Virtualization with KVM under Redhat Linux, Migrate VMware virtual images to KVM

Arun N. — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:59:18 +0000

KVM (Kernel Based Virtual Machine) stands out as a powerful, open-source solution that seamlessly integrates with Linux. It offers a cost-effective and efficient way to virtualize your systems without the need for additional licensing costs. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of installing KVM, migrating VMware virtual machines to KVM, creating bridge interfaces, and managing KVM virtual machines. By the end, you’ll be well on your way to harnessing the full potential of KVM for your virtualization needs.

Getting Started with KVM

Step 1: Install KVM

Start by installing your machine with the 64-bit version of EL5.
Register your machine with Red Hat using the rhn_register command.
Enable virtualization entitlement for your system in RHN (Red Hat Network).
Install the KVM package and related components:

# yum install kvm # yum install virt-manager libvirt libvirt-python python-virtinst

Migrating VMware Virtual Machines to KVM

Migrating your existing VMware virtual machines to KVM is a breeze:

Log in to your VMware server.
Create a single VMDK image with vmware-diskmanager.For example:

# vmware-vdiskmanager -r path_to_vmware_virtualmachine.vmdk -t 0 destination_file_vmware.vmdk

Copy the image to your KVM server.
Convert the image to a KVM-supported format using qemu-img:

# qemu-img convert destination_file_vmware.vmdk -O qcow2 kvm_supported.img

Setting Up Bridge Interfaces for Networking

To efficiently manage your virtual machines, it’s essential to create bridge interfaces for sharing network cards. This step assumes that you have two NICs (Network Interface Cards) in your server and require bonding along with bridging:

Create a bridge interface. Edit the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0:

DEVICE=br0

ONBOOT=yes

TYPE=Bridge

IPADDR=

NETMASK=

GATEWAY=

Configure the bond interface. Edit the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-bond0:

DEVICE=bond0

BRIDGE=br0

ONBOOT=yes

Configure eth0 and eth1. Edit the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0:

DEVICE=eth0

MASTER=bond0

SLAVE=yes

ONBOOT=yes

Change bonding to active-backup mode. Edit the /etc/modprobe.conf file:

options bond0

miimon=100

mode=active-backup

Restart the network interface and check the bridge status with:

# brctl show

Creating KVM Virtual Machines

You can create KVM virtual machines using either the command line or the virt-manager application:

To create a virtual machine with virt-manager, open the application, click “Create New,” and select “QEMU Hypervisor.” During disk selection, choose the path to the converted VMware image. Once completed, your virtual machine is ready for use.

Registering Virtual Machines with Red Hat

Registering your KVM virtual machines with Red Hat can save you valuable licenses:

Enable network tools entitlement in RHN.
Install the package rhn-virtualization-host on your core machine:

# yum install rhn-virtualization-host

Enable virtualization under the properties of your host in RHN.
Execute the following commands on your host machine:

# rhn_check

# rhn-profile-sync

Log in to your virtual machine and use rhn_register. It will now be registered as a virtual machine under the core license.

With these steps, you’ll be fully equipped to leverage KVM for your virtualization needs.

Redhat viruatlization – Arun’s blog

Virtualization with KVM under Redhat Linux, Migrate VMware virtual images to KVM