To install KVM virtualization software on CentOS or Red Hat systems, you can follow these steps:
- Check if your system supports hardware virtualization by running the following command:
grep -E --color 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo
If the output shows the vmx or svm flags, your system supports hardware virtualization.
- Install the KVM and related packages by running the following command:
sudo yum install qemu-kvm libvirt libvirt-python libvirt-client virt-install virt-viewer bridge-utils
- Start and enable the libvirtd service:
sudo systemctl start libvirtd
sudo systemctl enable libvirtd
- Verify the installation by checking the status of the libvirtd service:
sudo systemctl status libvirtd
- Add your user to the libvirt group to avoid permissions issues when working with virtual machines:
sudo usermod -a -G libvirt $(whoami)
- Log out and log back in to activate the group membership change.
After completing these steps, you should have a working KVM virtualization setup on your CentOS or Red Hat system.