We already have our Ubuntu Server running but would now like to add the Virtualisation option that Ubuntu Server offers. Any ideas on how?

I suggest running KVM. It seems to be the easiest to use but the hard part is you do need to have X Windows running so you can utilize the Virtual Manager.

So how do you install KVM?

Check out this link

In short..

PRE-REQ CHECK

You have to make sure your CPU (processor) can handle Virtual Machines by first running this command

Intel Processor run this

egrep -c vmx /proc/cpuinfo

AMD Process run this

egrep -c svm /proc/cpuinfo[/code]




Note: If the results equal 0 then no luck, you can't install KVM but if it's a 1 or higher than carry on.







Next you want to check to see if you have a 64bit processor by running

'

'.str_replace('
', '', 'egrep -c ' lm ' /proc/cpuinfo').'

'

Note: If the results are 0 then you do not have a 64bit processor but if it's a 1 or higher you are rockin a 64bit processor







Check to see if your Unix kernel is 64bit

'

'.str_replace('
', '', 'uname -m').'

'

Note: Only good answer is x86_64, but if you use see i386, i486, i586 or i686, you're running a 32-bit kernel.







INSTALLATION on Ubuntu 10.04 and later



Install the needed packages

'

'.str_replace('
', '', 'sudo apt-get install qemu-kvm libvirt-bin ubuntu-vm-builder bridge-utils virt-viewer').'

'

• libvirt-bin provides libvirtd which you need to administer qemu and kvm instances using libvirt
  
  
  
  
• qemu-kvm (kvm in Karmic and earlier) is the backend
  
  
  
  
• ubuntu-vm-builder powerful command line tool for building virtual machines
  
  
  
  
• bridge-utils provides a bridge from your network to the virtual machines
  
  
  
  
• virt-viewer for viewing virtual instances
  
  
  
  

After the above installation you need to logout and log back in so the new group membership take effect.







To verify the installation was successful (especially the group membership part) run the following to get the results displayed

'

'.str_replace('
', '', '


$ virsh -c qemu:///system list


 Id Name                 State


----------------------------------



$').'

'

Last thing to do is to install the Virtual Manager so you can manage the Virtual Machines easily. Run the following command

'

'.str_replace('
', '', 'sudo apt-get install virt-manager').'

'

Note: It will show up as Virtual Machine Manager