QEMU/KVM Setup

Prerequisites

Ensure your CPU supports hardware virtualization:

egrep -c "(vmx|svm)" /proc/cpuinfo

If the output is greater than 0, virtualization is supported.

1 Install KVM and Related Packages

sudo apt update
sudo apt install qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients bridge-utils virt-manager -y

2 Add User to libvirt Group

sudo usermod -aG libvirt $USER
newgrp libvirt

Log out and back in for the group change to take effect.

3 Start & Enable libvirtd

sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd
sudo systemctl status libvirtd

4 Verify Installation

virsh list --all

Should show an empty VM list (no errors = working).

5 Create a Virtual Machine (CLI)

Download an ISO and use virt-install to create a VM:

sudo virt-install \\
  --name ubuntu-vm \\
  --ram 2048 \\
  --disk size=20 \\
  --cdrom /path/to/ubuntu.iso \\
  --os-variant ubuntu22.04

6 Manage VMs with virsh

virsh start ubuntu-vm          # Start a VM

virsh shutdown ubuntu-vm       # Graceful shutdown

virsh destroy ubuntu-vm        # Force power off

virsh undefine ubuntu-vm       # Delete VM

virsh list --all               # List all VMs

Using Virt-Manager (GUI)

If you have a desktop environment, install virt-manager for a graphical interface to create and manage VMs. Launch it from the terminal:

virt-manager