Why?
Some users want to work on an Open Systems platform but need applications that are not available under Linux.
The solution is to use a virtual machine on the Linux platform, perhaps as a virtual server in a VPS environment, hosting the Windows server and desktop operating system needed for the applications.
Can KVM run Windows?
Yes. KVM can run Windows in a KVM managed virtual server on the Linux platform.
Some points of clarification:
- KVM is an integral part of the Linux operating system. As such, it runs on a Linux server, although it supports different operating systems, including Windows in each virtual server it manages.
- KVM does not run under Windows in native mode. It can be implemented under Windows using an Open Systems emulator such as Qemu, but performance is very poor.
Further information can be found here.
What is Windows KVM?
Simply put, Windows KVM is a virtual server instance running a Windows server as its operating system. This gives great advantages to an organization running multiple operating systems and wanting to consolidate all its servers on a single server.
It also meets the need of Linux users who want to use Windows-based applications.
How to install Windows 10?
This section assumes that you already have a VPS environment running KVM.
The various steps, taken from GitHub are:
- Download virtio-win.iso to obtain KVM drivers
- Run qemu manually to install KVM, don’t relay on libvirt
qemu-system-x86_64 –enable-KVM \
-smp 4 -m 4096 -cpu host -vgaqxl \
-drive file=/path/to/win10_64.iso,index=1,media=cdrom \
-drive file=/path/to/virtio-win.iso,index=2,media=cdrom \
-drive file=/path/to/win10.img,if=virtio \
-net nic,model=virtio,vlan=0 -net user \
–graphics vnc,listen=127.0.0.1
- Install driver from /viostor/w10/amd64 before installation. (You won’t see harddrive before this step due to lack of driver)
- Finish your Windows installation process on the virtual drive
- Let the device manager install the drivers for the virtual network interface from the virtio drivers automatically.
- (Optional) Install /Balloon/w10/amd64/balloon.inf, graphics driver from /qxldod/w10/amd64/qxldod.inf and guest agent from /guest-agent/qemu-ga-x64.msi
- Now you can boot this image with the KVM front-end, just remember to set disk type as virtio.
- (Optional) Set graphics type to qxl and give it at least 64MB of graphics memory
- Change KVM clock setting to localtime. ex: <clock offset=’localtime’> for libvirt
Do those steps to install Windows on your Virtual Server using KVM. This is a complicated technical process, not for the novice. Full instructions can be found here. If you need assistance, please contact HostSailor to reach our technical support team.