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VM Installation

VirtUI Manager provides a streamlined wizard for provisioning new virtual machines, with a focus on ease of use for OpenSUSE distributions while supporting custom ISOs.

To start the installation wizard, press i on your keyboard while in the main window.

VM Installation Wizard

The Installation Wizard

The wizard guides you through the necessary steps to configure your new VM.

Basic Configuration

  • VM Name:

    • Enter a unique name for your virtual machine.
    • Note: The name will be automatically sanitized to ensure compatibility (e.g., spaces replaced with hyphens).

  • VM Type:

    • Select a preset profile that automatically adjusts hardware resources (CPU, RAM, Disk) based on the intended use case. Click the Info button next to the dropdown to see a detailed comparison of the different types.
    • Desktop (Linux): Balanced resources for general Linux desktop use (Default).
    • Windows: Optimized for modern Windows installations (SATA bus, TPM enabled).
    • Windows Legacy: Optimized for older Windows versions or specific compatibility needs (SATA bus, BIOS boot, USB input).
    • Server: More CPU/RAM, larger disk, optimized for server workloads.
    • Computation: High CPU/RAM ratio for compute-intensive tasks, uses raw disk format and virtio networking.
    • Secure VM: Hardened configuration with TPM and SEV (Secure Encrypted Virtualization) support.

  • Distribution:

    • Choose the operating system source.
    • Cached ISOs: Select from ISO images already downloaded to your local cache. The path to the cache is displayed below the selection.
    • OpenSUSE Variants: Select a specific OpenSUSE distribution (e.g., Leap, Tumbleweed, Slowroll) to automatically fetch the latest ISO.
    • From Storage Pool: Select an ISO image directly from an existing libvirt storage pool.
    • Custom: Use a local ISO file from your file system.

  • ISO Image (Repo / Volume):

    • Depending on the selected Distribution, pick the specific image from the dropdown.
    • If a remote distribution is selected, the ISO will be downloaded automatically to the displayed ISO Download Path.
    • If From Storage Pool is selected, you will first select the storage pool, then the specific volume (ISO) within it.

Custom ISO Repositories

You can define your own ISO repositories in the config.yaml file. This allows you to add custom distributions to the selection menu by providing a URL to a directory containing ISO files.

Add the custom_ISO_repo key to your configuration file with the following syntax:

custom_ISO_repo:
  - name: Alpine 3.23 x86_64
    uri: https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.23/releases/x86_64/

These repositories will then be available in the Distribution selection dropdown. When selected, VirtUI Manager will fetch and display the available .iso files from that location.

Custom ISO Options

Visible only when "Custom" distribution is selected.

  • Custom ISO (Local Path): Enter the full path or browse for a local .iso file.
  • Validate Checksum: Optionally verify the integrity of the ISO file using a SHA256 checksum before installation.

Expert Mode

Click the "Expert Mode" header to reveal advanced hardware settings. These default to values based on the selected VM Type but can be overridden.

  • Memory (MB): Amount of RAM allocated to the VM.
  • CPUs: Number of virtual CPU cores.
  • Disk Size (GB): Size of the primary hard disk.
  • Disk Format:
    • qcow2: (Default) Supports snapshots and dynamic allocation.
    • raw: Better performance, but consumes full space immediately and lacks snapshot support.
  • Firmware:
    • UEFI: (Checked by default) Modern boot firmware. Uncheck for Legacy BIOS.

Storage

  • Storage Pool: Select the libvirt storage pool where the VM's disk image will be created. Defaults to default.

Starting the Installation

  1. Review your settings.
  2. Click Install.
  3. The wizard will download the ISO (if necessary), create the disk image, and define the VM.
  4. Once provisioned, the VM will start automatically, and the remote viewer will launch to display the installation console.