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Virtualization

Virtualization

If you'd like to run a virtual machine (VM) on your OhMyDebn installation, you can use Boxes or Virtual Machine Manager. Boxes is simpler and is the recommended option for most users. If you need more flexibility, then consider Virtual Machine Manager.

Boxes

The hotkey for Boxes is Ctrl + Alt + B. This will check to see if Boxes is installed and install it if necessary. Alternatively, you can install Boxes by running ohmydebn-boxes-install or launch the OhMyDebn menu and then select Install - Virtualization - Boxes.

At the prompt, press Enter to continue:

OhMyDebn Boxes Prompt

Installation complete:

OhMyDebn Boxes Installed

You can then start Boxes from the Cinnamon menu or Apps menu or via hotkey Ctrl + Alt + B.

OhMyDebn Boxes Interface

Virtual Machine Manager

The hotkey for Virtual Machine Manager is Ctrl + Alt + V. This will check to see if Virtual Machine Manager is installed and install it if necessary. Alternatively, you can install Virtual Machine Manager by running ohmydebn-virtmanager-install or launch the OhMyDebn menu and then select Install - Virtualization - Virtual Machine Manager.

At the prompt, press Enter to continue:

OhMyDebn Virtualization Prompt

Installation complete:

OhMyDebn Virtualization Installed

You can then start Virtual Machine Manager from the Cinnamon menu or Apps menu or via hotkey Ctrl + Alt + V.

OhMyDebn Virtualization Machine Manager

Once you've created a VM, if you want to create a snapshot then we recommend setting Snapshot Mode to internal:

OhMyDebn Virtualization Snapshots

Networking

Virtual Machine Manager is set up to use an unprivileged, per-user connection (qemu:///session) rather than the traditional system-wide one. This means there's no Virtual network 'default' (NAT) option when creating a VM — when you reach the network selection step, choose Usermode networking instead.

By default, Usermode networking uses QEMU's older built-in SLIRP driver. The passt package is installed automatically alongside Virtual Machine Manager and offers substantially better throughput, but it isn't used automatically — libvirt still defaults to SLIRP even with passt installed. To use passt, either create the VM with virt-install --network type=passt instead of the graphical wizard, or edit the VM's network device XML afterward (virsh --connect qemu:///session edit <vm-name>) and add <backend type="passt"/> inside the <interface type="user"> element.