This is a very simple BASH script for managing QEMU/KVM VMs. Currently, qboxes can:
- define a new VM, with no guest OS
- clone a template VM into one or more new VMs
- bring inactive VMs up or reboot/shutdown/power-cycle/unplug active VMs
- attach storage volumes to VMs
- integrate files into existing active storage pools
- remove any trace of inactive VMs, active networks, active pools, or volumes
- create new libvirt networks, pools, or volumes
- reveal MAC addresses
- list all available VMs, libvirt networks, pools, or volumes
- send ICMP packets to active VMs
- check if active VMs are reachable via a specific TCP port
To get an overview of the tool just type qboxes.
This is qboxes, a simple command line tool for managing local QEMU/KVM VMs.
Currently the following commands are implemented:
activate : bring inactive VMs up
annihilate : remove any trace of inactive VMs, active networks, active pools, or volumes
assimilate : integrate a file (ISO, QCOW2, etc.) into an existing active storage pool
attach : attach an existing storage volume to an (in)active VM
check-service : try to connect to specified TCP port of one or more active VMs
clone : clone a template VM into one or more new VMs
create : create a new libvirt network, a new pool, or a new volume
deactivate : gracefully shutdown active VMs
define : define a new VM, sans guest OS, according to specifications
getmac : reveal MAC addresses
list : return all available VMs, libvirt networks, pools, or volumes
ping : send ICMP packets to active VMs
powcycle : cold-restart active VMs
reboot : gracefully restart active VMs
unplug : force-power-off active VMs
help : display this summary of commands
command help : get help on specific command
Type qboxes command help for the syntax and a usage example of a specific command.
The script requires a working installation of libvirt and the presence of tools like virsh, virt-clone, virt-install, virt-customize, virt-copy-out, and strings (from package binutils). The user running qboxes should be in the libvirt group and have password-less sudo privileges. Last but not least, the LIBVIRT_DEFAULT_URI environment variable should be properly set for the local system (export LIBVIRT_DEFAULT_URI=qemu:///system should be enough).
There are still many commands (functions) that we would like to implement in qboxes. See TODO.md for our (near) future plans.