Exercise: Create a Traditional VM

Using virt-manager

A hands-on guide to creating a simple Linux virtual machine using the graphical virt-manager application, including virtual hardware configuration.
Author

Chuck Nelson

Published

November 16, 2025

1 Purpose

This exercise provides a practical, hands-on demonstration of the A+ objective for creating a virtual machine. You will use virt-manager, a standard graphical tool on Linux, to create a new VM, allocate virtual hardware resources to it, and begin the installation of a guest operating system. This process visualizes the concepts of host, guest, and virtual resources.

2 What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this exercise, you will be able to:

  • Launch the virt-manager application.
  • Use the “New Virtual Machine” wizard to configure a VM.
  • Allocate virtual resources like CPU, RAM, and storage.
  • Start a VM and observe the guest OS booting from an ISO file.

This exercise maps to the following program and course learning outcomes:

  • Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs):
    • 1. Identify hardware and basic network components: You will create and configure a set of virtual hardware components for a new guest machine.

This exercise develops the following skills, which align with the O*NET SOC Code 15-1232.00 for Computer User Support Specialists.

Learning Objective O*NET KSAs Technologies Used
Create and configure a virtual machine. Knowledge: Computers & Electronics
Skills: Technology Design, Systems Analysis		 virt-manager, KVM
Allocate virtual hardware resources. Knowledge: Computers & Electronics
Abilities: None		 vCPU, vRAM, Virtual Disk

3 Prerequisites

  • A Fedora 42 VM with the virtualization packages installed (from Exercise 9.0).
  • A Linux installation ISO file. You can download a small, lightweight one like the Fedora Server netinstall ISO. Save it in your ~/Downloads folder.

4 Step-by-Step Guide

This exercise uses a graphical tool. The steps describe the actions to take within the application window.

4.1 Step 1: Launch Virtual Machine Manager

  1. Open the Activities overview in your Fedora VM and search for “Virtual Machine Manager”.
  2. Launch the application. You may be prompted for your sudo password, as it needs administrative rights to manage VMs.
  3. The main window will show your connection to the “QEMU/KVM” hypervisor.

4.2 Step 2: Start the “New VM” Wizard

  1. Click the “Create a new virtual machine” button in the toolbar (it looks like a computer screen with a sparkle).
  2. This opens the “New VM” wizard.

4.3 Step 3: Configure the Guest OS

  1. Choose Installation Method: Select “Local install media (ISO image or CDROM)” and click “Forward”.
  2. Locate ISO Media: Click the “Browse…” button, then “Browse Local” on the left. Navigate to your Downloads folder and select the Fedora Server ISO you downloaded. The wizard should automatically detect the OS type. Click “Forward”.
  3. Allocate RAM and CPU: This screen lets you allocate resources. For a simple server install, 2048 MiB of memory (RAM) and 2 CPUs is plenty. Click “Forward”.
  4. Create Virtual Storage: This step creates a virtual hard disk for your VM. A size of 20 GiB is sufficient. Click “Forward”.
  5. Final Configuration:
    • Name your virtual machine something descriptive, like Fedora-Server-Test.
    • Crucially, check the box that says “Customize configuration before install.” This will let you see the virtual hardware.
    • Click “Finish”.

4.4 Step 4: Review Virtual Hardware and Begin Installation

  1. Because you checked the “Customize” box, a new window will appear showing all the virtual hardware virt-manager has created for your VM.
  2. Click through the items on the left (CPUs, Memory, Disks, NIC, etc.). Notice how each one corresponds to a physical component, but is a software-defined resource.
  3. When you are ready, click the “Begin Installation” button at the top left of the window.
  4. A new console window will open, and you will see the Fedora Server installer boot up, just as it would on a physical machine. You have successfully created a VM! You do not need to complete the OS installation for this exercise. You can simply close the console window and force off the VM.

5 Reflect and Review

ImportantReflection: 3-2-1

Now that you have completed this exercise, reflect on your experience in your Microsoft Teams Student Notebook:

  • 3 virtual hardware components you configured.
  • 2 choices you made in the wizard (e.g., amount of RAM, disk size).
  • 1 question you still have about virt-manager.
TipCheck on Learning

Answer these questions in your notebook to solidify your understanding:

  1. What is the name of the graphical tool used to manage KVM virtual machines on Fedora?
  2. What is the purpose of an ISO file in the VM creation process?
  3. Why is it important to check the “Customize configuration before install” box?
  4. If your host machine has 8 GB of RAM, would it be a good idea to allocate 8 GB of RAM to your VM? Why or why not?
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