WhiteWinterWolf Practical IT security, *nix systems & networking

Latest articles in ‘Vmtools’

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   • virtualization
   • lab
   • vmtools

   Common issues when using virtual machines

   Qemu issues

   Send the Ctrl-Alt-Del key sequence to the guest

   The Ctrl-Alt-Del is a special key sequence intercepted by he operating system. Windows use it as a security¹ measure to unlock its screen, but in the case of virtualized system an alternative is necessary as the key sequence would be intercepted by the host instead of being sent to the guest.

   • If you are using VNC display, press F8, you should get a menu proposing to send the Ctrl-Alt-Del sequence to the guest.

   • If accessibility tools are available, enable the on-screen keyboard, press Ctrl-Alt on your physical keyboard and click Del on the on-screen keyboard.

   • If accessibility tools are not available, on Windows systems press the Shift key at least five times in a row, you should get a pop-up allowing to enable sticky keys. Now successively press the Ctrl, the Alt …

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    • vmtools
    • virtualization

    vmtools guided tour, part 2: manage virtual machines

    Still with me? In this second part of the vmtools guided tour (read the first part first!), we will now enter in the core of the subject and learn how to manage virtual machines, and in particular how virtual machines forks and merges work.

    As before, if anything seems unclear or would warrant more explanation, feel free to contact me.

    Use vmcreate to create virtual machines

    Create a virtual machine from an installation ISO image

    vmup is useful to boot a virtual disk image, but it doesn’t save the virtual machine settings and does not provide access to vmtools more advanced features.

    In vmtools, a virtual machine is a standard directory gathering a few files. To create a new virtual machine, the most common way is to provide the path to the ISO image of an installation disk and the name of a new directory to create:

    user@host …

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    • vmtools
    • virtualization

    vmtools guided tour, part 1: introduction and basic usage

    This the first of a short series of posts introducing vmtools main features. We will start in a gentle way by focusing on a single but central command: vmup.

    Feel free to contact me if anything seems unclear or would warrant more explanation.

    vmtools installation and uninstallation

    Use the provided install.sh script to install vmtools on your system. The default is to install it system-wide:

    sudo sh ./install.sh
    

    To install it as unprivileged user, create a ~/.local directory and use it as installation prefix:

    sh ./install.sh -p ~/.local
    

    To uninstall vmtools, use the provided uninstall.sh script.

    Centralized configuration file

    System-wide settings are stored in the file /etc/vmtools/vmtools.conf, this file is optional and must be manually created.

    This file lets you centrally configure the default settings to apply to all your virtual machines.

    Here is an example file:

    # Use VNC as the default display …

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    • vmtools
    • virtualization

    vmtools, a Qemu virtual machines manager, is now available

    vmtools is a Qemu virtual machines manager which strives to be easy, versatile and modular while adhering to the principle of least privileges, to respect users’ freedom and security.

    • Easy: Just vmup anything which can be booted, from a local disk image file to remote URLs including .ova archives and devices files. No complex parameters to set or remember, just boots the damn thing.

      Virtual machine settings are saved in short and clean plain-text files. No XML, no unneeded settings, only the non-default values specific to the virtual machine, easily readable and editable with any text editor.

    • Versatile: Use it how you want, vmtools does as few assumptions as possible. No imposed directory structure, no imposed work-flow.

      Saved virtual machines are standard directories and files which can be moved, copied or renamed at will, but can also be freely forked and merged to match even advanced work-flows.

      vmtools commands offer …

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