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Images

A new VM starts from one of three sources:

SourceWhere it comes fromManaged on
Cloud imagesimages.linuxcontainers.orgNothing to manage: pick one in New VM
ISO imagesInstallers you upload or downloadThe Images page, top table
Saved imagesYour own VMs, saved with Save as imageThe Images page, Saved images

Cloud images​

In New VM, the Operating system list under Images (ready in a minute) is the image catalog from images.linuxcontainers.org, grouped by operating system with a Version to pick. The catalog is refreshed about once an hour. Each image is downloaded the first time a VM uses it; the hint under Version shows the download size.

Most images use cloud-init, so staxmax can create a user, set a password or SSH key, install packages and set a fixed address on first boot. Versions marked no cloud-init, and other variants such as desktop, don't; sign in to those through the console's Root shell tab.

If the node can't reach images.linuxcontainers.org and has no earlier list, New VM offers a short built-in list (recent Debian, Ubuntu, Rocky Linux and Fedora) instead.

ISO images​

The ISO images table lists the installers available for Install from an ISO, with their Size and which VMs use them (Used by). Each ISO is copied to every node, so a VM can be created from it on any node.

Upload an ISO​

  1. Click Upload ISO and choose the .iso file.
  2. A progress bar shows the upload. The file name becomes the ISO's name (letters, numbers, dots, dashes and underscores; other characters become dashes). An ISO with that name must not exist yet.

Download an ISO from a URL​

  1. Click Download from URL.
  2. Paste the URL. The Name fills in from it; change it if you like.
  3. Click Download.

The node downloads the file itself, so it doesn't pass through your browser. For Windows, paste the download link from microsoft.com; it expires after a day.

A failed transfer shows the reason; click Dismiss to clear it.

VirtIO drivers for Windows​

Windows needs the VirtIO drivers for its network card and for good disk speed. Until a VirtIO ISO is present, the page shows Installing Windows? with a Get VirtIO drivers button, which downloads virtio-win.iso from the Fedora project. New Windows VMs then get it as a second drive automatically.

Delete an ISO​

Click Delete. It is deleted from every node. An ISO still attached to a VM can't be deleted: choose Eject install media in that VM's menu first.

Saved images​

Set up a VM the way you want it, then save it as an image to create more VMs that start out the same.

Save a VM as an image​

  1. On Virtual machines, choose ⋯ → Save as image for the VM.
  2. Give the Image name (letters, numbers, dots, dashes and underscores) and an optional Description.
  3. Click Save image.

Saving takes a few minutes in the background and the VM keeps running. While it runs, the image shows under Saved images as Saving; if it fails, the reason shows there and Dismiss clears it. When done, the image is listed with the VM it was Saved from, its Size and the date, and is copied to every node.

  • A running VM is saved as if its power were cut, like a snapshot. For a clean image, shut it down first.
  • New VMs from it get their own MAC address, machine ID and hostname, and keep its users and passwords.
  • For Windows, run Sysprep (generalize) before saving, or every copy has the same computer SID.

Create a VM from a saved image​

In New VM, choose the image under Your saved images. An image saved from a container is listed when you create a container, and makes containers only; one saved from a VM makes VMs. CPUs, memory and disk start at the size of the VM it was saved from, and the disk can't be smaller. Right after saving, the image may still be copying to the other nodes; until it arrives, create the VM on the node it was saved on.

Delete a saved image​

Click Delete and confirm. It is deleted from every node. VMs already created from it are not affected.