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KVM

This article refers to Platform v2.9.0. The current Platform version is v3.2.0.

Overview​

This guide walks you through deploying Barbara OS on a Linux KVM virtual machine, using libvirt and virt-install to manage the lifecycle of the VM and OVMF to provide a UEFI firmware (Secure Boot disabled).

The procedure has four phases: install the prerequisites on the host, download the Barbara OS image from Panel, prepare the disk and firmware files, and create the VM with virt-install.

Pre-requisites​

  • virt-install installed on the host — see the Ubuntu UEFI virt-install guide.
  • libvirt service installed and running — see the Ubuntu KVM hypervisor guide.
  • A working OVMF installation (/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE.secboot.fd and /usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_VARS_4M.fd). On Debian/Ubuntu, install the ovmf package.
  • The Barbara OS image for KVM, downloaded as a .zip from Barbara Panel.
Download the KVM image from Barbara Panel

Download the KVM image from Barbara Panel

Hardware requirements​

Minimum​

  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Disk: 32 GB
  • CPU: 1 socket / 2 cores
  • Network: 1 × Ethernet interface
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Disk: 64 GB
  • CPU: 2 sockets / 2 cores
  • Network: 2 × Ethernet interfaces

Prepare the disk and firmware​

The commands below use placeholder filenames — substitute the actual filename of the image you downloaded (the version suffix encodes the build date).

  1. Unzip the downloaded archive.

    unzip <kvm-image>.zip

  2. Create the libvirt images folder (if it does not exist):

    sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/libvirt/images/

  3. Keep a pristine copy of the disk (optional but recommended for repeat installs):

    sudo cp <kvm-image>.qcow2 /var/lib/libvirt/images/<kvm-image>_original.qcow2

  4. Copy the working disk the VM will boot from:

    sudo cp /var/lib/libvirt/images/<kvm-image>_original.qcow2 \
            /var/lib/libvirt/images/barbara-core-01.qcow2

  5. Stage the OVMF NVRAM template (needed for UEFI boot with Secure Boot disabled):

    sudo cp /usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_VARS_4M.fd \
            /var/lib/libvirt/qemu/nvram/no-secure-boot.fd

  6. Resize the disk (optional). If you want more than 32 GB of disk, resize the working copy before the first boot:

    sudo qemu-img resize /var/lib/libvirt/images/barbara-core-01.qcow2 32G

Create the virtual machine​

Run virt-install to create and start the VM:

sudo virt-install \
  --name barbara-core-01 \
  --ram 2048 \
  --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/barbara-core-01.qcow2,bus=virtio \
  --network network=default,model=e1000 \
  --import \
  --osinfo linux2022 \
  --graphics none \
  --boot uefi,loader=/usr/share/OVMF/OVMF_CODE.secboot.fd,loader.readonly=yes,loader.secure=no,loader.type=pflash,nvram=/var/lib/libvirt/qemu/nvram/no-secure-boot.fd

The most common parameters to tweak are:

  • --ram 2048 — adjust the amount of RAM in MiB.
  • --name barbara-core-01 — pick a name that fits your inventory.
  • --disk path=... — point to the working disk you created earlier.
warning

Make sure Secure Boot is disabled (loader.secure=no above). Barbara OS is not signed against the Microsoft Secure Boot keys and will be rejected if Secure Boot is enabled.

Summary​

You have prepared a KVM-ready Barbara OS disk, staged an OVMF firmware with Secure Boot disabled, and created the VM with virt-install. The VM boots straight into Barbara OS and prints the Barbara ID on the console. From there, retrieve the Barbara ID — see Get the Barbara ID of the node — and register the node in Panel.