8.2. Managing guest tools¶

8.2.1.1. Installing guest tools in new virtual machines¶

When you create a new VM, you can attach the guest tools image to it and install the guest tools after the operating system. To do this, perform the following steps on a compute node:

1. Create a new VM with the guest tools image. For example, to create a Linux VM centos, run:

   # vinfra service compute server create centos --network id=private --flavor medium \
   --volume source=blank,size=64,boot-index=0,type=disk \
   --volume source=image,id=centos7,size=3,boot-index=1,type=cdrom \
   --volume source=image,id=vz-guest-tools-lin,size=1,boot-index=2,type=cdrom
   

   Note

   Round up the size of volumes to be created from images. For example, if the OS distribution image is 2.6 GB, use size=3.

   In this example, the first volume is a blank virtual HDD, the second volume is the OS distribution image centos7, and the third volume is the guest tools image vz-guest-tools-lin. Make sure to specify the correct boot order by means of the boot-index parameter.

2. Log in to the virtual machine and install an operating system in it.

3. Run guest tools installer inside the VM:

   • Inside a Linux VM, create a mount point for the optical drive with the guest tools image and run the installer:

     # mkdir /mnt/cdrom
     # mount /dev/sr1 /mnt/cdrom
     # bash /mnt/cdrom/install
     

   • Inside a Windows VM, launch the installer in the AutoPlay window if autorun is enabled. Otherwise open the optical drive in Explorer and run setup.exe.

     After installing guest tools, restart the VM.

   Note

   Guest tools rely on the QEMU guest agent that is installed alongside the tools. The agent service must be running for the tools to work.

8.2.1.2. Installing guest tools in existing virtual machines¶

The steps you need to perform to install the guest tools in existing VMs depend on the guest OS type. They are described in the following subsections.

Installing guest tools in existing Linux virtual machines

To install the guest tools in an existing Linux virtual machine, do the following:

1. Create a volume from the uploaded guest tools image. For example:

   # vinfra service compute volume create vz-guest-tools-lin-vol --storage-policy default \
   --size 1 --image vz-guest-tools-lin
   

2. Attach the guest tools volume to the virtual machine. For example:

   # vinfra service compute server volume attach \
   --server centos vz-guest-tools-lin-vol
   +--------+--------------------------------------+
   | Field  | Value                                |
   +--------+--------------------------------------+
   | device | /dev/sr1                             |
   | id     | 1a40012a-7976-47a1-81f1-ff498cba90af |
   +--------+--------------------------------------+
   

3. Log in to the virtual machine, create a mount point for the optical drive with the guest tools image, and then run the installer:

   # mkdir /mnt/cdrom
   # mount /dev/sr1 /mnt/cdrom
   # bash /mnt/cdrom/install
   

   Note

   Guest tools rely on the QEMU guest agent that is installed alongside the tools. The agent service must be running for the tools to work.

Installing guest tools in existing Windows virtual machines

To install the guest tools in an existing Windows virtual machine, do the following:

1. Power off the Windows VM. For example, to stop the win10 VM, run:

   # vinfra service compute server stop win10
   

2. Convert its system volume to a template image. You will need the volume ID that you can obtain with vinfra service compute volume list. For example, to use the win10 VM boot volume, run:

   # vinfra service compute volume list | grep win10
   | 7116d747-a1e1-4200-bd4a-25cc51ef006c | win10/windows_10_pro_x64.iso/Boot volume   | <...> |
   | ef2f1979-7811-4df6-9955-07e2fc942858 | win10/windows_10_pro_x64.iso/CD/DVD volume | <...> |
   # vinfra service compute volume upload-to-image 7116d747-a1e1-4200-bd4a-25cc51ef006c | grep id
   | id               | 79da5239-b2bb-4779-ada2-46cb8da8ba0e
   

3. Create a new Windows VM from the template, attaching the guest tools image to it during creation. For example:

   # vinfra service compute server create newvm --network id=private --flavor medium \
   --volume source=image,id=79da5239-b2bb-4779-ada2-46cb8da8ba0e,size=64,boot-index=0,type=disk \
   --volume source=image,id=vz-guest-tools-win,size=1,boot-index=1,type=cdrom
   

   Note

   The size of volume to be created from a template image must be equal to or greater than the minimum volume size specified in the image metadata. You can learn the minimum volume size by using vinfra service compute image show <image_id> | grep min_disk.

   In this example, the first volume is the template of the original VM’s system disk and the second volume is the guest tools image. Make sure to specify the correct boot order by means of the boot-index parameter.

4. Once the image is mounted inside the Windows VM, launch the installer in the AutoPlay window if autorun is enabled. Otherwise open the optical drive in Explorer and run setup.exe.

   After installing guest tools, restart the VM.

   Note

   Guest tools rely on the QEMU guest agent that is installed alongside the tools. The agent service must be running for the tools to work.

8.2.2.1. Uninstalling guest tools from Linux virtual machines¶

To uninstall the guest tools from a Linux guest, log in to the virtual machine, and then do the following:

1. Remove the packages:

   1. On RPM-based systems (CentOS and other):

      # yum remove dkms-vzvirtio_balloon prl_nettool qemu-guest-agent-vz vz-guest-udev
      

   2. On DEB-based systems (Debian and Ubuntu):

      # apt-get remove vzvirtio-balloon-dkms prl-nettool qemu-guest-agent-vz vz-guest-udev
      

      If any of the packages listed above are not installed on your system, the command will fail. In this case, exclude these packages from the command and run it again.

2. Remove the files:

   # rm -f /usr/bin/prl_backup /usr/share/qemu-ga/VERSION /usr/bin/install-tools \
   /etc/udev/rules.d/90-guest_iso.rules /usr/local/bin/fstrim-static /etc/cron.weekly/fstrim
   

3. Reload the udev rules:

   # udevadm control --reload
   

After removing guest tools, restart the virtual machine.

8.2.2.2. Uninstalling guest tools from Windows virtual machines¶

To uninstall the guest tools for Windows, log in to the virtual machine, and then do the following:

1. Remove the QEMU device drivers from the device manager.

   Important

   Do not remove the VirtIO/SCSI hard disk driver and NetKVM network driver. Without the former, the VM will not boot; without the latter, the VM will lose network connectivity.

2. Uninstall the QEMU guest agent and guest tools from the list of installed applications.

3. Stop and delete Guest Tools Monitor:

   > sc stop VzGuestToolsMonitor
   > sc delete VzGuestToolsMonitor
   

4. Unregister Guest Tools Monitor from Event Log:

   > reg delete HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog\Application\\
   VzGuestToolsMonitor
   

5. Delete the autorun registry key for RebootNotifier:

   > reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run /v \
   VzRebootNotifier
   

6. Delete the C:\Program Files\Qemu-ga\ directory.

   If VzGuestToolsMonitor.exe is locked, close all the Event Viewer windows. If it remains locked, restart the eventlog service:

   > sc stop eventlog
   > sc start eventlog
   

After removing the guest tools, restart the virtual machine.