13.8. Removing virtual machine storage by using the command line

Procedure

1. To detach a virtual disk from a VM, use the virsh detach-disk command.

   1. Optional: List all storage devices attached to the VM:

      # *virsh domblklist --details <vm-name>
      
       Type   Device   Target   Source
      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
       file   disk     hda      /home/VirtualMachines/vm-name.qcow2
       file   cdrom    hdb      -
       file   disk     vdc      /home/VirtualMachines/test-disk2.qcow2

   2. Use the target parameter to detach the disk. For example, to detach the disk connected to as vdc to the testguest VM, use the following command:

      # virsh detach-disk testguest vdc --persistent

2. To delete the disk, do one of the following:

   1. If the disk is managed as a storage volume, use the virsh vol-delete command. For example, to delete volume test-disk2 associated with storage pool RHEL-storage-pool:

      # virsh vol-delete --pool RHEL-storage-pool test-disk2

   2. If the disk is purely file-based, remove the file.

      # rm /home/VirtualMachines/test-disk2.qcow2

3. To deactivate a storage pool, use the virsh pool-destroy command.

   When you deactivate a storage pool, no new volumes can be created in that pool. However, any VMs that have volumes in that pool will continue to run. This is useful, for example, if you want to limit the number of volumes that can be created in a pool to increase system performance.

   # virsh pool-destroy RHEL-storage-pool
   
   Pool RHEL-storage-pool destroyed

4. To completely remove a storage pool, delete its definition by using the virsh pool-undefine command.

   # virsh pool-undefine RHEL-storage-pool
   
   Pool RHEL-storage-pool has been undefined