Host System Environment Preparation

Note

These steps are required when configuring the host system to support virtualization.

Updating the BIOS Settings

1. Enter to the BIOS setup.

2. Enable the VT-d parameter in BIOS. This setting is usually under Socket configuration > IIO configuration > Intel VT-d.

   

3. Enable SR-IOV in BIOS. This setting is usually under Platform Configuration > Miscellaneous Configuration > SR-IOV Support.

   

Configuring the Host OS

1. Check the kernel requirements are met.

2. Verify appropriate kernel boot parameters are defined using the following command:

   cat /proc/cmdline
   

   If the parameters are not defined, the grubby command can be used to add the parameters. Reboot the system after adding the kernel parameters, and verify they are correct with the above command.

   Grubby Instructions:

   grubby --update-kernel=ALL --args="intel_iommu=on"
   

   Note

   grubby --remove-args argument can be used to remove any arguments that are not required.

   Non-grubby Instructions:

   sudo sed -i 's/^\(GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="[^"]*\)/\1 intel_iommu=on/' /etc/default/grub
   sudo update-grub
   

3. Once the system is restarted, check the DMAR and IOMMU messages using the following command:

   sudo dmesg | grep -e DMAR -e IOMMU
   

   You should see a similar output as below:

   

Kernel Requirements

SR-IOV
No special limitations. Any kernel version which is supported by Intel QAT 2.0 can be used.

Kernel Boot Parameters

SR-IOV
intel_iommu=on

Install Virtualization Packages

1. Setup Virtualization:

   RHEL/CentOS/Fedora

   • Update the package list:

   sudo dnf update
   

   • Install virtualization-related packages using the following command:

   sudo dnf -y install qemu-kvm libvirt
   

   Debian/Ubuntu

   • Update the package list:

     sudo apt update
     

   • Install virtualization-related packages:

     sudo apt install -y qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients bridge-utils
     

   Common Steps

   The following steps are common for both RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Debian/Ubuntu:

   • Add your user to the libvirt and kvm groups:

     sudo usermod -aG libvirt $(whoami)
     sudo usermod -aG kvm $(whoami)
     

   • Enable and start the libvirtd service:

     sudo systemctl enable libvirtd
     sudo systemctl start libvirtd
     

   • Verify that the libvirtd service is running:

     sudo systemctl status libvirtd
     

   • log back in to apply the group changes:

     sudo su -l $USER
     

2. Verify device capabilities using below command:

   for id in 4940 4942 4944 4946; do sudo lspci -vnd 8086:$id; done | grep SR-IOV
   

   The output will look similar to:

   # for id in 4940 4942 4944 4946; do sudo lspci -vnd 8086:$id; done | grep SR-IOV
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   Capabilities: [150] Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV)
   

System Environment Preparation Demo

Here is a demonstration of how to configure the system to enable virtualization.