

  1. From the Virtual Machine Overview page, click the Disks tab.
  2. Check to ensure that the secret, config map, or service account is included in the list of disks.
  3. Optional. Choose the appropriate method to apply your changes:

    1. If the virtual machine is running, restart the virtual machine by clicking Actions Restart Virtual Machine.
    2. If the virtual machine is stopped, start the virtual machine by clicking Actions Start Virtual Machine.

You can now mount the secret, config map, or service account as you would mount any other disk.

8.11.2. Removing a secret, config map, or service account from a virtual machine

Remove a secret, config map, or service account from a virtual machine by using the OpenShift Container Platform web console.

Prerequisites

  • You must have at least one secret, config map, or service account that is attached to a virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Environment tab.
  5. Find the item that you want to delete in the list, and click Remove delete on the right side of the item.
  6. Click Save.
Note

You can reset the form to the last saved state by clicking Reload.

Verification

  1. From the Virtual Machine Overview page, click the Disks tab.
  2. Check to ensure that the secret, config map, or service account that you removed is no longer included in the list of disks.

8.11.3. Additional resources

8.12. Installing VirtIO driver on an existing Windows virtual machine

8.12.1. Understanding VirtIO drivers

VirtIO drivers are paravirtualized device drivers required for Microsoft Windows virtual machines to run in OpenShift Virtualization. The supported drivers are available in the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk of the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog.

The container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk must be attached to the virtual machine as a SATA CD drive to enable driver installation. You can install VirtIO drivers during Windows installation on the virtual machine or added to an existing Windows installation.

After the drivers are installed, the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk can be removed from the virtual machine.

See also: Installing Virtio drivers on a new Windows virtual machine.

8.12.2. Supported VirtIO drivers for Microsoft Windows virtual machines

Table 8.1. Supported drivers
Driver nameHardware IDDescription

viostor

VEN_1AF4&DEV_1001
VEN_1AF4&DEV_1042

The block driver. Sometimes displays as an SCSI Controller in the Other devices group.

viorng

VEN_1AF4&DEV_1005
VEN_1AF4&DEV_1044

The entropy source driver. Sometimes displays as a PCI Device in the Other devices group.

NetKVM

VEN_1AF4&DEV_1000
VEN_1AF4&DEV_1041

The network driver. Sometimes displays as an Ethernet Controller in the Other devices group. Available only if a VirtIO NIC is configured.

8.12.3. Adding VirtIO drivers container disk to a virtual machine

OpenShift Virtualization distributes VirtIO drivers for Microsoft Windows as a container disk, which is available from the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog. To install these drivers to a Windows virtual machine, attach the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk to the virtual machine as a SATA CD drive in the virtual machine configuration file.

Prerequisites

  • Download the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk from the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog. This is not mandatory, because the container disk will be downloaded from the Red Hat registry if it not already present in the cluster, but it can reduce installation time.

Procedure

  1. Add the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk as a cdrom disk in the Windows virtual machine configuration file. The container disk will be downloaded from the registry if it is not already present in the cluster.

    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          disks:
            - name: virtiocontainerdisk
              bootOrder: 2 1
              cdrom:
                bus: sata
    volumes:
      - containerDisk:
          image: container-native-virtualization/virtio-win
        name: virtiocontainerdisk
    1
    OpenShift Virtualization boots virtual machine disks in the order defined in the VirtualMachine configuration file. You can either define other disks for the virtual machine before the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk or use the optional bootOrder parameter to ensure the virtual machine boots from the correct disk. If you specify the bootOrder for a disk, it must be specified for all disks in the configuration.
  2. The disk is available once the virtual machine has started:

    • If you add the container disk to a running virtual machine, use oc apply -f <vm.yaml> in the CLI or reboot the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.
    • If the virtual machine is not running, use virtctl start <vm>.

After the virtual machine has started, the VirtIO drivers can be installed from the attached SATA CD drive.

8.12.4. Installing VirtIO drivers on an existing Windows virtual machine

Install the VirtIO drivers from the attached SATA CD drive to an existing Windows virtual machine.

Note

This procedure uses a generic approach to adding drivers to Windows. The process might differ slightly between versions of Windows. See the installation documentation for your version of Windows for specific installation steps.

Procedure

  1. Start the virtual machine and connect to a graphical console.
  2. Log in to a Windows user session.
  3. Open Device Manager and expand Other devices to list any Unknown device.

    1. Open the Device Properties to identify the unknown device. Right-click the device and select Properties.
    2. Click the Details tab and select Hardware Ids in the Property list.
    3. Compare the Value for the Hardware Ids with the supported VirtIO drivers.
  4. Right-click the device and select Update Driver Software.
  5. Click Browse my computer for driver software and browse to the attached SATA CD drive, where the VirtIO drivers are located. The drivers are arranged hierarchically according to their driver type, operating system, and CPU architecture.
  6. Click Next to install the driver.
  7. Repeat this process for all the necessary VirtIO drivers.
  8. After the driver installs, click Close to close the window.
  9. Reboot the virtual machine to complete the driver installation.

8.12.5. Removing the VirtIO container disk from a virtual machine

After installing all required VirtIO drivers to the virtual machine, the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk no longer needs to be attached to the virtual machine. Remove the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk from the virtual machine configuration file.

Procedure

  1. Edit the configuration file and remove the disk and the volume.

    $ oc edit vm <vm-name>
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          disks:
            - name: virtiocontainerdisk
              bootOrder: 2
              cdrom:
                bus: sata
    volumes:
      - containerDisk:
          image: container-native-virtualization/virtio-win
        name: virtiocontainerdisk
  2. Reboot the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.

8.13. Installing VirtIO driver on a new Windows virtual machine

8.13.1. Prerequisites

8.13.2. Understanding VirtIO drivers

VirtIO drivers are paravirtualized device drivers required for Microsoft Windows virtual machines to run in OpenShift Virtualization. The supported drivers are available in the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk of the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog.

The container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk must be attached to the virtual machine as a SATA CD drive to enable driver installation. You can install VirtIO drivers during Windows installation on the virtual machine or added to an existing Windows installation.

After the drivers are installed, the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk can be removed from the virtual machine.

See also: Installing VirtIO driver on an existing Windows virtual machine.

8.13.3. Supported VirtIO drivers for Microsoft Windows virtual machines

Table 8.2. Supported drivers
Driver nameHardware IDDescription

viostor

VEN_1AF4&DEV_1001
VEN_1AF4&DEV_1042

The block driver. Sometimes displays as an SCSI Controller in the Other devices group.

viorng

VEN_1AF4&DEV_1005
VEN_1AF4&DEV_1044

The entropy source driver. Sometimes displays as a PCI Device in the Other devices group.

NetKVM

VEN_1AF4&DEV_1000
VEN_1AF4&DEV_1041

The network driver. Sometimes displays as an Ethernet Controller in the Other devices group. Available only if a VirtIO NIC is configured.

8.13.4. Adding VirtIO drivers container disk to a virtual machine

OpenShift Virtualization distributes VirtIO drivers for Microsoft Windows as a container disk, which is available from the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog. To install these drivers to a Windows virtual machine, attach the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk to the virtual machine as a SATA CD drive in the virtual machine configuration file.

Prerequisites

  • Download the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk from the Red Hat Ecosystem Catalog. This is not mandatory, because the container disk will be downloaded from the Red Hat registry if it not already present in the cluster, but it can reduce installation time.

Procedure

  1. Add the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk as a cdrom disk in the Windows virtual machine configuration file. The container disk will be downloaded from the registry if it is not already present in the cluster.

    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          disks:
            - name: virtiocontainerdisk
              bootOrder: 2 1
              cdrom:
                bus: sata
    volumes:
      - containerDisk:
          image: container-native-virtualization/virtio-win
        name: virtiocontainerdisk
    1
    OpenShift Virtualization boots virtual machine disks in the order defined in the VirtualMachine configuration file. You can either define other disks for the virtual machine before the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk or use the optional bootOrder parameter to ensure the virtual machine boots from the correct disk. If you specify the bootOrder for a disk, it must be specified for all disks in the configuration.
  2. The disk is available once the virtual machine has started:

    • If you add the container disk to a running virtual machine, use oc apply -f <vm.yaml> in the CLI or reboot the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.
    • If the virtual machine is not running, use virtctl start <vm>.

After the virtual machine has started, the VirtIO drivers can be installed from the attached SATA CD drive.

8.13.5. Installing VirtIO drivers during Windows installation

Install the VirtIO drivers from the attached SATA CD driver during Windows installation.

Note

This procedure uses a generic approach to the Windows installation and the installation method might differ between versions of Windows. See the documentation for the version of Windows that you are installing.

Procedure

  1. Start the virtual machine and connect to a graphical console.
  2. Begin the Windows installation process.
  3. Select the Advanced installation.
  4. The storage destination will not be recognized until the driver is loaded. Click Load driver.
  5. The drivers are attached as a SATA CD drive. Click OK and browse the CD drive for the storage driver to load. The drivers are arranged hierarchically according to their driver type, operating system, and CPU architecture.
  6. Repeat the previous two steps for all required drivers.
  7. Complete the Windows installation.

8.13.6. Removing the VirtIO container disk from a virtual machine

After installing all required VirtIO drivers to the virtual machine, the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk no longer needs to be attached to the virtual machine. Remove the container-native-virtualization/virtio-win container disk from the virtual machine configuration file.

Procedure

  1. Edit the configuration file and remove the disk and the volume.

    $ oc edit vm <vm-name>
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          disks:
            - name: virtiocontainerdisk
              bootOrder: 2
              cdrom:
                bus: sata
    volumes:
      - containerDisk:
          image: container-native-virtualization/virtio-win
        name: virtiocontainerdisk
  2. Reboot the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.

8.14. Advanced virtual machine management

8.14.1. Working with resource quotas for virtual machines

Create and manage resource quotas for virtual machines.

8.14.1.1. Setting resource quota limits for virtual machines

Resource quotas that only use requests automatically work with virtual machines (VMs). If your resource quota uses limits, you must manually set resource limits on VMs. Resource limits must be at least 100 MiB larger than resource requests.

Procedure

  1. Set limits for a VM by editing the VirtualMachine manifest. For example:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      name: with-limits
    spec:
      running: false
      template:
        spec:
          domain:
    # ...
            resources:
              requests:
                memory: 128Mi
              limits:
                memory: 256Mi  1
    1
    This configuration is supported because the limits.memory value is at least 100Mi larger than the requests.memory value.
  2. Save the VirtualMachine manifest.

8.14.1.2. Additional resources

8.14.2. Specifying nodes for virtual machines

You can place virtual machines (VMs) on specific nodes by using node placement rules.

8.14.2.1. About node placement for virtual machines

To ensure that virtual machines (VMs) run on appropriate nodes, you can configure node placement rules. You might want to do this if:

  • You have several VMs. To ensure fault tolerance, you want them to run on different nodes.
  • You have two chatty VMs. To avoid redundant inter-node routing, you want the VMs to run on the same node.
  • Your VMs require specific hardware features that are not present on all available nodes.
  • You have a pod that adds capabilities to a node, and you want to place a VM on that node so that it can use those capabilities.
Note

Virtual machine placement relies on any existing node placement rules for workloads. If workloads are excluded from specific nodes on the component level, virtual machines cannot be placed on those nodes.

You can use the following rule types in the spec field of a VirtualMachine manifest:

nodeSelector
Allows virtual machines to be scheduled on nodes that are labeled with the key-value pair or pairs that you specify in this field. The node must have labels that exactly match all listed pairs.
affinity

Enables you to use more expressive syntax to set rules that match nodes with virtual machines. For example, you can specify that a rule is a preference, rather than a hard requirement, so that virtual machines are still scheduled if the rule is not satisfied. Pod affinity, pod anti-affinity, and node affinity are supported for virtual machine placement. Pod affinity works for virtual machines because the VirtualMachine workload type is based on the Pod object.

Note

Affinity rules only apply during scheduling. OpenShift Container Platform does not reschedule running workloads if the constraints are no longer met.

tolerations
Allows virtual machines to be scheduled on nodes that have matching taints. If a taint is applied to a node, that node only accepts virtual machines that tolerate the taint.

8.14.2.2. Node placement examples

The following example YAML file snippets use nodePlacement, affinity, and tolerations fields to customize node placement for virtual machines.

8.14.2.2.1. Example: VM node placement with nodeSelector

In this example, the virtual machine requires a node that has metadata containing both example-key-1 = example-value-1 and example-key-2 = example-value-2 labels.

Warning

If there are no nodes that fit this description, the virtual machine is not scheduled.

Example VM manifest

metadata:
  name: example-vm-node-selector
apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
spec:
  template:
    spec:
      nodeSelector:
        example-key-1: example-value-1
        example-key-2: example-value-2
...

8.14.2.2.2. Example: VM node placement with pod affinity and pod anti-affinity

In this example, the VM must be scheduled on a node that has a running pod with the label example-key-1 = example-value-1. If there is no such pod running on any node, the VM is not scheduled.

If possible, the VM is not scheduled on a node that has any pod with the label example-key-2 = example-value-2. However, if all candidate nodes have a pod with this label, the scheduler ignores this constraint.

Example VM manifest

metadata:
  name: example-vm-pod-affinity
apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
spec:
  affinity:
    podAffinity:
      requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: 1
      - labelSelector:
          matchExpressions:
          - key: example-key-1
            operator: In
            values:
            - example-value-1
        topologyKey: kubernetes.io/hostname
    podAntiAffinity:
      preferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: 2
      - weight: 100
        podAffinityTerm:
          labelSelector:
            matchExpressions:
            - key: example-key-2
              operator: In
              values:
              - example-value-2
          topologyKey: kubernetes.io/hostname
...

1
If you use the requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution rule type, the VM is not scheduled if the constraint is not met.
2
If you use the preferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution rule type, the VM is still scheduled if the constraint is not met, as long as all required constraints are met.
8.14.2.2.3. Example: VM node placement with node affinity

In this example, the VM must be scheduled on a node that has the label example.io/example-key = example-value-1 or the label example.io/example-key = example-value-2. The constraint is met if only one of the labels is present on the node. If neither label is present, the VM is not scheduled.

If possible, the scheduler avoids nodes that have the label example-node-label-key = example-node-label-value. However, if all candidate nodes have this label, the scheduler ignores this constraint.

Example VM manifest

metadata:
  name: example-vm-node-affinity
apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
spec:
  affinity:
    nodeAffinity:
      requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: 1
        nodeSelectorTerms:
        - matchExpressions:
          - key: example.io/example-key
            operator: In
            values:
            - example-value-1
            - example-value-2
      preferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution: 2
      - weight: 1
        preference:
          matchExpressions:
          - key: example-node-label-key
            operator: In
            values:
            - example-node-label-value
...

1
If you use the requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution rule type, the VM is not scheduled if the constraint is not met.
2
If you use the preferredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution rule type, the VM is still scheduled if the constraint is not met, as long as all required constraints are met.
8.14.2.2.4. Example: VM node placement with tolerations

In this example, nodes that are reserved for virtual machines are already labeled with the key=virtualization:NoSchedule taint. Because this virtual machine has matching tolerations, it can schedule onto the tainted nodes.

Note

A virtual machine that tolerates a taint is not required to schedule onto a node with that taint.

Example VM manifest

metadata:
  name: example-vm-tolerations
apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
spec:
  tolerations:
  - key: "key"
    operator: "Equal"
    value: "virtualization"
    effect: "NoSchedule"
...

8.14.2.3. Additional resources

8.14.3. Configuring certificate rotation

Configure certificate rotation parameters to replace existing certificates.

8.14.3.1. Configuring certificate rotation

You can do this during OpenShift Virtualization installation in the web console or after installation in the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  1. Open the HyperConverged CR by running the following command:

    $ oc edit hco -n openshift-cnv kubevirt-hyperconverged
  2. Edit the spec.certConfig fields as shown in the following example. To avoid overloading the system, ensure that all values are greater than or equal to 10 minutes. Express all values as strings that comply with the golang ParseDuration format.

    apiVersion: hco.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: HyperConverged
    metadata:
     name: kubevirt-hyperconverged
     namespace: openshift-cnv
    spec:
      certConfig:
        ca:
          duration: 48h0m0s
          renewBefore: 24h0m0s 1
        server:
          duration: 24h0m0s  2
          renewBefore: 12h0m0s  3
    1
    The value of ca.renewBefore must be less than or equal to the value of ca.duration.
    2
    The value of server.duration must be less than or equal to the value of ca.duration.
    3
    The value of server.renewBefore must be less than or equal to the value of server.duration.
  3. Apply the YAML file to your cluster.

8.14.3.2. Troubleshooting certificate rotation parameters

Deleting one or more certConfig values causes them to revert to the default values, unless the default values conflict with one of the following conditions:

  • The value of ca.renewBefore must be less than or equal to the value of ca.duration.
  • The value of server.duration must be less than or equal to the value of ca.duration.
  • The value of server.renewBefore must be less than or equal to the value of server.duration.

If the default values conflict with these conditions, you will receive an error.

If you remove the server.duration value in the following example, the default value of 24h0m0s is greater than the value of ca.duration, conflicting with the specified conditions.

Example

certConfig:
   ca:
     duration: 4h0m0s
     renewBefore: 1h0m0s
   server:
     duration: 4h0m0s
     renewBefore: 4h0m0s

This results in the following error message:

error: hyperconvergeds.hco.kubevirt.io "kubevirt-hyperconverged" could not be patched: admission webhook "validate-hco.kubevirt.io" denied the request: spec.certConfig: ca.duration is smaller than server.duration

The error message only mentions the first conflict. Review all certConfig values before you proceed.

8.14.4. Automating management tasks

You can automate OpenShift Virtualization management tasks by using Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. Learn the basics by using an Ansible Playbook to create a new virtual machine.

8.14.4.1. About Red Hat Ansible Automation

Ansible is an automation tool used to configure systems, deploy software, and perform rolling updates. Ansible includes support for OpenShift Virtualization, and Ansible modules enable you to automate cluster management tasks such as template, persistent volume claim, and virtual machine operations.

Ansible provides a way to automate OpenShift Virtualization management, which you can also accomplish by using the oc CLI tool or APIs. Ansible is unique because it allows you to integrate KubeVirt modules with other Ansible modules.

8.14.4.2. Automating virtual machine creation

You can use the kubevirt_vm Ansible Playbook to create virtual machines in your OpenShift Container Platform cluster using Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Edit an Ansible Playbook YAML file so that it includes the kubevirt_vm task:

      kubevirt_vm:
        namespace:
        name:
        cpu_cores:
        memory:
        disks:
          - name:
            volume:
              containerDisk:
                image:
            disk:
              bus:
    Note

    This snippet only includes the kubevirt_vm portion of the playbook.

  2. Edit the values to reflect the virtual machine you want to create, including the namespace, the number of cpu_cores, the memory, and the disks. For example:

      kubevirt_vm:
        namespace: default
        name: vm1
        cpu_cores: 1
        memory: 64Mi
        disks:
          - name: containerdisk
            volume:
              containerDisk:
                image: kubevirt/cirros-container-disk-demo:latest
            disk:
              bus: virtio
  3. If you want the virtual machine to boot immediately after creation, add state: running to the YAML file. For example:

      kubevirt_vm:
        namespace: default
        name: vm1
        state: running 1
        cpu_cores: 1
    1
    Changing this value to state: absent deletes the virtual machine, if it already exists.
  4. Run the ansible-playbook command, using your playbook’s file name as the only argument:

    $ ansible-playbook create-vm.yaml
  5. Review the output to determine if the play was successful:

    Example output

    (...)
    TASK [Create my first VM] ************************************************************************
    changed: [localhost]
    
    PLAY RECAP ********************************************************************************************************
    localhost                  : ok=2    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

  6. If you did not include state: running in your playbook file and you want to boot the VM now, edit the file so that it includes state: running and run the playbook again:

    $ ansible-playbook create-vm.yaml

To verify that the virtual machine was created, try to access the VM console.

8.14.4.3. Example: Ansible Playbook for creating virtual machines

You can use the kubevirt_vm Ansible Playbook to automate virtual machine creation.

The following YAML file is an example of the kubevirt_vm playbook. It includes sample values that you must replace with your own information if you run the playbook.

---
- name: Ansible Playbook 1
  hosts: localhost
  connection: local
  tasks:
    - name: Create my first VM
      kubevirt_vm:
        namespace: default
        name: vm1
        cpu_cores: 1
        memory: 64Mi
        disks:
          - name: containerdisk
            volume:
              containerDisk:
                image: kubevirt/cirros-container-disk-demo:latest
            disk:
              bus: virtio

8.14.5. Using EFI mode for virtual machines

You can boot a virtual machine (VM) in Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) mode.

8.14.5.1. About EFI mode for virtual machines

Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), like legacy BIOS, initializes hardware components and operating system image files when a computer starts. EFI supports more modern features and customization options than BIOS, enabling faster boot times.

It stores all the information about initialization and startup in a file with a .efi extension, which is stored on a special partition called EFI System Partition (ESP). The ESP also contains the boot loader programs for the operating system that is installed on the computer.

Note

OpenShift Virtualization only supports a virtual machine (VM) with Secure Boot when using EFI mode. If Secure Boot is not enabled, the VM crashes repeatedly. However, the VM might not support Secure Boot. Before you boot a VM, verify that it supports Secure Boot by checking the VM settings.

8.14.5.2. Booting virtual machines in EFI mode

You can configure a virtual machine to boot in EFI mode by editing the VM or VMI manifest.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file that defines a VM object or a Virtual Machine Instance (VMI) object. Use the firmware stanza of the example YAML file:

    Booting in EFI mode with secure boot active

      apiversion: kubevirt.io/v1
      kind: VirtualMachineInstance
      metadata:
        labels:
          special: vmi-secureboot
        name: vmi-secureboot
      spec:
        domain:
          devices:
            disks:
            - disk:
                bus: virtio
              name: containerdisk
          features:
            acpi: {}
            smm:
              enabled: true 1
          firmware:
            bootloader:
              efi:
                secureBoot: true 2
    ...

    1
    OpenShift Virtualization requires System Management Mode (SMM) to be enabled for Secure Boot in EFI mode to occur.
    2
    OpenShift Virtualization only supports a virtual machine (VM) with Secure Boot when using EFI mode. If Secure Boot is not enabled, the VM crashes repeatedly. However, the VM might not support Secure Boot. Before you boot a VM, verify that it supports Secure Boot by checking the VM settings.
  2. Apply the manifest to your cluster by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f <file_name>.yaml

8.14.6. Configuring PXE booting for virtual machines

PXE booting, or network booting, is available in OpenShift Virtualization. Network booting allows a computer to boot and load an operating system or other program without requiring a locally attached storage device. For example, you can use it to choose your desired OS image from a PXE server when deploying a new host.

8.14.6.1. Prerequisites

  • A Linux bridge must be connected.
  • The PXE server must be connected to the same VLAN as the bridge.

8.14.6.2. PXE booting with a specified MAC address

As an administrator, you can boot a client over the network by first creating a NetworkAttachmentDefinition object for your PXE network. Then, reference the network attachment definition in your virtual machine instance configuration file before you start the virtual machine instance. You can also specify a MAC address in the virtual machine instance configuration file, if required by the PXE server.

Prerequisites

  • A Linux bridge must be connected.
  • The PXE server must be connected to the same VLAN as the bridge.

Procedure

  1. Configure a PXE network on the cluster:

    1. Create the network attachment definition file for PXE network pxe-net-conf:

      apiVersion: "k8s.cni.cncf.io/v1"
      kind: NetworkAttachmentDefinition
      metadata:
        name: pxe-net-conf
      spec:
        config: '{
          "cniVersion": "0.3.1",
          "name": "pxe-net-conf",
          "plugins": [
            {
              "type": "cnv-bridge",
              "bridge": "br1",
              "vlan": 1 1
            },
            {
              "type": "cnv-tuning" 2
            }
          ]
        }'
      1
      Optional: The VLAN tag.
      2
      The cnv-tuning plugin provides support for custom MAC addresses.
      Note

      The virtual machine instance will be attached to the bridge br1 through an access port with the requested VLAN.

  2. Create the network attachment definition by using the file you created in the previous step:

    $ oc create -f pxe-net-conf.yaml
  3. Edit the virtual machine instance configuration file to include the details of the interface and network.

    1. Specify the network and MAC address, if required by the PXE server. If the MAC address is not specified, a value is assigned automatically.

      Ensure that bootOrder is set to 1 so that the interface boots first. In this example, the interface is connected to a network called <pxe-net>:

      interfaces:
      - masquerade: {}
        name: default
      - bridge: {}
        name: pxe-net
        macAddress: de:00:00:00:00:de
        bootOrder: 1
      Note

      Boot order is global for interfaces and disks.

    2. Assign a boot device number to the disk to ensure proper booting after operating system provisioning.

      Set the disk bootOrder value to 2:

      devices:
        disks:
        - disk:
            bus: virtio
          name: containerdisk
          bootOrder: 2
    3. Specify that the network is connected to the previously created network attachment definition. In this scenario, <pxe-net> is connected to the network attachment definition called <pxe-net-conf>:

      networks:
      - name: default
        pod: {}
      - name: pxe-net
        multus:
          networkName: pxe-net-conf
  4. Create the virtual machine instance:

    $ oc create -f vmi-pxe-boot.yaml

Example output

  virtualmachineinstance.kubevirt.io "vmi-pxe-boot" created

  1. Wait for the virtual machine instance to run:

    $ oc get vmi vmi-pxe-boot -o yaml | grep -i phase
      phase: Running
  2. View the virtual machine instance using VNC:

    $ virtctl vnc vmi-pxe-boot
  3. Watch the boot screen to verify that the PXE boot is successful.
  4. Log in to the virtual machine instance:

    $ virtctl console vmi-pxe-boot
  5. Verify the interfaces and MAC address on the virtual machine and that the interface connected to the bridge has the specified MAC address. In this case, we used eth1 for the PXE boot, without an IP address. The other interface, eth0, got an IP address from OpenShift Container Platform.

    $ ip addr

Example output

...
3. eth1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN group default qlen 1000
   link/ether de:00:00:00:00:de brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

8.14.6.3. Template: Virtual machine instance configuration file for PXE booting

apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachineInstance
metadata:
  creationTimestamp: null
  labels:
    special: vmi-pxe-boot
  name: vmi-pxe-boot
spec:
  domain:
    devices:
      disks:
      - disk:
          bus: virtio
        name: containerdisk
        bootOrder: 2
      - disk:
          bus: virtio
        name: cloudinitdisk
      interfaces:
      - masquerade: {}
        name: default
      - bridge: {}
        name: pxe-net
        macAddress: de:00:00:00:00:de
        bootOrder: 1
    machine:
      type: ""
    resources:
      requests:
        memory: 1024M
  networks:
  - name: default
    pod: {}
  - multus:
      networkName: pxe-net-conf
    name: pxe-net
  terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 0
  volumes:
  - name: containerdisk
    containerDisk:
      image: kubevirt/fedora-cloud-container-disk-demo
  - cloudInitNoCloud:
      userData: |
        #!/bin/bash
        echo "fedora" | passwd fedora --stdin
    name: cloudinitdisk
status: {}

8.14.7. Managing guest memory

If you want to adjust guest memory settings to suit a specific use case, you can do so by editing the guest’s YAML configuration file. OpenShift Virtualization allows you to configure guest memory overcommitment and disable guest memory overhead accounting.

Warning

The following procedures increase the chance that virtual machine processes will be killed due to memory pressure. Proceed only if you understand the risks.

8.14.7.1. Configuring guest memory overcommitment

If your virtual workload requires more memory than available, you can use memory overcommitment to allocate all or most of the host’s memory to your virtual machine instances (VMIs). Enabling memory overcommitment means that you can maximize resources that are normally reserved for the host.

For example, if the host has 32 GB RAM, you can use memory overcommitment to fit 8 virtual machines (VMs) with 4 GB RAM each. This allocation works under the assumption that the virtual machines will not use all of their memory at the same time.

Important

Memory overcommitment increases the potential for virtual machine processes to be killed due to memory pressure (OOM killed).

The potential for a VM to be OOM killed varies based on your specific configuration, node memory, available swap space, virtual machine memory consumption, the use of kernel same-page merging (KSM), and other factors.

Procedure

  1. To explicitly tell the virtual machine instance that it has more memory available than was requested from the cluster, edit the virtual machine configuration file and set spec.domain.memory.guest to a higher value than spec.domain.resources.requests.memory. This process is called memory overcommitment.

    In this example, 1024M is requested from the cluster, but the virtual machine instance is told that it has 2048M available. As long as there is enough free memory available on the node, the virtual machine instance will consume up to 2048M.

    kind: VirtualMachine
    spec:
      template:
        domain:
        resources:
            requests:
              memory: 1024M
        memory:
            guest: 2048M
    Note

    The same eviction rules as those for pods apply to the virtual machine instance if the node is under memory pressure.

  2. Create the virtual machine:

    $ oc create -f <file_name>.yaml

8.14.7.2. Disabling guest memory overhead accounting

A small amount of memory is requested by each virtual machine instance in addition to the amount that you request. This additional memory is used for the infrastructure that wraps each VirtualMachineInstance process.

Though it is not usually advisable, it is possible to increase the virtual machine instance density on the node by disabling guest memory overhead accounting.

Important

Disabling guest memory overhead accounting increases the potential for virtual machine processes to be killed due to memory pressure (OOM killed).

The potential for a VM to be OOM killed varies based on your specific configuration, node memory, available swap space, virtual machine memory consumption, the use of kernel same-page merging (KSM), and other factors.

Procedure

  1. To disable guest memory overhead accounting, edit the YAML configuration file and set the overcommitGuestOverhead value to true. This parameter is disabled by default.

    kind: VirtualMachine
    spec:
      template:
        domain:
        resources:
            overcommitGuestOverhead: true
            requests:
              memory: 1024M
    Note

    If overcommitGuestOverhead is enabled, it adds the guest overhead to memory limits, if present.

  2. Create the virtual machine:

    $ oc create -f <file_name>.yaml

8.14.8. Using huge pages with virtual machines

You can use huge pages as backing memory for virtual machines in your cluster.

8.14.8.1. Prerequisites

8.14.8.2. What huge pages do

Memory is managed in blocks known as pages. On most systems, a page is 4Ki. 1Mi of memory is equal to 256 pages; 1Gi of memory is 256,000 pages, and so on. CPUs have a built-in memory management unit that manages a list of these pages in hardware. The Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) is a small hardware cache of virtual-to-physical page mappings. If the virtual address passed in a hardware instruction can be found in the TLB, the mapping can be determined quickly. If not, a TLB miss occurs, and the system falls back to slower, software-based address translation, resulting in performance issues. Since the size of the TLB is fixed, the only way to reduce the chance of a TLB miss is to increase the page size.

A huge page is a memory page that is larger than 4Ki. On x86_64 architectures, there are two common huge page sizes: 2Mi and 1Gi. Sizes vary on other architectures. To use huge pages, code must be written so that applications are aware of them. Transparent Huge Pages (THP) attempt to automate the management of huge pages without application knowledge, but they have limitations. In particular, they are limited to 2Mi page sizes. THP can lead to performance degradation on nodes with high memory utilization or fragmentation due to defragmenting efforts of THP, which can lock memory pages. For this reason, some applications may be designed to (or recommend) usage of pre-allocated huge pages instead of THP.

In OpenShift Virtualization, virtual machines can be configured to consume pre-allocated huge pages.

8.14.8.3. Configuring huge pages for virtual machines

You can configure virtual machines to use pre-allocated huge pages by including the memory.hugepages.pageSize and resources.requests.memory parameters in your virtual machine configuration.

The memory request must be divisible by the page size. For example, you cannot request 500Mi memory with a page size of 1Gi.

Note

The memory layouts of the host and the guest OS are unrelated. Huge pages requested in the virtual machine manifest apply to QEMU. Huge pages inside the guest can only be configured based on the amount of available memory of the virtual machine instance.

If you edit a running virtual machine, the virtual machine must be rebooted for the changes to take effect.

Prerequisites

  • Nodes must have pre-allocated huge pages configured.

Procedure

  1. In your virtual machine configuration, add the resources.requests.memory and memory.hugepages.pageSize parameters to the spec.domain. The following configuration snippet is for a virtual machine that requests a total of 4Gi memory with a page size of 1Gi:

    kind: VirtualMachine
    ...
    spec:
      domain:
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: "4Gi" 1
        memory:
          hugepages:
            pageSize: "1Gi" 2
    ...
    1
    The total amount of memory requested for the virtual machine. This value must be divisible by the page size.
    2
    The size of each huge page. Valid values for x86_64 architecture are 1Gi and 2Mi. The page size must be smaller than the requested memory.
  2. Apply the virtual machine configuration:

    $ oc apply -f <virtual_machine>.yaml

8.14.9. Enabling dedicated resources for virtual machines

To improve performance, you can dedicate node resources, such as CPU, to a virtual machine.

8.14.9.1. About dedicated resources

When you enable dedicated resources for your virtual machine, your virtual machine’s workload is scheduled on CPUs that will not be used by other processes. By using dedicated resources, you can improve the performance of the virtual machine and the accuracy of latency predictions.

8.14.9.2. Prerequisites

  • The CPU Manager must be configured on the node. Verify that the node has the cpumanager = true label before scheduling virtual machine workloads.
  • The virtual machine must be powered off.

8.14.9.3. Enabling dedicated resources for a virtual machine

You can enable dedicated resources for a virtual machine in the Details tab. Virtual machines that were created by using a Red Hat template or the wizard can be enabled with dedicated resources.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtual Machines from the side menu.
  2. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine tab.
  3. Click the Details tab.
  4. Click the pencil icon to the right of the Dedicated Resources field to open the Dedicated Resources window.
  5. Select Schedule this workload with dedicated resources (guaranteed policy).
  6. Click Save.

8.14.10. Scheduling virtual machines

You can schedule a virtual machine (VM) on a node by ensuring that the VM’s CPU model and policy attribute are matched for compatibility with the CPU models and policy attributes supported by the node.

8.14.10.1. Understanding policy attributes

You can schedule a virtual machine (VM) by specifying a policy attribute and a CPU feature that is matched for compatibility when the VM is scheduled on a node. A policy attribute specified for a VM determines how that VM is scheduled on a node.

Policy attributeDescription

force

The VM is forced to be scheduled on a node. This is true even if the host CPU does not support the VM’s CPU.

require

Default policy that applies to a VM if the VM is not configured with a specific CPU model and feature specification. If a node is not configured to support CPU node discovery with this default policy attribute or any one of the other policy attributes, VMs are not scheduled on that node. Either the host CPU must support the VM’s CPU or the hypervisor must be able to emulate the supported CPU model.

optional

The VM is added to a node if that VM is supported by the host’s physical machine CPU.

disable

The VM cannot be scheduled with CPU node discovery.

forbid

The VM is not scheduled even if the feature is supported by the host CPU and CPU node discovery is enabled.

8.14.10.2. Setting a policy attribute and CPU feature

You can set a policy attribute and CPU feature for each virtual machine (VM) to ensure that it is scheduled on a node according to policy and feature. The CPU feature that you set is verified to ensure that it is supported by the host CPU or emulated by the hypervisor.

Procedure

  • Edit the domain spec of your VM configuration file. The following example sets the CPU feature and the require policy for a virtual machine instance (VMI):

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      name: myvmi
    spec:
      domain:
        cpu:
          features:
          - name: apic 1
            policy: require 2
    1
    Name of the CPU feature for the VM or VMI.
    2
    Policy attribute for the VM or VMI.

8.14.10.3. Scheduling virtual machines with the supported CPU model

You can configure a CPU model for a virtual machine (VM) or a virtual machine instance (VMI) to schedule it on a node where its CPU model is supported.

Procedure

  • Edit the domain spec of your virtual machine configuration file. The following example shows a specific CPU model defined for a VMI:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachineInstance
    metadata:
      name: myvmi
    spec:
      domain:
        cpu:
          model: Conroe 1
    1
    CPU model for the VMI.

8.14.10.4. Scheduling virtual machines with the host model

When the CPU model for a virtual machine (VM) is set to host-model, the VM inherits the CPU model of the node where it is scheduled.

Procedure

  • Edit the domain spec of your VM configuration file. The following example shows host-model being specified for the virtual machine instance (VMI):

    apiVersion: kubevirt/v1alpha3
    kind: VirtualMachineInstance
    metadata:
      name: myvmi
    spec:
      domain:
        cpu:
          model: host-model 1
    1
    The VM or VMI that inherits the CPU model of the node where it is scheduled.

8.14.11. Configuring PCI passthrough

The Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) passthrough feature enables you to access and manage hardware devices from a virtual machine. When PCI passthrough is configured, the PCI devices function as if they were physically attached to the guest operating system.

Cluster administrators can expose and manage host devices that are permitted to be used in the cluster by using the oc command-line interface (CLI).

8.14.11.1. About preparing a host device for PCI passthrough

To prepare a host device for PCI passthrough by using the CLI, create a MachineConfig object and add kernel arguments to enable the Input-Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU). Bind the PCI device to the Virtual Function I/O (VFIO) driver and then expose it in the cluster by editing the permittedHostDevices field of the HyperConverged custom resource (CR). The permittedHostDevices list is empty when you first install the OpenShift Virtualization Operator.

To remove a PCI host device from the cluster by using the CLI, delete the PCI device information from the HyperConverged CR.

8.14.11.1.1. Adding kernel arguments to enable the IOMMU driver

To enable the IOMMU (Input-Output Memory Management Unit) driver in the kernel, create the MachineConfig object and add the kernel arguments.

Prerequisites

  • Administrative privilege to a working OpenShift Container Platform cluster.
  • Intel or AMD CPU hardware.
  • Intel Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O extensions or AMD IOMMU in the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is enabled.

Procedure

  1. Create a MachineConfig object that identifies the kernel argument. The following example shows a kernel argument for an Intel CPU.

    apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
    kind: MachineConfig
    metadata:
      labels:
        machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: worker 1
      name: 100-worker-iommu 2
    spec:
      config:
        ignition:
          version: 3.2.0
      kernelArguments:
          - intel_iommu=on 3
    ...
    1
    Applies the new kernel argument only to worker nodes.
    2
    The name indicates the ranking of this kernel argument (100) among the machine configs and its purpose. If you have an AMD CPU, specify the kernel argument as amd_iommu=on.
    3
    Identifies the kernel argument as intel_iommu for an Intel CPU.
  2. Create the new MachineConfig object:

    $ oc create -f 100-worker-kernel-arg-iommu.yaml

Verification

  • Verify that the new MachineConfig object was added.

    $ oc get MachineConfig
8.14.11.1.2. Binding PCI devices to the VFIO driver

To bind PCI devices to the VFIO (Virtual Function I/O) driver, obtain the values for vendor-ID and device-ID from each device and create a list with the values. Add this list to the MachineConfig object. The MachineConfig Operator generates the /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf on the nodes with the PCI devices, and binds the PCI devices to the VFIO driver.

Prerequisites

  • You added kernel arguments to enable IOMMU for the CPU.

Procedure

  1. Run the lspci command to obtain the vendor-ID and the device-ID for the PCI device.

    $ lspci -nnv | grep -i nvidia

    Example output

    02:01.0 3D controller [0302]: NVIDIA Corporation GV100GL [Tesla V100 PCIe 32GB] [10de:1eb8] (rev a1)

  2. Create a Butane config file, 100-worker-vfiopci.bu, binding the PCI device to the VFIO driver.

    Note

    See "Creating machine configs with Butane" for information about Butane.

    Example

    variant: openshift
    version: 4.8.0
    metadata:
      name: 100-worker-vfiopci
      labels:
        machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: worker 1
    storage:
      files:
      - path: /etc/modprobe.d/vfio.conf
        mode: 0644
        overwrite: true
        contents:
          inline: |
            options vfio-pci ids=10de:1eb8 2
      - path: /etc/modules-load.d/vfio-pci.conf 3
        mode: 0644
        overwrite: true
        contents:
          inline: vfio-pci

    1
    Applies the new kernel argument only to worker nodes.
    2
    Specify the previously determined vendor-ID value (10de) and the device-ID value (1eb8) to bind a single device to the VFIO driver. You can add a list of multiple devices with their vendor and device information.
    3
    The file that loads the vfio-pci kernel module on the worker nodes.
  3. Use Butane to generate a MachineConfig object file, 100-worker-vfiopci.yaml, containing the configuration to be delivered to the worker nodes:

    $ butane 100-worker-vfiopci.bu -o 100-worker-vfiopci.yaml
  4. Apply the MachineConfig object to the worker nodes:

    $ oc apply -f 100-worker-vfiopci.yaml
  5. Verify that the MachineConfig object was added.

    $ oc get MachineConfig

    Example output

    NAME                             GENERATEDBYCONTROLLER                      IGNITIONVERSION  AGE
    00-master                        d3da910bfa9f4b599af4ed7f5ac270d55950a3a1   3.2.0            25h
    00-worker                        d3da910bfa9f4b599af4ed7f5ac270d55950a3a1   3.2.0            25h
    01-master-container-runtime      d3da910bfa9f4b599af4ed7f5ac270d55950a3a1   3.2.0            25h
    01-master-kubelet                d3da910bfa9f4b599af4ed7f5ac270d55950a3a1   3.2.0            25h
    01-worker-container-runtime      d3da910bfa9f4b599af4ed7f5ac270d55950a3a1   3.2.0            25h
    01-worker-kubelet                d3da910bfa9f4b599af4ed7f5ac270d55950a3a1   3.2.0            25h
    100-worker-iommu                                                            3.2.0            30s
    100-worker-vfiopci-configuration                                            3.2.0            30s

Verification

  • Verify that the VFIO driver is loaded.

    $ lspci -nnk -d 10de:

    The output confirms that the VFIO driver is being used.

    Example output

    04:00.0 3D controller [0302]: NVIDIA Corporation GP102GL [Tesla P40] [10de:1eb8] (rev a1)
            Subsystem: NVIDIA Corporation Device [10de:1eb8]
            Kernel driver in use: vfio-pci
            Kernel modules: nouveau

8.14.11.1.3. Exposing PCI host devices in the cluster using the CLI

To expose PCI host devices in the cluster, add details about the PCI devices to the spec.permittedHostDevices.pciHostDevices array of the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  1. Edit the HyperConverged CR in your default editor by running the following command:

    $ oc edit hyperconverged kubevirt-hyperconverged -n openshift-cnv
  2. Add the PCI device information to the spec.permittedHostDevices.pciHostDevices array. For example:

    Example configuration file

    apiVersion: hco.kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: HyperConverged
    metadata:
      name: kubevirt-hyperconverged
      namespace: openshift-cnv
    spec:
      permittedHostDevices: 1
        pciHostDevices: 2
        - pciDeviceSelector: "10DE:1DB6" 3
          resourceName: "nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100" 4
        - pciDeviceSelector: "10DE:1EB8"
          resourceName: "nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4"
        - pciDeviceSelector: "8086:6F54"
          resourceName: "intel.com/qat"
          externalResourceProvider: true 5
    ...

    1
    The host devices that are permitted to be used in the cluster.
    2
    The list of PCI devices available on the node.
    3
    The vendor-ID and the device-ID required to identify the PCI device.
    4
    The name of a PCI host device.
    5
    Optional: Setting this field to true indicates that the resource is provided by an external device plugin. OpenShift Virtualization allows the usage of this device in the cluster but leaves the allocation and monitoring to an external device plugin.
    Note

    The above example snippet shows two PCI host devices that are named nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100 and nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4 added to the list of permitted host devices in the HyperConverged CR. These devices have been tested and verified to work with OpenShift Virtualization.

  3. Save your changes and exit the editor.

Verification

  • Verify that the PCI host devices were added to the node by running the following command. The example output shows that there is one device each associated with the nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100, nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4, and intel.com/qat resource names.

    $ oc describe node <node_name>

    Example output

    Capacity:
      cpu:                            64
      devices.kubevirt.io/kvm:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/tun:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/vhost-net:  110
      ephemeral-storage:              915128Mi
      hugepages-1Gi:                  0
      hugepages-2Mi:                  0
      memory:                         131395264Ki
      nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100   1
      nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4     1
      intel.com/qat:                  1
      pods:                           250
    Allocatable:
      cpu:                            63500m
      devices.kubevirt.io/kvm:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/tun:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/vhost-net:  110
      ephemeral-storage:              863623130526
      hugepages-1Gi:                  0
      hugepages-2Mi:                  0
      memory:                         130244288Ki
      nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100   1
      nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4     1
      intel.com/qat:                  1
      pods:                           250

8.14.11.1.4. Removing PCI host devices from the cluster using the CLI

To remove a PCI host device from the cluster, delete the information for that device from the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).

Procedure

  1. Edit the HyperConverged CR in your default editor by running the following command:

    $ oc edit hyperconverged kubevirt-hyperconverged -n openshift-cnv
  2. Remove the PCI device information from the spec.permittedHostDevices.pciHostDevices array by deleting the pciDeviceSelector, resourceName and externalResourceProvider (if applicable) fields for the appropriate device. In this example, the intel.com/qat resource has been deleted.

    Example configuration file

    apiVersion: hco.kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: HyperConverged
    metadata:
      name: kubevirt-hyperconverged
      namespace: openshift-cnv
    spec:
      permittedHostDevices:
        pciHostDevices:
        - pciDeviceSelector: "10DE:1DB6"
          resourceName: "nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100"
        - pciDeviceSelector: "10DE:1EB8"
          resourceName: "nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4"
    ...

  3. Save your changes and exit the editor.

Verification

  • Verify that the PCI host device was removed from the node by running the following command. The example output shows that there are zero devices associated with the intel.com/qat resource name.

    $ oc describe node <node_name>

    Example output

    Capacity:
      cpu:                            64
      devices.kubevirt.io/kvm:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/tun:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/vhost-net:  110
      ephemeral-storage:              915128Mi
      hugepages-1Gi:                  0
      hugepages-2Mi:                  0
      memory:                         131395264Ki
      nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100   1
      nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4     1
      intel.com/qat:                  0
      pods:                           250
    Allocatable:
      cpu:                            63500m
      devices.kubevirt.io/kvm:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/tun:        110
      devices.kubevirt.io/vhost-net:  110
      ephemeral-storage:              863623130526
      hugepages-1Gi:                  0
      hugepages-2Mi:                  0
      memory:                         130244288Ki
      nvidia.com/GV100GL_Tesla_V100   1
      nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4     1
      intel.com/qat:                  0
      pods:                           250

8.14.11.2. Configuring virtual machines for PCI passthrough

After the PCI devices have been added to the cluster, you can assign them to virtual machines. The PCI devices are now available as if they are physically connected to the virtual machines.

8.14.11.2.1. Assigning a PCI device to a virtual machine

When a PCI device is available in a cluster, you can assign it to a virtual machine and enable PCI passthrough.

Procedure

  • Assign the PCI device to a virtual machine as a host device.

    Example

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          hostDevices:
          - deviceName: nvidia.com/TU104GL_Tesla_T4 1
            name: hostdevices1

    1
    The name of the PCI device that is permitted on the cluster as a host device. The virtual machine can access this host device.

Verification

  • Use the following command to verify that the host device is available from the virtual machine.

    $ lspci -nnk | grep NVIDIA

    Example output

    $ 02:01.0 3D controller [0302]: NVIDIA Corporation GV100GL [Tesla V100 PCIe 32GB] [10de:1eb8] (rev a1)

8.14.11.3. Additional resources

8.14.12. Configuring a watchdog

Expose a watchdog by configuring the virtual machine (VM) for a watchdog device, installing the watchdog, and starting the watchdog service.

8.14.12.1. Prerequisites

  • The virtual machine must have kernel support for an i6300esb watchdog device. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) images support i6300esb.

8.14.12.2. Defining a watchdog device

Define how the watchdog proceeds when the operating system (OS) no longer responds.

Table 8.3. Available actions

poweroff

The virtual machine (VM) powers down immediately. If spec.running is set to true, or spec.runStrategy is not set to manual, then the VM reboots.

reset

The VM reboots in place and the guest OS cannot react. Because the length of time required for the guest OS to reboot can cause liveness probes to timeout, use of this option is discouraged. This timeout can extend the time it takes the VM to reboot if cluster-level protections notice the liveness probe failed and forcibly reschedule it.

shutdown

The VM gracefully powers down by stopping all services.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file with the following contents:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      labels:
        kubevirt.io/vm: vm2-rhel84-watchdog
      name: <vm-name>
    spec:
      running: false
      template:
        metadata:
         labels:
            kubevirt.io/vm: vm2-rhel84-watchdog
        spec:
          domain:
            devices:
              watchdog:
                name: <watchdog>
                i6300esb:
                  action: "poweroff" 1
    ...
    1
    Specify the watchdog action (poweroff, reset, or shutdown).

    The example above configures the i6300esb watchdog device on a RHEL8 VM with the poweroff action and exposes the device as /dev/watchdog.

    This device can now be used by the watchdog binary.

  2. Apply the YAML file to your cluster by running the following command:

    $ oc apply -f <file_name>.yaml
Important

This procedure is provided for testing watchdog functionality only and must not be run on production machines.

  1. Run the following command to verify that the VM is connected to the watchdog device:

    $ lspci | grep watchdog -i
  2. Run one of the following commands to confirm the watchdog is active:

    • Trigger a kernel panic:

      # echo c > /proc/sysrq-trigger
    • Terminate the watchdog service:

      # pkill -9 watchdog

8.14.12.3. Installing a watchdog device

Install the watchdog package on your virtual machine and start the watchdog service.

Procedure

  1. As a root user, install the watchdog package and dependencies:

    # yum install watchdog
  2. Uncomment the following line in the /etc/watchdog.conf file, and save the changes:

    #watchdog-device = /dev/watchdog
  3. Enable the watchdog service to start on boot:

    # systemctl enable --now watchdog.service

8.14.12.4. Additional resources

8.15. Importing virtual machines

8.15.1. TLS certificates for data volume imports

8.15.1.1. Adding TLS certificates for authenticating data volume imports

TLS certificates for registry or HTTPS endpoints must be added to a config map to import data from these sources. This config map must be present in the namespace of the destination data volume.

Create the config map by referencing the relative file path for the TLS certificate.

Procedure

  1. Ensure you are in the correct namespace. The config map can only be referenced by data volumes if it is in the same namespace.

    $ oc get ns
  2. Create the config map:

    $ oc create configmap <configmap-name> --from-file=</path/to/file/ca.pem>

8.15.1.2. Example: Config map created from a TLS certificate

The following example is of a config map created from ca.pem TLS certificate.

apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: tls-certs
data:
  ca.pem: |
    -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
    ... <base64 encoded cert> ...
    -----END CERTIFICATE-----

8.15.2. Importing virtual machine images with data volumes

Use the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) to import a virtual machine image into a persistent volume claim (PVC) by using a data volume. You can attach a data volume to a virtual machine for persistent storage.

The virtual machine image can be hosted at an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint, or built into a container disk and stored in a container registry.

Important

When you import a disk image into a PVC, the disk image is expanded to use the full storage capacity that is requested in the PVC. To use this space, the disk partitions and file system(s) in the virtual machine might need to be expanded.

The resizing procedure varies based on the operating system installed on the virtual machine. See the operating system documentation for details.

8.15.2.1. Prerequisites

8.15.2.2. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

Note

CDI now uses the OpenShift Container Platform cluster-wide proxy configuration.

8.15.2.3. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.15.2.4. Importing a virtual machine image into storage by using a data volume

You can import a virtual machine image into storage by using a data volume.

The virtual machine image can be hosted at an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint or the image can be built into a container disk and stored in a container registry.

You specify the data source for the image in a VirtualMachine configuration file. When the virtual machine is created, the data volume with the virtual machine image is imported into storage.

Prerequisites

  • To import a virtual machine image you must have the following:

    • A virtual machine disk image in RAW, ISO, or QCOW2 format, optionally compressed by using xz or gz.
    • An HTTP or HTTPS endpoint where the image is hosted, along with any authentication credentials needed to access the data source.
  • To import a container disk, you must have a virtual machine image built into a container disk and stored in a container registry, along with any authentication credentials needed to access the data source.
  • If the virtual machine must communicate with servers that use self-signed certificates or certificates not signed by the system CA bundle, you must create a config map in the same namespace as the data volume.

Procedure

  1. If your data source requires authentication, create a Secret manifest, specifying the data source credentials, and save it as endpoint-secret.yaml:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: endpoint-secret 1
      labels:
        app: containerized-data-importer
    type: Opaque
    data:
      accessKeyId: "" 2
      secretKey:   "" 3
    1
    Specify the name of the Secret.
    2
    Specify the Base64-encoded key ID or user name.
    3
    Specify the Base64-encoded secret key or password.
  2. Apply the Secret manifest:

    $ oc apply -f endpoint-secret.yaml
  3. Edit the VirtualMachine manifest, specifying the data source for the virtual machine image you want to import, and save it as vm-fedora-datavolume.yaml:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      creationTimestamp: null
      labels:
        kubevirt.io/vm: vm-fedora-datavolume
      name: vm-fedora-datavolume 1
    spec:
      dataVolumeTemplates:
      - metadata:
          creationTimestamp: null
          name: fedora-dv 2
        spec:
          storage:
            resources:
              requests:
                storage: 10Gi
            storageClassName: local
          source:
            http: 3
              url: "https://mirror.arizona.edu/fedora/linux/releases/35/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-Base-35-1.2.x86_64.qcow2" 4
              secretRef: endpoint-secret 5
              certConfigMap: "" 6
        status: {}
      running: true
      template:
        metadata:
          creationTimestamp: null
          labels:
            kubevirt.io/vm: vm-fedora-datavolume
        spec:
          domain:
            devices:
              disks:
              - disk:
                  bus: virtio
                name: datavolumedisk1
            machine:
              type: ""
            resources:
              requests:
                memory: 1.5Gi
          terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 60
          volumes:
          - dataVolume:
              name: fedora-dv
            name: datavolumedisk1
    status: {}
    1
    Specify the name of the virtual machine.
    2
    Specify the name of the data volume.
    3
    Specify http for an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint. Specify registry for a container disk image imported from a registry.
    4
    The source of the virtual machine image you want to import. This example references a virtual machine image at an HTTPS endpoint. An example of a container registry endpoint is url: "docker://kubevirt/fedora-cloud-container-disk-demo:latest".
    5
    Required if you created a Secret for the data source.
    6
    Optional: Specify a CA certificate config map.
  4. Create the virtual machine:

    $ oc create -f vm-fedora-datavolume.yaml
    Note

    The oc create command creates the data volume and the virtual machine. The CDI controller creates an underlying PVC with the correct annotation and the import process begins. When the import is complete, the data volume status changes to Succeeded. You can start the virtual machine.

    Data volume provisioning happens in the background, so there is no need to monitor the process.

Verification

  1. The importer pod downloads the virtual machine image or container disk from the specified URL and stores it on the provisioned PV. View the status of the importer pod by running the following command:

    $ oc get pods
  2. Monitor the data volume until its status is Succeeded by running the following command:

    $ oc describe dv fedora-dv 1
    1
    Specify the data volume name that you defined in the VirtualMachine manifest.
  3. Verify that provisioning is complete and that the virtual machine has started by accessing its serial console:

    $ virtctl console vm-fedora-datavolume

8.15.2.5. Additional resources

8.15.3. Importing virtual machine images into block storage with data volumes

You can import an existing virtual machine image into your OpenShift Container Platform cluster. OpenShift Virtualization uses data volumes to automate the import of data and the creation of an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC).

Important

When you import a disk image into a PVC, the disk image is expanded to use the full storage capacity that is requested in the PVC. To use this space, the disk partitions and file system(s) in the virtual machine might need to be expanded.

The resizing procedure varies based on the operating system that is installed on the virtual machine. See the operating system documentation for details.

8.15.3.1. Prerequisites

8.15.3.2. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.15.3.3. About block persistent volumes

A block persistent volume (PV) is a PV that is backed by a raw block device. These volumes do not have a file system and can provide performance benefits for virtual machines by reducing overhead.

Raw block volumes are provisioned by specifying volumeMode: Block in the PV and persistent volume claim (PVC) specification.

8.15.3.4. Creating a local block persistent volume

Create a local block persistent volume (PV) on a node by populating a file and mounting it as a loop device. You can then reference this loop device in a PV manifest as a Block volume and use it as a block device for a virtual machine image.

Procedure

  1. Log in as root to the node on which to create the local PV. This procedure uses node01 for its examples.
  2. Create a file and populate it with null characters so that it can be used as a block device. The following example creates a file loop10 with a size of 2Gb (20 100Mb blocks):

    $ dd if=/dev/zero of=<loop10> bs=100M count=20
  3. Mount the loop10 file as a loop device.

    $ losetup </dev/loop10>d3 <loop10> 1 2
    1
    File path where the loop device is mounted.
    2
    The file created in the previous step to be mounted as the loop device.
  4. Create a PersistentVolume manifest that references the mounted loop device.

    kind: PersistentVolume
    apiVersion: v1
    metadata:
      name: <local-block-pv10>
      annotations:
    spec:
      local:
        path: </dev/loop10> 1
      capacity:
        storage: <2Gi>
      volumeMode: Block 2
      storageClassName: local 3
      accessModes:
        - ReadWriteOnce
      persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy: Delete
      nodeAffinity:
        required:
          nodeSelectorTerms:
          - matchExpressions:
            - key: kubernetes.io/hostname
              operator: In
              values:
              - <node01> 4
    1
    The path of the loop device on the node.
    2
    Specifies it is a block PV.
    3
    Optional: Set a storage class for the PV. If you omit it, the cluster default is used.
    4
    The node on which the block device was mounted.
  5. Create the block PV.

    # oc create -f <local-block-pv10.yaml>1
    1
    The file name of the persistent volume created in the previous step.

8.15.3.5. Importing a virtual machine image into block storage by using a data volume

You can import a virtual machine image into block storage by using a data volume. You reference the data volume in a VirtualMachine manifest before you create a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • A virtual machine disk image in RAW, ISO, or QCOW2 format, optionally compressed by using xz or gz.
  • An HTTP or HTTPS endpoint where the image is hosted, along with any authentication credentials needed to access the data source.

Procedure

  1. If your data source requires authentication, create a Secret manifest, specifying the data source credentials, and save it as endpoint-secret.yaml:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: endpoint-secret 1
      labels:
        app: containerized-data-importer
    type: Opaque
    data:
      accessKeyId: "" 2
      secretKey:   "" 3
    1
    Specify the name of the Secret.
    2
    Specify the Base64-encoded key ID or user name.
    3
    Specify the Base64-encoded secret key or password.
  2. Apply the Secret manifest:

    $ oc apply -f endpoint-secret.yaml
  3. Create a DataVolume manifest, specifying the data source for the virtual machine image and Block for storage.volumeMode.

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: import-pv-datavolume 1
    spec:
      storageClassName: local 2
        source:
          http:
            url: "https://mirror.arizona.edu/fedora/linux/releases/35/Cloud/x86_64/images/Fedora-Cloud-Base-35-1.2.x86_64.qcow2" 3
            secretRef: endpoint-secret 4
      storage:
        volumeMode: Block 5
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 10Gi
    1
    Specify the name of the data volume.
    2
    Optional: Set the storage class or omit it to accept the cluster default.
    3
    Specify the HTTP or HTTPS URL of the image to import.
    4
    Required if you created a Secret for the data source.
    5
    The volume mode and access mode are detected automatically for known storage provisioners. Otherwise, specify Block.
  4. Create the data volume to import the virtual machine image:

    $ oc create -f import-pv-datavolume.yaml

You can reference this data volume in a VirtualMachine manifest before you create a virtual machine.

8.15.3.6. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

Note

CDI now uses the OpenShift Container Platform cluster-wide proxy configuration.

8.15.3.7. Additional resources

8.15.4. Importing a single Red Hat Virtualization virtual machine

You can import a single Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) virtual machine into OpenShift Virtualization by using the VM Import wizard or the CLI.

Important

Importing a RHV VM is a deprecated feature. Deprecated functionality is still included in OpenShift Virtualization and continues to be supported; however, it will be removed in a future release of this product and is not recommended for new deployments.

For the most recent list of major functionality that has been deprecated or removed within OpenShift Virtualization, refer to the Deprecated and removed features section of the OpenShift Virtualization release notes.

This feature will be replaced by the Migration Toolkit for Virtualization.

8.15.4.1. OpenShift Virtualization storage feature matrix

The following table describes the OpenShift Virtualization storage types that support VM import.

Table 8.4. OpenShift Virtualization storage feature matrix
 RHV VM import

OpenShift Container Storage: RBD block-mode volumes

Yes

OpenShift Virtualization hostpath provisioner

No

Other multi-node writable storage

Yes [1]

Other single-node writable storage

Yes [2]

  1. PVCs must request a ReadWriteMany access mode.
  2. PVCs must request a ReadWriteOnce access mode.

8.15.4.2. Prerequisites for importing a virtual machine

Importing a virtual machine from Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) into OpenShift Virtualization has the following prerequisites:

  • You must have admin user privileges.
  • Storage:

    • The OpenShift Virtualization local and shared persistent storage classes must support VM import.
    • If you are using Ceph RBD block-mode volumes and the available storage space is too small for the virtual disk, the import process bar stops at 75% for more than 20 minutes and the migration does not succeed. No error message is displayed in the web console. BZ#1910019
  • Networks:

    • The RHV and OpenShift Virtualization networks must either have the same name or be mapped to each other.
    • The RHV VM network interface must be e1000, rtl8139, or virtio.
  • VM disks:

    • The disk interface must be sata, virtio_scsi, or virtio.
    • The disk must not be configured as a direct LUN.
    • The disk status must not be illegal or locked.
    • The storage type must be image.
    • SCSI reservation must be disabled.
    • ScsiGenericIO must be disabled.
  • VM configuration:

    • If the VM uses GPU resources, the nodes providing the GPUs must be configured.
    • The VM must not be configured for vGPU resources.
    • The VM must not have snapshots with disks in an illegal state.
    • The VM must not have been created with OpenShift Container Platform and subsequently added to RHV.
    • The VM must not be configured for USB devices.
    • The watchdog model must not be diag288.

8.15.4.3. Importing a virtual machine with the VM Import wizard

You can import a single virtual machine with the VM Import wizard.

Procedure

  1. In the web console, click Workloads Virtual Machines.
  2. Click Create Virtual Machine and select Import with Wizard.
  3. Select Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) from the Provider list.
  4. Select Connect to New Instance or a saved RHV instance.

    • If you select Connect to New Instance, fill in the following fields:

      • API URL: For example, https://<RHV_Manager_FQDN>/ovirt-engine/api
      • CA certificate: Click Browse to upload the RHV Manager CA certificate or paste the CA certificate into the field.

        View the CA certificate by running the following command:

        $ openssl s_client -connect <RHV_Manager_FQDN>:443 -showcerts < /dev/null

        The CA certificate is the second certificate in the output.

      • Username: RHV Manager user name, for example, ocpadmin@internal
      • Password: RHV Manager password
    • If you select a saved RHV instance, the wizard connects to the RHV instance using the saved credentials.
  5. Click Check and Save and wait for the connection to complete.

    Note

    The connection details are stored in a secret. If you add a provider with an incorrect URL, user name, or password, click Workloads Secrets and delete the provider secret.

  6. Select a cluster and a virtual machine.
  7. Click Next.
  8. In the Review screen, review your settings.
  9. Optional: You can select Start virtual machine on creation.
  10. Click Edit to update the following settings:

    • General Name: The VM name is limited to 63 characters.
    • General Description: Optional description of the VM.

      • Storage Class: Select NFS or ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd.

        If you select ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd, you must set the Volume Mode of the disk to Block.

      • Advanced Volume Mode: Select Block.
    • Advanced Volume Mode: Select Block.
    • Networking Network: You can select a network from a list of available network attachment definition objects.
  11. Click Import or Review and Import, if you have edited the import settings.

    A Successfully created virtual machine message and a list of resources created for the virtual machine are displayed. The virtual machine appears in Workloads Virtual Machines.

Virtual machine wizard fields
NameParameterDescription

Name

 

The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), and hyphens (-), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, periods (.), or special characters.

Description

 

Optional description field.

Operating System

 

The operating system that is selected for the virtual machine in the template. You cannot edit this field when creating a virtual machine from a template.

Boot Source

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content from an image available from an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint. Example: Obtaining a URL link from the web page with the operating system image.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existent persistent volume claim available on the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Provision virtual machine from a bootable operating system container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. Example: kubevirt/cirros-registry-disk-demo.

PXE (network boot - adds network interface)

Boot an operating system from a server on the network. Requires a PXE bootable network attachment definition.

Persistent Volume Claim project

 

Project name that you want to use for cloning the PVC.

Persistent Volume Claim name

 

PVC name that should apply to this virtual machine template if you are cloning an existing PVC.

Mount this as a CD-ROM boot source

 

A CD-ROM requires an additional disk for installing the operating system. Select the checkbox to add a disk and customize it later.

Flavor

Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Custom

Presets the amount of CPU and memory in a virtual machine template with predefined values that are allocated to the virtual machine, depending on the operating system associated with that template.

If you choose a default template, you can override the cpus and memsize values in the template using custom values to create a custom template. Alternatively, you can create a custom template by modifying the cpus and memsize values in the Details tab on the Workloads Virtualization page.

Workload Type

Note

If you choose the incorrect Workload Type, there could be performance or resource utilization issues (such as a slow UI).

Desktop

A virtual machine configuration for use on a desktop. Ideal for consumption on a small scale. Recommended for use with the web console.

Server

Balances performance and it is compatible with a wide range of server workloads.

High-Performance

A virtual machine configuration that is optimized for high-performance workloads.

Start this virtual machine after creation.

 

This checkbox is selected by default and the virtual machine starts running after creation. Clear the checkbox if you do not want the virtual machine to start when it is created.

Networking fields
NameDescription

Name

Name for the network interface controller.

Model

Indicates the model of the network interface controller. Supported values are e1000e and virtio.

Network

List of available network attachment definitions.

Type

List of available binding methods. For the default pod network, masquerade is the only recommended binding method. For secondary networks, use the bridge binding method. The masquerade method is not supported for non-default networks. Select SR-IOV if you configured an SR-IOV network device and defined that network in the namespace.

MAC Address

MAC address for the network interface controller. If a MAC address is not specified, one is assigned automatically.

Storage fields
NameSelectionDescription

Source

Blank (creates PVC)

Create an empty disk.

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content via URL (HTTP or HTTPS endpoint).

Use an existing PVC

Use a PVC that is already available in the cluster.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existing PVC available in the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Import content via container registry.

Container (ephemeral)

Upload content from a container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. The container disk should be used only for read-only filesystems such as CD-ROMs or temporary virtual machines.

Name

 

Name of the disk. The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), and periods (.), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, or special characters.

Size

 

Size of the disk in GiB.

Type

 

Type of disk. Example: Disk or CD-ROM

Interface

 

Type of disk device. Supported interfaces are virtIO, SATA, and SCSI.

Storage Class

 

The storage class that is used to create the disk.

Advanced Volume Mode

 

Defines whether the persistent volume uses a formatted file system or raw block state. Default is Filesystem.

Advanced storage settings
NameParameterDescription

Volume Mode

Filesystem

Stores the virtual disk on a file system-based volume.

Block

Stores the virtual disk directly on the block volume. Only use Block if the underlying storage supports it.

Access Mode [1]

Single User (RWO)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by a single node.

Shared Access (RWX)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by many nodes.

Read Only (ROX)

The disk can be mounted as read-only by many nodes.

  1. You can change the access mode by using the command line interface.

8.15.4.4. Importing a virtual machine with the CLI

You can import a virtual machine with the CLI by creating the Secret and VirtualMachineImport custom resources (CRs). The Secret CR stores the RHV Manager credentials and CA certificate. The VirtualMachineImport CR defines the parameters of the VM import process.

Optional: You can create a ResourceMapping CR that is separate from the VirtualMachineImport CR. A ResourceMapping CR provides greater flexibility, for example, if you import additional RHV VMs.

Important

The default target storage class must be NFS. Cinder does not support RHV VM import.

Procedure

  1. Create the Secret CR by running the following command:

    $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Secret
    metadata:
      name: rhv-credentials
      namespace: default 1
    type: Opaque
    stringData:
      ovirt: |
        apiUrl: <api_endpoint> 2
        username: ocpadmin@internal
        password: 3
        caCert: |
          -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
          4
          -----END CERTIFICATE-----
    EOF
    1
    Optional. You can specify a different namespace in all the CRs.
    2
    Specify the API endpoint of the RHV Manager, for example, \"https://www.example.com:8443/ovirt-engine/api"
    3
    Specify the password for ocpadmin@internal.
    4
    Specify the RHV Manager CA certificate. You can obtain the CA certificate by running the following command:
    $ openssl s_client -connect :443 -showcerts < /dev/null
  2. Optional: Create a ResourceMapping CR if you want to separate the resource mapping from the VirtualMachineImport CR by running the following command:

    $ cat <<EOF | kubectl create -f -
    apiVersion: v2v.kubevirt.io/v1alpha1
    kind: ResourceMapping
    metadata:
      name: resourcemapping_example
      namespace: default
    spec:
      ovirt:
        networkMappings:
          - source:
              name: <rhv_logical_network>/<vnic_profile> 1
            target:
              name: <target_network> 2
            type: pod
        storageMappings: 3
          - source:
              name: <rhv_storage_domain> 4
            target:
              name: <target_storage_class> 5
            volumeMode: <volume_mode> 6
    EOF
    1
    Specify the RHV logical network and vNIC profile.
    2
    Specify the OpenShift Virtualization network.
    3
    If storage mappings are specified in both the ResourceMapping and the VirtualMachineImport CRs, the VirtualMachineImport CR takes precedence.
    4
    Specify the RHV storage domain.
    5
    Specify nfs or ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd.
    6
    If you specified the ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd storage class, you must specify Block as the volume mode.
  3. Create the VirtualMachineImport CR by running the following command:

    $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
    apiVersion: v2v.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: VirtualMachineImport
    metadata:
      name: vm-import
      namespace: default
    spec:
      providerCredentialsSecret:
        name: rhv-credentials
        namespace: default
    # resourceMapping: 1
    #   name: resourcemapping-example
    #   namespace: default
      targetVmName: vm_example 2
      startVm: true
      source:
        ovirt:
          vm:
            id: <source_vm_id> 3
            name: <source_vm_name> 4
          cluster:
            name: <source_cluster_name> 5
          mappings: 6
            networkMappings:
              - source:
                  name: <source_logical_network>/<vnic_profile> 7
                target:
                  name: <target_network> 8
                type: pod
            storageMappings: 9
              - source:
                  name: <source_storage_domain> 10
                target:
                  name: <target_storage_class> 11
                accessMode: <volume_access_mode> 12
            diskMappings:
              - source:
                  id: <source_vm_disk_id> 13
                target:
                  name: <target_storage_class> 14
    EOF
    1
    If you create a ResourceMapping CR, uncomment the resourceMapping section.
    2
    Specify the target VM name.
    3
    Specify the source VM ID, for example, 80554327-0569-496b-bdeb-fcbbf52b827b. You can obtain the VM ID by entering https://www.example.com/ovirt-engine/api/vms/ in a web browser on the Manager machine to list all VMs. Locate the VM you want to import and its corresponding VM ID. You do not need to specify a VM name or cluster name.
    4
    If you specify the source VM name, you must also specify the source cluster. Do not specify the source VM ID.
    5
    If you specify the source cluster, you must also specify the source VM name. Do not specify the source VM ID.
    6
    If you create a ResourceMapping CR, comment out the mappings section.
    7
    Specify the logical network and vNIC profile of the source VM.
    8
    Specify the OpenShift Virtualization network.
    9
    If storage mappings are specified in both the ResourceMapping and the VirtualMachineImport CRs, the VirtualMachineImport CR takes precedence.
    10
    Specify the source storage domain.
    11
    Specify the target storage class.
    12
    Specify ReadWriteOnce, ReadWriteMany, or ReadOnlyMany. If no access mode is specified, {virt} determines the correct volume access mode based on the Host Migration mode setting of the RHV VM or on the virtual disk access mode:
    • If the RHV VM migration mode is Allow manual and automatic migration, the default access mode is ReadWriteMany.
    • If the RHV virtual disk access mode is ReadOnly, the default access mode is ReadOnlyMany.
    • For all other settings, the default access mode is ReadWriteOnce.
    13
    Specify the source VM disk ID, for example, 8181ecc1-5db8-4193-9c92-3ddab3be7b05. You can obtain the disk ID by entering https://www.example.com/ovirt-engine/api/vms/vm23 in a web browser on the Manager machine and reviewing the VM details.
    14
    Specify the target storage class.
  4. Follow the progress of the virtual machine import to verify that the import was successful:

    $ oc get vmimports vm-import -n default

    The output indicating a successful import resembles the following example:

    Example output

    ...
    status:
      conditions:
      - lastHeartbeatTime: "2020-07-22T08:58:52Z"
        lastTransitionTime: "2020-07-22T08:58:52Z"
        message: Validation completed successfully
        reason: ValidationCompleted
        status: "True"
        type: Valid
      - lastHeartbeatTime: "2020-07-22T08:58:52Z"
        lastTransitionTime: "2020-07-22T08:58:52Z"
        message: 'VM specifies IO Threads: 1, VM has NUMA tune mode specified: interleave'
        reason: MappingRulesVerificationReportedWarnings
        status: "True"
        type: MappingRulesVerified
      - lastHeartbeatTime: "2020-07-22T08:58:56Z"
        lastTransitionTime: "2020-07-22T08:58:52Z"
        message: Copying virtual machine disks
        reason: CopyingDisks
        status: "True"
        type: Processing
      dataVolumes:
      - name: fedora32-b870c429-11e0-4630-b3df-21da551a48c0
      targetVmName: fedora32

8.15.4.4.1. Creating a config map for importing a VM

You can create a config map to map the Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) virtual machine operating system to an OpenShift Virtualization template if you want to override the default vm-import-controller mapping or to add additional mappings.

The default vm-import-controller config map contains the following RHV operating systems and their corresponding common OpenShift Virtualization templates.

Table 8.5. Operating system and template mapping
RHV VM operating systemOpenShift Virtualization template

rhel_6_10_plus_ppc64

rhel6.10

rhel_6_ppc64

rhel6.10

rhel_6

rhel6.10

rhel_6x64

rhel6.10

rhel_6_9_plus_ppc64

rhel6.9

rhel_7_ppc64

rhel7.7

rhel_7_s390x

rhel7.7

rhel_7x64

rhel7.7

rhel_8x64

rhel8.1

sles_11_ppc64

opensuse15.0

sles_11

opensuse15.0

sles_12_s390x

opensuse15.0

ubuntu_12_04

ubuntu18.04

ubuntu_12_10

ubuntu18.04

ubuntu_13_04

ubuntu18.04

ubuntu_13_10

ubuntu18.04

ubuntu_14_04_ppc64

ubuntu18.04

ubuntu_14_04

ubuntu18.04

ubuntu_16_04_s390x

ubuntu18.04

windows_10

win10

windows_10x64

win10

windows_2003

win10

windows_2003x64

win10

windows_2008R2x64

win2k8

windows_2008

win2k8

windows_2008x64

win2k8

windows_2012R2x64

win2k12r2

windows_2012x64

win2k12r2

windows_2016x64

win2k16

windows_2019x64

win2k19

windows_7

win10

windows_7x64

win10

windows_8

win10

windows_8x64

win10

windows_xp

win10

Procedure

  1. In a web browser, identify the REST API name of the RHV VM operating system by navigating to http://<RHV_Manager_FQDN>/ovirt-engine/api/vms/<VM_ID>. The operating system name appears in the <os> section of the XML output, as shown in the following example:

    ...
    <os>
    ...
    <type>rhel_8x64</type>
    </os>
  2. View a list of the available OpenShift Virtualization templates:

    $ oc get templates -n openshift --show-labels | tr ',' '\n' | grep os.template.kubevirt.io | sed -r 's#os.template.kubevirt.io/(.*)=.*#\1#g' | sort -u

    Example output

    fedora31
    fedora32
    ...
    rhel8.1
    rhel8.2
    ...

  3. If an OpenShift Virtualization template that matches the RHV VM operating system does not appear in the list of available templates, create a template with the OpenShift Virtualization web console.
  4. Create a config map to map the RHV VM operating system to the OpenShift Virtualization template:

    $ cat <<EOF | oc create -f -
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: os-configmap
      namespace: default 1
    data:
      guestos2common: |
        "Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server": "rhel"
        "CentOS Linux": "centos"
        "Fedora": "fedora"
        "Ubuntu": "ubuntu"
        "openSUSE": "opensuse"
      osinfo2common: |
        "<rhv-operating-system>": "<vm-template>" 2
    EOF
    1
    Optional: You can change the value of the namespace parameter.
    2
    Specify the REST API name of the RHV operating system and its corresponding VM template as shown in the following example.

    Config map example

    $ cat <<EOF | oc apply -f -
    apiVersion: v1
    kind: ConfigMap
    metadata:
      name: os-configmap
      namespace: default
    data:
      osinfo2common: |
        "other_linux": "fedora31"
    EOF

  5. Verify that the custom config map was created:

    $ oc get cm -n default os-configmap -o yaml
  6. Patch the vm-import-controller-config config map to apply the new config map:

    $ oc patch configmap vm-import-controller-config -n openshift-cnv --patch '{
        "data": {
            "osConfigMap.name": "os-configmap",
            "osConfigMap.namespace": "default" 1
        }
    }'
    1
    Update the namespace if you changed it in the config map.
  7. Verify that the template appears in the OpenShift Virtualization web console:

    1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
    2. Click the Virtual Machine Templates tab and find the template in the list.

8.15.4.5. Troubleshooting a virtual machine import

8.15.4.5.1. Logs

You can check the VM Import Controller pod log for errors.

Procedure

  1. View the VM Import Controller pod name by running the following command:

    $ oc get pods -n <namespace> | grep import 1
    1
    Specify the namespace of your imported virtual machine.

    Example output

    vm-import-controller-f66f7d-zqkz7            1/1     Running     0          4h49m

  2. View the VM Import Controller pod log by running the following command:

    $ oc logs <vm-import-controller-f66f7d-zqkz7> -f -n <namespace> 1
    1
    Specify the VM Import Controller pod name and the namespace.
8.15.4.5.2. Error messages

The following error message might appear:

  • The following error message is displayed in the VM Import Controller pod log and the progress bar stops at 10% if the OpenShift Virtualization storage PV is not suitable:

    Failed to bind volumes: provisioning failed for PVC

    You must use a compatible storage class. The Cinder storage class is not supported.

8.15.4.5.3. Known issues
  • If you are using Ceph RBD block-mode volumes and the available storage space is too small for the virtual disk, the import process bar stops at 75% for more than 20 minutes and the migration does not succeed. No error message is displayed in the web console. BZ#1910019

8.15.5. Importing a single VMware virtual machine or template

You can import a VMware vSphere 6.5, 6.7, or 7.0 VM or VM template into OpenShift Virtualization by using the VM Import wizard. If you import a VM template, OpenShift Virtualization creates a virtual machine based on the template.

Important

Importing a VMware VM is a deprecated feature. Deprecated functionality is still included in OpenShift Virtualization and continues to be supported; however, it will be removed in a future release of this product and is not recommended for new deployments.

For the most recent list of major functionality that has been deprecated or removed within OpenShift Virtualization, refer to the Deprecated and removed features section of the OpenShift Virtualization release notes.

This feature will be replaced by the Migration Toolkit for Virtualization.

8.15.5.1. OpenShift Virtualization storage feature matrix

The following table describes the OpenShift Virtualization storage types that support VM import.

Table 8.6. OpenShift Virtualization storage feature matrix
 VMware VM import

OpenShift Container Storage: RBD block-mode volumes

Yes

OpenShift Virtualization hostpath provisioner

Yes

Other multi-node writable storage

Yes [1]

Other single-node writable storage

Yes [2]

  1. PVCs must request a ReadWriteMany access mode.
  2. PVCs must request a ReadWriteOnce access mode.

8.15.5.2. Preparing a VDDK image

The import process uses the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) to copy the VMware virtual disk.

You can download the VDDK SDK, create a VDDK image, upload the image to an image registry, and add it to the spec.vddkInitImage field of the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).

You can configure either an internal OpenShift Container Platform image registry or a secure external image registry for the VDDK image. The registry must be accessible to your OpenShift Virtualization environment.

Note

Storing the VDDK image in a public registry might violate the terms of the VMware license.

8.15.5.2.1. Configuring an internal image registry

You can configure the internal OpenShift Container Platform image registry on bare metal by updating the Image Registry Operator configuration.

You can access the registry directly, from within the OpenShift Container Platform cluster, or externally, by exposing the registry with a route.

Changing the image registry’s management state

To start the image registry, you must change the Image Registry Operator configuration’s managementState from Removed to Managed.

Procedure

  • Change managementState Image Registry Operator configuration from Removed to Managed. For example:

    $ oc patch configs.imageregistry.operator.openshift.io cluster --type merge --patch '{"spec":{"managementState":"Managed"}}'
Configuring registry storage for bare metal and other manual installations

As a cluster administrator, following installation you must configure your registry to use storage.

Prerequisites

  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have a cluster that uses manually-provisioned Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) nodes, such as bare metal.
  • You have provisioned persistent storage for your cluster, such as Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage.

    Important

    OpenShift Container Platform supports ReadWriteOnce access for image registry storage when you have only one replica. ReadWriteOnce access also requires that the registry uses the Recreate rollout strategy. To deploy an image registry that supports high availability with two or more replicas, ReadWriteMany access is required.

  • Must have 100Gi capacity.

Procedure

  1. To configure your registry to use storage, change the spec.storage.pvc in the configs.imageregistry/cluster resource.

    Note

    When using shared storage, review your security settings to prevent outside access.

  2. Verify that you do not have a registry pod:

    $ oc get pod -n openshift-image-registry -l docker-registry=default

    Example output

    No resourses found in openshift-image-registry namespace

    Note

    If you do have a registry pod in your output, you do not need to continue with this procedure.

  3. Check the registry configuration:

    $ oc edit configs.imageregistry.operator.openshift.io

    Example output

    storage:
      pvc:
        claim:

    Leave the claim field blank to allow the automatic creation of an image-registry-storage PVC.

  4. Check the clusteroperator status:

    $ oc get clusteroperator image-registry

    Example output

    NAME             VERSION                              AVAILABLE   PROGRESSING   DEGRADED   SINCE   MESSAGE
    image-registry   4.7                                  True        False         False      6h50m

  5. Ensure that your registry is set to managed to enable building and pushing of images.

    • Run:

      $ oc edit configs.imageregistry/cluster

      Then, change the line

      managementState: Removed

      to

      managementState: Managed
Accessing registry directly from the cluster

You can access the registry from inside the cluster.

Procedure

Access the registry from the cluster by using internal routes:

  1. Access the node by getting the node’s name:

    $ oc get nodes
    $ oc debug nodes/<node_name>
  2. To enable access to tools such as oc and podman on the node, change your root directory to /host:

    sh-4.2# chroot /host
  3. Log in to the container image registry by using your access token:

    sh-4.2# oc login -u kubeadmin -p <password_from_install_log> https://api-int.<cluster_name>.<base_domain>:6443
    sh-4.2# podman login -u kubeadmin -p $(oc whoami -t) image-registry.openshift-image-registry.svc:5000

    You should see a message confirming login, such as:

    Login Succeeded!
    Note

    You can pass any value for the user name; the token contains all necessary information. Passing a user name that contains colons will result in a login failure.

    Since the Image Registry Operator creates the route, it will likely be similar to default-route-openshift-image-registry.<cluster_name>.

  4. Perform podman pull and podman push operations against your registry:

    Important

    You can pull arbitrary images, but if you have the system:registry role added, you can only push images to the registry in your project.

    In the following examples, use:

    ComponentValue

    <registry_ip>

    172.30.124.220

    <port>

    5000

    <project>

    openshift

    <image>

    image

    <tag>

    omitted (defaults to latest)

    1. Pull an arbitrary image:

      sh-4.2# podman pull name.io/image
    2. Tag the new image with the form <registry_ip>:<port>/<project>/<image>. The project name must appear in this pull specification for OpenShift Container Platform to correctly place and later access the image in the registry:

      sh-4.2# podman tag name.io/image image-registry.openshift-image-registry.svc:5000/openshift/image
      Note

      You must have the system:image-builder role for the specified project, which allows the user to write or push an image. Otherwise, the podman push in the next step will fail. To test, you can create a new project to push the image.

    3. Push the newly tagged image to your registry:

      sh-4.2# podman push image-registry.openshift-image-registry.svc:5000/openshift/image
Exposing a secure registry manually

Instead of logging in to the OpenShift Container Platform registry from within the cluster, you can gain external access to it by exposing it with a route. This allows you to log in to the registry from outside the cluster using the route address, and to tag and push images to an existing project by using the route host.

Prerequisites:

  • The following prerequisites are automatically performed:

    • Deploy the Registry Operator.
    • Deploy the Ingress Operator.

Procedure

You can expose the route by using DefaultRoute parameter in the configs.imageregistry.operator.openshift.io resource or by using custom routes.

To expose the registry using DefaultRoute:

  1. Set DefaultRoute to True:

    $ oc patch configs.imageregistry.operator.openshift.io/cluster --patch '{"spec":{"defaultRoute":true}}' --type=merge
  2. Log in with podman:

    $ HOST=$(oc get route default-route -n openshift-image-registry --template='{{ .spec.host }}')
    $ podman login -u kubeadmin -p $(oc whoami -t) --tls-verify=false $HOST 1
    1
    --tls-verify=false is needed if the cluster’s default certificate for routes is untrusted. You can set a custom, trusted certificate as the default certificate with the Ingress Operator.

To expose the registry using custom routes:

  1. Create a secret with your route’s TLS keys:

    $ oc create secret tls public-route-tls \
        -n openshift-image-registry \
        --cert=</path/to/tls.crt> \
        --key=</path/to/tls.key>

    This step is optional. If you do not create a secret, the route uses the default TLS configuration from the Ingress Operator.

  2. On the Registry Operator:

    spec:
      routes:
        - name: public-routes
          hostname: myregistry.mycorp.organization
          secretName: public-route-tls
    ...
    Note

    Only set secretName if you are providing a custom TLS configuration for the registry’s route.

8.15.5.2.2. Configuring an external image registry

If you use an external image registry for the VDDK image, you can add the external image registry’s certificate authorities to the OpenShift Container Platform cluster.

Optionally, you can create a pull secret from your Docker credentials and add it to your service account.

Adding certificate authorities to the cluster

You can add certificate authorities (CA) to the cluster for use when pushing and pulling images with the following procedure.

Prerequisites

  • You must have cluster administrator privileges.
  • You must have access to the public certificates of the registry, usually a hostname/ca.crt file located in the /etc/docker/certs.d/ directory.

Procedure

  1. Create a ConfigMap in the openshift-config namespace containing the trusted certificates for the registries that use self-signed certificates. For each CA file, ensure the key in the ConfigMap is the hostname of the registry in the hostname[..port] format:

    $ oc create configmap registry-cas -n openshift-config \
    --from-file=myregistry.corp.com..5000=/etc/docker/certs.d/myregistry.corp.com:5000/ca.crt \
    --from-file=otherregistry.com=/etc/docker/certs.d/otherregistry.com/ca.crt
  2. Update the cluster image configuration:

    $ oc patch image.config.openshift.io/cluster --patch '{"spec":{"additionalTrustedCA":{"name":"registry-cas"}}}' --type=merge
Allowing pods to reference images from other secured registries

The .dockercfg $HOME/.docker/config.json file for Docker clients is a Docker credentials file that stores your authentication information if you have previously logged into a secured or insecure registry.

To pull a secured container image that is not from OpenShift Container Platform’s internal registry, you must create a pull secret from your Docker credentials and add it to your service account.

Procedure

  • If you already have a .dockercfg file for the secured registry, you can create a secret from that file by running:

    $ oc create secret generic <pull_secret_name> \
        --from-file=.dockercfg=<path/to/.dockercfg> \
        --type=kubernetes.io/dockercfg
  • Or if you have a $HOME/.docker/config.json file:

    $ oc create secret generic <pull_secret_name> \
        --from-file=.dockerconfigjson=<path/to/.docker/config.json> \
        --type=kubernetes.io/dockerconfigjson
  • If you do not already have a Docker credentials file for the secured registry, you can create a secret by running:

    $ oc create secret docker-registry <pull_secret_name> \
        --docker-server=<registry_server> \
        --docker-username=<user_name> \
        --docker-password=<password> \
        --docker-email=<email>
  • To use a secret for pulling images for pods, you must add the secret to your service account. The name of the service account in this example should match the name of the service account the pod uses. The default service account is default:

    $ oc secrets link default <pull_secret_name> --for=pull
8.15.5.2.3. Creating and using a VDDK image

You can download the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK), build a VDDK image, and push the VDDK image to your image registry. You then add the VDDK image to the spec.vddkInitImage field of the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).

Prerequisites

  • You must have access to an OpenShift Container Platform internal image registry or a secure external registry.

Procedure

  1. Create and navigate to a temporary directory:

    $ mkdir /tmp/<dir_name> && cd /tmp/<dir_name>
  2. In a browser, navigate to VMware code and click SDKs.
  3. Under Compute Virtualization, click Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK).
  4. Select the VDDK version that corresponds to your VMware vSphere version, for example, VDDK 7.0 for vSphere 7.0, click Download, and then save the VDDK archive in the temporary directory.
  5. Extract the VDDK archive:

    $ tar -xzf VMware-vix-disklib-<version>.x86_64.tar.gz
  6. Create a Dockerfile:

    $ cat > Dockerfile <<EOF
    FROM busybox:latest
    COPY vmware-vix-disklib-distrib /vmware-vix-disklib-distrib
    RUN mkdir -p /opt
    ENTRYPOINT ["cp", "-r", "/vmware-vix-disklib-distrib", "/opt"]
    EOF
  7. Build the image:

    $ podman build . -t <registry_route_or_server_path>/vddk:<tag> 1
    1
    Specify your image registry:
    • For an internal OpenShift Container Platform registry, use the internal registry route, for example, image-registry.openshift-image-registry.svc:5000/openshift/vddk:<tag>.
    • For an external registry, specify the server name, path, and tag, for example, server.example.com:5000/vddk:<tag>.
  8. Push the image to the registry:

    $ podman push <registry_route_or_server_path>/vddk:<tag>
  9. Ensure that the image is accessible to your OpenShift Virtualization environment.
  10. Edit the HyperConverged CR in the openshift-cnv project:

    $ oc edit hco -n openshift-cnv kubevirt-hyperconverged
  11. Add the vddkInitImage parameter to the spec stanza:

    apiVersion: hco.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: HyperConverged
    metadata:
      name: kubevirt-hyperconverged
      namespace: openshift-cnv
    spec:
      vddkInitImage: <registry_route_or_server_path>/vddk:<tag>

8.15.5.3. Importing a virtual machine with the VM Import wizard

You can import a single virtual machine with the VM Import wizard.

You can also import a VM template. If you import a VM template, OpenShift Virtualization creates a virtual machine based on the template.

Prerequisites

  • You must have admin user privileges.
  • The VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) image must be in an image registry that is accessible to your OpenShift Virtualization environment.
  • The VDDK image must be added to the spec.vddkInitImage field of the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).
  • The VM must be powered off.
  • Virtual disks must be connected to IDE or SCSI controllers. If virtual disks are connected to a SATA controller, you can change them to IDE controllers and then migrate the VM.
  • The OpenShift Virtualization local and shared persistent storage classes must support VM import.
  • The OpenShift Virtualization storage must be large enough to accommodate the virtual disk.

    Warning

    If you are using Ceph RBD block-mode volumes, the storage must be large enough to accommodate the virtual disk. If the disk is too large for the available storage, the import process fails and the PV that is used to copy the virtual disk is not released. You will not be able to import another virtual machine or to clean up the storage because there are insufficient resources to support object deletion. To resolve this situation, you must add more object storage devices to the storage back end.

  • The OpenShift Virtualization egress network policy must allow the following traffic:

    DestinationProtocolPort

    VMware ESXi hosts

    TCP

    443

    VMware ESXi hosts

    TCP

    902

    VMware vCenter

    TCP

    5840

Procedure

  1. In the web console, click Workloads Virtual Machines.
  2. Click Create Virtual Machine and select Import with Wizard.
  3. Select VMware from the Provider list.
  4. Select Connect to New Instance or a saved vCenter instance.

    • If you select Connect to New Instance, enter the vCenter hostname, Username, and Password.
    • If you select a saved vCenter instance, the wizard connects to the vCenter instance using the saved credentials.
  5. Click Check and Save and wait for the connection to complete.

    Note

    The connection details are stored in a secret. If you add a provider with an incorrect hostname, user name, or password, click Workloads Secrets and delete the provider secret.

  6. Select a virtual machine or a template.
  7. Click Next.
  8. In the Review screen, review your settings.
  9. Click Edit to update the following settings:

    • General:

      • Description
      • Operating System
      • Flavor
      • Memory
      • CPUs
      • Workload Profile
    • Networking:

      • Name
      • Model
      • Network
      • Type
      • MAC Address
    • Storage: Click the Options menu kebab of the VM disk and select Edit to update the following fields:

      • Name
      • Source: For example, Import Disk.
      • Size
      • Interface
      • Storage Class: Select NFS or ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd (ceph-rbd).

        If you select ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd, you must set the Volume Mode of the disk to Block.

        Other storage classes might work, but they are not officially supported.

      • Advanced Volume Mode: Select Block.
      • Advanced Access Mode
    • Advanced Cloud-init:

      • Form: Enter the Hostname and Authenticated SSH Keys.
      • Custom script: Enter the cloud-init script in the text field.
    • Advanced Virtual Hardware: You can attach a virtual CD-ROM to the imported virtual machine.
  10. Click Import or Review and Import, if you have edited the import settings.

    A Successfully created virtual machine message and a list of resources created for the virtual machine are displayed. The virtual machine appears in Workloads Virtual Machines.

Virtual machine wizard fields
NameParameterDescription

Name

 

The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), and hyphens (-), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, periods (.), or special characters.

Description

 

Optional description field.

Operating System

 

The operating system that is selected for the virtual machine in the template. You cannot edit this field when creating a virtual machine from a template.

Boot Source

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content from an image available from an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint. Example: Obtaining a URL link from the web page with the operating system image.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existent persistent volume claim available on the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Provision virtual machine from a bootable operating system container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. Example: kubevirt/cirros-registry-disk-demo.

PXE (network boot - adds network interface)

Boot an operating system from a server on the network. Requires a PXE bootable network attachment definition.

Persistent Volume Claim project

 

Project name that you want to use for cloning the PVC.

Persistent Volume Claim name

 

PVC name that should apply to this virtual machine template if you are cloning an existing PVC.

Mount this as a CD-ROM boot source

 

A CD-ROM requires an additional disk for installing the operating system. Select the checkbox to add a disk and customize it later.

Flavor

Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Custom

Presets the amount of CPU and memory in a virtual machine template with predefined values that are allocated to the virtual machine, depending on the operating system associated with that template.

If you choose a default template, you can override the cpus and memsize values in the template using custom values to create a custom template. Alternatively, you can create a custom template by modifying the cpus and memsize values in the Details tab on the Workloads Virtualization page.

Workload Type

Note

If you choose the incorrect Workload Type, there could be performance or resource utilization issues (such as a slow UI).

Desktop

A virtual machine configuration for use on a desktop. Ideal for consumption on a small scale. Recommended for use with the web console.

Server

Balances performance and it is compatible with a wide range of server workloads.

High-Performance

A virtual machine configuration that is optimized for high-performance workloads.

Start this virtual machine after creation.

 

This checkbox is selected by default and the virtual machine starts running after creation. Clear the checkbox if you do not want the virtual machine to start when it is created.

Cloud-init fields
NameDescription

Hostname

Sets a specific hostname for the virtual machine.

Authorized SSH Keys

The user’s public key that is copied to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the virtual machine.

Custom script

Replaces other options with a field in which you paste a custom cloud-init script.

Networking fields
NameDescription

Name

Name for the network interface controller.

Model

Indicates the model of the network interface controller. Supported values are e1000e and virtio.

Network

List of available network attachment definitions.

Type

List of available binding methods. For the default pod network, masquerade is the only recommended binding method. For secondary networks, use the bridge binding method. The masquerade method is not supported for non-default networks. Select SR-IOV if you configured an SR-IOV network device and defined that network in the namespace.

MAC Address

MAC address for the network interface controller. If a MAC address is not specified, one is assigned automatically.

Storage fields
NameSelectionDescription

Source

Blank (creates PVC)

Create an empty disk.

Import via URL (creates PVC)

Import content via URL (HTTP or HTTPS endpoint).

Use an existing PVC

Use a PVC that is already available in the cluster.

Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)

Select an existing PVC available in the cluster and clone it.

Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Import content via container registry.

Container (ephemeral)

Upload content from a container located in a registry accessible from the cluster. The container disk should be used only for read-only filesystems such as CD-ROMs or temporary virtual machines.

Name

 

Name of the disk. The name can contain lowercase letters (a-z), numbers (0-9), hyphens (-), and periods (.), up to a maximum of 253 characters. The first and last characters must be alphanumeric. The name must not contain uppercase letters, spaces, or special characters.

Size

 

Size of the disk in GiB.

Type

 

Type of disk. Example: Disk or CD-ROM

Interface

 

Type of disk device. Supported interfaces are virtIO, SATA, and SCSI.

Storage Class

 

The storage class that is used to create the disk.

Advanced Volume Mode

 

Defines whether the persistent volume uses a formatted file system or raw block state. Default is Filesystem.

Advanced Access Mode

 

Access mode of the persistent volume. Supported access modes are Single User (RWO), Shared Access (RWX), and Read Only (ROX).

Advanced storage settings

The following advanced storage settings are available for Blank, Import via URL, and Clone existing PVC disks. These parameters are optional. If you do not specify these parameters, the system uses the default values from the kubevirt-storage-class-defaults config map.

NameParameterDescription

Volume Mode

Filesystem

Stores the virtual disk on a file system-based volume.

Block

Stores the virtual disk directly on the block volume. Only use Block if the underlying storage supports it.

Access Mode

Single User (RWO)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by a single node.

Shared Access (RWX)

The disk can be mounted as read/write by many nodes.

Note

This is required for some features, such as live migration of virtual machines between nodes.

Read Only (ROX)

The disk can be mounted as read-only by many nodes.

8.15.5.3.1. Updating the NIC name of an imported virtual machine

You must update the NIC name of a virtual machine that you imported from VMware to conform to OpenShift Virtualization naming conventions.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the virtual machine.
  2. Navigate to the /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts directory.
  3. Rename the network configuration file:

    $ mv vmnic0 ifcfg-eth0 1
    1
    The first network configuration file is named ifcfg-eth0. Additional network configuration files are numbered sequentially, for example, ifcfg-eth1, ifcfg-eth2.
  4. Update the NAME and DEVICE parameters in the network configuration file:

    NAME=eth0
    DEVICE=eth0
  5. Restart the network:

    $ systemctl restart network

8.15.5.4. Troubleshooting a virtual machine import

8.15.5.4.1. Logs

You can check the V2V Conversion pod log for errors.

Procedure

  1. View the V2V Conversion pod name by running the following command:

    $ oc get pods -n <namespace> | grep v2v 1
    1
    Specify the namespace of your imported virtual machine.

    Example output

    kubevirt-v2v-conversion-f66f7d-zqkz7            1/1     Running     0          4h49m

  2. View the V2V Conversion pod log by running the following command:

    $ oc logs <kubevirt-v2v-conversion-f66f7d-zqkz7> -f -n <namespace> 1
    1
    Specify the VM Conversion pod name and the namespace.
8.15.5.4.2. Error messages

The following error messages might appear:

  • If the VMware VM is not shut down before import, the imported virtual machine displays the error message, Readiness probe failed in the OpenShift Container Platform console and the V2V Conversion pod log displays the following error message:

    INFO - have error: ('virt-v2v error: internal error: invalid argument: libvirt domain ‘v2v_migration_vm_1’ is running or paused. It must be shut down in order to perform virt-v2v conversion',)"
  • The following error message is displayed in the OpenShift Container Platform console if a non-admin user tries to import a VM:

    Could not load config map vmware-to-kubevirt-os in kube-public namespace
    Restricted Access: configmaps "vmware-to-kubevirt-os" is forbidden: User cannot get resource "configmaps" in API group "" in the namespace "kube-public"

    Only an admin user can import a VM.

8.16. Cloning virtual machines

8.16.1. Enabling user permissions to clone data volumes across namespaces

The isolating nature of namespaces means that users cannot by default clone resources between namespaces.

To enable a user to clone a virtual machine to another namespace, a user with the cluster-admin role must create a new cluster role. Bind this cluster role to a user to enable them to clone virtual machines to the destination namespace.

8.16.1.1. Prerequisites

  • Only a user with the cluster-admin role can create cluster roles.

8.16.1.2. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.16.1.3. Creating RBAC resources for cloning data volumes

Create a new cluster role that enables permissions for all actions for the datavolumes resource.

Procedure

  1. Create a ClusterRole manifest:

    apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
    kind: ClusterRole
    metadata:
      name: <datavolume-cloner> 1
    rules:
    - apiGroups: ["cdi.kubevirt.io"]
      resources: ["datavolumes/source"]
      verbs: ["*"]
    1
    Unique name for the cluster role.
  2. Create the cluster role in the cluster:

    $ oc create -f <datavolume-cloner.yaml> 1
    1
    The file name of the ClusterRole manifest created in the previous step.
  3. Create a RoleBinding manifest that applies to both the source and destination namespaces and references the cluster role created in the previous step.

    apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
    kind: RoleBinding
    metadata:
      name: <allow-clone-to-user> 1
      namespace: <Source namespace> 2
    subjects:
    - kind: ServiceAccount
      name: default
      namespace: <Destination namespace> 3
    roleRef:
      kind: ClusterRole
      name: datavolume-cloner 4
      apiGroup: rbac.authorization.k8s.io
    1
    Unique name for the role binding.
    2
    The namespace for the source data volume.
    3
    The namespace to which the data volume is cloned.
    4
    The name of the cluster role created in the previous step.
  4. Create the role binding in the cluster:

    $ oc create -f <datavolume-cloner.yaml> 1
    1
    The file name of the RoleBinding manifest created in the previous step.

8.16.2. Cloning a virtual machine disk into a new data volume

You can clone the persistent volume claim (PVC) of a virtual machine disk into a new data volume by referencing the source PVC in your data volume configuration file.

Warning

Cloning operations between different volume modes are supported, such as cloning from a persistent volume (PV) with volumeMode: Block to a PV with volumeMode: Filesystem.

However, you can only clone between different volume modes if they are of the contentType: kubevirt.

Tip

When you enable preallocation globally, or for a single data volume, the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) preallocates disk space during cloning. Preallocation enhances write performance. For more information, see Using preallocation for data volumes.

8.16.2.1. Prerequisites

8.16.2.2. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.16.2.3. Cloning the persistent volume claim of a virtual machine disk into a new data volume

You can clone a persistent volume claim (PVC) of an existing virtual machine disk into a new data volume. The new data volume can then be used for a new virtual machine.

Note

When a data volume is created independently of a virtual machine, the lifecycle of the data volume is independent of the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is deleted, neither the data volume nor its associated PVC is deleted.

Prerequisites

  • Determine the PVC of an existing virtual machine disk to use. You must power down the virtual machine that is associated with the PVC before you can clone it.
  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Examine the virtual machine disk you want to clone to identify the name and namespace of the associated PVC.
  2. Create a YAML file for a data volume that specifies the name of the new data volume, the name and namespace of the source PVC, and the size of the new data volume.

    For example:

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: <cloner-datavolume> 1
    spec:
      source:
        pvc:
          namespace: "<source-namespace>" 2
          name: "<my-favorite-vm-disk>" 3
      pvc:
        accessModes:
          - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: <2Gi> 4
    1
    The name of the new data volume.
    2
    The namespace where the source PVC exists.
    3
    The name of the source PVC.
    4
    The size of the new data volume. You must allocate enough space, or the cloning operation fails. The size must be the same as or larger than the source PVC.
  3. Start cloning the PVC by creating the data volume:

    $ oc create -f <cloner-datavolume>.yaml
    Note

    Data volumes prevent a virtual machine from starting before the PVC is prepared, so you can create a virtual machine that references the new data volume while the PVC clones.

8.16.2.4. Template: Data volume clone configuration file

example-clone-dv.yaml

apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: DataVolume
metadata:
  name: "example-clone-dv"
spec:
  source:
      pvc:
        name: source-pvc
        namespace: example-ns
  pvc:
    accessModes:
      - ReadWriteOnce
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: "1G"

8.16.2.5. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

8.16.3. Cloning a virtual machine by using a data volume template

You can create a new virtual machine by cloning the persistent volume claim (PVC) of an existing VM. By including a dataVolumeTemplate in your virtual machine configuration file, you create a new data volume from the original PVC.

Warning

Cloning operations between different volume modes are supported, such as cloning from a persistent volume (PV) with volumeMode: Block to a PV with volumeMode: Filesystem.

However, you can only clone between different volume modes if they are of the contentType: kubevirt.

Tip

When you enable preallocation globally, or for a single data volume, the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) preallocates disk space during cloning. Preallocation enhances write performance. For more information, see Using preallocation for data volumes.

8.16.3.1. Prerequisites

8.16.3.2. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.16.3.3. Creating a new virtual machine from a cloned persistent volume claim by using a data volume template

You can create a virtual machine that clones the persistent volume claim (PVC) of an existing virtual machine into a data volume. Reference a dataVolumeTemplate in the virtual machine manifest and the source PVC is cloned to a data volume, which is then automatically used for the creation of the virtual machine.

Note

When a data volume is created as part of the data volume template of a virtual machine, the lifecycle of the data volume is then dependent on the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is deleted, the data volume and associated PVC are also deleted.

Prerequisites

  • Determine the PVC of an existing virtual machine disk to use. You must power down the virtual machine that is associated with the PVC before you can clone it.
  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Examine the virtual machine you want to clone to identify the name and namespace of the associated PVC.
  2. Create a YAML file for a VirtualMachine object. The following virtual machine example clones my-favorite-vm-disk, which is located in the source-namespace namespace. The 2Gi data volume called favorite-clone is created from my-favorite-vm-disk.

    For example:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      labels:
        kubevirt.io/vm: vm-dv-clone
      name: vm-dv-clone 1
    spec:
      running: false
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            kubevirt.io/vm: vm-dv-clone
        spec:
          domain:
            devices:
              disks:
              - disk:
                  bus: virtio
                name: root-disk
            resources:
              requests:
                memory: 64M
          volumes:
          - dataVolume:
              name: favorite-clone
            name: root-disk
      dataVolumeTemplates:
      - metadata:
          name: favorite-clone
        spec:
          pvc:
            accessModes:
            - ReadWriteOnce
            resources:
              requests:
                storage: 2Gi
          source:
            pvc:
              namespace: "source-namespace"
              name: "my-favorite-vm-disk"
    1
    The virtual machine to create.
  3. Create the virtual machine with the PVC-cloned data volume:

    $ oc create -f <vm-clone-datavolumetemplate>.yaml

8.16.3.4. Template: Data volume virtual machine configuration file

example-dv-vm.yaml

apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
metadata:
  labels:
    kubevirt.io/vm: example-vm
  name: example-vm
spec:
  dataVolumeTemplates:
  - metadata:
      name: example-dv
    spec:
      pvc:
        accessModes:
        - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 1G
      source:
          http:
             url: "" 1
  running: false
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        kubevirt.io/vm: example-vm
    spec:
      domain:
        cpu:
          cores: 1
        devices:
          disks:
          - disk:
              bus: virtio
            name: example-dv-disk
        machine:
          type: q35
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: 1G
      terminationGracePeriodSeconds: 0
      volumes:
      - dataVolume:
          name: example-dv
        name: example-dv-disk
1
The HTTP source of the image you want to import, if applicable.

8.16.3.5. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

8.16.4. Cloning a virtual machine disk into a new block storage data volume

You can clone the persistent volume claim (PVC) of a virtual machine disk into a new block data volume by referencing the source PVC in your data volume configuration file.

Warning

Cloning operations between different volume modes are supported, such as cloning from a persistent volume (PV) with volumeMode: Block to a PV with volumeMode: Filesystem.

However, you can only clone between different volume modes if they are of the contentType: kubevirt.

Tip

When you enable preallocation globally, or for a single data volume, the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) preallocates disk space during cloning. Preallocation enhances write performance. For more information, see Using preallocation for data volumes.

8.16.4.1. Prerequisites

8.16.4.2. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.16.4.3. About block persistent volumes

A block persistent volume (PV) is a PV that is backed by a raw block device. These volumes do not have a file system and can provide performance benefits for virtual machines by reducing overhead.

Raw block volumes are provisioned by specifying volumeMode: Block in the PV and persistent volume claim (PVC) specification.

8.16.4.4. Creating a local block persistent volume

Create a local block persistent volume (PV) on a node by populating a file and mounting it as a loop device. You can then reference this loop device in a PV manifest as a Block volume and use it as a block device for a virtual machine image.

Procedure

  1. Log in as root to the node on which to create the local PV. This procedure uses node01 for its examples.
  2. Create a file and populate it with null characters so that it can be used as a block device. The following example creates a file loop10 with a size of 2Gb (20 100Mb blocks):

    $ dd if=/dev/zero of=<loop10> bs=100M count=20
  3. Mount the loop10 file as a loop device.

    $ losetup </dev/loop10>d3 <loop10> 1 2
    1
    File path where the loop device is mounted.
    2
    The file created in the previous step to be mounted as the loop device.
  4. Create a PersistentVolume manifest that references the mounted loop device.

    kind: PersistentVolume
    apiVersion: v1
    metadata:
      name: <local-block-pv10>
      annotations:
    spec:
      local:
        path: </dev/loop10> 1
      capacity:
        storage: <2Gi>
      volumeMode: Block 2
      storageClassName: local 3
      accessModes:
        - ReadWriteOnce
      persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy: Delete
      nodeAffinity:
        required:
          nodeSelectorTerms:
          - matchExpressions:
            - key: kubernetes.io/hostname
              operator: In
              values:
              - <node01> 4
    1
    The path of the loop device on the node.
    2
    Specifies it is a block PV.
    3
    Optional: Set a storage class for the PV. If you omit it, the cluster default is used.
    4
    The node on which the block device was mounted.
  5. Create the block PV.

    # oc create -f <local-block-pv10.yaml>1
    1
    The file name of the persistent volume created in the previous step.

8.16.4.5. Cloning the persistent volume claim of a virtual machine disk into a new data volume

You can clone a persistent volume claim (PVC) of an existing virtual machine disk into a new data volume. The new data volume can then be used for a new virtual machine.

Note

When a data volume is created independently of a virtual machine, the lifecycle of the data volume is independent of the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is deleted, neither the data volume nor its associated PVC is deleted.

Prerequisites

  • Determine the PVC of an existing virtual machine disk to use. You must power down the virtual machine that is associated with the PVC before you can clone it.
  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • At least one available block persistent volume (PV) that is the same size as or larger than the source PVC.

Procedure

  1. Examine the virtual machine disk you want to clone to identify the name and namespace of the associated PVC.
  2. Create a YAML file for a data volume that specifies the name of the new data volume, the name and namespace of the source PVC, volumeMode: Block so that an available block PV is used, and the size of the new data volume.

    For example:

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: <cloner-datavolume> 1
    spec:
      source:
        pvc:
          namespace: "<source-namespace>" 2
          name: "<my-favorite-vm-disk>" 3
      pvc:
        accessModes:
          - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: <2Gi> 4
        volumeMode: Block 5
    1
    The name of the new data volume.
    2
    The namespace where the source PVC exists.
    3
    The name of the source PVC.
    4
    The size of the new data volume. You must allocate enough space, or the cloning operation fails. The size must be the same as or larger than the source PVC.
    5
    Specifies that the destination is a block PV
  3. Start cloning the PVC by creating the data volume:

    $ oc create -f <cloner-datavolume>.yaml
    Note

    Data volumes prevent a virtual machine from starting before the PVC is prepared, so you can create a virtual machine that references the new data volume while the PVC clones.

8.16.4.6. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

8.17. Virtual machine networking

8.17.1. Configuring the virtual machine for the default pod network

You can connect a virtual machine to the default internal pod network by configuring its network interface to use the masquerade binding mode

8.17.1.1. Configuring masquerade mode from the command line

You can use masquerade mode to hide a virtual machine’s outgoing traffic behind the pod IP address. Masquerade mode uses Network Address Translation (NAT) to connect virtual machines to the pod network backend through a Linux bridge.

Enable masquerade mode and allow traffic to enter the virtual machine by editing your virtual machine configuration file.

Prerequisites

  • The virtual machine must be configured to use DHCP to acquire IPv4 addresses. The examples below are configured to use DHCP.

Procedure

  1. Edit the interfaces spec of your virtual machine configuration file:

    kind: VirtualMachine
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          interfaces:
            - name: default
              masquerade: {} 1
              ports: 2
                - port: 80
      networks:
      - name: default
        pod: {}
    1
    Connect using masquerade mode.
    2
    Optional: List the ports that you want to expose from the virtual machine, each specified by the port field. The port value must be a number between 0 and 65536. When the ports array is not used, all ports in the valid range are open to incoming traffic. In this example, incoming traffic is allowed on port 80.
    Note

    Ports 49152 and 49153 are reserved for use by the libvirt platform and all other incoming traffic to these ports is dropped.

  2. Create the virtual machine:

    $ oc create -f <vm-name>.yaml

8.17.1.2. Configuring masquerade mode with dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6)

You can configure a new virtual machine to use both IPv6 and IPv4 on the default pod network by using cloud-init.

The IPv6 network address must be statically set to fd10:0:2::2/120 with a default gateway of fd10:0:2::1 in the virtual machine configuration. These are used by the virt-launcher pod to route IPv6 traffic to the virtual machine and are not used externally.

When the virtual machine is running, incoming and outgoing traffic for the virtual machine is routed to both the IPv4 address and the unique IPv6 address of the virt-launcher pod. The virt-launcher pod then routes the IPv4 traffic to the DHCP address of the virtual machine, and the IPv6 traffic to the statically set IPv6 address of the virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • The OpenShift Container Platform cluster must use the OVN-Kubernetes Container Network Interface (CNI) network provider configured for dual-stack.

Procedure

  1. In a new virtual machine configuration, include an interface with masquerade and configure the IPv6 address and default gateway by using cloud-init.

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      name: example-vm-ipv6
    ...
              interfaces:
                - name: default
                  masquerade: {} 1
                  ports:
                    - port: 80 2
          networks:
          - name: default
            pod: {}
          volumes:
          - cloudInitNoCloud:
              networkData: |
                version: 2
                ethernets:
                  eth0:
                    dhcp4: true
                    addresses: [ fd10:0:2::2/120 ] 3
                    gateway6: fd10:0:2::1 4
    1
    Connect using masquerade mode.
    2
    Allows incoming traffic on port 80 to the virtual machine.
    3
    You must use the IPv6 address fd10:0:2::2/120.
    4
    You must use the gateway fd10:0:2::1.
  2. Create the virtual machine in the namespace:

    $ oc create -f example-vm-ipv6.yaml

Verification

  • To verify that IPv6 has been configured, start the virtual machine and view the interface status of the virtual machine instance to ensure it has an IPv6 address:
$ oc get vmi <vmi-name> -o jsonpath="{.status.interfaces[*].ipAddresses}"

8.17.2. Creating a service to expose a virtual machine

You can expose a virtual machine within the cluster or outside the cluster by using a Service object.

8.17.2.1. About services

A Kubernetes service is an abstract way to expose an application running on a set of pods as a network service. Services allow your applications to receive traffic. Services can be exposed in different ways by specifying a spec.type in the Service object:

ClusterIP
Exposes the service on an internal IP address within the cluster. ClusterIP is the default service type.
NodePort
Exposes the service on the same port of each selected node in the cluster. NodePort makes a service accessible from outside the cluster.
LoadBalancer
Creates an external load balancer in the current cloud (if supported) and assigns a fixed, external IP address to the service.
8.17.2.1.1. Dual-stack support

If IPv4 and IPv6 dual-stack networking is enabled for your cluster, you can create a service that uses IPv4, IPv6, or both, by defining the spec.ipFamilyPolicy and the spec.ipFamilies fields in the Service object.

The spec.ipFamilyPolicy field can be set to one of the following values:

SingleStack
The control plane assigns a cluster IP address for the service based on the first configured service cluster IP range.
PreferDualStack
The control plane assigns both IPv4 and IPv6 cluster IP addresses for the service on clusters that have dual-stack configured.
RequireDualStack
This option fails for clusters that do not have dual-stack networking enabled. For clusters that have dual-stack configured, the behavior is the same as when the value is set to PreferDualStack. The control plane allocates cluster IP addresses from both IPv4 and IPv6 address ranges.

You can define which IP family to use for single-stack or define the order of IP families for dual-stack by setting the spec.ipFamilies field to one of the following array values:

  • [IPv4]
  • [IPv6]
  • [IPv4, IPv6]
  • [IPv6, IPv4]

8.17.2.2. Exposing a virtual machine as a service

Create a ClusterIP, NodePort, or LoadBalancer service to connect to a running virtual machine (VM) from within or outside the cluster.

Procedure

  1. Edit the VirtualMachine manifest to add the label for service creation:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
      name: vm-ephemeral
      namespace: example-namespace
    spec:
      running: false
      template:
        metadata:
          labels:
            special: key 1
    # ...
    1
    Add the label special: key in the spec.template.metadata.labels section.
    Note

    Labels on a virtual machine are passed through to the pod. The special: key label must match the label in the spec.selector attribute of the Service manifest.

  2. Save the VirtualMachine manifest file to apply your changes.
  3. Create a Service manifest to expose the VM:

    apiVersion: v1
    kind: Service
    metadata:
      name: vmservice 1
      namespace: example-namespace 2
    spec:
      externalTrafficPolicy: Cluster 3
      ports:
      - nodePort: 30000 4
        port: 27017
        protocol: TCP
        targetPort: 22 5
      selector:
        special: key 6
      type: NodePort 7
    1
    The name of the Service object.
    2
    The namespace where the Service object resides. This must match the metadata.namespace field of the VirtualMachine manifest.
    3
    Optional: Specifies how the nodes distribute service traffic that is received on external IP addresses. This only applies to NodePort and LoadBalancer service types. The default value is Cluster which routes traffic evenly to all cluster endpoints.
    4
    Optional: When set, the nodePort value must be unique across all services. If not specified, a value in the range above 30000 is dynamically allocated.
    5
    Optional: The VM port to be exposed by the service. It must reference an open port if a port list is defined in the VM manifest. If targetPort is not specified, it takes the same value as port.
    6
    The reference to the label that you added in the spec.template.metadata.labels stanza of the VirtualMachine manifest.
    7
    The type of service. Possible values are ClusterIP, NodePort and LoadBalancer.
  4. Save the Service manifest file.
  5. Create the service by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f <service_name>.yaml
  6. Start the VM. If the VM is already running, restart it.

Verification

  1. Query the Service object to verify that it is available:

    $ oc get service -n example-namespace

    Example output for ClusterIP service

    NAME        TYPE        CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)     AGE
    vmservice   ClusterIP   172.30.3.149   <none>        27017/TCP   2m

    Example output for NodePort service

    NAME        TYPE        CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)            AGE
    vmservice   NodePort    172.30.232.73   <none>       27017:30000/TCP    5m

    Example output for LoadBalancer service

    NAME        TYPE            CLUSTER-IP     EXTERNAL-IP                    PORT(S)           AGE
    vmservice   LoadBalancer    172.30.27.5   172.29.10.235,172.29.10.235     27017:31829/TCP   5s

  2. Choose the appropriate method to connect to the virtual machine:

    • For a ClusterIP service, connect to the VM from within the cluster by using the service IP address and the service port. For example:

      $ ssh fedora@172.30.3.149 -p 27017
    • For a NodePort service, connect to the VM by specifying the node IP address and the node port outside the cluster network. For example:

      $ ssh fedora@$NODE_IP -p 30000
    • For a LoadBalancer service, use the vinagre client to connect to your virtual machine by using the public IP address and port. External ports are dynamically allocated.

8.17.2.3. Additional resources

8.17.3. Attaching a virtual machine to a Linux bridge network

By default, OpenShift Virtualization is installed with a single, internal pod network.

You must create a Linux bridge network attachment definition (NAD) in order to connect to additional networks.

To attach a virtual machine to an additional network:

  1. Create a Linux bridge node network configuration policy.
  2. Create a Linux bridge network attachment definition.
  3. Configure the virtual machine, enabling the virtual machine to recognize the network attachment definition.

For more information about scheduling, interface types, and other node networking activities, see the node networking section.

8.17.3.1. Connecting to the network through the network attachment definition

8.17.3.1.1. Creating a Linux bridge node network configuration policy

Use a NodeNetworkConfigurationPolicy manifest YAML file to create the Linux bridge.

Procedure

  • Create the NodeNetworkConfigurationPolicy manifest. This example includes sample values that you must replace with your own information.

    apiVersion: nmstate.io/v1
    kind: NodeNetworkConfigurationPolicy
    metadata:
      name: br1-eth1-policy 1
    spec:
      desiredState:
        interfaces:
          - name: br1 2
            description: Linux bridge with eth1 as a port 3
            type: linux-bridge 4
            state: up 5
            ipv4:
              enabled: false 6
            bridge:
              options:
                stp:
                  enabled: false 7
              port:
                - name: eth1 8
    1
    Name of the policy.
    2
    Name of the interface.
    3
    Optional: Human-readable description of the interface.
    4
    The type of interface. This example creates a bridge.
    5
    The requested state for the interface after creation.
    6
    Disables IPv4 in this example.
    7
    Disables STP in this example.
    8
    The node NIC to which the bridge is attached.

8.17.3.2. Creating a Linux bridge network attachment definition

8.17.3.2.1. Prerequisites
  • A Linux bridge must be configured and attached on every node. See the node networking section for more information.
Warning

Configuring IP address management (IPAM) in a network attachment definition for virtual machines is not supported.

8.17.3.2.2. Creating a Linux bridge network attachment definition in the web console

The network attachment definition is a custom resource that exposes layer-2 devices to a specific namespace in your OpenShift Virtualization cluster.

Network administrators can create network attachment definitions to provide existing layer-2 networking to pods and virtual machines.

Procedure

  1. In the web console, click Networking Network Attachment Definitions.
  2. Click Create Network Attachment Definition.

    Note

    The network attachment definition must be in the same namespace as the pod or virtual machine.

  3. Enter a unique Name and optional Description.
  4. Click the Network Type list and select CNV Linux bridge.
  5. Enter the name of the bridge in the Bridge Name field.
  6. Optional: If the resource has VLAN IDs configured, enter the ID numbers in the VLAN Tag Number field.
  7. Optional: Select MAC Spoof Check to enable MAC spoof filtering. This feature provides security against a MAC spoofing attack by allowing only a single MAC address to exit the pod.
  8. Click Create.

    Note

    A Linux bridge network attachment definition is the most efficient method for connecting a virtual machine to a VLAN.

8.17.3.2.3. Creating a Linux bridge network attachment definition in the CLI

As a network administrator, you can configure a network attachment definition of type cnv-bridge to provide layer-2 networking to pods and virtual machines.

Note

The network attachment definition must be in the same namespace as the pod or virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Create a network attachment definition in the same namespace as the virtual machine.
  2. Add the virtual machine to the network attachment definition, as in the following example:

    apiVersion: "k8s.cni.cncf.io/v1"
    kind: NetworkAttachmentDefinition
    metadata:
      name: <bridge-network> 1
      annotations:
        k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/resourceName: bridge.network.kubevirt.io/<bridge-interface> 2
    spec:
      config: '{
        "cniVersion": "0.3.1",
        "name": "<bridge-network>", 3
        "type": "cnv-bridge", 4
        "bridge": "<bridge-interface>", 5
        "macspoofchk": true, 6
        "vlan": 1 7
      }'
    1
    The name for the NetworkAttachmentDefinition object.
    2
    Optional: Annotation key-value pair for node selection, where bridge-interface is the name of a bridge configured on some nodes. If you add this annotation to your network attachment definition, your virtual machine instances will only run on the nodes that have the bridge-interface bridge connected.
    3
    The name for the configuration. It is recommended to match the configuration name to the name value of the network attachment definition.
    4
    The actual name of the Container Network Interface (CNI) plugin that provides the network for this network attachment definition. Do not change this field unless you want to use a different CNI.
    5
    The name of the Linux bridge configured on the node.
    6
    Optional: Flag to enable MAC spoof check. When set to true, you cannot change the MAC address of the pod or guest interface. This attribute provides security against a MAC spoofing attack by allowing only a single MAC address to exit the pod.
    7
    Optional: The VLAN tag. No additional VLAN configuration is required on the node network configuration policy.
    Note

    A Linux bridge network attachment definition is the most efficient method for connecting a virtual machine to a VLAN.

  3. Create the network attachment definition:

    $ oc create -f <network-attachment-definition.yaml> 1
    1
    Where <network-attachment-definition.yaml> is the file name of the network attachment definition manifest.

Verification

  • Verify that the network attachment definition was created by running the following command:

    $ oc get network-attachment-definition <bridge-network>

8.17.3.3. Configuring the virtual machine for a Linux bridge network

8.17.3.3.1. Creating a NIC for a virtual machine in the web console

Create and attach additional NICs to a virtual machine from the web console.

Procedure

  1. In the correct project in the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click Network Interfaces to display the NICs already attached to the virtual machine.
  5. Click Add Network Interface to create a new slot in the list.
  6. Use the Network drop-down list to select the network attachment definition for the additional network.
  7. Fill in the Name, Model, Type, and MAC Address for the new NIC.
  8. Click Add to save and attach the NIC to the virtual machine.
8.17.3.3.2. Networking fields
NameDescription

Name

Name for the network interface controller.

Model

Indicates the model of the network interface controller. Supported values are e1000e and virtio.

Network

List of available network attachment definitions.

Type

List of available binding methods. For the default pod network, masquerade is the only recommended binding method. For secondary networks, use the bridge binding method. The masquerade method is not supported for non-default networks. Select SR-IOV if you configured an SR-IOV network device and defined that network in the namespace.

MAC Address

MAC address for the network interface controller. If a MAC address is not specified, one is assigned automatically.

8.17.3.3.3. Attaching a virtual machine to an additional network in the CLI

Attach a virtual machine to an additional network by adding a bridge interface and specifying a network attachment definition in the virtual machine configuration.

This procedure uses a YAML file to demonstrate editing the configuration and applying the updated file to the cluster. You can alternatively use the oc edit <object> <name> command to edit an existing virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • Shut down the virtual machine before editing the configuration. If you edit a running virtual machine, you must restart the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.

Procedure

  1. Create or edit a configuration of a virtual machine that you want to connect to the bridge network.
  2. Add the bridge interface to the spec.template.spec.domain.devices.interfaces list and the network attachment definition to the spec.template.spec.networks list. This example adds a bridge interface called bridge-net that connects to the a-bridge-network network attachment definition:

    apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
    kind: VirtualMachine
    metadata:
        name: <example-vm>
    spec:
      template:
        spec:
          domain:
            devices:
              interfaces:
                - masquerade: {}
                  name: <default>
                - bridge: {}
                  name: <bridge-net> 1
    ...
          networks:
            - name: <default>
              pod: {}
            - name: <bridge-net> 2
              multus:
                networkName: <network-namespace>/<a-bridge-network> 3
    ...
    1
    The name of the bridge interface.
    2
    The name of the network. This value must match the name value of the corresponding spec.template.spec.domain.devices.interfaces entry.
    3
    The name of the network attachment definition, prefixed by the namespace where it exists. The namespace must be either the default namespace or the same namespace where the VM is to be created. In this case, multus is used. Multus is a cloud network interface (CNI) plugin that allows multiple CNIs to exist so that a pod or virtual machine can use the interfaces it needs.
  3. Apply the configuration:

    $ oc apply -f <example-vm.yaml>
  4. Optional: If you edited a running virtual machine, you must restart it for the changes to take effect.

8.17.4. Configuring IP addresses for virtual machines

You can configure either dynamically or statically provisioned IP addresses for virtual machines.

Prerequisites

  • The virtual machine must connect to an external network.
  • You must have a DHCP server available on the additional network to configure a dynamic IP for the virtual machine.

8.17.4.1. Configuring an IP address for a new virtual machine using cloud-init

You can use cloud-init to configure an IP address when you create a virtual machine. The IP address can be dynamically or statically provisioned.

Procedure

  • Create a virtual machine configuration and include the cloud-init network details in the spec.volumes.cloudInitNoCloud.networkData field of the virtual machine configuration:

    1. To configure a dynamic IP, specify the interface name and the dhcp4 boolean:

      kind: VirtualMachine
      spec:
      ...
        volumes:
        - cloudInitNoCloud:
            networkData: |
              version: 2
              ethernets:
                eth1: 1
                  dhcp4: true 2
      1
      The interface name.
      2
      Uses DHCP to provision an IPv4 address.
    2. To configure a static IP, specify the interface name and the IP address:

      kind: VirtualMachine
      spec:
      ...
        volumes:
        - cloudInitNoCloud:
            networkData: |
              version: 2
              ethernets:
                eth1: 1
                  addresses:
                  - 10.10.10.14/24 2
      1
      The interface name.
      2
      The static IP address for the virtual machine.

8.17.5. Configuring an SR-IOV network device for virtual machines

You can configure a Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) device for virtual machines in your cluster. This process is similar but not identical to configuring an SR-IOV device for OpenShift Container Platform.

Note

Live migration is supported for virtual machines that are attached to an SR-IOV network interface only if the sriovLiveMigration feature gate is enabled in the HyperConverged Cluster custom resource (CR). When the spec.featureGates.sriovLiveMigration field is set to true, the virt-launcher pod runs with the SYS_RESOURCE capability. This might degrade its security.

8.17.5.1. Prerequisites

8.17.5.2. Automated discovery of SR-IOV network devices

The SR-IOV Network Operator searches your cluster for SR-IOV capable network devices on worker nodes. The Operator creates and updates a SriovNetworkNodeState custom resource (CR) for each worker node that provides a compatible SR-IOV network device.

The CR is assigned the same name as the worker node. The status.interfaces list provides information about the network devices on a node.

Important

Do not modify a SriovNetworkNodeState object. The Operator creates and manages these resources automatically.

8.17.5.2.1. Example SriovNetworkNodeState object

The following YAML is an example of a SriovNetworkNodeState object created by the SR-IOV Network Operator:

An SriovNetworkNodeState object

apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetworkNodeState
metadata:
  name: node-25 1
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator
  ownerReferences:
  - apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    blockOwnerDeletion: true
    controller: true
    kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
    name: default
spec:
  dpConfigVersion: "39824"
status:
  interfaces: 2
  - deviceID: "1017"
    driver: mlx5_core
    mtu: 1500
    name: ens785f0
    pciAddress: "0000:18:00.0"
    totalvfs: 8
    vendor: 15b3
  - deviceID: "1017"
    driver: mlx5_core
    mtu: 1500
    name: ens785f1
    pciAddress: "0000:18:00.1"
    totalvfs: 8
    vendor: 15b3
  - deviceID: 158b
    driver: i40e
    mtu: 1500
    name: ens817f0
    pciAddress: 0000:81:00.0
    totalvfs: 64
    vendor: "8086"
  - deviceID: 158b
    driver: i40e
    mtu: 1500
    name: ens817f1
    pciAddress: 0000:81:00.1
    totalvfs: 64
    vendor: "8086"
  - deviceID: 158b
    driver: i40e
    mtu: 1500
    name: ens803f0
    pciAddress: 0000:86:00.0
    totalvfs: 64
    vendor: "8086"
  syncStatus: Succeeded

1
The value of the name field is the same as the name of the worker node.
2
The interfaces stanza includes a list of all of the SR-IOV devices discovered by the Operator on the worker node.

8.17.5.3. Configuring SR-IOV network devices

The SR-IOV Network Operator adds the SriovNetworkNodePolicy.sriovnetwork.openshift.io CustomResourceDefinition to OpenShift Container Platform. You can configure an SR-IOV network device by creating a SriovNetworkNodePolicy custom resource (CR).

Note

When applying the configuration specified in a SriovNetworkNodePolicy object, the SR-IOV Operator might drain the nodes, and in some cases, reboot nodes.

It might take several minutes for a configuration change to apply.

Prerequisites

  • You installed the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • You have access to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.
  • You have installed the SR-IOV Network Operator.
  • You have enough available nodes in your cluster to handle the evicted workload from drained nodes.
  • You have not selected any control plane nodes for SR-IOV network device configuration.

Procedure

  1. Create an SriovNetworkNodePolicy object, and then save the YAML in the <name>-sriov-node-network.yaml file. Replace <name> with the name for this configuration.

    apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
    kind: SriovNetworkNodePolicy
    metadata:
      name: <name> 1
      namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator 2
    spec:
      resourceName: <sriov_resource_name> 3
      nodeSelector:
        feature.node.kubernetes.io/network-sriov.capable: "true" 4
      priority: <priority> 5
      mtu: <mtu> 6
      numVfs: <num> 7
      nicSelector: 8
        vendor: "<vendor_code>" 9
        deviceID: "<device_id>" 10
        pfNames: ["<pf_name>", ...] 11
        rootDevices: ["<pci_bus_id>", "..."] 12
      deviceType: vfio-pci 13
      isRdma: false 14
    1
    Specify a name for the CR object.
    2
    Specify the namespace where the SR-IOV Operator is installed.
    3
    Specify the resource name of the SR-IOV device plugin. You can create multiple SriovNetworkNodePolicy objects for a resource name.
    4
    Specify the node selector to select which nodes are configured. Only SR-IOV network devices on selected nodes are configured. The SR-IOV Container Network Interface (CNI) plugin and device plugin are deployed only on selected nodes.
    5
    Optional: Specify an integer value between 0 and 99. A smaller number gets higher priority, so a priority of 10 is higher than a priority of 99. The default value is 99.
    6
    Optional: Specify a value for the maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the virtual function. The maximum MTU value can vary for different NIC models.
    7
    Specify the number of the virtual functions (VF) to create for the SR-IOV physical network device. For an Intel network interface controller (NIC), the number of VFs cannot be larger than the total VFs supported by the device. For a Mellanox NIC, the number of VFs cannot be larger than 128.
    8
    The nicSelector mapping selects the Ethernet device for the Operator to configure. You do not need to specify values for all the parameters. It is recommended to identify the Ethernet adapter with enough precision to minimize the possibility of selecting an Ethernet device unintentionally. If you specify rootDevices, you must also specify a value for vendor, deviceID, or pfNames. If you specify both pfNames and rootDevices at the same time, ensure that they point to an identical device.
    9
    Optional: Specify the vendor hex code of the SR-IOV network device. The only allowed values are either 8086 or 15b3.
    10
    Optional: Specify the device hex code of SR-IOV network device. The only allowed values are 158b, 1015, 1017.
    11
    Optional: The parameter accepts an array of one or more physical function (PF) names for the Ethernet device.
    12
    The parameter accepts an array of one or more PCI bus addresses for the physical function of the Ethernet device. Provide the address in the following format: 0000:02:00.1.
    13
    The vfio-pci driver type is required for virtual functions in OpenShift Virtualization.
    14
    Optional: Specify whether to enable remote direct memory access (RDMA) mode. For a Mellanox card, set isRdma to false. The default value is false.
    Note

    If isRDMA flag is set to true, you can continue to use the RDMA enabled VF as a normal network device. A device can be used in either mode.

  2. Optional: Label the SR-IOV capable cluster nodes with SriovNetworkNodePolicy.Spec.NodeSelector if they are not already labeled. For more information about labeling nodes, see "Understanding how to update labels on nodes".
  3. Create the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object:

    $ oc create -f <name>-sriov-node-network.yaml

    where <name> specifies the name for this configuration.

    After applying the configuration update, all the pods in sriov-network-operator namespace transition to the Running status.

  4. To verify that the SR-IOV network device is configured, enter the following command. Replace <node_name> with the name of a node with the SR-IOV network device that you just configured.

    $ oc get sriovnetworknodestates -n openshift-sriov-network-operator <node_name> -o jsonpath='{.status.syncStatus}'

8.17.5.4. Next steps

8.17.6. Defining an SR-IOV network

You can create a network attachment for a Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) device for virtual machines.

After the network is defined, you can attach virtual machines to the SR-IOV network.

8.17.6.1. Prerequisites

8.17.6.2. Configuring SR-IOV additional network

You can configure an additional network that uses SR-IOV hardware by creating a SriovNetwork object. When you create a SriovNetwork object, the SR-IOV Operator automatically creates a NetworkAttachmentDefinition object.

Users can then attach virtual machines to the SR-IOV network by specifying the network in the virtual machine configurations.

Note

Do not modify or delete a SriovNetwork object if it is attached to any pods or virtual machines in the running state.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • Log in as a user with cluster-admin privileges.

Procedure

  1. Create the following SriovNetwork object, and then save the YAML in the <name>-sriov-network.yaml file. Replace <name> with a name for this additional network.
apiVersion: sriovnetwork.openshift.io/v1
kind: SriovNetwork
metadata:
  name: <name> 1
  namespace: openshift-sriov-network-operator 2
spec:
  resourceName: <sriov_resource_name> 3
  networkNamespace: <target_namespace> 4
  vlan: <vlan> 5
  spoofChk: "<spoof_check>" 6
  linkState: <link_state> 7
  maxTxRate: <max_tx_rate> 8
  minTxRate: <min_rx_rate> 9
  vlanQoS: <vlan_qos> 10
  trust: "<trust_vf>" 11
  capabilities: <capabilities> 12
1
Replace <name> with a name for the object. The SR-IOV Network Operator creates a NetworkAttachmentDefinition object with same name.
2
Specify the namespace where the SR-IOV Network Operator is installed.
3
Replace <sriov_resource_name> with the value for the .spec.resourceName parameter from the SriovNetworkNodePolicy object that defines the SR-IOV hardware for this additional network.
4
Replace <target_namespace> with the target namespace for the SriovNetwork. Only pods or virtual machines in the target namespace can attach to the SriovNetwork.
5
Optional: Replace <vlan> with a Virtual LAN (VLAN) ID for the additional network. The integer value must be from 0 to 4095. The default value is 0.
6
Optional: Replace <spoof_check> with the spoof check mode of the VF. The allowed values are the strings "on" and "off".
Important

You must enclose the value you specify in quotes or the CR is rejected by the SR-IOV Network Operator.

7
Optional: Replace <link_state> with the link state of virtual function (VF). Allowed value are enable, disable and auto.
8
Optional: Replace <max_tx_rate> with a maximum transmission rate, in Mbps, for the VF.
9
Optional: Replace <min_tx_rate> with a minimum transmission rate, in Mbps, for the VF. This value should always be less than or equal to Maximum transmission rate.
Note

Intel NICs do not support the minTxRate parameter. For more information, see BZ#1772847.

10
Optional: Replace <vlan_qos> with an IEEE 802.1p priority level for the VF. The default value is 0.
11
Optional: Replace <trust_vf> with the trust mode of the VF. The allowed values are the strings "on" and "off".
Important

You must enclose the value you specify in quotes or the CR is rejected by the SR-IOV Network Operator.

12
Optional: Replace <capabilities> with the capabilities to configure for this network.
  1. To create the object, enter the following command. Replace <name> with a name for this additional network.

    $ oc create -f <name>-sriov-network.yaml
  2. Optional: To confirm that the NetworkAttachmentDefinition object associated with the SriovNetwork object that you created in the previous step exists, enter the following command. Replace <namespace> with the namespace you specified in the SriovNetwork object.

    $ oc get net-attach-def -n <namespace>

8.17.6.3. Next steps

8.17.7. Attaching a virtual machine to an SR-IOV network

You can attach a virtual machine to use a Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) network as a secondary network.

8.17.7.1. Prerequisites

8.17.7.2. Attaching a virtual machine to an SR-IOV network

You can attach the virtual machine to the SR-IOV network by including the network details in the virtual machine configuration.

Procedure

  1. Include the SR-IOV network details in the spec.domain.devices.interfaces and spec.networks of the virtual machine configuration:

    kind: VirtualMachine
    ...
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          interfaces:
          - name: <default> 1
            masquerade: {} 2
          - name: <nic1> 3
            sriov: {}
      networks:
      - name: <default> 4
        pod: {}
      - name: <nic1> 5
        multus:
            networkName: <sriov-network> 6
    ...
    1
    A unique name for the interface that is connected to the pod network.
    2
    The masquerade binding to the default pod network.
    3
    A unique name for the SR-IOV interface.
    4
    The name of the pod network interface. This must be the same as the interfaces.name that you defined earlier.
    5
    The name of the SR-IOV interface. This must be the same as the interfaces.name that you defined earlier.
    6
    The name of the SR-IOV network attachment definition.
  2. Apply the virtual machine configuration:

    $ oc apply -f <vm-sriov.yaml> 1
    1
    The name of the virtual machine YAML file.

8.17.8. Viewing the IP address of NICs on a virtual machine

You can view the IP address for a network interface controller (NIC) by using the web console or the oc client. The QEMU guest agent displays additional information about the virtual machine’s secondary networks.

8.17.8.1. Viewing the IP address of a virtual machine interface in the CLI

The network interface configuration is included in the oc describe vmi <vmi_name> command.

You can also view the IP address information by running ip addr on the virtual machine, or by running oc get vmi <vmi_name> -o yaml.

Procedure

  • Use the oc describe command to display the virtual machine interface configuration:

    $ oc describe vmi <vmi_name>

    Example output

    ...
    Interfaces:
       Interface Name:  eth0
       Ip Address:      10.244.0.37/24
       Ip Addresses:
         10.244.0.37/24
         fe80::858:aff:fef4:25/64
       Mac:             0a:58:0a:f4:00:25
       Name:            default
       Interface Name:  v2
       Ip Address:      1.1.1.7/24
       Ip Addresses:
         1.1.1.7/24
         fe80::f4d9:70ff:fe13:9089/64
       Mac:             f6:d9:70:13:90:89
       Interface Name:  v1
       Ip Address:      1.1.1.1/24
       Ip Addresses:
         1.1.1.1/24
         1.1.1.2/24
         1.1.1.4/24
         2001:de7:0:f101::1/64
         2001:db8:0:f101::1/64
         fe80::1420:84ff:fe10:17aa/64
       Mac:             16:20:84:10:17:aa

8.17.8.2. Viewing the IP address of a virtual machine interface in the web console

The IP information displays in the Virtual Machine Overview screen for the virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine name to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.

The information for each attached NIC is displayed under IP Address.

8.17.9. Using a MAC address pool for virtual machines

The KubeMacPool component provides a MAC address pool service for virtual machine NICs in a namespace.

8.17.9.1. About KubeMacPool

KubeMacPool provides a MAC address pool per namespace and allocates MAC addresses for virtual machine NICs from the pool. This ensures that the NIC is assigned a unique MAC address that does not conflict with the MAC address of another virtual machine.

Virtual machine instances created from that virtual machine retain the assigned MAC address across reboots.

Note

KubeMacPool does not handle virtual machine instances created independently from a virtual machine.

KubeMacPool is enabled by default when you install OpenShift Virtualization. You can disable a MAC address pool for a namespace by adding the mutatevirtualmachines.kubemacpool.io=ignore label to the namespace. Re-enable KubeMacPool for the namespace by removing the label.

8.17.9.2. Disabling a MAC address pool for a namespace in the CLI

Disable a MAC address pool for virtual machines in a namespace by adding the mutatevirtualmachines.kubemacpool.io=ignore label to the namespace.

Procedure

  • Add the mutatevirtualmachines.kubemacpool.io=ignore label to the namespace. The following example disables KubeMacPool for two namespaces, <namespace1> and <namespace2>:

    $ oc label namespace <namespace1> <namespace2> mutatevirtualmachines.kubemacpool.io=ignore

8.17.9.3. Re-enabling a MAC address pool for a namespace in the CLI

If you disabled KubeMacPool for a namespace and want to re-enable it, remove the mutatevirtualmachines.kubemacpool.io=ignore label from the namespace.

Note

Earlier versions of OpenShift Virtualization used the label mutatevirtualmachines.kubemacpool.io=allocate to enable KubeMacPool for a namespace. This is still supported but redundant as KubeMacPool is now enabled by default.

Procedure

  • Remove the KubeMacPool label from the namespace. The following example re-enables KubeMacPool for two namespaces, <namespace1> and <namespace2>:

    $ oc label namespace <namespace1> <namespace2> mutatevirtualmachines.kubemacpool.io-

8.18. Virtual machine disks

8.18.1. Storage features

Use the following table to determine feature availability for local and shared persistent storage in OpenShift Virtualization.

8.18.1.1. OpenShift Virtualization storage feature matrix

Table 8.7. OpenShift Virtualization storage feature matrix
 Virtual machine live migrationHost-assisted virtual machine disk cloningStorage-assisted virtual machine disk cloningVirtual machine snapshots

OpenShift Container Storage: RBD block-mode volumes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

OpenShift Virtualization hostpath provisioner

No

Yes

No

No

Other multi-node writable storage

Yes [1]

Yes

Yes [2]

Yes [2]

Other single-node writable storage

No

Yes

Yes [2]

Yes [2]

  1. PVCs must request a ReadWriteMany access mode.
  2. Storage provider must support both Kubernetes and CSI snapshot APIs
Note

You cannot live migrate virtual machines that use:

  • A storage class with ReadWriteOnce (RWO) access mode
  • Passthrough features such as GPUs or SR-IOV network interfaces that have the sriovLiveMigration feature gate disabled

Do not set the evictionStrategy field to LiveMigrate for these virtual machines.

8.18.2. Configuring local storage for virtual machines

You can configure local storage for your virtual machines by using the hostpath provisioner feature.

8.18.2.1. About the hostpath provisioner

The hostpath provisioner is a local storage provisioner designed for OpenShift Virtualization. If you want to configure local storage for virtual machines, you must enable the hostpath provisioner first.

When you install the OpenShift Virtualization Operator, the hostpath provisioner Operator is automatically installed. To use it, you must:

  • Configure SELinux:

    • If you use Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) 8 workers, you must create a MachineConfig object on each node.
    • Otherwise, apply the SELinux label container_file_t to the persistent volume (PV) backing directory on each node.
  • Create a HostPathProvisioner custom resource.
  • Create a StorageClass object for the hostpath provisioner.

The hostpath provisioner Operator deploys the provisioner as a DaemonSet on each node when you create its custom resource. In the custom resource file, you specify the backing directory for the persistent volumes that the hostpath provisioner creates.

8.18.2.2. Configuring SELinux for the hostpath provisioner on Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) 8

You must configure SELinux before you create the HostPathProvisioner custom resource. To configure SELinux on Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) 8 workers, you must create a MachineConfig object on each node.

Prerequisites

  • Create a backing directory on each node for the persistent volumes (PVs) that the hostpath provisioner creates.

    Important

    The backing directory must not be located in the filesystem’s root directory because the / partition is read-only on RHCOS. For example, you can use /var/<directory_name> but not /<directory_name>.

    Warning

    If you select a directory that shares space with your operating system, you might exhaust the space on that partition and your node might become non-functional. Create a separate partition and point the hostpath provisioner to the separate partition to avoid interference with your operating system.

Procedure

  1. Create the MachineConfig file. For example:

    $ touch machineconfig.yaml
  2. Edit the file, ensuring that you include the directory where you want the hostpath provisioner to create PVs. For example:

    apiVersion: machineconfiguration.openshift.io/v1
    kind: MachineConfig
    metadata:
      name: 50-set-selinux-for-hostpath-provisioner
      labels:
        machineconfiguration.openshift.io/role: worker
    spec:
      config:
        ignition:
          version: 3.2.0
        systemd:
          units:
            - contents: |
                [Unit]
                Description=Set SELinux chcon for hostpath provisioner
                Before=kubelet.service
    
                [Service]
                ExecStart=/usr/bin/chcon -Rt container_file_t <backing_directory_path> 1
    
                [Install]
                WantedBy=multi-user.target
              enabled: true
              name: hostpath-provisioner.service
    1
    Specify the backing directory where you want the provisioner to create PVs. This directory must not be located in the filesystem’s root directory (/).
  3. Create the MachineConfig object:

    $ oc create -f machineconfig.yaml -n <namespace>

8.18.2.3. Using the hostpath provisioner to enable local storage

To deploy the hostpath provisioner and enable your virtual machines to use local storage, first create a HostPathProvisioner custom resource.

Prerequisites

  • Create a backing directory on each node for the persistent volumes (PVs) that the hostpath provisioner creates.

    Important

    The backing directory must not be located in the filesystem’s root directory because the / partition is read-only on Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS). For example, you can use /var/<directory_name> but not /<directory_name>.

    Warning

    If you select a directory that shares space with your operating system, you might exhaust the space on that partition and your node becomes non-functional. Create a separate partition and point the hostpath provisioner to the separate partition to avoid interference with your operating system.

  • Apply the SELinux context container_file_t to the PV backing directory on each node. For example:

    $ sudo chcon -t container_file_t -R <backing_directory_path>
    Note

    If you use Red Hat Enterprise Linux CoreOS (RHCOS) 8 workers, you must configure SELinux by using a MachineConfig manifest instead.

Procedure

  1. Create the HostPathProvisioner custom resource file. For example:

    $ touch hostpathprovisioner_cr.yaml
  2. Edit the file, ensuring that the spec.pathConfig.path value is the directory where you want the hostpath provisioner to create PVs. For example:

    apiVersion: hostpathprovisioner.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: HostPathProvisioner
    metadata:
      name: hostpath-provisioner
    spec:
      imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
      pathConfig:
        path: "<backing_directory_path>" 1
        useNamingPrefix: false 2
      workload: 3
    1
    Specify the backing directory where you want the provisioner to create PVs. This directory must not be located in the filesystem’s root directory (/).
    2
    Change this value to true if you want to use the name of the persistent volume claim (PVC) that is bound to the created PV as the prefix of the directory name.
    3
    Optional: You can use the spec.workload field to configure node placement rules for the hostpath provisioner.
    Note

    If you did not create the backing directory, the provisioner attempts to create it for you. If you did not apply the container_file_t SELinux context, this can cause Permission denied errors.

  3. Create the custom resource in the openshift-cnv namespace:

    $ oc create -f hostpathprovisioner_cr.yaml -n openshift-cnv

8.18.2.4. Creating a storage class

When you create a storage class, you set parameters that affect the dynamic provisioning of persistent volumes (PVs) that belong to that storage class. You cannot update a StorageClass object’s parameters after you create it.

Important

When using OpenShift Virtualization with OpenShift Container Platform Container Storage, specify RBD block mode persistent volume claims (PVCs) when creating virtual machine disks. With virtual machine disks, RBD block mode volumes are more efficient and provide better performance than Ceph FS or RBD filesystem-mode PVCs.

To specify RBD block mode PVCs, use the 'ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd' storage class and VolumeMode: Block.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file for defining the storage class. For example:

    $ touch storageclass.yaml
  2. Edit the file. For example:

    apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
    kind: StorageClass
    metadata:
      name: hostpath-provisioner 1
    provisioner: kubevirt.io/hostpath-provisioner
    reclaimPolicy: Delete 2
    volumeBindingMode: WaitForFirstConsumer 3
    1
    You can optionally rename the storage class by changing this value.
    2
    The two possible reclaimPolicy values are Delete and Retain. If you do not specify a value, the storage class defaults to Delete.
    3
    The volumeBindingMode value determines when dynamic provisioning and volume binding occur. Specify WaitForFirstConsumer to delay the binding and provisioning of a PV until after a pod that uses the persistent volume claim (PVC) is created. This ensures that the PV meets the pod’s scheduling requirements.
    Note

    Virtual machines use data volumes that are based on local PVs. Local PVs are bound to specific nodes. While the disk image is prepared for consumption by the virtual machine, it is possible that the virtual machine cannot be scheduled to the node where the local storage PV was previously pinned.

    To solve this problem, use the Kubernetes pod scheduler to bind the PVC to a PV on the correct node. By using StorageClass with volumeBindingMode set to WaitForFirstConsumer, the binding and provisioning of the PV is delayed until a Pod is created using the PVC.

  3. Create the StorageClass object:

    $ oc create -f storageclass.yaml

Additional resources

8.18.3. Creating data volumes using profiles

When you create a data volume, the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) creates a persistent volume claim (PVC) and populates the PVC with your data. You can create a data volume as either a standalone resource or by using a dataVolumeTemplate resource in a virtual machine specification. You create a data volume by using either the PVC API or storage APIs.

Important

When using OpenShift Virtualization with OpenShift Container Platform Container Storage, specify RBD block mode persistent volume claims (PVCs) when creating virtual machine disks. With virtual machine disks, RBD block mode volumes are more efficient and provide better performance than Ceph FS or RBD filesystem-mode PVCs.

To specify RBD block mode PVCs, use the 'ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd' storage class and VolumeMode: Block.

Tip

Whenever possible, use the storage API to optimize space allocation and maximize performance.

A storage profile is a custom resource that the CDI manages. It provides recommended storage settings based on the associated storage class. A storage profile is allocated for each storage class.

Storage profiles enable you to create data volumes quickly while reducing coding and minimizing potential errors.

For recognized storage types, the CDI provides values that optimize the creation of PVCs. However, you can configure automatic settings for a storage class if you customize the storage profile.

8.18.3.1. Creating data volumes using the storage API

When you create a data volume using the storage API, the Containerized Data Interface (CDI) optimizes your persistent volume claim (PVC) allocation based on the type of storage supported by your selected storage class. You only have to specify the data volume name, namespace, and the amount of storage that you want to allocate.

For example:

  • When using Ceph RBD, accessModes is automatically set to ReadWriteMany, which enables live migration. volumeMode is set to Block to maximize performance.
  • When you are using volumeMode: Filesystem, more space will automatically be requested by the CDI, if required to accommodate file system overhead.

In the following YAML, using the storage API requests a data volume with two gigabytes of usable space. The user does not need to know the volumeMode in order to correctly estimate the required persistent volume claim (PVC) size. The CDI chooses the optimal combination of accessModes and volumeMode attributes automatically. These optimal values are based on the type of storage or the defaults that you define in your storage profile. If you want to provide custom values, they override the system-calculated values.

Example DataVolume definition

apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: DataVolume
metadata:
  name: <datavolume> 1
spec:
  source:
    pvc: 2
      namespace: "<source_namespace>" 3
      name: "<my_vm_disk>" 4
  storage: 5
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: 2Gi 6
    storageClassName: <storage_class> 7

1
The name of the new data volume.
2
Indicate that the source of the import is an existing persistent volume claim (PVC).
3
The namespace where the source PVC exists.
4
The name of the source PVC.
5
Indicates allocation using the storage API.
6
Specifies the amount of available space that you request for the PVC.
7
Optional: The name of the storage class. If the storage class is not specified, the system default storage class is used.

8.18.3.2. Creating data volumes using the PVC API

When you create a data volume using the PVC API, the Containerized Data Interface (CDI) creates the data volume based on what you specify for the following fields:

  • accessModes (ReadWriteOnce, ReadWriteMany, or ReadOnlyMany)
  • volumeMode (Filesystem or Block)
  • capacity of storage (5Gi, for example)

In the following YAML, using the PVC API allocates a data volume with a storage capacity of two gigabytes. You specify an access mode of ReadWriteMany to enable live migration. Because you know the values your system can support, you specify Block storage instead of the default, Filesystem.

Example DataVolume definition

apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: DataVolume
metadata:
  name: <datavolume> 1
spec:
  source:
    pvc: 2
      namespace: "<source_namespace>" 3
      name: "<my_vm_disk>" 4
  pvc: 5
    accessModes: 6
      - ReadWriteMany
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: 2Gi 7
    volumeMode: Block 8
    storageClassName: <storage_class> 9

1
The name of the new data volume.
2
In the source section, pvc indicates that the source of the import is an existing persistent volume claim (PVC).
3
The namespace where the source PVC exists.
4
The name of the source PVC.
5
Indicates allocation using the PVC API.
6
accessModes is required when using the PVC API.
7
Specifies the amount of space you are requesting for your data volume.
8
Specifies that the destination is a block PVC.
9
Optionally, specify the storage class. If the storage class is not specified, the system default storage class is used.
Important

When you explicitly allocate a data volume by using the PVC API and you are not using volumeMode: Block, consider file system overhead.

File system overhead is the amount of space required by the file system to maintain its metadata. The amount of space required for file system metadata is file system dependent. Failing to account for file system overhead in your storage capacity request can result in an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC) that is not large enough to accommodate your virtual machine disk.

If you use the storage API, the CDI will factor in file system overhead and request a larger persistent volume claim (PVC) to ensure that your allocation request is successful.

8.18.3.3. Customizing the storage profile

You can specify default parameters by editing the StorageProfile object for the provisioner’s storage class. These default parameters only apply to the persistent volume claim (PVC) if they are not configured in the DataVolume object.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that your planned configuration is supported by the storage class and its provider. Specifying an incompatible configuration in a storage profile causes volume provisioning to fail.
Note

An empty status section in a storage profile indicates that a storage provisioner is not recognized by the Containerized Data Interface (CDI). Customizing a storage profile is necessary if you have a storage provisioner that is not recognized by the CDI. In this case, the administrator sets appropriate values in the storage profile to ensure successful allocations.

Warning

If you create a data volume and omit YAML attributes and these attributes are not defined in the storage profile, then the requested storage will not be allocated and the underlying persistent volume claim (PVC) will not be created.

Procedure

  1. Edit the storage profile. In this example, the provisioner is not recognized by CDI:

    $ oc edit -n openshift-cnv storageprofile <storage_class>

    Example storage profile

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: StorageProfile
    metadata:
      name: <some_unknown_provisioner_class>
    #   ...
    spec: {}
    status:
      provisioner: <some_unknown_provisioner>
      storageClass: <some_unknown_provisioner_class>

  2. Provide the needed attribute values in the storage profile:

    Example storage profile

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: StorageProfile
    metadata:
      name: <some_unknown_provisioner_class>
    #   ...
    spec:
      claimPropertySets:
      - accessModes:
        - ReadWriteOnce 1
        volumeMode:
          Filesystem 2
    status:
      provisioner: <some_unknown_provisioner>
      storageClass: <some_unknown_provisioner_class>

    1
    The accessModes that you select.
    2
    The volumeMode that you select.

    After you save your changes, the selected values appear in the storage profile status element.

8.18.3.4. Additional resources

8.18.4. Reserving PVC space for file system overhead

By default, the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) reserves space for file system overhead data in persistent volume claims (PVCs) that use the Filesystem volume mode. You can set the percentage that CDI reserves for this purpose globally and for specific storage classes.

8.18.4.1. How file system overhead affects space for virtual machine disks

When you add a virtual machine disk to a persistent volume claim (PVC) that uses the Filesystem volume mode, you must ensure that there is enough space on the PVC for:

  • The virtual machine disk.
  • The space that the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) reserves for file system overhead, such as metadata.

By default, CDI reserves 5.5% of the PVC space for overhead, reducing the space available for virtual machine disks by that amount.

If a different value works better for your use case, you can configure the overhead value by editing the CDI object. You can change the value globally and you can specify values for specific storage classes.

8.18.4.2. Overriding the default file system overhead value

Change the amount of persistent volume claim (PVC) space that the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) reserves for file system overhead by editing the spec.config.filesystemOverhead attribute of the CDI object.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Open the CDI object for editing by running the following command:

    $ oc edit cdi
  2. Edit the spec.config.filesystemOverhead fields, populating them with your chosen values:

    ...
    spec:
      config:
        filesystemOverhead:
          global: "<new_global_value>" 1
          storageClass:
            <storage_class_name>: "<new_value_for_this_storage_class>" 2
    1
    The file system overhead percentage that CDI uses across the cluster. For example, global: "0.07" reserves 7% of the PVC for file system overhead.
    2
    The file system overhead percentage for the specified storage class. For example, mystorageclass: "0.04" changes the default overhead value for PVCs in the mystorageclass storage class to 4%.
  3. Save and exit the editor to update the CDI object.

Verification

  • View the CDI status and verify your changes by running the following command:

    $ oc get cdi -o yaml

8.18.5. Configuring CDI to work with namespaces that have a compute resource quota

You can use the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) to import, upload, and clone virtual machine disks into namespaces that are subject to CPU and memory resource restrictions.

8.18.5.1. About CPU and memory quotas in a namespace

A resource quota, defined by the ResourceQuota object, imposes restrictions on a namespace that limit the total amount of compute resources that can be consumed by resources within that namespace.

The HyperConverged custom resource (CR) defines the user configuration for the Containerized Data Importer (CDI). The CPU and memory request and limit values are set to a default value of 0. This ensures that pods created by CDI that do not specify compute resource requirements are given the default values and are allowed to run in a namespace that is restricted with a quota.

8.18.5.2. Overriding CPU and memory defaults

Modify the default settings for CPU and memory requests and limits for your use case by adding the spec.resourceRequirements.storageWorkloads stanza to the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Edit the HyperConverged CR by running the following command:

    $ oc edit hco -n openshift-cnv kubevirt-hyperconverged
  2. Add the spec.resourceRequirements.storageWorkloads stanza to the CR, setting the values based on your use case. For example:

    apiVersion: hco.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: HyperConverged
    metadata:
      name: kubevirt-hyperconverged
    spec:
      resourceRequirements:
        storageWorkloads:
          limits:
            cpu: "500m"
            memory: "2Gi"
          requests:
            cpu: "250m"
            memory: "1Gi"
  3. Save and exit the editor to update the HyperConverged CR.

8.18.5.3. Additional resources

8.18.6. Managing data volume annotations

Data volume (DV) annotations allow you to manage pod behavior. You can add one or more annotations to a data volume, which then propagates to the created importer pods.

8.18.6.1. Example: Data volume annotations

This example shows how you can configure data volume (DV) annotations to control which network the importer pod uses. The v1.multus-cni.io/default-network: bridge-network annotation causes the pod to use the multus network named bridge-network as its default network. If you want the importer pod to use both the default network from the cluster and the secondary multus network, use the k8s.v1.cni.cncf.io/networks: <network_name> annotation.

Multus network annotation example

apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: DataVolume
metadata:
  name: dv-ann
  annotations:
      v1.multus-cni.io/default-network: bridge-network 1
spec:
  source:
      http:
         url: "example.exampleurl.com"
  pvc:
    accessModes:
      - ReadWriteOnce
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: 1Gi

1
Multus network annotation

8.18.7. Using preallocation for data volumes

The Containerized Data Importer can preallocate disk space to improve write performance when creating data volumes.

You can enable preallocation for specific data volumes.

8.18.7.1. About preallocation

The Containerized Data Importer (CDI) can use the QEMU preallocate mode for data volumes to improve write performance. You can use preallocation mode for importing and uploading operations and when creating blank data volumes.

If preallocation is enabled, CDI uses the better preallocation method depending on the underlying file system and device type:

fallocate
If the file system supports it, CDI uses the operating system’s fallocate call to preallocate space by using the posix_fallocate function, which allocates blocks and marks them as uninitialized.
full
If fallocate mode cannot be used, full mode allocates space for the image by writing data to the underlying storage. Depending on the storage location, all the empty allocated space might be zeroed.

8.18.7.2. Enabling preallocation for a data volume

You can enable preallocation for specific data volumes by including the spec.preallocation field in the data volume manifest. You can enable preallocation mode in either the web console or by using the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Preallocation mode is supported for all CDI source types.

Procedure

  • Specify the spec.preallocation field in the data volume manifest:

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: preallocated-datavolume
    spec:
      source: 1
        ...
      pvc:
        ...
      preallocation: true 2
    1
    All CDI source types support preallocation, however preallocation is ignored for cloning operations.
    2
    The preallocation field is a boolean that defaults to false.

8.18.8. Uploading local disk images by using the web console

You can upload a locally stored disk image file by using the web console.

8.18.8.1. Prerequisites

8.18.8.2. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

8.18.8.3. Uploading an image file using the web console

Use the web console to upload an image file to a new persistent volume claim (PVC). You can later use this PVC to attach the image to new virtual machines.

Prerequisites

  • You must have one of the following:

    • A raw virtual machine image file in either ISO or IMG format.
    • A virtual machine image file in QCOW2 format.
  • For best results, compress your image file according to the following guidelines before you upload it:

    • Compress a raw image file by using xz or gzip.

      Note

      Using a compressed raw image file results in the most efficient upload.

    • Compress a QCOW2 image file by using the method that is recommended for your client:

      • If you use a Linux client, sparsify the QCOW2 file by using the virt-sparsify tool.
      • If you use a Windows client, compress the QCOW2 file by using xz or gzip.

Procedure

  1. From the side menu of the web console, click Storage Persistent Volume Claims.
  2. Click the Create Persistent Volume Claim drop-down list to expand it.
  3. Click With Data Upload Form to open the Upload Data to Persistent Volume Claim page.
  4. Click Browse to open the file manager and select the image that you want to upload, or drag the file into the Drag a file here or browse to upload field.
  5. Optional: Set this image as the default image for a specific operating system.

    1. Select the Attach this data to a virtual machine operating system check box.
    2. Select an operating system from the list.
  6. The Persistent Volume Claim Name field is automatically filled with a unique name and cannot be edited. Take note of the name assigned to the PVC so that you can identify it later, if necessary.
  7. Select a storage class from the Storage Class list.
  8. In the Size field, enter the size value for the PVC. Select the corresponding unit of measurement from the drop-down list.

    Warning

    The PVC size must be larger than the size of the uncompressed virtual disk.

  9. Select an Access Mode that matches the storage class that you selected.
  10. Click Upload.

8.18.8.4. Additional resources

8.18.9. Uploading local disk images by using the virtctl tool

You can upload a locally stored disk image to a new or existing data volume by using the virtctl command-line utility.

8.18.9.1. Prerequisites

8.18.9.2. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.18.9.3. Creating an upload data volume

You can manually create a data volume with an upload data source to use for uploading local disk images.

Procedure

  1. Create a data volume configuration that specifies spec: source: upload{}:

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: <upload-datavolume> 1
    spec:
      source:
          upload: {}
      pvc:
        accessModes:
          - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: <2Gi> 2
    1
    The name of the data volume.
    2
    The size of the data volume. Ensure that this value is greater than or equal to the size of the disk that you upload.
  2. Create the data volume by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f <upload-datavolume>.yaml

8.18.9.4. Uploading a local disk image to a data volume

You can use the virtctl CLI utility to upload a local disk image from a client machine to a data volume (DV) in your cluster. You can use a DV that already exists in your cluster or create a new DV during this procedure.

Note

After you upload a local disk image, you can add it to a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • You must have one of the following:

    • A raw virtual machine image file in either ISO or IMG format.
    • A virtual machine image file in QCOW2 format.
  • For best results, compress your image file according to the following guidelines before you upload it:

    • Compress a raw image file by using xz or gzip.

      Note

      Using a compressed raw image file results in the most efficient upload.

    • Compress a QCOW2 image file by using the method that is recommended for your client:

      • If you use a Linux client, sparsify the QCOW2 file by using the virt-sparsify tool.
      • If you use a Windows client, compress the QCOW2 file by using xz or gzip.
  • The kubevirt-virtctl package must be installed on the client machine.
  • The client machine must be configured to trust the OpenShift Container Platform router’s certificate.

Procedure

  1. Identify the following items:

    • The name of the upload data volume that you want to use. If this data volume does not exist, it is created automatically.
    • The size of the data volume, if you want it to be created during the upload procedure. The size must be greater than or equal to the size of the disk image.
    • The file location of the virtual machine disk image that you want to upload.
  2. Upload the disk image by running the virtctl image-upload command. Specify the parameters that you identified in the previous step. For example:

    $ virtctl image-upload dv <datavolume_name> \ 1
    --size=<datavolume_size> \ 2
    --image-path=</path/to/image> \ 3
    1
    The name of the data volume.
    2
    The size of the data volume. For example: --size=500Mi, --size=1G
    3
    The file path of the virtual machine disk image.
    Note
    • If you do not want to create a new data volume, omit the --size parameter and include the --no-create flag.
    • When uploading a disk image to a PVC, the PVC size must be larger than the size of the uncompressed virtual disk.
    • To allow insecure server connections when using HTTPS, use the --insecure parameter. Be aware that when you use the --insecure flag, the authenticity of the upload endpoint is not verified.
  3. Optional. To verify that a data volume was created, view all data volumes by running the following command:

    $ oc get dvs

8.18.9.5. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

8.18.9.6. Additional resources

8.18.10. Uploading a local disk image to a block storage data volume

You can upload a local disk image into a block data volume by using the virtctl command-line utility.

In this workflow, you create a local block device to use as a persistent volume, associate this block volume with an upload data volume, and use virtctl to upload the local disk image into the data volume.

8.18.10.1. Prerequisites

8.18.10.2. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.18.10.3. About block persistent volumes

A block persistent volume (PV) is a PV that is backed by a raw block device. These volumes do not have a file system and can provide performance benefits for virtual machines by reducing overhead.

Raw block volumes are provisioned by specifying volumeMode: Block in the PV and persistent volume claim (PVC) specification.

8.18.10.4. Creating a local block persistent volume

Create a local block persistent volume (PV) on a node by populating a file and mounting it as a loop device. You can then reference this loop device in a PV manifest as a Block volume and use it as a block device for a virtual machine image.

Procedure

  1. Log in as root to the node on which to create the local PV. This procedure uses node01 for its examples.
  2. Create a file and populate it with null characters so that it can be used as a block device. The following example creates a file loop10 with a size of 2Gb (20 100Mb blocks):

    $ dd if=/dev/zero of=<loop10> bs=100M count=20
  3. Mount the loop10 file as a loop device.

    $ losetup </dev/loop10>d3 <loop10> 1 2
    1
    File path where the loop device is mounted.
    2
    The file created in the previous step to be mounted as the loop device.
  4. Create a PersistentVolume manifest that references the mounted loop device.

    kind: PersistentVolume
    apiVersion: v1
    metadata:
      name: <local-block-pv10>
      annotations:
    spec:
      local:
        path: </dev/loop10> 1
      capacity:
        storage: <2Gi>
      volumeMode: Block 2
      storageClassName: local 3
      accessModes:
        - ReadWriteOnce
      persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy: Delete
      nodeAffinity:
        required:
          nodeSelectorTerms:
          - matchExpressions:
            - key: kubernetes.io/hostname
              operator: In
              values:
              - <node01> 4
    1
    The path of the loop device on the node.
    2
    Specifies it is a block PV.
    3
    Optional: Set a storage class for the PV. If you omit it, the cluster default is used.
    4
    The node on which the block device was mounted.
  5. Create the block PV.

    # oc create -f <local-block-pv10.yaml>1
    1
    The file name of the persistent volume created in the previous step.

8.18.10.5. Creating an upload data volume

You can manually create a data volume with an upload data source to use for uploading local disk images.

Procedure

  1. Create a data volume configuration that specifies spec: source: upload{}:

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: <upload-datavolume> 1
    spec:
      source:
          upload: {}
      pvc:
        accessModes:
          - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: <2Gi> 2
    1
    The name of the data volume.
    2
    The size of the data volume. Ensure that this value is greater than or equal to the size of the disk that you upload.
  2. Create the data volume by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f <upload-datavolume>.yaml

8.18.10.6. Uploading a local disk image to a data volume

You can use the virtctl CLI utility to upload a local disk image from a client machine to a data volume (DV) in your cluster. You can use a DV that already exists in your cluster or create a new DV during this procedure.

Note

After you upload a local disk image, you can add it to a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

  • You must have one of the following:

    • A raw virtual machine image file in either ISO or IMG format.
    • A virtual machine image file in QCOW2 format.
  • For best results, compress your image file according to the following guidelines before you upload it:

    • Compress a raw image file by using xz or gzip.

      Note

      Using a compressed raw image file results in the most efficient upload.

    • Compress a QCOW2 image file by using the method that is recommended for your client:

      • If you use a Linux client, sparsify the QCOW2 file by using the virt-sparsify tool.
      • If you use a Windows client, compress the QCOW2 file by using xz or gzip.
  • The kubevirt-virtctl package must be installed on the client machine.
  • The client machine must be configured to trust the OpenShift Container Platform router’s certificate.

Procedure

  1. Identify the following items:

    • The name of the upload data volume that you want to use. If this data volume does not exist, it is created automatically.
    • The size of the data volume, if you want it to be created during the upload procedure. The size must be greater than or equal to the size of the disk image.
    • The file location of the virtual machine disk image that you want to upload.
  2. Upload the disk image by running the virtctl image-upload command. Specify the parameters that you identified in the previous step. For example:

    $ virtctl image-upload dv <datavolume_name> \ 1
    --size=<datavolume_size> \ 2
    --image-path=</path/to/image> \ 3
    1
    The name of the data volume.
    2
    The size of the data volume. For example: --size=500Mi, --size=1G
    3
    The file path of the virtual machine disk image.
    Note
    • If you do not want to create a new data volume, omit the --size parameter and include the --no-create flag.
    • When uploading a disk image to a PVC, the PVC size must be larger than the size of the uncompressed virtual disk.
    • To allow insecure server connections when using HTTPS, use the --insecure parameter. Be aware that when you use the --insecure flag, the authenticity of the upload endpoint is not verified.
  3. Optional. To verify that a data volume was created, view all data volumes by running the following command:

    $ oc get dvs

8.18.10.7. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

8.18.10.8. Additional resources

8.18.11. Managing offline virtual machine snapshots

You can create, restore, and delete virtual machine (VM) snapshots for VMs that are powered off (offline). OpenShift Virtualization supports offline VM snapshots on:

  • Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage
  • Any other storage provider with the Container Storage Interface (CSI) driver that supports the Kubernetes Volume Snapshot API

8.18.11.1. About virtual machine snapshots

A snapshot represents the state and data of a virtual machine (VM) at a specific point in time. You can use a snapshot to restore an existing VM to a previous state (represented by the snapshot) for backup and disaster recovery or to rapidly roll back to a previous development version.

An offline VM snapshot is created from a VM that is powered off (Stopped state). The snapshot stores a copy of each Container Storage Interface (CSI) volume attached to the VM and a copy of the VM specification and metadata. Snapshots cannot be changed after creation.

With the offline VM snapshots feature, cluster administrators and application developers can:

  • Create a new snapshot
  • List all snapshots attached to a specific VM
  • Restore a VM from a snapshot
  • Delete an existing VM snapshot
8.18.11.1.1. Virtual machine snapshot controller and custom resource definitions (CRDs)

The VM snapshot feature introduces three new API objects defined as CRDs for managing snapshots:

  • VirtualMachineSnapshot: Represents a user request to create a snapshot. It contains information about the current state of the VM.
  • VirtualMachineSnapshotContent: Represents a provisioned resource on the cluster (a snapshot). It is created by the VM snapshot controller and contains references to all resources required to restore the VM.
  • VirtualMachineRestore: Represents a user request to restore a VM from a snapshot.

The VM snapshot controller binds a VirtualMachineSnapshotContent object with the VirtualMachineSnapshot object for which it was created, with a one-to-one mapping.

8.18.11.2. Creating an offline virtual machine snapshot in the web console

You can create a virtual machine (VM) snapshot by using the web console.

Note

The VM snapshot only includes disks that meet the following requirements:

  • Must be either a data volume or persistent volume claim
  • Belong to a storage class that supports Container Storage Interface (CSI) volume snapshots

If your VM storage includes disks that do not support snapshots, you can either edit them or contact your cluster administrator.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. If the virtual machine is running, click Actions Stop Virtual Machine to power it down.
  5. Click the Snapshots tab and then click Take Snapshot.
  6. Fill in the Snapshot Name and optional Description fields.
  7. Expand Disks included in this Snapshot to see the storage volumes to be included in the snapshot.
  8. If your VM has disks that cannot be included in the snapshot and you still wish to proceed, select the I am aware of this warning and wish to proceed checkbox.
  9. Click Save.

8.18.11.3. Creating an offline virtual machine snapshot in the CLI

You can create a virtual machine (VM) snapshot for an offline VM by creating a VirtualMachineSnapshot object.

Prerequisites

  • Ensure that the persistent volume claims (PVCs) are in a storage class that supports Container Storage Interface (CSI) volume snapshots.
  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • Power down the VM for which you want to create a snapshot.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file to define a VirtualMachineSnapshot object that specifies the name of the new VirtualMachineSnapshot and the name of the source VM.

    For example:

    apiVersion: snapshot.kubevirt.io/v1alpha1
    kind: VirtualMachineSnapshot
    metadata:
      name: my-vmsnapshot 1
    spec:
      source:
        apiGroup: kubevirt.io
        kind: VirtualMachine
        name: my-vm 2
    1
    The name of the new VirtualMachineSnapshot object.
    2
    The name of the source VM.
  2. Create the VirtualMachineSnapshot resource. The snapshot controller creates a VirtualMachineSnapshotContent object, binds it to the VirtualMachineSnapshot and updates the status and readyToUse fields of the VirtualMachineSnapshot object.

    $ oc create -f <my-vmsnapshot>.yaml

Verification

  1. Verify that the VirtualMachineSnapshot object is created and bound with VirtualMachineSnapshotContent. The readyToUse flag must be set to true.

    $ oc describe vmsnapshot <my-vmsnapshot>

    Example output

    apiVersion: snapshot.kubevirt.io/v1alpha1
    kind: VirtualMachineSnapshot
    metadata:
    creationTimestamp: "2020-09-30T14:41:51Z"
    finalizers:
    - snapshot.kubevirt.io/vmsnapshot-protection
    generation: 5
    name: mysnap
    namespace: default
    resourceVersion: "3897"
    selfLink: /apis/snapshot.kubevirt.io/v1alpha1/namespaces/default/virtualmachinesnapshots/my-vmsnapshot
    uid: 28eedf08-5d6a-42c1-969c-2eda58e2a78d
    spec:
    source:
    apiGroup: kubevirt.io
    kind: VirtualMachine
    name: my-vm
    status:
    conditions:
      - lastProbeTime: null
      lastTransitionTime: "2020-09-30T14:42:03Z"
      reason: Operation complete
      status: "False" 1
      type: Progressing
      - lastProbeTime: null
      lastTransitionTime: "2020-09-30T14:42:03Z"
      reason: Operation complete
      status: "True" 2
      type: Ready
    creationTime: "2020-09-30T14:42:03Z"
    readyToUse: true 3
    sourceUID: 355897f3-73a0-4ec4-83d3-3c2df9486f4f
    virtualMachineSnapshotContentName: vmsnapshot-content-28eedf08-5d6a-42c1-969c-2eda58e2a78d 4

    1
    The status field of the Progressing condition specifies if the snapshot is still being created.
    2
    The status field of the Ready condition specifies if the snapshot creation process is complete.
    3
    Specifies if the snapshot is ready to be used.
    4
    Specifies that the snapshot is bound to a VirtualMachineSnapshotContent object created by the snapshot controller.
  2. Check the spec:volumeBackups property of the VirtualMachineSnapshotContent resource to verify that the expected PVCs are included in the snapshot.

8.18.11.4. Restoring a virtual machine from a snapshot in the web console

You can restore a virtual machine (VM) to a previous configuration represented by a snapshot in the web console.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. If the virtual machine is running, click Actions Stop Virtual Machine to power it down.
  5. Click the Snapshots tab. The page displays a list of snapshots associated with the virtual machine.
  6. Choose one of the following methods to restore a VM snapshot:

    1. For the snapshot that you want to use as the source to restore the VM, click Restore.
    2. Select a snapshot to open the Snapshot Details screen and click Actions Restore Virtual Machine Snapshot.
  7. In the confirmation pop-up window, click Restore to restore the VM to its previous configuration represented by the snapshot.

8.18.11.5. Restoring a virtual machine from a snapshot in the CLI

You can restore an existing virtual machine (VM) to a previous configuration by using a VM snapshot .

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).
  • Power down the VM you want to restore to a previous state.

Procedure

  1. Create a YAML file to define a VirtualMachineRestore object that specifies the name of the VM you want to restore and the name of the snapshot to be used as the source.

    For example:

    apiVersion: snapshot.kubevirt.io/v1alpha1
    kind: VirtualMachineRestore
    metadata:
      name: my-vmrestore 1
    spec:
      target:
        apiGroup: kubevirt.io
        kind: VirtualMachine
        name: my-vm 2
      virtualMachineSnapshotName: my-vmsnapshot 3
    1
    The name of the new VirtualMachineRestore object.
    2
    The name of the target VM you want to restore.
    3
    The name of the VirtualMachineSnapshot object to be used as the source.
  2. Create the VirtualMachineRestore resource. The snapshot controller updates the status fields of the VirtualMachineRestore object and replaces the existing VM configuration with the snapshot content.

    $ oc create -f <my-vmrestore>.yaml

Verification

  • Verify that the VM is restored to the previous state represented by the snapshot. The complete flag must be set to true.

    $ oc get vmrestore <my-vmrestore>

    Example output

    apiVersion: snapshot.kubevirt.io/v1alpha1
    kind: VirtualMachineRestore
    metadata:
    creationTimestamp: "2020-09-30T14:46:27Z"
    generation: 5
    name: my-vmrestore
    namespace: default
    ownerReferences:
    - apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
      blockOwnerDeletion: true
      controller: true
      kind: VirtualMachine
      name: my-vm
      uid: 355897f3-73a0-4ec4-83d3-3c2df9486f4f
      resourceVersion: "5512"
      selfLink: /apis/snapshot.kubevirt.io/v1alpha1/namespaces/default/virtualmachinerestores/my-vmrestore
      uid: 71c679a8-136e-46b0-b9b5-f57175a6a041
      spec:
        target:
          apiGroup: kubevirt.io
          kind: VirtualMachine
          name: my-vm
      virtualMachineSnapshotName: my-vmsnapshot
      status:
      complete: true 1
      conditions:
      - lastProbeTime: null
      lastTransitionTime: "2020-09-30T14:46:28Z"
      reason: Operation complete
      status: "False" 2
      type: Progressing
      - lastProbeTime: null
      lastTransitionTime: "2020-09-30T14:46:28Z"
      reason: Operation complete
      status: "True" 3
      type: Ready
      deletedDataVolumes:
      - test-dv1
      restoreTime: "2020-09-30T14:46:28Z"
      restores:
      - dataVolumeName: restore-71c679a8-136e-46b0-b9b5-f57175a6a041-datavolumedisk1
      persistentVolumeClaim: restore-71c679a8-136e-46b0-b9b5-f57175a6a041-datavolumedisk1
      volumeName: datavolumedisk1
      volumeSnapshotName: vmsnapshot-28eedf08-5d6a-42c1-969c-2eda58e2a78d-volume-datavolumedisk1

    1
    Specifies if the process of restoring the VM to the state represented by the snapshot is complete.
    2
    The status field of the Progressing condition specifies if the VM is still being restored.
    3
    The status field of the Ready condition specifies if the VM restoration process is complete.

8.18.11.6. Deleting a virtual machine snapshot in the web console

You can delete an existing virtual machine snapshot by using the web console.

Procedure

  1. Click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Virtual Machines tab.
  3. Select a virtual machine to open the Virtual Machine Overview screen.
  4. Click the Snapshots tab. The page displays a list of snapshots associated with the virtual machine.
  5. Choose one of the following methods to delete a virtual machine snapshot:

    1. Click the Options menu kebab of the virtual machine snapshot that you want to delete and select Delete Virtual Machine Snapshot.
    2. Select a snapshot to open the Snapshot Details screen and click Actions Delete Virtual Machine Snapshot.
  6. In the confirmation pop-up window, click Delete to delete the snapshot.

8.18.11.7. Deleting a virtual machine snapshot in the CLI

You can delete an existing virtual machine (VM) snapshot by deleting the appropriate VirtualMachineSnapshot object.

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  • Delete the VirtualMachineSnapshot object. The snapshot controller deletes the VirtualMachineSnapshot along with the associated VirtualMachineSnapshotContent object.

    $ oc delete vmsnapshot <my-vmsnapshot>

Verification

  • Verify that the snapshot is deleted and no longer attached to this VM:

    $ oc get vmsnapshot

8.18.11.8. Additional resources

8.18.12. Moving a local virtual machine disk to a different node

Virtual machines that use local volume storage can be moved so that they run on a specific node.

You might want to move the virtual machine to a specific node for the following reasons:

  • The current node has limitations to the local storage configuration.
  • The new node is better optimized for the workload of that virtual machine.

To move a virtual machine that uses local storage, you must clone the underlying volume by using a data volume. After the cloning operation is complete, you can edit the virtual machine configuration so that it uses the new data volume, or add the new data volume to another virtual machine.

Tip

When you enable preallocation globally, or for a single data volume, the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) preallocates disk space during cloning. Preallocation enhances write performance. For more information, see Using preallocation for data volumes.

Note

Users without the cluster-admin role require additional user permissions to clone volumes across namespaces.

8.18.12.1. Cloning a local volume to another node

You can move a virtual machine disk so that it runs on a specific node by cloning the underlying persistent volume claim (PVC).

To ensure the virtual machine disk is cloned to the correct node, you must either create a new persistent volume (PV) or identify one on the correct node. Apply a unique label to the PV so that it can be referenced by the data volume.

Note

The destination PV must be the same size or larger than the source PVC. If the destination PV is smaller than the source PVC, the cloning operation fails.

Prerequisites

  • The virtual machine must not be running. Power down the virtual machine before cloning the virtual machine disk.

Procedure

  1. Either create a new local PV on the node, or identify a local PV already on the node:

    • Create a local PV that includes the nodeAffinity.nodeSelectorTerms parameters. The following manifest creates a 10Gi local PV on node01.

      kind: PersistentVolume
      apiVersion: v1
      metadata:
        name: <destination-pv> 1
        annotations:
      spec:
        accessModes:
        - ReadWriteOnce
        capacity:
          storage: 10Gi 2
        local:
          path: /mnt/local-storage/local/disk1 3
        nodeAffinity:
          required:
            nodeSelectorTerms:
            - matchExpressions:
              - key: kubernetes.io/hostname
                operator: In
                values:
                - node01 4
        persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy: Delete
        storageClassName: local
        volumeMode: Filesystem
      1
      The name of the PV.
      2
      The size of the PV. You must allocate enough space, or the cloning operation fails. The size must be the same as or larger than the source PVC.
      3
      The mount path on the node.
      4
      The name of the node where you want to create the PV.
    • Identify a PV that already exists on the target node. You can identify the node where a PV is provisioned by viewing the nodeAffinity field in its configuration:

      $ oc get pv <destination-pv> -o yaml

      The following snippet shows that the PV is on node01:

      Example output

      ...
      spec:
        nodeAffinity:
          required:
            nodeSelectorTerms:
            - matchExpressions:
              - key: kubernetes.io/hostname 1
                operator: In
                values:
                - node01 2
      ...

      1
      The kubernetes.io/hostname key uses the node hostname to select a node.
      2
      The hostname of the node.
  2. Add a unique label to the PV:

    $ oc label pv <destination-pv> node=node01
  3. Create a data volume manifest that references the following:

    • The PVC name and namespace of the virtual machine.
    • The label you applied to the PV in the previous step.
    • The size of the destination PV.

      apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
      kind: DataVolume
      metadata:
        name: <clone-datavolume> 1
      spec:
        source:
          pvc:
            name: "<source-vm-disk>" 2
            namespace: "<source-namespace>" 3
        pvc:
          accessModes:
            - ReadWriteOnce
          selector:
            matchLabels:
              node: node01 4
          resources:
            requests:
              storage: <10Gi> 5
      1
      The name of the new data volume.
      2
      The name of the source PVC. If you do not know the PVC name, you can find it in the virtual machine configuration: spec.volumes.persistentVolumeClaim.claimName.
      3
      The namespace where the source PVC exists.
      4
      The label that you applied to the PV in the previous step.
      5
      The size of the destination PV.
  4. Start the cloning operation by applying the data volume manifest to your cluster:

    $ oc apply -f <clone-datavolume.yaml>

The data volume clones the PVC of the virtual machine into the PV on the specific node.

8.18.13. Expanding virtual storage by adding blank disk images

You can increase your storage capacity or create new data partitions by adding blank disk images to OpenShift Virtualization.

8.18.13.1. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.18.13.2. Creating a blank disk image with data volumes

You can create a new blank disk image in a persistent volume claim by customizing and deploying a data volume configuration file.

Prerequisites

  • At least one available persistent volume.
  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Edit the data volume configuration file:

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: blank-image-datavolume
    spec:
      source:
          blank: {}
      pvc:
        # Optional: Set the storage class or omit to accept the default
        # storageClassName: "hostpath"
        accessModes:
          - ReadWriteOnce
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: 500Mi
  2. Create the blank disk image by running the following command:

    $ oc create -f <blank-image-datavolume>.yaml

8.18.13.3. Template: Data volume configuration file for blank disk images

blank-image-datavolume.yaml

apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: DataVolume
metadata:
  name: blank-image-datavolume
spec:
  source:
      blank: {}
  pvc:
    # Optional: Set the storage class or omit to accept the default
    # storageClassName: "hostpath"
    accessModes:
      - ReadWriteOnce
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: 500Mi

8.18.13.4. Additional resources

8.18.14. Cloning a data volume using smart-cloning

Smart-cloning is a built-in feature of OpenShift Container Platform Storage (OCS), designed to enhance performance of the cloning process. Clones created with smart-cloning are faster and more efficient than host-assisted cloning.

You do not need to perform any action to enable smart-cloning, but you need to ensure your storage environment is compatible with smart-cloning to use this feature.

When you create a data volume with a persistent volume claim (PVC) source, you automatically initiate the cloning process. You always receive a clone of the data volume, if your environment supports smart-cloning or not. However, you will only receive the performance benefits of smart cloning if you storage provider supports smart-cloning.

8.18.14.1. Understanding smart-cloning

When a data volume is smart-cloned, the following occurs:

  1. A snapshot of the source persistent volume claim (PVC) is created.
  2. A PVC is created from the snapshot.
  3. The snapshot is deleted.

8.18.14.2. Cloning a data volume

Prerequisites

For smart-cloning to occur, the following conditions are required:

  • Your storage provider must support snapshots.
  • The source and target PVCs must be defined to the same storage class.
  • The VolumeSnapshotClass object must reference the storage class defined to both the source and target PVCs.

Procedure

To initiate cloning of a data volume:

  1. Create a YAML file for a DataVolume object that specifies the name of the new data volume and the name and namespace of the source PVC. In this example, because you specify the storage API, there is no need to specify accessModes or volumeMode. The optimal values will be calculated for you automatically.

    apiVersion: cdi.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: DataVolume
    metadata:
      name: <cloner-datavolume> 1
    spec:
      source:
        pvc:
          namespace: "<source-namespace>" 2
          name: "<my-favorite-vm-disk>" 3
      storage: 4
        resources:
          requests:
            storage: <2Gi> 5
    1
    The name of the new data volume.
    2
    The namespace where the source PVC exists.
    3
    The name of the source PVC.
    4
    Specifies allocation with the storage API
    5
    The size of the new data volume.
  2. Start cloning the PVC by creating the data volume:

    $ oc create -f <cloner-datavolume>.yaml
    Note

    Data volumes prevent a virtual machine from starting before the PVC is prepared, so you can create a virtual machine that references the new data volume while the PVC clones.

8.18.14.3. Additional resources

8.18.15. Creating and using boot sources

A boot source contains a bootable operating system (OS) and all of the configuration settings for the OS, such as drivers.

You use a boot source to create virtual machine templates with specific configurations. These templates can be used to create any number of available virtual machines.

Quick Start tours are available in the OpenShift Container Platform web console to assist you in creating a custom boot source, uploading a boot source, and other tasks. Select Quick Starts from the Help menu to view the Quick Start tours.

8.18.15.1. About virtual machines and boot sources

Virtual machines consist of a virtual machine definition and one or more disks that are backed by data volumes. Virtual machine templates enable you to create virtual machines using predefined virtual machine specifications.

Every virtual machine template requires a boot source, which is a fully configured virtual machine disk image including configured drivers. Each virtual machine template contains a virtual machine definition with a pointer to the boot source. Each boot source has a predefined name and namespace. For some operating systems, a boot source is automatically provided. If it is not provided, then an administrator must prepare a custom boot source.

Provided boot sources are updated automatically to the latest version of the operating system. For auto-updated boot sources, persistent volume claims (PVCs) are created with the cluster’s default storage class. If you select a different default storage class after configuration, you must delete the existing data volumes in the cluster namespace that are configured with the previous default storage class.

To use the boot sources feature, install the latest release of OpenShift Virtualization. The namespace openshift-virtualization-os-images enables the feature and is installed with the OpenShift Virtualization Operator. Once the boot source feature is installed, you can create boot sources, attach them to templates, and create virtual machines from the templates.

Define a boot source by using a persistent volume claim (PVC) that is populated by uploading a local file, cloning an existing PVC, importing from a registry, or by URL. Attach a boot source to a virtual machine template by using the web console. After the boot source is attached to a virtual machine template, you create any number of fully configured ready-to-use virtual machines from the template.

8.18.15.2. Importing a Red Hat Enterprise Linux image as a boot source

You can import a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) image as a boot source by specifying the URL address for the image.

Prerequisites

  • You must have access to the web server with the operating system image. For example: Red Hat Enterprise Linux web page with images.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Templates tab.
  3. Identify the RHEL template for which you want to configure a boot source and click Add source.
  4. In the Add boot source to template window, select Import via URL (creates PVC) from the Boot source type list.
  5. Click RHEL download page to access the Red Hat Customer Portal. A list of available installers and images is displayed on the Download Red Hat Enterprise Linux page.
  6. Identify the Red Hat Enterprise Linux KVM guest image that you want to download. Right-click Download Now, and copy the URL for the image.
  7. In the Add boot source to template window, paste the copied URL of the guest image into the Import URL field, and click Save and import.

Verification

To verify that a boot source was added to the template:

  1. Click the Templates tab.
  2. Confirm that the tile for this template displays a green checkmark.

You can now use this template to create RHEL virtual machines.

8.18.15.3. Adding a boot source for a virtual machine template

A boot source can be configured for any virtual machine template that you want to use for creating virtual machines or custom templates. When virtual machine templates are configured with a boot source, they are labeled Available in the Templates tab. After you add a boot source to a template, you can create a new virtual machine from the template.

There are four methods for selecting and adding a boot source in the web console:

  • Upload local file (creates PVC)
  • Import via URL (creates PVC)
  • Clone existing PVC (creates PVC)
  • Import via Registry (creates PVC)

Prerequisites

  • To add a boot source, you must be logged in as a user with the os-images.kubevirt.io:edit RBAC role or as an administrator. You do not need special privileges to create a virtual machine from a template with a boot source added.
  • To upload a local file, the operating system image file must exist on your local machine.
  • To import via URL, access to the web server with the operating system image is required. For example: the Red Hat Enterprise Linux web page with images.
  • To clone an existing PVC, access to the project with a PVC is required.
  • To import via registry, access to the container registry is required.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Templates tab.
  3. Identify the virtual machine template for which you want to configure a boot source and click Add source.
  4. In the Add boot source to template window, click Select boot source, select a method for creating a persistent volume claim (PVC): Upload local file, Import via URL, Clone existing PVC, or Import via Registry.
  5. Optional: Click This is a CD-ROM boot source to mount a CD-ROM and use it to install the operating system on to an empty disk. The additional empty disk is automatically created and mounted by OpenShift Virtualization. If the additional disk is not needed, you can remove it when you create the virtual machine.
  6. Enter a value for Persistent Volume Claim size to specify the PVC size that is adequate for the uncompressed image and any additional space that is required.

    1. Optional: Enter a name for Source provider to associate the name with this template.
    2. Optional: Advanced Storage settings: Click Storage class and select the storage class that is used to create the disk. Typically, this storage class is the default storage class that is created for use by all PVCs.

      Note

      Provided boot sources are updated automatically to the latest version of the operating system. For auto-updated boot sources, persistent volume claims (PVCs) are created with the cluster’s default storage class. If you select a different default storage class after configuration, you must delete the existing data volumes in the cluster namespace that are configured with the previous default storage class.

    3. Optional: Advanced Storage settings: Click Access mode and select an access mode for the persistent volume:

      • Single User (RWO) mounts the volume as read-write by a single node.
      • Shared Access (RWX) mounts the volume as read-write by many nodes.
      • Read Only (ROX) mounts the volume as read-only by many nodes.
    4. Optional: Advanced Storage settings: Click Volume mode if you want to select Block instead of the default value Filesystem. OpenShift Virtualization can statically provision raw block volumes. These volumes do not have a file system, and can provide performance benefits for applications that either write to the disk directly or implement their own storage service.
  7. Select the appropriate method to save your boot source:

    1. Click Save and upload if you uploaded a local file.
    2. Click Save and import if you imported content from a URL or the registry.
    3. Click Save and clone if you cloned an existing PVC.

Your custom virtual machine template with a boot source is listed in the Templates tab, and you can create virtual machines by using this template.

8.18.15.4. Creating a virtual machine from a template with an attached boot source

After you add a boot source to a template, you can create a new virtual machine from the template.

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Container Platform web console, click Workloads > Virtualization in the side menu.
  2. From the Virtual Machines tab or the Templates tab, click Create and select Virtual Machine with Wizard.
  3. In the Select a template step, select an OS from the Operating System list that has the (Source available) label next to the OS and version name. The (Source available) label indicates that a boot source is available for this OS.
  4. Click Review and Confirm.
  5. Review your virtual machine settings and edit them, if required.
  6. Click Create Virtual Machine to create your virtual machine. The Successfully created virtual machine page is displayed.

8.18.15.5. Creating a custom boot source

You can prepare a custom disk image, based on an existing disk image, for use as a boot source.

Use this procedure to complete the following tasks:

  • Preparing a custom disk image
  • Creating a boot source from the custom disk image
  • Attaching the boot source to a custom template

Procedure

  1. In the OpenShift Virtualization console, click Workloads > Virtualization from the side menu.
  2. Click the Templates tab.
  3. Click the link in the Source provider column for the template you want to customize. A window displays, indicating that the template currently has a defined source.
  4. In the window, click the Customize source link.
  5. Click Continue in the About boot source customization window to proceed with customization after reading the information provided about the boot source customization process.
  6. On the Prepare boot source customization page, in the Define new template section:

    1. Select the New template namespace field and then choose a project.
    2. Enter the name of the custom template in the New template name field.
    3. Enter the name of the template provider in the New template provider field.
    4. Select the New template support field and then choose the appropriate value, indicating support contacts for the custom template you create.
    5. Select the New template flavor field and then choose the appropriate CPU and memory values for the custom image you create.
  7. In the Prepare boot source for customization section, customize the cloud-init YAML script, if needed, to define login credentials. Otherwise, the script generates default credentials for you.
  8. Click Start Customization. The customization process begins and the Preparing boot source customization page displays, followed by the Customize boot source page. The Customize boot source page displays the output of the running script. When the script completes, your custom image is available.
  9. In the VNC console, click show password in the Guest login credentials section. Your login credentials display.
  10. When the image is ready for login, sign in with the VNC Console by providing the user name and password displayed in the Guest login credentials section.
  11. Verify the custom image works as expected. If it does, click Make this boot source available.
  12. In the Finish customization and make template available window, select I have sealed the boot source so it can be used as a template and then click Apply.
  13. On the Finishing boot source customization page, wait for the template creation process to complete. Click Navigate to template details or Navigate to template list to view your customized template, created from your custom boot source.

8.18.15.6. Additional resources

8.18.16. Hot-plugging virtual disks

Important

Hot-plugging virtual disks is a Technology Preview feature only. Technology Preview features are not supported with Red Hat production service level agreements (SLAs) and might not be functionally complete. Red Hat does not recommend using them in production. These features provide early access to upcoming product features, enabling customers to test functionality and provide feedback during the development process.

For more information about the support scope of Red Hat Technology Preview features, see https://access.redhat.com/support/offerings/techpreview/.

Hot-plug and hot-unplug virtual disks when you want to add or remove them without stopping your virtual machine or virtual machine instance. This capability is helpful when you need to add storage to a running virtual machine without incurring down-time.

When you hot-plug a virtual disk, you attach a virtual disk to a virtual machine instance while the virtual machine is running.

When you hot-unplug a virtual disk, you detach a virtual disk from a virtual machine instance while the virtual machine is running.

Only data volumes and persistent volume claims (PVCs) can be hot-plugged and hot-unplugged. You cannot hot-plug or hot-unplug container disks.

Warning

When you attach a hot-plugged virtual disk to a virtual machine, you cannot perform live migration on the virtual machine. If you attempt to perform live migration on a virtual machine with a hot-plugged disk attached, live migration fails.

8.18.16.1. Hot-plugging a virtual disk using the CLI

Hot-plug virtual disks that you want to attach to a virtual machine instance (VMI) while a virtual machine is running.

Prerequisites

  • You must have a running virtual machine to hot-plug a virtual disk.
  • You must have at least one data volume or persistent volume claim (PVC) available for hot-plugging.

Procedure

  • Hot-plug a virtual disk by running the following command:

    $ virtctl addvolume <virtual-machine|virtual-machine-instance> --volume-name=<datavolume|PVC> \
    [--persist] [--serial=<label-name>]
    • Use the optional --persist flag to add the hot-plugged disk to the virtual machine specification as a permanently mounted virtual disk. Stop, restart, or reboot the virtual machine to permanently mount the virtual disk. After specifying the --persist flag, you can no longer hot-plug or hot-unplug the virtual disk. The --persist flag applies to virtual machines, not virtual machine interfaces.
    • The optional --serial flag allows you to add an alphanumeric string label of your choice. This helps you to identify the hot-plugged disk in a guest virtual machine. If you do not specify this option, the label defaults to the name of the hot-plugged data volume or PVC.

8.18.16.2. Hot-unplugging a virtual disk using the CLI

Hot-unplug virtual disks that you want to detach from a virtual machine instance (VMI) while a virtual machine is running.

Prerequisites

  • Your virtual machine must be running.
  • You must have at least one data volume or persistent volume claim (PVC) available and hot-plugged.

Procedure

  • Hot-unplug a virtual disk by running the following command:

    $ virtctl removevolume <virtual-machine|virtual-machine-instance> --volume-name=<datavolume|PVC>

8.18.17. Using container disks with virtual machines

You can build a virtual machine image into a container disk and store it in your container registry. You can then import the container disk into persistent storage for a virtual machine or attach it directly to the virtual machine for ephemeral storage.

Important

If you use large container disks, I/O traffic might increase, impacting worker nodes. This can lead to unavailable nodes. You can resolve this by:

8.18.17.1. About container disks

A container disk is a virtual machine image that is stored as a container image in a container image registry. You can use container disks to deliver the same disk images to multiple virtual machines and to create large numbers of virtual machine clones.

A container disk can either be imported into a persistent volume claim (PVC) by using a data volume that is attached to a virtual machine, or attached directly to a virtual machine as an ephemeral containerDisk volume.

8.18.17.1.1. Importing a container disk into a PVC by using a data volume

Use the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) to import the container disk into a PVC by using a data volume. You can then attach the data volume to a virtual machine for persistent storage.

8.18.17.1.2. Attaching a container disk to a virtual machine as a containerDisk volume

A containerDisk volume is ephemeral. It is discarded when the virtual machine is stopped, restarted, or deleted. When a virtual machine with a containerDisk volume starts, the container image is pulled from the registry and hosted on the node that is hosting the virtual machine.

Use containerDisk volumes for read-only file systems such as CD-ROMs or for disposable virtual machines.

Important

Using containerDisk volumes for read-write file systems is not recommended because the data is temporarily written to local storage on the hosting node. This slows live migration of the virtual machine, such as in the case of node maintenance, because the data must be migrated to the destination node. Additionally, all data is lost if the node loses power or otherwise shuts down unexpectedly.

8.18.17.2. Preparing a container disk for virtual machines

You must build a container disk with a virtual machine image and push it to a container registry before it can used with a virtual machine. You can then either import the container disk into a PVC using a data volume and attach it to a virtual machine, or you can attach the container disk directly to a virtual machine as an ephemeral containerDisk volume.

The size of a disk image inside a container disk is limited by the maximum layer size of the registry where the container disk is hosted.

Note

For Red Hat Quay, you can change the maximum layer size by editing the YAML configuration file that is created when Red Hat Quay is first deployed.

Prerequisites

  • Install podman if it is not already installed.
  • The virtual machine image must be either QCOW2 or RAW format.

Procedure

  1. Create a Dockerfile to build the virtual machine image into a container image. The virtual machine image must be owned by QEMU, which has a UID of 107, and placed in the /disk/ directory inside the container. Permissions for the /disk/ directory must then be set to 0440.

    The following example uses the Red Hat Universal Base Image (UBI) to handle these configuration changes in the first stage, and uses the minimal scratch image in the second stage to store the result:

    $ cat > Dockerfile << EOF
    FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi8/ubi:latest AS builder
    ADD --chown=107:107 <vm_image>.qcow2 /disk/ 1
    RUN chmod 0440 /disk/*
    
    FROM scratch
    COPY --from=builder /disk/* /disk/
    EOF
    1
    Where <vm_image> is the virtual machine image in either QCOW2 or RAW format.
    To use a remote virtual machine image, replace <vm_image>.qcow2 with the complete url for the remote image.
  2. Build and tag the container:

    $ podman build -t <registry>/<container_disk_name>:latest .
  3. Push the container image to the registry:

    $ podman push <registry>/<container_disk_name>:latest

If your container registry does not have TLS you must add it as an insecure registry before you can import container disks into persistent storage.

8.18.17.3. Disabling TLS for a container registry to use as insecure registry

You can disable TLS (transport layer security) for one or more container registries by editing the insecureRegistries field of the HyperConverged custom resource.

Prerequisites

  • Log in to the cluster as a user with the cluster-admin role.

Procedure

  • Edit the HyperConverged custom resource and add a list of insecure registries to the spec.storageImport.insecureRegistries field.

    apiVersion: hco.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: HyperConverged
    metadata:
      name: kubevirt-hyperconverged
      namespace: openshift-cnv
    spec:
      storageImport:
        insecureRegistries: 1
          - "private-registry-example-1:5000"
          - "private-registry-example-2:5000"
    1
    Replace the examples in this list with valid registry hostnames.

8.18.17.4. Next steps

8.18.18. Preparing CDI scratch space

8.18.18.1. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.18.18.2. Understanding scratch space

The Containerized Data Importer (CDI) requires scratch space (temporary storage) to complete some operations, such as importing and uploading virtual machine images. During this process, CDI provisions a scratch space PVC equal to the size of the PVC backing the destination data volume (DV). The scratch space PVC is deleted after the operation completes or aborts.

You can define the storage class that is used to bind the scratch space PVC in the spec.scratchSpaceStorageClass field of the HyperConverged custom resource.

If the defined storage class does not match a storage class in the cluster, then the default storage class defined for the cluster is used. If there is no default storage class defined in the cluster, the storage class used to provision the original DV or PVC is used.

Note

CDI requires requesting scratch space with a file volume mode, regardless of the PVC backing the origin data volume. If the origin PVC is backed by block volume mode, you must define a storage class capable of provisioning file volume mode PVCs.

Manual provisioning

If there are no storage classes, CDI uses any PVCs in the project that match the size requirements for the image. If there are no PVCs that match these requirements, the CDI import pod remains in a Pending state until an appropriate PVC is made available or until a timeout function kills the pod.

8.18.18.3. CDI operations that require scratch space

TypeReason

Registry imports

CDI must download the image to a scratch space and extract the layers to find the image file. The image file is then passed to QEMU-IMG for conversion to a raw disk.

Upload image

QEMU-IMG does not accept input from STDIN. Instead, the image to upload is saved in scratch space before it can be passed to QEMU-IMG for conversion.

HTTP imports of archived images

QEMU-IMG does not know how to handle the archive formats CDI supports. Instead, the image is unarchived and saved into scratch space before it is passed to QEMU-IMG.

HTTP imports of authenticated images

QEMU-IMG inadequately handles authentication. Instead, the image is saved to scratch space and authenticated before it is passed to QEMU-IMG.

HTTP imports of custom certificates

QEMU-IMG inadequately handles custom certificates of HTTPS endpoints. Instead, CDI downloads the image to scratch space before passing the file to QEMU-IMG.

8.18.18.4. Defining a storage class

You can define the storage class that the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) uses when allocating scratch space by adding the spec.scratchSpaceStorageClass field to the HyperConverged custom resource (CR).

Prerequisites

  • Install the OpenShift CLI (oc).

Procedure

  1. Edit the HyperConverged CR by running the following command:

    $ oc edit hco -n openshift-cnv kubevirt-hyperconverged
  2. Add the spec.scratchSpaceStorageClass field to the CR, setting the value to the name of a storage class that exists in the cluster:

    apiVersion: hco.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
    kind: HyperConverged
    metadata:
      name: kubevirt-hyperconverged
    spec:
      scratchSpaceStorageClass: "<storage_class>" 1
    1
    If you do not specify a storage class, CDI uses the storage class of the persistent volume claim that is being populated.
  3. Save and exit your default editor to update the HyperConverged CR.

8.18.18.5. CDI supported operations matrix

This matrix shows the supported CDI operations for content types against endpoints, and which of these operations requires scratch space.

Content typesHTTPHTTPSHTTP basic authRegistryUpload

KubeVirt (QCOW2)

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2**
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ QCOW2*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ QCOW2*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

KubeVirt (RAW)

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW
✓ GZ
✓ XZ

✓ RAW*
□ GZ
□ XZ

✓ RAW*
✓ GZ*
✓ XZ*

✓ Supported operation

□ Unsupported operation

* Requires scratch space

** Requires scratch space if a custom certificate authority is required

8.18.18.6. Additional resources

8.18.19. Re-using persistent volumes

To re-use a statically provisioned persistent volume (PV), you must first reclaim the volume. This involves deleting the PV so that the storage configuration can be re-used.

8.18.19.1. About reclaiming statically provisioned persistent volumes

When you reclaim a persistent volume (PV), you unbind the PV from a persistent volume claim (PVC) and delete the PV. Depending on the underlying storage, you might need to manually delete the shared storage.

You can then re-use the PV configuration to create a PV with a different name.

Statically provisioned PVs must have a reclaim policy of Retain to be reclaimed. If they do not, the PV enters a failed state when the PVC is unbound from the PV.

Important

The Recycle reclaim policy is deprecated in OpenShift Container Platform 4.

8.18.19.2. Reclaiming statically provisioned persistent volumes

Reclaim a statically provisioned persistent volume (PV) by unbinding the persistent volume claim (PVC) and deleting the PV. You might also need to manually delete the shared storage.

Reclaiming a statically provisioned PV is dependent on the underlying storage. This procedure provides a general approach that might need to be customized depending on your storage.

Procedure

  1. Ensure that the reclaim policy of the PV is set to Retain:

    1. Check the reclaim policy of the PV:

      $ oc get pv <pv_name> -o yaml | grep 'persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy'
    2. If the persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy is not set to Retain, edit the reclaim policy with the following command:

      $ oc patch pv <pv_name> -p '{"spec":{"persistentVolumeReclaimPolicy":"Retain"}}'
  2. Ensure that no resources are using the PV:

    $ oc describe pvc <pvc_name> | grep 'Mounted By:'

    Remove any resources that use the PVC before continuing.

  3. Delete the PVC to release the PV:

    $ oc delete pvc <pvc_name>
  4. Optional: Export the PV configuration to a YAML file. If you manually remove the shared storage later in this procedure, you can refer to this configuration. You can also use spec parameters in this file as the basis to create a new PV with the same storage configuration after you reclaim the PV:

    $ oc get pv <pv_name> -o yaml > <file_name>.yaml
  5. Delete the PV:

    $ oc delete pv <pv_name>
  6. Optional: Depending on the storage type, you might need to remove the contents of the shared storage folder:

    $ rm -rf <path_to_share_storage>
  7. Optional: Create a PV that uses the same storage configuration as the deleted PV. If you exported the reclaimed PV configuration earlier, you can use the spec parameters of that file as the basis for a new PV manifest:

    Note

    To avoid possible conflict, it is good practice to give the new PV object a different name than the one that you deleted.

    $ oc create -f <new_pv_name>.yaml

Additional resources

8.18.20. Deleting data volumes

You can manually delete a data volume by using the oc command-line interface.

Note

When you delete a virtual machine, the data volume it uses is automatically deleted.

8.18.20.1. About data volumes

DataVolume objects are custom resources that are provided by the Containerized Data Importer (CDI) project. Data volumes orchestrate import, clone, and upload operations that are associated with an underlying persistent volume claim (PVC). Data volumes are integrated with OpenShift Virtualization, and they prevent a virtual machine from being started before the PVC has been prepared.

8.18.20.2. Listing all data volumes

You can list the data volumes in your cluster by using the oc command-line interface.

Procedure

  • List all data volumes by running the following command:

    $ oc get dvs

8.18.20.3. Deleting a data volume

You can delete a data volume by using the oc command-line interface (CLI).

Prerequisites

  • Identify the name of the data volume that you want to delete.

Procedure

  • Delete the data volume by running the following command:

    $ oc delete dv <datavolume_name>
    Note

    This command only deletes objects that exist in the current project. Specify the -n <project_name> option if the object you want to delete is in a different project or namespace.

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