# Looking for the (as much as possible detailed) guide for configuring KVM on Rocky Linux 9.4 **URL:** \ **Category:** Rocky Linux Help & Support\ **Tags:** rocky-linux-9\ **Created:** [July 17, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099 "2024-07-17T22:18:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mfaynberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mfaynberg](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/mfaynberg)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/1 "2024-07-17T22:18:07Z")
Hello everyone, I installed fresh RL 9.4 yesterday and it seems it was successful. Now I am going to install and configure the KVM for the guest system installation. What I did was like follows: - # Installed kvm-related packages: sudo yum install qemu-kvm libvirt virt-install virt-manager - Started and enabled the libvirtd: sudo systemctl start libvirtd sudo systemctl enable libvirtd - Tried to install additional packages: sudo dnf -y instal epel-release sudo dnf -y instal libguestfs-tools - Created a network bridge: 1. Should I have created br0 at all while there is already virbr0? 2. Why the libvrtd may become inactive? Thank you! Mike ---
**Author:** ![JohnG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forums.rockylinux.org/johng/32/4542_2.png) [@JohnG](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/JohnG)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/2 "2024-07-17T22:34:03Z")
The very first thing I always do when setting up for VMs is to remove the virbr0 completely. I’ve never had a use case where it makes any sense to keep it. Why it’s even there by default has always baffled me. ```auto # virsh net-destroy default # virsh net-undefine default # service libvirtd restart ``` ---
**Author:** ![jlehtone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jlehtone](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/jlehtone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/3 "2024-07-17T23:03:40Z")
> [@JohnG](#): > > Why it’s even there by default has always baffled me. It creates a distinct subnet for VMs and the host _routes_ between that and external subnet, with NAT. Analogous to VMs being machines at home LAN and the host being the “home router”. If you “just” need to run a VM, the “default” is easy setup. When we create a bridge on the host without the libvirt, we turn the host into network switch that extends the external subnet to the guests. VM on that bridge is “directly” on the external subnet. > [@mfaynberg](#): > > Why the libvrtd may become inactive? Look at the log messages with: `sudo journalctl -xe -u libvirtd` * * * > [@mfaynberg](#): > > sudo ip link add name br0 type bridge That _does_ create a bridge. However, it is only for the runtime. Not stored. Not there after reboot. Do use `nmcli` (or other NetworkManager tool) to create a more persistent bridge. ---
**Author:** ![sweh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forums.rockylinux.org/sweh/32/1287_2.png) [@sweh](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/sweh)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 11:05pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/4 "2024-07-17T23:05:45Z")
Modern `libvirt` is activation based, rather daemon based. So there’s no persistent daemon listening; it’s started on-demand. You can verify things are working by running something like `virsh list` or `virsh net-list --all` ---
**Author:** ![Ritov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Ritov](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/Ritov)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/5 "2024-07-17T23:19:54Z")
> [@mfaynberg](#): > > Why the libvrtd may become inactive? Since RL9 the libvirt stack is modularized. So, some more system unit should be activated … `find /usr/lib/systemd/ |grep virt` ---
**Author:** ![JohnG](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forums.rockylinux.org/johng/32/4542_2.png) [@JohnG](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/JohnG)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 11:24pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/6 "2024-07-17T23:24:51Z")
> [@jlehtone](#): > > When we create a bridge on the host without the libvirt, we turn the host into network switch that extends the external subnet to the guests. VM on that bridge is “directly” on the external subnet. Yep, that’s exactly where I need them to be. My VMs need to be part of the same network as the physical machines. I’ve never had a use case where that hasn’t been the case, either at home or any of the corporate networks I’ve managed over the years. ---
**Author:** ![mfaynberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mfaynberg](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/mfaynberg)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/7 "2024-07-17T23:25:46Z")
JohnG, thank you so much! ---
**Author:** ![mfaynberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mfaynberg](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/mfaynberg)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/8 "2024-07-17T23:42:12Z")
Thank you everyone! jlehtone: 1. Thanks for the pointing out at the temporary nature of the ip commands. I used nmcli to do it permanent; 2. Now the journalctl returns the information about normal successful completion like follows: ![JournalCtl](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/b/b0632d27e65fadab53ab64d7cd6d084d051398b1.jpeg) Sweh: thank you! It seems likely and therefore, the libvirtd inactive state should not be of any concern then. However, both commands you suggested: virsh list and virsh net-list --all returned ampty lists. Is that normal? Ritov: Thanks for the suggestion. I ran the find /usr/lib/systemd/ |grep virt command and it returned a full screen of filenames. What should one do about it, sorry? I greatly appreciate your help! Mike ---
**Author:** ![sweh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forums.rockylinux.org/sweh/32/1287_2.png) [@sweh](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/sweh)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/9 "2024-07-18T00:01:43Z")
> [@mfaynberg](#): > > virsh list and virsh net-list --all returned ampty lists. Is that normal? Yes; `virsh list` shows all the running VMs. If there’s no VM defined then it’ll be empty. `virsh net-list --all` shows all networks defined. If you deleted the default one (as was mentioned in an earlier post) then that will also be empty. That you didn’t get any error then it likely means it’s working properly. ---
**Author:** ![mfaynberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mfaynberg](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/mfaynberg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/10 "2024-07-18T00:20:44Z")
Thanks! But now there is the next step… and there is no clear guidelines for it. This is about the bridge setup. I configured it using the following commands ``` # Create a bridge connection sudo nmcli con add type bridge autoconnect yes ifname br0 # Add an interface to the bridge sudo nmcli con add type bridge-slave ifname eth0 master br0 # Bring up the bridge connection sudo nmcli con up bridge-br0 ``` however one of the sources says I also need to add the full IP configuration by specifying IP address (which BTW?), DNS servers, and gateway IP like: BR\_NAME=“br0” BR\_INT=“ens1f0np0” SUBNET\_IP=“XXX.YYY.ZZZ.WWW/24” GW=“XXX.YYY.ZZZ.GGG” DNS1=“8.8.8.8” DNS2=“8.8.4.4” sudo nmcli connection add type bridge autoconnect yes con-name ${BR\_NAME} ifname ${BR\_NAME} sudo nmcli connection modify ${BR\_NAME} ipv4.addresses ${SUBNET\_IP} ipv4.method manual sudo nmcli connection modify ${BR\_NAME} ipv4.gateway ${GW} sudo nmcli connection modify ${BR\_NAME} ipv4.dns ${DNS1} +ipv4.dns ${DNS2} sudo nmcli connection delete ${BR\_INT} sudo nmcli connection add type bridge-slave autoconnect yes con-name ${BR\_INT} ifname ${BR\_INT} master ${BR\_NAME} Should I? As of now command ip ad returns like below: ![Ip_ad](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/1/15d2c63f961f9407e8bcdd5e05314ba9f873ecc0.jpeg) Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Ritov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Ritov](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/Ritov)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 9:39am UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/11 "2024-07-18T09:39:37Z")
> [@mfaynberg](#): > > What should one do about it, sorry? Some socket activated services should be enabled, here a one liner to do it (as root and then reboot): `for drv in qemu network nodedev nwfilter secret storage interface; do systemctl enable --now virt${drv}d{,-ro,-admin}.socket; done` ---
**Author:** ![jlehtone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jlehtone](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/jlehtone)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/12 "2024-07-18T13:28:24Z")
> [@JohnG](#): > > Yep, that’s exactly where I need them to be. My VMs need to be part of the same network as the physical machines. I’ve never had a use case where that hasn’t been the case, either at home or any of the corporate networks I’ve managed over the years. The networks _you have managed_. I’m in the same boat; usually manage the network and can thus hand out addresses for the guests. However, I did once use the default (routed+NAT) because I could not ask for separate address for a VM. I don’t delete the definition of the “default”; I just disable its auto-start. It being autostarted, FirewallD, etc, seem to be _convenience_ features for “simple use”. We could ask from Red Hat why they deem that useful. * * * > [@mfaynberg](#): > > however one of the sources says I also need to add the full IP configuration by specifying IP address (which BTW?), DNS servers, and gateway IP like: How do you access your host? Is it local login, or remotely (via ssh)? If it is remotely, does your host have just one network interface or many? If you access remotely and the host has only one IP address, then changing the network config can easily leave you with no connection to the host. That would be akward. In other words, your “admin connection” dictates how careful you have to be. * * * I did wrote earlier that the “bridged” setup is like a network switch. Unmanaged switches have no IP address. Guests can talk via the bridge to outside even when the host has no IP address at all. Naturally, the host preferably does have an IP address, so that it can do things like `dnf up`. If the host has one interface and the interface is a “port on switch” `br0`, then the IP configuration must be on the br0, not on the interface. Don’t you have DHCP server on your (external) network? DHCP is a convenient (and default) way to get the IP config. Setting config manually is rather static. * * * > [@mfaynberg](#): > > However, both commands you suggested: virsh list and virsh net-list --all returned ampty lists. Is that normal? Compare: ```auto virsh net-list --all sudo virsh net-list --all ``` Regular account sees only the things that that account has started. Root account sees only the things that root has started. (Most?) Libvirt services run as root. ---
**Author:** ![sweh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forums.rockylinux.org/sweh/32/1287_2.png) [@sweh](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/sweh)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 3:13pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/13 "2024-07-18T15:13:43Z")
> [@jlehtone](#): > > Regular account sees only the things that that account has started. > Root account sees only the things that root has started. (Most?) Libvirt services run as root. Hmm, on my RL9 machine as a non-root user I see everything. Maybe because I’m in the `libvirt` group… ```auto $ id uid=500(sweh) gid=500(sweh) groups=500(sweh),0(root),10(wheel),18(dialout),494(libvirt) $ virsh list Id Name State ----------------------------- 1 plexserver9 running 2 pinky9 running $ virsh net-list --all Name State Autostart Persistent ---------------------------------------------- default inactive no yes ``` ---
**Author:** ![sweh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forums.rockylinux.org/sweh/32/1287_2.png) [@sweh](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/sweh)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/14 "2024-07-18T15:18:47Z")
If it helps, here’s my network setup. It’s a little complicated because I use VLANs (10=main LAN, 11=guest, 12=IoT, 13=test) so I build 4 bridges, one for each VLAN. The naming scheme I use possibly isn’t needed any more, but it matches what it used to look like on C7, so I’m sticking with it. Only VLAN 10 gets an IP address 'cos that’s how I access the machine. Now I can put VMs on any (or all) networks. ```auto nmcli connection delete enp1s0.10 enp1s0.11 enp1s0.12 enp1s0.13 br-lan br-guest br-iot br-temp nmcli connection modify enp1s0 ipv4.method disabled ipv6.method disabled nmcli connection add type bridge con-name br-lan ifname br-lan bridge.stp no ip4 10.0.0.133/24 gw4 10.0.0.1 ipv4.dns "10.0.0.1 10.0.0.5" ipv4.dns-search "spuddy.org" ipv6.method disabled nmcli connection add type bridge con-name br-guest ifname br-guest bridge.stp no ipv4.method disabled ipv6.method disabled nmcli connection add type bridge con-name br-iot ifname br-iot bridge.stp no ipv4.method disabled ipv6.method disabled nmcli connection add type bridge con-name br-temp ifname br-temp bridge.stp no ipv4.method disabled ipv6.method disabled nmcli connection add type vlan con-name enp1s0.10 ifname enp1s0.10 vlan.parent enp1s0 vlan.id 10 slave-type bridge master br-lan nmcli connection add type vlan con-name enp1s0.11 ifname enp1s0.11 vlan.parent enp1s0 vlan.id 11 slave-type bridge master br-guest nmcli connection add type vlan con-name enp1s0.12 ifname enp1s0.12 vlan.parent enp1s0 vlan.id 12 slave-type bridge master br-iot nmcli connection add type vlan con-name enp1s0.13 ifname enp1s0.13 vlan.parent enp1s0 vlan.id 13 slave-type bridge master br-temp ``` I like the old bridge-utils for seeing things, so this is the result ```auto % brctl show bridge name bridge id STP enabled interfaces br-guest 8000.b0416f0e52ab no enp1s0.11 v-pinky9-guest br-iot 8000.b0416f0e52ab no enp1s0.12 v-pinky9-iot br-lan 8000.b0416f0e52ab no enp1s0.10 v-pinky9 v-plexserver9 br-temp 8000.b0416f0e52ab no enp1s0.13 ``` ---
**Author:** ![gerry666uk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dbc845/32.png) [@gerry666uk](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/gerry666uk)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 4:11pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/15 "2024-07-18T16:11:23Z")
The original post title is “Looking for the … guide”. Here is the guide: Note the part about starting the services Chapter 2 2.1. Enabling virtualization on AMD64 and Intel 64 See also Chapter 17. Configuring virtual machine network connections see the note about virbr0 > **[Configuring and managing virtualization | Red Hat Product Documentation](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux/9/html/configuring_and_managing_virtualization/index)** > > Configuring and managing virtualization | Red Hat Documentation ---
**Author:** ![mfaynberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mfaynberg](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/mfaynberg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/16 "2024-07-18T19:00:47Z")
Gentlemen, thank you for your input! It is a lot for me to chew on now 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mfaynberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mfaynberg](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/mfaynberg)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/17 "2024-07-18T21:13:41Z")
Guys, one more question: is there anything I set up incorrectly when created a bridge if a) the ip addr show br0 returns ![Br0](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/0/0120a3e979ff39316933451a0e664bcbdce7ae61.jpeg) and b) when I try to create a virtual machine it says “no suitable network” not obviously seeing br0 like follows ![NoNetwork](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/e/eefe9bec1d8a0d110cec1c61f386ff49d965dff1.jpeg) What I did while creating the interface was: sudo nmcli con add type bridge autoconnect yes ifname br0 sudo nmcli con add type bridge-slave ifname eth0 master br0 sudo nmcli con up bridge-br0 Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![jlehtone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jlehtone](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/jlehtone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 8:48am UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/18 "2024-07-19T08:48:05Z")
> [@mfaynberg](#): > > one more question: is there anything I set up incorrectly when created a bridge if Probably. > [@mfaynberg](#): > > ```auto > sudo nmcli con add type bridge-slave ifname eth0 master br0 > > ``` You did not have device named `eth0` earlier. * * * Plain `nmcli` shows many details, but here I would look at: ```plaintext nmcli d s nmcli c s ip ro ``` ---
**Author:** ![mfaynberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@mfaynberg](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/mfaynberg)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 5:09pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/19 "2024-07-19T17:09:44Z")
Thank you! Actually I reconfigured the bridge from scratch… what i see now is ![Q_01](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/1/1d0f7723294fa95c7abcd3c3f86bbf13da80a3ff.jpeg) and the response to nmcli conn show br0 returns the following lists ![Q_02](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/c/c3f0a6f119860ecbb6e01b3806487d598f0743f9.jpeg) ![Q_03](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/9/952ca2bb7cc174f30849315f90e2ad0e12b78442.jpeg) ![Q_04](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/a/a5bff4672ae4138c51f40ce19b5723a47809ed32.jpeg) ![Q_05](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/rockylinux/original/2X/3/345bf162d316a51142a8d99dea3d43acba9a63d3.jpeg) It seems OK to me but when I start VM Manager and try to start creating a new VM, it says “No active connection to install on”. What would you recommend doing? ---
**Author:** ![jlehtone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9a140/32.png) [@jlehtone](https://forums.rockylinux.org/u/jlehtone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099/20 "2024-07-19T17:24:09Z")
Note: one can usually copy-paste text from terminals (and use code tags) screenshots are inconvenient. Note2: There is one thing that `nmcli` can’t do on create connection and that is to bind by MAC-address (the `802-3-ethernet.mac-address`); it requires ifname (aka `connection.interface-name`). That is not important here, where the name of interface is persistent. The interesting part is that the (Anaconda) installer creates connections that bind by MAC, rather than by name. * * * If you have no IPv6 in usa, then you can disable it: ```auto sudo nmcli c mod ens1f0np0 ipv6.method disabled ``` > [@mfaynberg](#): > > It seems OK to me but when I start VM Manager and try to start creating a new VM, it says “No active connection to install on”. Try `sudo virt-manager` [Next page](https://forums.rockylinux.org/t/looking-for-the-as-much-as-possible-detailed-guide-for-configuring-kvm-on-rocky-linux-9-4/15099.md?page=2)