Linux Mint and KVM

I had tried KVM before but stopped at the point of creating virtual machines as I found the management tool is either too manual (command prompt based) or too confusing (GUI with a confusing layout/workflow).  However, this was the experience then.

Yesterday, I came across this article (http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/1555), and it seems things have moved forward quite a bit since my last attempt.  I thought why not give KVM another try.

The installation is easy with commands below:

Virtualization with virt-manager:
# apt-get install qemu-system
# apt-get install qemu-utils
# apt-get install libvirt-bin
# apt-get install virt-manager

Installing SPICE for KVM remote and local access to VMs
# apt-get install python-spice-client-gtk
# apt-get install virt-viewer

Any users that want to manage VMs will need to be added to the "libvirtd" group.

After the installation, restart the machine.  You can either run the virt-manager from the command line or from the "Start menu".  The interface is much improved (as I recalled) and much more logical.

Once you have setup your virtual hardware using using the virt-manager, the rest is straight forward.