Creating your own virtual machine

There are situations where you want to have a system, which you can manage by yourself as 'root', e.g. to install and test software. In such cases a virtual machine is a good idea. To create your own virtual machine on an ISG-managed Linux client proceed as followed:

1. On one of the machine's disks '/scratch' or '/scratch-second' (hereinafter referred to as: SCRATCHES) create a directory <username>. In addition create directory '/SCRATCHES/<username>/VM' to store your finally created VM.

2. Download any operating system installation image to '/SCRATCHES/<username>'.

3. Type following command on the console:

   •      $ vmplayer

4. In the upcoming window klick "Create a New Virtual Machine" and use your downloaded virtual machine image.
5. Make reasonable settings concerning RAM, CPU and Disk (dependend on your machine's hardware setup):

   •      RAM:  min. -> 1-2 GB    max. -> 50% of the RAM of your machine
          CPU:  min. -> 1-2       max. -> 50% of the CPUs of your machine
          Disk: min. -> 10-30 GB  max. -> reasonable percentage of your machine's disk

6. Finally set the path of your new VM to '/SCRATCHES/<username>/VM' and start the installation process.

7. After finishing the installation use command 'vmplayer' to start, resp. changing VM parameters in the future.

Note: 'Virtualization Technology' must be activated in the BIOS of your machine to create VMs in your environment. You can test that with following command:

•      $ ls -l /dev/kvm

  If this file doesn't exist, 'Virtualization Technology' is deactivated. In this case write to: support@ee.ethz.ch to make the BIOS settings accordingly.