Oracle Linux KVM Image

Release 2.0 introduces the following updates:

• The base operating system is updated to Oracle Linux 7 Update 9 and Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 6 (UEKR6).
• The oci-utils package is updated to v0.11.6-9.
• The Oracle Cloud Marketplace now offers two versions of the Oracle Linux KVM image:

  • Oracle Linux KVM image (Autonomous Linux): This image is configured to run Oracle Autonomous Linux using the standard Oracle Linux repositories. Oracle Autonomous Linux provides autonomous capabilities such as automated Ksplice patching with zero downtime, and known exploit detection, to help keep the instance highly secure and reliable. The Autonomous Linux version of the image is listed in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace as Oracle Linux KVM image (Autonomous Linux).

    For more information about Oracle Autonomous Linux, see Getting Started: Deploying and Configuring Oracle Autonomous Linux on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Oracle Autonomous Linux for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (Oracle Linux Learning Library).

  • Oracle Linux KVM image: The Oracle Linux version of the image is listed in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace as Oracle Linux KVM image. Important

    Future releases of the Oracle Linux KVM image for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will be configured as Autonomous Linux using the standard Oracle Linux repositories.

Using the Console

Use the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Console to create and attach block storage.

For more information, see Creating a Volume.

1. Open the navigation menu and click Storage. Under Block Storage, click Block Volumes.
2. Select Create Block Volume.
3. Enter a name for your new block volume and click Create Block Volume.
4. Open the navigation menu and click Compute. Under Compute, click Instances.
5. In the Instances list, select your KVM instance.
6. From Instance Details, under Resources click Attached Block Volumes.
7. In the Attached Block Volumes section, click Attach Block Volume.
8. From the block volume list, select the block volume you created and click Attach.

   The block volume is created and attached and displays in Attached Block Volumes on the Instance Details page.

Using the CLI

Alternatively, you can use the oci-iscsi-config command to create and attach a block volume.

For more information, see the oci-iscsi-config man page.

1. Connect to your KVM instance using SSH, for example:

   ssh –i PRIVATE_KEY_PATH opc@PUBLIC_IP_ADDRESS

2. Create and attach the volume:

   sudo oci-iscsi-config create --attach-volume --volume-name VOLUME_NAME --size SIZE

   For example, to create and attach volume_001 with a size of 128 GB:

   # oci-iscsi-config create --attach-volume --volume-name volume_001 --size 128
   Creating a new 128 GB volume pool_volume_001
   Volume [pool_volume_001] created
   Attaching the volume to this instance
   Attaching iSCSI device.
   Volume [pool_volume_001] is attached.

   To verify the configuration:

   # oci-iscsi-config show --details
   Currently attached iSCSI devices:
                Target             | Volume name |          Volume OCID           | Persistent portal  |  Current portal  | Session State | Attached device | Size |
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   iqn.2015-12.com.oracleiaas:id...| volume_001  |ocid1.volume.oc1.uk-london-1....|  169.254.2.2:3260  | 169.254.2.2:3260 |   LOGGED_IN   |       sdb       | 128G |
   

   Note
   
   

   If the command fails with: Volume creation has failed: Failed to create volume

   Ensure you have configured API Keys. See Generating an API Signing Key or run oci setup config on the instance.

3. Optionally, create a storage pool:

   sudo oci-kvm create-pool --disk DEVICE_PATH --name POOL_NAME

   For example, to create a storage pool with the name vm_pool_001 and associating the block volume device sdb:

   # oci-kvm create-pool --disk /dev/sdb --name vm_pool_001
   Pool vm_pool_001 successfully created.

   To verify the configuration:

   # oci-kvm list-pool
   VM pool Information:
        Name    |        UUID       | Autostart | Active | Persistent | Volumes |  State  |  Capacity  |   Allocation   | Available  |
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    vm_pool_001 | [exampleuniqueID] |    yes    |  yes   |    yes     |    0    | running | 127.94 GiB |      32.25 MiB | 127.90 GiB |

   Note
   
   

   If the oci-kvm list-pool command is not available, run yum update oci-utils-kvm to update the package to 0.12.6 or later.

Using the Console

Use the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Console to create and attach VNICs.

For more information, see Virtual Network Interface Cards.

1. Open the navigation menu and click Compute. Under Compute, click Instances.
2. In the Instances list, select your KVM instance.
3. From Instance Details, under Resources click Attached VNICs.
4. In the Attached VNICs section, click Create VNIC.
5. Enter a name for the VNIC and select a virtual cloud network from the list.
6. Select a subnet and click Save Changes.

   The VNIC is created and attached and displays in Attached VNICs on the Instance Details page.

7. To complete the configuration, you may need to connect to the instance and run the script found here: Linux: Configuring the OS for Secondary VNICs.

Using the CLI

Alternatively, you can use the oci-network-config command to create and attach VNICs.

For more information, see the oci-network-config man page.

1. Connect to your KVM instance using SSH, for example:

   ssh –i PRIVATE_KEY_PATH opc@PUBLIC_IP_ADDRESS

2. Create and attach the VNIC:

   sudo oci-network-config attach-vnic --name VNIC_NAME

   For example, create and attach a VNIC named vnic_kvm_001:

   # oci-network-config attach-vnic --name vnic_kvm_001
   Creating VNIC: 10.0.7.45

   To verify the configuration:

   # oci-network-config show --details
   Network configuration:
   State |    Link    |Status| IP address |     VNIC     |       MAC       |     Hostname     |            Subnet           |  Router IP |Namespace |Index|VLAN tag|    VLAN   |
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     -   |    ens3    |  UP  |  10.0.7.81 |  kvm_demo    |00:00:00:00:00:01|     kvm-demo     |10.0.7.0/25 (All-Regional-...|  10.0.7.1  |    -     |  2  |  3280  |     -     |
     -   |    ens5    |  UP  |  10.0.7.45 | vnic_kvm_001 |00:00:00:00:00:02| kvm-demo-vnic... |10.0.7.0/25 (All-Regional-...|  10.0.7.1  |    -     |  5  |  3316  |     -     |
     -   | virbr0-nic | DOWN |       -    |      -       |00:00:00:00:00:03|        -         |              -              |     -      |    -     |  4  |   -    |     -     |
   Operating System level network configuration:
   CONFIG      ADDR    SUBNET     BITS VIRTROUTER    NS     IND      IFACE     VLTAG     VLAN    STATE        MAC                          VNIC ID                                         
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     -     10.0.7.81   10.0.7.0    25   10.0.7.1      -      2        ens3      3280      -        UP  00:00:00:00:00:01 ocid1.vnic.oc1.uk-london-1.[exampleuniqueID] 
     -     10.0.7.45   10.0.7.0    25   10.0.7.1      -      5        ens5      3316      -        UP  00:00:00:00:00:02 ocid1.vnic.oc1.uk-london-1.[exampleuniqueID] 
     -        -           -        -       -          -      4     virbr0-nic    -        -       DOWN 00:00:00:00:00:03

   Note
   
   

   If the command fails with: Cannot create the VNIC: Failed to create VNIC: Failed to attach new VNIC:...

   Ensure you have configured API Keys. See Generating an API Signing Key or run oci setup config on the instance.

Use the oci-kvm create command to create a virtual machine.

1. Before creating a virtual machine, ensure you have allocated block storage and VNICs.
2. Connect to your KVM instance using SSH, for example:

   ssh –i PRIVATE_KEY_PATH opc@PUBLIC_IP_ADDRESS

   For more information, see Accessing an Instance.

3. Select a block storage device for your virtual machine:
   1. Run sudo oci-iscsi-config show --details to show details for all storage attached to your instance.
   2. Choose a device and note the Attached device name (such as sdb).

      When running the create command, you'll use this name when specifying --disk. Add /dev to the path, for example /dev/sdb.

4. Choose a specific VNIC for your virtual machine:
   1. Run sudo oci-network-config show --details

   2. Choose an appropriate VNIC and note the Link name (such as ens5).

      When running the create command, you'll use this name when specifying the --net option.

      Note
      
      

      • Multiple guests cannot not use the same VNIC or block storage device.
      • You can assign a single guest multiple VNICs.
      • You can attach multiple virtual networks to a guest.
5. Use the oci-kvm create command with any of the available options to create the virtual machine. For more information, see oci-kvm create.

   For example:

   oci-kvm create [-D | --domain VM_NAME] [-d | --diskDEVICE_PATH] 
               [-p | --pool POOL_NAME] [-s | --disk-size DISK_SIZE] 
               [-n | --net VNIC] [-v |--virtual-network VIRTUAL_NETWORK_NAME] 
               [-V | --virt OPT_ARGS]

   Note
   
   Placing the .iso file within /home/opc can cause permissions issues. Ensure the .iso file is in an accessible location (such as /tmp).

Example using block storage

This example creates a guest using a specific block storage device and a serial console for console output. You can also use other options, such as VNC for console output. If a graphical option is used, you must appropriately configure the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure security list for the subnet this image is attached to.

oci-kvm create -D MY_VM_NAME -d /dev/sdb -V --vcpus 4 --memory 8192 --boot cdrom,hd \
--location /tmp/OracleLinux.iso --nographics --console pty,target_type=serial \
--console pty,target_type=virtio --noautoconsole --os-variant=rhel7 --extra-args "console=ttyS0,115200n8"

Example using a storage pool and VNIC

This example creates a guest using a storage pool and a serial console for console output.

sudo oci-kvm create --domain kvm_vm_001 --pool vm_pool_001 --disk-size 24 --net ens5 \
--virt --vcpus 2 --memory 8192 --boot cdrom,hd --location /isos/OracleLinux.iso --nographics \
--console pty,target_type=serial --console pty,target_type=virtio --noautoconsole \
--os-variant=rhel8.0 --extra-args="console=ttyS0,115200n8"

Example performing a kickstart installation

This example creates a guest using a kickstart file /root/kvm_vm_002_ks.cfg and a serial console for console output.

oci-kvm create --domain kvm_vm_002 --pool vm_pool_001 --disk-size=24 --net ens5 \
--virt --vcpus 2 --memory 8192 --boot cdrom,hd --location /isos/OracleLinux.iso --nographics \
--console pty,target_type=serial --console pty,target_type=virtio --noautoconsole --os-variant=ol7.9 \
--initrd-inject /root/kvm_vm_002_ks.cfg --extra-args="ks=file:kvm_vm_002_ks.cfg console=ttyS0,115200n8"

Example using a storage pool and virtual networks

This example creates a guest using a storage pool, a virtual network, and a serial console for console output.

oci-kvm create -D MY_VM -p MY_POOL -s 35 -v MYNET0 -V --vcpus 4 --memory 8192 \
--boot cdrom,hd --location /mnt/OracleLinux.iso --nographics --console pty,target_type=serial \
--console pty,target_type=virtio --noautoconsole --os-variant=rhel7 --extra-args "console=ttyS0,115200n8"

Example using storage pool and multiple VNICs

This example creates a guest that is configured to use a storage pool, multiple VNICs (two VNICs in this example using the -n option), and a serial console for console output.

oci-kvm create -D MY_VM -p MY_POOL  -s 35 -n 10.0.0.97 -n 10.0.1.2 -V --vcpus 4 \
--memory 8192 --boot cdrom,hd  --location /tmp/OracleLinux.iso --nographics \
--console pty,target_type=serial --console pty,target_type=virtio --noautoconsole \
--os-variant=rhel7 --extra-args "console=ttyS0,115200n8"

Example using storage pool and multiple virtual networks

This example creates a guest using a storage pool, multiple libvirt networks, and a serial console for console output.

oci-kvm create -D MY_VM -p MY_POOL -s 35 -v MYNET0 -v MYNET1 -V --vcpus 4 \
--memory 8192 --boot cdrom,hd --location /tmp/OracleLinux.iso --nographics \
--console pty,target_type=serial --console pty,target_type=virtio  --noautoconsole \
--os-variant=rhel7 --extra-args "console=ttyS0,115200n8"

Use the oci-kvm destroy command to remove and deconfigure all system resources assigned to the guest virtual machine and make them available for reuse.

1. Connect to your KVM instance using SSH, for example:

   ssh –i PRIVATE_KEY_PATH opc@PUBLIC_IP_ADDRESS

   For more information, see Accessing an Instance.

2. Before you can remove a virtual machine, you must stop it:

   oci-kvm destroy -s VM_NAME

3. After the virtual machine stops, you can permanently destroy it:

   oci-kvm destroy -D VM_NAME

   For example, to destroy kvm_vm_001:

   $ oci-kvm destroy -D kvm_vm_001
   Domain kvm_vm_001 has been undefined
   

The oci-kvm destroy command undefines the virtual machine in libvirt and cleans up any host resources that were created for it. The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure resources that were allocated to the virtual machine become available for reuse by new virtual machines.