QEMU/KVM for absolute beginners

On this episode of Veronica Explains, I explain the absolute basics of hypervisors generally, KVM specifically, and virt-manager graphically.
Distro-specific KVM instructions referenced in the video:
Fedora: docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/...
Ubuntu: help.ubuntu.com/community/KVM...

[@postnick]

I really enjoy your sense of humor on this. It gives me serious Technology Connections vibes!

[@VeronicaExplains]

That's a big complement, right there!!!

[@LoudnessWar]

Agreed - a very similar smart and snarky-but-goodnatured attitude.

[@jamescross2652]

I think the snarkyness is encouragement. Its like saying "its so easy to do so quit your excuses and get on with it." The downside is when you get an error on install about some dependency or some other obscure error message. Then EVERYONE uses a search engine to find the answer - that then tells you to edit a file you don't have in a directory you don't have. When you finally find the file you edit it carefully and then can't save it because you didn't open it as root. When you have done this a few times you then become just as snarky.

[@gamezoid1234]

Lol, I've been thinking the same things since I started watching Veronica.

[@user-lq4tj1ui9k]

❤nice tutorial

[@soummyadipchakraborty1380]

Veronica and people like her make the world a great place to live on.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! I appreciate that!

[@draoi99]

I like your teaching style, the video held my attention all the way through. I would be interested in knowing more about networking with virtual machines.

[@VeronicaExplains]

There's enough there for an entire video, for sure! Thank you!!

[@jdesu]

me Too

[@derickflorian4724]

Another vote for networking please!

[@kylehill3643]

@@VeronicaExplains You failed to explain it's for Linux users. That's a problem many Linux programmers make so don't feel bad.

[@leeblack2103]

@@VeronicaExplains Great job and wonderful video! Have you made any videos covering Vagrant?

[@zebcode]

You explain everything concisely without skipping important things. Thank you, nobody else seems to be doing this! I'd really like to see a video on network bridging

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! Very much appreciate it. I'm hoping to do a follow up on networking very soon.

[@rootcanal7188]

@@VeronicaExplains At the start of the video, it seemed that you were working with nested virtual machines. You didn't cover that in this video. Did you cover it in another video?

[@jbucata]

@@rootcanal7188 I'm pretty sure that was just her video software capturing the screen it was running on

[@rootcanal7188]

@@jbucata Thank you.

[@fosymraz]

I'm a support engineer at Oracle for the KVM based Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM) product and I found this very interesting. Thanks you for taking the time to make this video.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you for watching!!

[@xoxoxo-42]

w007

[@bartvoskulen3243]

Love your style! I've been using Virtualbox for many years and tried KVM/QEMU some time back, finding them rather painful. Now, after watching this video, I'll go back and give them another go. Thanks so much.

[@orchishgrunt7888]

I love how you explain each step and take a moment to explain details. I feel like I'm learning while I'm learning :)

[@nreamer]

Absolutely the best explanation of this subject I have found on KZbin. I am a retired sysadmin (windows, unfortunately, but heavy into VMware from their beta days). I have been using Virtualbox for years as it is free and works, but searching for something better. You have convinced me to give this a shot! I like how you go deep, but not too deep, but not too shallow. Stated another way, I always hated basic programming books that went from "Hello World" to Greek in the space of one paragraph! You bridge that gap well! Thanks!

[@MinimalistMatty]

Omg! I’ve been searching for days to figure out how to install VMs to my second ssd using QEMU. Thank you so much for this fantastic video!

[@pablodelcampo7994]

Thanks for the video. Your style of teaching and explaining made the 20 minutes fly by (something difficult for those who explain technology topics). It would be great if in your next video you could explain the networking part, which I always get along very badly with. Greetings from Argentina.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! Networking and VMs seems to be a popular topic recently. I think it'd be great for a second video!

[@davidporter6041]

This was excellent! Really appreciate the depth and care you took to go over the tricky bits. Particularly appreciate hearing from your experience opinions about good or difficult parts. It's easy-enough to look up OS-specific written instructions but the overview you give is super helpful and much harder to find. Many years as a professional infra dev and I genuinely didn't really quite know how virtual-machines run on linux, despite having run it for years. I thought KVM meant Keyboard-mouse-something and hypervisors were completely mysterious. Areas such as networking and kernel-level OS things are things that us devs struggle with and... speaking for myself at least, really appreciate the insight

[@arthurpizza]

This was brilliant. I can't wait to see what you make next.

[@selva8693]

Excellent video Veronica!!. Your style is amazing. Love to see more videos from you.

[@RamLaska]

> Tell me you're a dev without telling me you're a dev Label on monitor says, "YOU'LL SURVIVE" lol!!! 3:49 You should totally make that groovy music a recurring theme whenever you put up some explanatory text. It's a lot of fun. 5:15 Alliteration drum solo. VERY well done Excellent video. Keep them coming! :)

[@stefanopilone957]

Thank you for this video; before watching it I was convinced kvm was a difficult application for experts, but using your instruction I succeded to install and use it

[@nekleoth]

Extremely well done video and explanation. Everything is clearly explained from beginning to end and you give reasons for what is used and why one would want to do certain steps. I wish all tech how-to videos were more like this.

[@sabergo1]

I've never been so entertained by a how-to video. Thanks!

[@RonakDhakan]

I am administering the IT at my work which is mostly Windows but we are entering into Linux for some development and testing. I also moved to Linux Mint with KDE on a dedicated SSD on my personal computer 2 months back after years of trying out various Linux distributions in VirtualBox and dual boot. Thank you for putting so much effort into your videos to make them not boring. You are like the elder sister I never had. 🤗

[@wandering_coder6356]

This is one of my favorite Linux channels. You are an amazing teacher, and I love your words of encouragement. Thanks for taking the time to do all the work you do and making KZbin a better place.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! This comment brightened my day.

[@noahark4832]

What a way of describing. Bravo! Just adequate knowledge to begin with and immediate application, very nice. Feel glad to found your channel, youtube is blessing sometimes.

[@jalalabdul-qahhar2999]

I have been tinkering with QEMU/KVM for weeks, I was finally able to get it working after watching your video. Thank you.

[@VeronicaExplains]

I am SO GLAD the video was helpful! That's the goal, after all! :)

[@telisijohn2054]

I have seen several tutorial videos on youtube but your style of teaching is not only superb but entertaining. Way to go Veronica.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you so much!!!

[@fourex59]

Veronica, I thoroughly enjoy your videos. They are easy to understand and you are quite animated in a good way :-) thank you for the work that you do and I look forward to each new video.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! I appreciate hearing that!

[@estebanmarin002]

Love your videos. Their tone, music and theme. ❤ please keep them up. I am a Linux fan and now more that you are a voice in the community

[@HowardPepper]

I really enjoyed this video Veronica. You have an easy style of explaining things that make them easier to learn.

[@VeronicaExplains]

That's the goal!! Thank you!

[@petermead7510]

Like so many have already said, Great teaching style. Especially the part about not taking up too much time in the minutiae and giving direction to :"look it up". I am newer to linux (about a year now) and I have accidentally bumped into the virt-manager and wondered about it. I figured I would find out about it when it was time. Well the time is now because Virtualbox frustrates me, especially on it's weak USB pass-through, and I have been looking through several web pages and videos finding myself not yet knowing what i wanted to about it. Your short, concise video leaves me feeling confident and looking forward to my upcoming VM-doings. So thank you for the time you put into that for us. Liked and subscribed!

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you so much! I do really like QEMU/KVM, and think it's a great alternative to Virtualbox with a lot more performance and flexibility. I hope you have fun with it!

[@worldwriteweb]

Thanks for this video! As I've just recently started using QEMU/KVM, it taught me a lot ! Your explanations are very clear and understandable, and I will surely put them to practice for future reference!

[@Juliozz3]

When the need came to install a hypervisor on my Linux machine, this video (which I had watched before) was the first thing that sprung to mind. Thank you so much for this very helpful guide!

[@deepinsource]

Impressed by your tutorial Looking forward to see more videos about network settings

[@devernejones7098]

I learned stuff! I've been using these tools at work on existing setups, and I an very keen to learn the underpinnings so I can expand/improve. I would also add to the virtual clamor for "more nerdy command line virsh", and more on networking. I want to know more! Thanks for your hard work!

[@VeronicaExplains]

I'm glad you learned stuff! That's the goal! Thank you for watching!

[@PavelSayekat]

yeah, I vote for "more nerdy command line virsh" and also making the VM with qemu commands from terminal.

[@NeilDoesStuff1]

This is the first video I found of yours, and like Linux YOU are AWESOME! your explanations were clear and concise very helpful, also thank you for actually taking a minute to explain some of the commands, this is something that many others just blow right by. I will be watching more I am sure, thank you!

[@mehanfar]

Perfect, attractive, amusing presentation with one of the best intonation and pauses.

[@examen1996]

I'm very passionate by Linux and virtualization myself, great video, you just earned yourself a new subscriber :)

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you!!!

[@deanwillswissen]

That was... great! I'd definitevely love to see more 'terminal nerditude' about KVM! I'll go watch your other vids rn

[@thebozzIDW]

I am incredibly grateful to you for creating this video. I am fairly certain that I came across this video after I had tried using Virtualbox to test something within a macOS and Windows VM (and not having a particularly stellar experience). After watching your video I installed kvm on my old 2011 MacBook Pro (running Ubuntu only), in in addition to some other tools called quickemu and quickget, and it was night and day in comparison to my previous attempts at using Virtualbox to create Windows, Linux, and even macOS VMs. Many, many thanks Veronica!

[@VeronicaExplains]

So glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!

[@fabiogius2451]

Thank you for this video. I am an arch user, and some moths ago took a look at the wiki, and gave up at the time on kvm-qemu, promising to myself I'll try again in the future. This video was the perfect opportunity, giving me an idea about the core component and concepts that allowed me to better understand the wiki, and that coupled with a couple of additional searches on the web (never been ashamed to look for guides and howto-s) did the trick.

[@ethelwivic]

Nice video and I like your presentation style. I'd def vote for the bridging topic next!

[@rolfwihlborg]

Great video, keep up the good work. Hope to see more Linux tutorials from you, a fresh alternative to all the stuffy Linux stuff on the tube.

[@DanielMReck]

Fabulous explainer! Thank you! It would be great to take an even deeper dive into KVM to explore the gotchas, practical config topics, and usage tips. Today was the first time one of your videos turned up in a search for me. As an educator, I am glad it did, as your instructional style is on point! You have my subscription and I look forward to the next lesson.

[@Private-GtngxNMBKvYzXyPq]

Kudos for telling us when to pause for information. Awesome. Also, blessed are those who post solutions and how-to info for the rest of us to search. Professionals definitely learn how to search, but the true masters post the information for the rest of us (such as your videos, for instance). Thanks for sharing.

[@santosvella]

I've been a Linux user for 20 yrs and your teaching style is awesome.

[@riseabove3082]

Veronica has a very likable personality and makes knowledge fun. I can see why you have high views but you need more subscribers.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! I'm hoping to keep building up the subs! Sharing the videos doesn't hurt, hint hint! :P

[@tormung]

Consider me your new fan. I love your videos and the way how you make Technology things look so easy to understand. Please keep these videos coming!

[@KetaCreek]

Veronica, you make fantastic videos and this one is my favorite so far. It was very informative and fun to watch. I have been into linux since 1999 but I am a neophyte to KVM and Qemu. This video had a well defined scope and you I would love to see this grow into a play list. I would like to request an intro to virt and I would also like to express my interest in videos that explore the networking options. Thanks again. :)

[@filmyk]

Excellent video! i would love to see more in-depth videos about kvm.

[@Ken-ix6vx]

Great kvm tutorial. I’ve already watched this video 3 times. Yes, please make an entire playlist on kvm. Start with virsh.

[@mehdizj]

This is the best KZbin channel I have found. Thank you Veronica. Awesome content.

[@user-vp1rm2bg7r]

Awesome content, the way you deliver it, whoa, haven't blinked once. You are awesome! Cheers

[@rustyelectron]

thanks for this great video, looking forward to new ones.

[@ihartmacz]

Still watching, but already love this! I’ve wanted to replace my ESXi machines and replace them with Arch boxes.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Do it!

[@roadshowautosports]

Just bumped into your video and love the way you teach everyone as a school (preschool?) teacher! Love to see women developers, something the outside world sometimes forget they exist!!! Great video, super simple language, and honest advice! Got yourself a subscriber!

[@hanznel8488]

This was by far the best tutorial on this subject I've come across. Love your channel. Thanks to the algorithm to steer my to this awesome channel. Subscribed immediately.

[@DDBAA24]

4:48 .. I can relate to this , I actually do have them memorized but rather than stress even after all these years I still setup my own tldr for quick reference . If working multi platform that does become a bit much to remember, the official tldr has the -p option so you can specify the platform of the command in question. Its one less trip to the search engine + you can easily append your own entries.

[@MilesClark]

Great video - thanks very much for putting it together! I'll cast another vote for a KVM networking deep-dive. I'd like to be able to SSH into the VMs from the host system and do some other things as well. Looking forward to the next installment!

[@mimimmimmimim]

Just use Bridge networking instead of Nat

[@janlam3344]

@@mimimmimmimim I tried checking bridge device but I need some help figuring out how to set it up...

[@abarth0800]

Super cool glad to hear so clear explained

[@ekeretteekpo3004]

I didn't even have to watch till the end before I could figure out the solution to a problem I had that led me to your video. I think your video is the best one on this subject matter. Thank you very much. 🙏

[@em27024]

Thanks for this video which is the best I've seen on KVM. Very, very good

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you so much!!

[@RobSeward7]

You have a great presentation style! I personally would love to see a video on KVM bridge networking.

[@LinuxForEveryone]

Your approach to editing makes this so much fun to watch.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! Lots of time learning the tools... it's worth it!

[@concretec0w]

Loved the vid! I'm an ex sys-admin and haven't touched virtualisation in years. This was super handy - thank you!

[@MrTechUser]

Wow, I just came across your site and subscribed. Awesome! I love your teaching style as well. I would like to know more about QEMU/KVM. Everything actually. I currently use Virtual Box. Though it only allows a max ram of 256MB and is sometimes a bit buggy with USB.

[@frauseo]

Hi Veronica, we want more Terminalnerdytude!!! Also a deepdive in KVM Networking will be very welcoming! Awesome video, Tank you very much 😎

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you! I'm trying to come up with cool terminal stuff! We'll see!

[@mrmansville9340]

Thank you Veronica I sat here and followed you step by step. My VM's are all up and running. It was quite a personal experience being directly guided by a friendly virtual Bodhisattva.

[@SpanishJohn]

This episode sure was exciting veronina!

[@khfamdfbjds]

great video, interesting and with knwoledge. Amazing Linux and so are you!

[@VeronicaExplains]

I'm so glad you liked it! :)

[@perritobrodersen8317]

I love KVM too been using it for years but mostly with virt-manager. I hope you will do some Virsh playing around and much more on kvm in general.

[@DanCalloway]

Great video. What a difference your teaching video is from all the others. it's a pleasure to watch and learn.

[@neverping]

KZbin recommended me this video and I really love how attracted I was with the explanations! I guess the next step is to show how to use KVM with Vagrant to quickly provision Virtual Machines.

[@josefont11]

you are excelent teacher. Please continue KVM videos. I always make mistake, when install it .

[@VeronicaExplains]

Oh, I think there will be a few KVM videos. I've got some other things in process as well. Thank you so much for the compliment! :)

[@herrxerex8484]

1st video made me sub 2nd video made me turn on notifications This is so awesome.

[@VeronicaExplains]

Thank you SO MUCH!

[@bunnybird12]

Wow! This was exactly what I was looking for. Love your teaching style and I found a new Linux channel to watch :)

[@kimorlandonilsson1196]

I didn't know there was a gui for qemu. I will definitely try that. ​Thanks for an informative video, with a lot of humor.

[@drgr33nUK]

KVM is the best virtualisation tech. I really hoped that the virgl project matured but as far as I'm aware we never got a Windows driver :( I wish I had the knowledge to contribute and write my own driver.

[@aerahtv0000]

Thank You, would be interesting to know more about network, bridging all that jazz

[@partharora5382]

loved your content, loved your delivery way

[@JamieBainbridge]

This is the best walkthrough for KVM and virt-manager. Not many people know about this, there isn't a lot of easy info out there about it. I'll send people here in future, thank you.

[@youtubeoneverything4581]

this hands down the simplest KVM explanation, I've found in youtube. P.S. - there's probably some mis-configuration with your OBS settings. the screen recording looks very pixeleted

[@ameusahkmud-dabii7932]

I am really interested in seeing how KVM can be used as a type 1 hypervisor like how qubes os uses xen.

[@naythin8354]

Your uncanny ability to blend nerdy topics with humor makes these tech videos so much more enjoyable. Some creators of similar content excel at making the auditory version of watching paint dry. Keep up the great work.

[@Rndhld]

Oh woaw. Thank you for that video. It is perfect in every way. It saved me about half a dozen headaches.

[@srvfan84]

Great intro video to kvm. For a followup, you might consider showing how to connect to remote hypervisors with virt-manager as well. If you want to go further for a playlist, would you consider a demo setting up ovirt or Eucalyptus, etc.?

[@jorgemv1]

Great vid. Although, virt-manager has been deprecated, so actually it would be recommended to use Cockpit with the added benefit that you can manage the hypervisor server remotely, also it's browser based so that means it has a nice GUI to play with! Anyway, thanks for the video!

[@VeronicaExplains]

I'm not sure virt-manager has been depreciated? Still see some activity on the GitHub. Plus, the video is aimed at absolute beginners- installing Cockpit might be a smidge next-level. I usually recommend getting comfortable in virsh before trying out Cockpit.

[@jorgemv1]

@@VeronicaExplains I understand. Virt-manager was deprecated by Red Hat in order to favor the use of Cockpit in all future RHEL releases since it's actually easier to use due to the clean GUI. Yet virt-manager is still mantained by the community and can be used on any other distros although not recommended for enterprise production servers. Thanx for your reply!

[@tpttecmic]

Yes red hat does recommend cockpit (closer match to their RHV manager) or to use virsh but they do mention some functionality has not been implemented in cockpit yet and mention virtual-manager could be useful for those cases. Virt-manager does have some really good remote management options. I would like to see more on migration and maybe sandboxing so you can run potentially naughty vms but they can not reach the host only other vms on that internal network

[@DarkMalJustice]

Oh that Commodore brings back memories - definitely a treasure to keep.

[@psiborg6072]

Thank you for the video! Did this on my main Windows computer, the Linux main was busy compiling. Used a VMware Kali VM, then used KVM inside that to run a Manjaro VM using your clear and entertaining instructions :) I now like KVM more.

[@gorilladev]

Would love a deep dive into sharing networking with the host machine or how to see the VM network with the rest of the the actual LAN so let's say you can run virtual server's locally . 😀

[@VeronicaExplains]

I'm starting to think an entire video about networking VMs might be helpful. It isn't hard on a basic level and if you have the right hardware you can do some impressive things!

[@gorilladev]

@@VeronicaExplains Yes, it would I actually got a Pi because i could not figure out how to make the VM speak with the rest of my LAN. Also I figure my box is on 24/7 it should be running some services when it's idling :)

[@dingokidneys]

@@VeronicaExplains Yes please. A video on networking in different ways on KVM would be great. I can do things like bridge and create local networks on VirtualBox but KVM stumps me. I think that my basic understanding of networking is lacking somewhere. Everything I find seems either too high level or too down in the weeds. You might end up with a whole series on networking and VMs if you tackle this, and I wouldn't object. :)

[@christostsekas8795]

Very well presented and informative video!! It would be nice if you make one about kvm networking as well. Thank you!

[@JimNicholsMotorManiaGarage]

Wow! I couldn't get any other VM's to work. I didn't know KVM existed... Awesome! Got it up and running on Ubuntu 20.04 no problem. Just did a VM of fedora 36 do I can try it out. I'm stoked thank you for taking the time to do these helpful videos!! You ROCK!!

[@manihindrich]

Thank you for this video! You know how to explain things clearly with charm

[@rickbates9232]

"google" for answers on "duck duck go" ... LOL ...

[@kmstraker]

I thought the same!

[@A_G420]

I knew all this stuff but you explained it so well I just kept watching & subscribed

[@u2fanberlin]

Hello Veronica! You are awesome! Some days ago I used Vbox for the first time. Failing to connect an usb device brought me to Quemu&KVM. And the search for a tutorial brought me to you. Your great video took away lots of headache and fear that a newbee often feels in such a situation. Now I am trying to copy the created vm to start it on a larger system ssd. Lets see. Thank you very much 🎉 And greetings from Germany.

[@marcosoliveira8731]

How come I din't know your channel way sooner??? I just loved your approach to teach this subject. I've learned a lot. Thank you! +1

[@moribundtoot8183]

Love your video. You've got a great presentation style. Subscribed on the C64 cameo alone!

[@travellingDAS]

I love your style! So clear and full of humour as well as great content. Any chance you could cover KVM networking, especially connecting into a VM from “The Outside”.

[@curtisbroderick3182]

I like your humor. Very good. And, your articulation and pronunciation is near the best I've seen on all of you tube. You must have had a semi-deaf grandparent.

[@hootiebubbabuddhabelly]

Got everything installed and enabled and 2 VMs setup (not very hardened but firewalled, at least) in no time at all - once I fixed the networking stuff I broke after falling down a seemingly neverending, "might as well fix this while I'm in the bios" rabbit hole...excellent tutorial. Thanks!

[@MunnyLerner]

Really good tutorial, thanks Veronica! I should have watched this earlier because I took the long way around and followed another tutorial that did the same thing as USB direct but just a lot harder. Thanks again!

[@abolfazlp995]

This is the first video i watched from your channel, When you said it's like a machine inside a machine inside a machine inside a machine, i subscribed

[@Happymacer_P]

Subbed pending watching all the videos you mentioned in this vid! Thanks for the trouble!

[@testchannel9552]

glad i came across this channel. a hidden treasure trove indeed:)