Suggest Virtualization Software for Linux

I am trying to setup a virtual machine using Linux Mint 18.0 as the host machines operating software and for the Guest machine Red Hat or Centos which ever I can get my hands on for free. I don't have any money so the visualization software has to be free. I tried Virtual Box but for the last 5 hours have been trying to install the guest add ons for virtual box with no luck getting it installed. Any other suggestions for vm software.

Try KVM + libvirt (to manage the VMs) + virt-manager (GUI frontend for libvirt).

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Gnome has a program called Boxes....

You have tried Virtual box, make sure you updated your system after it was installed.......

Or try @Ksajal suggesting using KVM + libvirt (again make sure you update your system after the install)

I use VMware player its free and suits me

I tried to setup a guest machine using the above software you suggested, but when I tried to create a guest machine I got an error. I check my cpu and motherboad support Intel Hv-d technology. I tried a Google search and as usual it wasn't helpful.

I have posted the eror message I got.

entos7.0.qcow2': 'internal error: creation of non-raw images is not supported without qemu-img''

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/share/virt-manager/virtManager/asyncjob.py", line 90, in cb_wrapper
callback(asyncjob, *args, **kwargs)
File "/usr/share/virt-manager/virtManager/create.py", line 2277, in doasync_install
guest.start_install(meter=meter)
File "/usr/share/virt-manager/virtinst/guest.py", line 487, in start_install
dev.setup(meter)
File "/usr/share/virt-manager/virtinst/devicedisk.py", line 861, in setup
vol_object = self.storagebackend.create(meter)
File "/usr/share/virt-manager/virtinst/diskbackend.py", line 439, in create
return self.volinstall.install(meter=progresscb)
File "/usr/share/virt-manager/virtinst/storage.py", line 809, in install
"'%s': '%s'" % (self.name, str(e)))
RuntimeError: Couldn't create storage volume 'centos7.0.qcow2': 'internal error: creation of non-raw images is not supported without qemu-img'
I anyone needs more information please let me know and I will provided it.

It looks to me like you haven't installed a package for qemu-img, is that possible?

https://linux.die.net/man/1/qemu-img


This could be caused by missing packages, but could also be related to the disk image space and location your trying to allocate as a qcow2 partition for the VM to reside in, but it looks like your missing something package-wise.

This link might help...

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From personal experience I can say that when It comes to Virtualization on Linux with standard Distro's:

Arch and Fedora have been the best, not just in that they have the best customization options and included packages for such setups, but also in that most of the documentation and guides for advanced virtualization are centered around these Distros.
These are not the only ones out there though.

As for actual software for virtualization setups. Mind you none of these are easy to setup, not nearly point and click at least.

if you got money (just for others reading the thread):

VMWare

For a pure VM Host:

XenServer

For a fast VM setup under Linux

KVM / Libvirt

Are there any other options that have an easier way to remotely control the host? XenServer requires some software that is only available for Windows, if I remember correctly.
I have heard of Proxmox but I don't like their "WinRAR-style" nagging message that pops up all the time.

If you're looking for Type 1 Hypervisors. Then no not really.
There's VMWare ESX, XenServer, ProxMox and Oracle VM.

For Type 2, you might look at BSD's bhyve, but that is still a new HV manager.

After that you're moving to Container based virtualization, like LXC, OpenVZ etc.

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I do have to agree with you, as in the OP's case I'm going to assume that the qeum-ing package which is part of the qemu utilities was not installed with the base qemu-libvert-vert-manager files, it's why when I'm asked about distros for virtualization I try to steer people to Fedora, OpenSuse, or Arch, not only do these distros utilize the latest stable kernel but are very good about complete packages.

It's not that virtualization can't be accomplished on any Linux distro because it can, it's just the amount of hoops you have to jump through to get there, most people who are interested in some form of virtualization are moving from Windows and have little to no experience with Linux but want to virtualize a Windows environment, they are comfortable with the click and run way Windows does things but somewhat scared of the Linux CLI which is understandable.

Most people who try Linux seem to migrate to Ubuntu first and if they stay migrate to another Debian variant like Mint, the commands they have learned transfer so it's basically seamless making the transition, but as they gain knowledge and confidence they should start to see what is lacking in distros that are on a 6 month to 1 year cycle, yes there are incremental updates along the way but no feature updates for that entire cycle between versions.

It's safe, so understandable until the user wants to do something higher level that is being implemented on more up-to-date distros......

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Thanks for your reply anyways :smiley:

Do you know a simple way to administrate a XenServer on Linux?

That can be removed from the webui very easily. (I think you can even remove it with adblock)

Uh, KVM/Libvirt is my favorite option in this situation. It's got the ability to be remotely controlled from any OS (at least Linux, Mac and Windows)

It's not quite type1 though. Can be configured to be sorta type1 ish though

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Very much this.

Very much not this. KVM is indeed a type 1 hypervisor.

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Looking back at it, KVM is Type 1. That's embarrassing. :fearful:

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I couldn't get any of the suggestions to work to my sat faction, so I am In the process of removing Windows 8.1 and install Centos 7 on my laptop, good bye forever evil Empire (Microsoft).

I might ask why Centos? just about any Linux version will be happy on a laptop and since your interested in virtualization you might want to try OpenSuse or Fedora, OpenSuse has a lot of benefits, a familiar interface (kinda' like Windows), and YaST is a fantastic resource that again is a Windows like interface that pretty well does away with the need to use the CLI.

Just a suggestion.

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this is exactly what I was about to write.

CentOS is probably one of the worst choices (IMO) for a desktop OS. It's an AMAZING server, but it just doesn't quite do it when you start adding desktop programs. My recommendation is Fedora. It's a good mix between the two, and we've got a good number of people using it on the forum, so you'll be able to get support here.

I have to agree with @Blanger and @SgtAwesomesauce. After all, CentOS is a derivative of Fedora, so it's not too different :wink:

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