11.3. SPICE Agent

Procedure 11.4. Setting up communication between guest agent and host with virsh on a Linux guest

1. Shut down the virtual machine

   Ensure the virtual machine (named rhel7 in this example) is shut down before configuring the SPICE agent:

   # virsh shutdown rhel7 

2. Add the SPICE agent channel to the guest XML configuration

   Edit the guest's XML file to add the SPICE agent details:

   # virsh edit rhel7

   Add the following to the guest's XML file and save the changes:

   <channel type='spicevmc'>
      <target type='virtio' name='com.redhat.spice.0'/>
   </channel>

3. Start the virtual machine

   # virsh start rhel7

4. Install the SPICE agent on the guest

   Install the SPICE agent if not yet installed in the guest virtual machine:

   # yum install spice-vdagent

5. Start the SPICE agent in the guest

   Start the SPICE agent service in the guest:

   # systemctl start spice-vdagent

Procedure 11.5. Setting up communication between SPICE agent and host on a running Linux guest

1. Create an XML file for the SPICE agent

   # cat agent.xml
   <channel type='spicevmc'>
      <target type='virtio' name='com.redhat.spice.0'/>
   </channel>

2. Attach the SPICE agent to the virtual machine

   Attach the SPICE agent to the running virtual machine (named rhel7 in this example) with this command:

   # virsh attach-device rhel7 agent.xml

3. Install the SPICE agent on the guest

   Install the SPICE agent if not yet installed in the guest virtual machine:

   # yum install spice-vdagent

4. Start the SPICE agent in the guest

   Start the SPICE agent service in the guest:

   # systemctl start spice-vdagent

Procedure 11.6. Setting up communication between the SPICE agent and host with virt-manager

1. Shut down the virtual machine

   Ensure the virtual machine is shut down before configuring the SPICE agent.
   To shut down the virtual machine, select it from the list of virtual machines in Virtual Machine Manager, then click the light switch icon from the menu bar.

2. Add the SPICE agent channel to the guest

   Open the virtual machine's hardware details by clicking the lightbulb icon at the top of the guest window.
   Click the Add Hardware button to open the Add New Virtual Hardware window, and select Channel.
   Select the SPICE agent from the Name drop-down list, edit the channel address, and click Finish:
   

   Figure 11.2. Selecting the SPICE agent channel device

3. Start the virtual machine

   To start the virtual machine, select it from the list of virtual machines in Virtual Machine Manager, then click on the menu bar.

4. Install the SPICE agent on the guest

   Open the guest with virt-manager and install the SPICE agent if not yet installed in the guest virtual machine:

   # yum install spice-vdagent

5. Start the SPICE agent in the guest

   Start the SPICE agent service in the guest:

   # systemctl start spice-vdagent