Ubuntu Manpage: virt-image - create virtual machines from an image descriptor

Provided by: virtinst_0.600.4-3ubuntu2_all

NAME

       virt-image - create virtual machines from an image descriptor

SYNOPSIS

       virt-image [OPTION]... IMAGE.XML

DESCRIPTION

       virt-image is a command line tool for creating virtual machines from an XML image descriptor "IMAGE.XML"
       (virt-image(5)). Most attributes of the virtual machine are taken from the XML descriptor (e.g., where
       the files to back the virtual machine's disks are and how to map them into the guest), though certain
       information must be added on the command line, such as the name of the guest.

       The XML descriptor defines most attributes of the guest, making it possible to bundle and distribute it
       together with the files backing the guest's disks.

OPTIONS

Most options can be omitted, in which case virt-image will use defaults from the XML descriptor. When
defaults are taken from the XML descriptor, they are indicated below as a path. --name is the only
required command line option.

-h, --help
Show the help message and exit

--connect=URI
Connect to a non-default hypervisor. See virt-install(1) for details

General Options
General configuration parameters that apply to all types of guest installs.

-n NAME, --name=NAME
Name of the guest instance

-r MEMORY, --ram=MEMORY
Memory to allocate for guest instance in megabytes. Defaults to "/image/devices/memory" in the XML
descriptor.

-u UUID, --uuid=UUID
UUID for the guest; if none is given a random UUID will be generated. If you specify UUID, you should
use a 32-digit hexadecimal number.

--vcpus=VCPUS
Number of vcpus to configure for your guest. Defaults to "/image/devices/vcpu" in the XML descriptor.
This option can also be used to set CPU topology, please see virt-install(1) for more info.

--cpuset
Set which physical cpus the guest can use. Please see virt-install(1) for more info.

--cpu
Configure the CPU and CPU features exposed to the guest. Please see virt-install(1) for more info.

--check-cpu
Check that vcpus do not exceed physical CPUs and warn if they do.

--os-type=OS_TYPE
Optimize the guest configuration for a type of operating system (ex. 'linux', 'windows'). This will
attempt to pick the most suitable ACPI & APIC settings, optimally supported mouse drivers, virtio, and
generally accommodate other operating system quirks. See virt-install(1) for valid values.

--os-variant=OS_VARIANT
Further optimize the guest configuration for a specific operating system variant (ex. 'fedora8',
'winxp'). This parameter is optional, and does not require an "--os-type" to be specified. See
virt-install(1) for valid values.

Full Virtualization specific options
Parameters specific only to fully virtualized guest installs.

--noapic
Force disable APIC for the guest.

--noacpi
Force disable ACPI for the guest.

Networking Configuration
-w NETWORK, --network=NETWORK
Connect the guest to the host network. See virt-install(1) for details

-m MAC, --mac=MAC
This is deprecated in favor of "--network ...,mac=MAC,..."

-b BRIDGE, --bridge=BRIDGE
This is deprecated in favor of "--network bridge=BRIDGE"

Graphics Configuration
If no graphics option is specified, "virt-image" will default to '--graphics vnc' if the DISPLAY
environment variable is set, otherwise '--graphics none' is used.

--graphics TYPE,opt1=arg1,opt2=arg2,...
Specifies the graphical display configuration. This does not configure any virtual hardware, just how
the guest's graphical display can be accessed. See virt-install(1) for details usage info.

--vnc
This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,..."

--vncport=VNCPORT
This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,port=PORT,..."

--vnclisten=VNCLISTEN
This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,listen=LISTEN,..."

-k KEYMAP, --keymap=KEYMAP
This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics vnc,keymap=KEYMAP,..."

--sdl
This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics sdl,..."

--nographics
This option is deprecated in favor of "--graphics none"

Miscellaneous Options
-p, --print
Print the libvirt XML, but do not start the guest.

--boot=BOOT
The zero-based index of the boot record to use. The XML descriptor can contain multiple
"/image/domain/boot" elements for use on different hypervisors. By default, the one that is most
appropriate for the current hypervisor is selected.

--replace
Shutdown and remove any existing guest with the passed "--name" before installing from the image.

--noreboot
Prevent the domain automatically booting after importing the image.

--skip-checksum
Do not check disk images against checksums (if they are listed in the image xml).

-d, --debug
Print debugging information.

EXAMPLES

       Create and start a guest called "example" with a VNC console from "image.xml":

         # virt-image --name example --vnc image.xml

       Print the libvirt XML for a guest called "example" without graphics, but do not create or start a virtual
       machine:

         # virt-image --print --name example --nographics image.xml

AUTHOR

       Written by David Lutterkort and Cole Robinson. See the AUTHORS file in the source  distribution  for  the
       complete list of credits.

BUGS

       Please see http://virt-manager.org/page/BugReporting

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright  (C)  2006-2012  Red  Hat,  Inc,  and  various  contributors.   This  is free software. You may
       redistribute   copies   of   it   under   the   terms    of    the    GNU    General    Public    License
       "http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html".  There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.