Installing KVM on nixOS Latest

KVM, or Kernel-based Virtual Machine, is an open-source virtualization technology that allows you to run multiple virtual machines on a Linux host. This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing KVM on nixOS Latest using the official website of linux-kvm.org.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

  • A Linux nixOS Latest machine with root/sudo access
  • A stable internet connection

Step 1: Install Required Packages

First, we need to install the required packages for KVM. Run the following command in your terminal to install the required packages:

$ sudo nix-env -iA nixos.kvm

This command will install the kvm package, which provides the KVM kernel module and user-space tools.

Step 2: Verify KVM Installation

Once the install command completes, you can verify that the installation is successful by checking the version number of KVM:

$ kvm --version

This command should return the version number of KVM installed.

Step 3: Configure Hardware Virtualization Support

Virtualization requires hardware support from your system’s processor, which may need to be enabled in your system BIOS. To confirm virtualization support, run the following command:

$ dmesg | grep kvm

If your processor supports virtualization, you should see suitable kernel messages displaying information about KVM.

Step 4: Create a Virtual Machine

Now that KVM is installed, you can create a virtual machine. You can create a virtual machine using virt-manager or virt-install. virt-manager is a graphical application that allows you to manage virtual machines easily, while virt-install is a command-line tool that lets you create virtual machines.

If you want to use the virt-manager tool, run the following command to install it:

$ sudo nix-env -iA nixos.virt-manager

Then, launch the virt-manager application and follow the on-screen instructions to create a virtual machine.

Alternatively, you can use the virt-install command to create a virtual machine from the terminal. Refer to the virt-install documentation for more information.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed KVM in nixOS Latest and created a new virtual machine on it. You can now launch the virtual machine and start using it like any other physical machine.