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# Libvirt-friendly definitions for common operating systems
# Optimized, libvirt-compatible definitions for common OS
Libvirt, the most common virtualization library on Linux, uses XML to store the definition of a virtual machine.
## Goal
[The reference Domain XML format webpage](https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html), which lists most of the accepted parameters that can be used to define a virtual machine, is almost 100 pages long. It is daunting to pick the most optimized parameters for running a particular guest operating system (OS) well.
This repository's goal is to maintain definitions that are tuned for running modern, GUI-driven guest operating systems (OS), easing their installation on hosts that leverage KVM, such as [Phyllome OS](https://phyllo.me/).
This repository's goal is to maintain definitions that are tuned for running modern OS, leveraging as many paravirtualized devices (virtio) the target guest OS support.
## Usage
More information [here](https://wiki.phyllo.me/e/en/virt/guest) on the status for virtio support on guest operating systems.
### Requirements
## Requirements
It is expected that libvirt and other dependencies such as QEMU are already installed and that such tools are already correctly configured.
It is expected that libvirt and other dependencies such as QEMU or the Cloud Hypervisor are already installed and correctly configured.
* At least QEMU emulator version 7.0.0
* At least libvirt 8.6.0
## How to use it
### How to use it
* Clone this repository locally
### Session-driven virtual machines
There are two kinds of definition for QEMU: session-driven virtual machines, and system-driven virtual machines. System-driven virtual machines are running with higher privileges. If one intend to share a physical device with a virtual machine using vfio passthrough, this is the definition to use. More information [here](https://blog.wikichoon.com/2016/01/qemusystem-vs-qemusession.html).
#### Session-driven QEMU virtual machines
* Navigate to the session directory
* Choose your target OS of choice and, as a normal user, use the following `virsh` command to define a virtual machine:
```
$ virsh define linux.xml
$ virsh define linux.xml
Domain 'Linux' defined from linux.xml
```
* List the newly-created virtual machine
```
$ virsh list --all
Id Name State
------------------------
- Linux shut off
```
* Destroy it
virsh undefine Linux
Domain 'Linux' has been undefined
### System-driven virtual machines
* Navigate to the system directory
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| *`virtio-keyboard`* | **Yes** | **Yes** |
| *`virtio-tablet`* | **Yes** | **Yes** |
More information [here](https://wiki.phyllo.me/e/en/virt/guest) on the status for virtio support on guest operating systems.
## Ressources
## Context
[Libvirt](https://libvirt.org/) is the most popular virtualization library on Linux, and it is central to Phyllome OS.
Libvirt uses an XML file to store the definition of a virtual machine, including its firmware (e.g. BIOS or UEFI-based), the size of its memory, the nature of a particular device (e.g. virtio or emulated hardware), etc.
### Why
[The reference Domain XML format webpage](https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html), which is almost 100 pages long, lists most of the accepted parameters that can be used to define a virtual machine.
Picking the most optimized parameters for running a particular guest OS is a complicated task. This project intends to find the best parameters for the most popular OS.
### Assomptions
The best parameters are defined as parameters that are:
- Performance-oriented, providing good out-of-the-box performance.
- Relatively host-agnostic, so that a virtual machine could be migrated to another host.
- Modern, leveraging as many paravirtualized devices (a.k.a virtio devices) the target guest OS can support, with the intend to become usable with modern virtualization solution such as the Cloud Hypervisor.
## Resources
* Domain XML format for libvirt: https://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html
* qemu:///system vs qemu:///session, a great article by Cole Robinson: https://blog.wikichoon.com/2016/01/qemusystem-vs-qemusession.html