LPIC Level 3 305-300 LPI Study Notes

 The Linux kernel module that must be loaded in order to use QEMU with hardware virtualization extensions is KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine). KVM is a full virtualization solution that allows a user space program (such as QEMU) to utilize the hardware virtualization features of various processors (such as Intel VT or AMD-V). KVM consists of a loadable kernel module, kvm.ko, that provides the core virtualization infrastructure and a processor specific module, kvm-intel.ko or kvm-amd.ko. KVM must be loaded into the kernel of the host system in order to use the virtualization extensions of the host system’s CPU. This enables QEMU to run multiple virtual machines with unmodified Linux or Windows images, each with private virtualized hardware. KVM is integrated with QEMU, so there is no need to load it into the kernel of each virtual machine or the first virtual machine. KVM also does not require paravirtualization, which is a technique that modifies the guest operating system to communicate directly with the hypervisor, bypassing the emulation layer. References:

• Features/KVM - QEMU
• Kernel-based Virtual Machine
• KVM virtualization on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (2023)

The lxc-attach command allows the user to start a new process within a running LXC container12. It takes the name of the container as an argument and optionally a command to execute inside the container. If no command is specified, it creates a new shell inside the container1. For example, to list all the files in the home directory of a container named myContainer, one can use:

lxc-attach -n myContainer – ls -lh /home

References:

• 1: Executing a command inside a running LXC - Unix & Linux Stack Exchange

 LXD supports the following network interface types for containers: macvlan, bridged, physical, sriov, and ovn1. Macvlan creates a virtual interface on the host that is connected to the same network as the parent interface2. Bridged connects the container to a network bridge that acts as a virtual switch3. Physical attaches the container to a physical network interface on the host2. Ipsec and wifi are not valid network interface types for LXD containers. References:

• 1: Bridge network - Canonical LXD documentation
• 2: How to create a network - Canonical LXD documentation
• 4: LXD containers and networking with static IP - Super User

 Vagrant is a tool that allows users to create and configure lightweight, reproducible, and portable development environments. Vagrant supports multiple providers, which are the backends that Vagrant uses to create and manage the virtual machines. By default, VirtualBox is the default provider for Vagrant. VirtualBox is still the most accessible platform to use Vagrant: it is free, cross-platform, and has been supported by Vagrant for years. With VirtualBox as the default provider, it provides the lowest friction for new users to get started with Vagrant. However, users can also use other providers, such as VMware, Hyper-V, Docker, or LXC, depending on their preferences and needs. To use another provider, users must install it as a Vagrant plugin and specify it when running Vagrant commands. Users can also change the default provider by setting the VAGRANT_DEFAULT_PROVIDER environmental variable. References:

• Default Provider - Providers | Vagrant | HashiCorp Developer1
• Providers | Vagrant | HashiCorp Developer2
• How To Set Default Vagrant Provider to Virtualbox3