KVM Setup¶

Install Virtualization Packages¶

sudo apt install -y \
    qemu-kvm \
    libvirt-daemon-system \
    libvirt-clients \
    bridge-utils \
    virtinst \
    ovmf \
    swtpm \
    swtpm-tools

swtpm provides the emulated TPM 2.0 that Windows 11 requires for installation. ovmf ships both the standard and Secure-Boot variants of the UEFI firmware (OVMF_CODE.fd and OVMF_CODE.secboot.fd).

Verify KVM Support¶

# Check CPU virtualization
egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo

# Verify KVM modules
lsmod | grep kvm

Configure libvirt¶

Add User to Groups¶

sudo usermod -aG libvirt $USER
sudo usermod -aG kvm $USER

Log out and back in for group changes.

Enable libvirt¶

sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd

Verify¶

virsh list --all

Storage Pool¶

Create a ZFS-backed storage pool:

virsh pool-define-as vm-pool dir - - - - /mnt/tank/vm
virsh pool-start vm-pool
virsh pool-autostart vm-pool

Network Configuration¶

Default NAT Network¶

libvirt creates a default NAT network. Verify:

virsh net-list --all

Bridge Network (Optional)¶

For VMs on the same network as the host:

# /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml
network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    enp5s0:
      dhcp4: no
  bridges:
    br0:
      interfaces: [enp5s0]
      dhcp4: true

Remote Management¶

virt-manager over SSH (recommended)¶

Install virt-manager on your workstation/Mac and point it at the headless server:

virt-manager -c qemu+ssh://user@ms-s1-max/system

virt-manager runs locally as a Python/GTK app and talks to libvirtd on the server over SSH — no X11 forwarding required.

X11 forwarding is not needed

Earlier drafts of this doc recommended enabling X11Forwarding yes in sshd. That's only relevant if you intended to run virt-manager on the server and tunnel its GUI back, which contradicts the headless model. Leave X11Forwarding no on the server.

VM Best Practices¶

Setting	Value	Reason
Chipset	Q35	Modern, PCIe support
Firmware	UEFI (OVMF)	Required for GPU passthrough
CPU	host-passthrough	Full CPU features
Disk	virtio	Best performance
Network	virtio	Best performance