KVM virt-install: Install FreeBSD / CentOS As Guest Operating System

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virt-install is a command-line tool used to create virtual machines in KVM. Here are the steps to install FreeBSD or CentOS as a guest operating system using virt-install:

  1. Open a terminal window on your KVM host machine.
  2. Type the following command to start the installation process:
    virt-install \
    --name guest_name \
    --memory 2048 \
    --vcpus 2 \
    --disk size=20 \
    --location ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/amd64/amd64/11.1-RELEASE \
    --os-type=freebsd \
    --os-variant=freebsd11.1 \
    --graphics vnc \
    --console pty,target_type=serial

    Replace guest_name with the name you want to give the virtual machine.

    In this example, we are installing FreeBSD 11.1 as a guest operating system. If you want to install CentOS, replace the --location parameter with the URL of a CentOS ISO file.

  3. Press Enter to execute the command. The installation process will start, and you will see output similar to the following:
    Starting install...
    Retrieving file .treeinfo...
    Retrieving file MANIFEST...
    Retrieving file base.txz...

    This step will take some time as it downloads the required packages.

  4. Follow the prompts to complete the installation process. When prompted, select the disk to install the operating system to, and configure any other settings as necessary.
  5. Once the installation is complete, you can connect to the virtual machine using VNC. To do this, type the following command:
    virsh console guest_name

    Replace guest_name with the name of the virtual machine that you created.

    This will open a console window for the virtual machine, allowing you to access its command line interface.

That’s it! You have successfully installed FreeBSD or CentOS as a guest operating system using virt-install. You can use the same basic steps to install other operating systems as well. (sullivansusa.net)

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