Create Guest OS VMs for Edge Microvisor Toolkit Host#

Edge Microvisor Toolkit supports SR-IOV (Single Root Input/Output Virtualization), which allows it to serve as a host OS for virtualization of other operating systems, running as a guest OS in a virtual machine.

The guide provides instructions on how to perform automated script-based deployment of guest Ubuntu 22.04 and Windows 11 Enterprise operating systems, using virtual machines on Intel IoT platforms using libvirt toolkit on KVM/QEMU hypervisor/emulator.

Table of contents:

Requirements
Set up the Ubuntu host
Create Guest OS images
- Ubuntu VM image
  - Configure Ubuntu user creation
  - Create Ubuntu VM image
    - Start automated creation of Ubuntu VM
    - (Optional) Customize disk size for Ubuntu VM
Windows 11 Enterprise VM image
- Configure Windows 11 creation
- Create the guest Windows 11 VM image
  - Start automated OS image creation
  - (Optional) Customize disk size for Windows VM

Requirements#

Supported Intel IoT Platforms#

Currently, only RPL-P (Raptor Lake P) platforms are supported.

Host operating system#

Ubuntu 22.04.5 (Jammy Jellyfish) - the operating system used as a host where guest VM images are created.

Supported guest operating systems#

OS	Details
Ubuntu 22.04	6.12 kernel- lts-v6.12.76-linux-260309T025316Z
Windows 11	IoT Enterprise

Device support in guest VMs#

Device	Ubuntu 22.04	Windows 11 IoT Enterprise
Storage	Sharing	Sharing
iGPU *	SR-IOV	virtio-gpu, SR-IOV
Display*	SR-IOV	SR-IOV
Audio	emulation	emulation
USB inputs (mouse/keyboard)	Passthrough or emulation	Passthrough or emulation
LAN	Virtual NAT	Virtual NAT
External PCI Ethernet Adapter	Passthrough	Passthrough
External USB Ethernet Adapter	Passthrough	Passthrough
TSN i225/i226 Ethernet Adapter	Passthrough	Passthrough
Wi-fi	Passthrough	Passthrough
Bluetooth	Passthrough	Passthrough
SATA controller	Passthrough	Passthrough
USB Controller	Passthrough	Passthrough
Serial Controller	Passthrough**	Passthrough**
NPU	Passthrough	Passthrough
IPU	Passthrough	Passthrough
TPM	Passthrough	SW emulation

Note: When a device is a passthrough to a guest VM, it can be used by that VM only and will not be available to any other VM or host.

** Not Validated in this release.

KVM MultiOS repository#

The kvm-multios repository contains configuration and setup scripts required for preparing kernel-based virtual machines on Intel IoT platforms. This guide uses the v0.19.0 release tag. For more details, refer to the documentation.

Set up the Ubuntu host#

The Ubuntu host operating system is used to prepare the guest OS images that will be used in virtual machines on Edge Microvisor Toolkit serving as hypervisor.

Configure BIOS settings#

Make sure the following settings are configured:

Name	Menu	Setting
Intel Virtualization Technology (VMX)	Intel Advanced Menu -> CPU Configuration -> VMX	Enable
Intel VT for Directed I/O (VT-d)	Intel Advanced Menu -> System Agent (SA) Configuration -> VT-d	Enable

Install Ubuntu 22.04#

Download Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish).

Install the OS:

# Copy the iso file into a USB drive
sudo dd if=./ubuntu-22.04.5-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M && sync

# Check the boot order number X of the USB drive
sudo efibootmgr

# Select the USB drive as the next boot device
sudo efibootmgr -n X

# Reboot into the drive to start the installation
sudo reboot

Note: If operating behind a corporate firewall, setup proxy settings as required.

In the Software & Updates GUI, make sure to download from Main server, as shown below:

Update the main APT sources configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/intel-rpl.list

Add the following lines:

deb https://download.01.org/intel-linux-overlay/ubuntu jammy main non-free multimedia kernels
deb-src https://download.01.org/intel-linux-overlay/ubuntu jammy main non-free multimedia kernels

Download the GPG key:

sudo wget https://download.01.org/intel-linux-overlay/ubuntu/E6FA98203588250569758E97D176E3162086EE4C.gpg -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/rpl.gpg

Set the preferred list for pinning APT packages:

sudo nano /etc/apt/preferences.d/intel-rpl

Add the following lines:

Package:*
Pin:release o=intel-iot-linux-overlay
Pin-Priority:2000

Upgrade the Ubuntu host software to the latest version:
```
sudo apt -y update
sudo apt -y upgrade
```
Note: Generic host kernel installed from Ubuntu may be incompatible with the board. Therefore, after the upgrade, continue to install the host kernel and firmware before rebooting (step 7).

Install required APT packages:

sudo apt install vim ocl-icd-libopencl1 curl openssh-server net-tools \
gir1.2-gst-plugins-bad-1.0 gir1.2-gst-plugins-base-1.0 gir1.2-gstreamer-1.0 \
gir1.2-gst-rtsp-server-1.0 gstreamer1.0-alsa gstreamer1.0-gl gstreamer1.0-gtk3 \
gstreamer1.0-opencv gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad-apps \
gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-base-apps gstreamer1.0-plugins-good \
gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-pulseaudio gstreamer1.0-qt5 gstreamer1.0-rtsp \
gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-x intel-media-va-driver-non-free libdrm-amdgpu1 \
libdrm-common libdrm-dev libdrm-intel1 libdrm-nouveau2 libdrm-radeon1 libdrm-tests \
libdrm2 libgstrtspserver-1.0-dev libgstrtspserver-1.0-0 libgstreamer-gl1.0-0 \
libgstreamer-opencv1.0-0 libgstreamer-plugins-bad1.0-0 libgstreamer-plugins-bad1.0-dev \
libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-0 libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev \
libgstreamer-plugins-good1.0-0 libgstreamer-plugins-good1.0-dev libgstreamer1.0-0 \
libgstreamer1.0-dev libigdgmm-dev libigdgmm12 libmfx-gen1.2 libtpms-dev libtpms0 \
libva-dev libva-drm2 libva-glx2 libva-wayland2 libva-x11-2 libva2 libwayland-bin \
libwayland-client0 libwayland-cursor0 libwayland-dev libwayland-doc \
libwayland-egl-backend-dev libwayland-egl1 libwayland-server0 libxatracker2 \
linux-firmware mesa-utils libgl1-mesa-dev libglx-mesa0 libgl1-mesa-dri \
mesa-va-drivers mesa-vdpau-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers libvpl-dev libvpl-tools \
libmfx-gen-dev onevpl-tools ovmf ovmf-ia32 va-driver-all vainfo weston \
xserver-xorg-core libvirt0 libvirt-clients libvirt-daemon \
libvirt-daemon-config-network libvirt-daemon-config-nwfilter \
libvirt-daemon-driver-lxc libvirt-daemon-driver-qemu \
libvirt-daemon-driver-storage-gluster libvirt-daemon-driver-storage-iscsi-direct \
libvirt-daemon-driver-storage-rbd libvirt-daemon-driver-storage-zfs \
libvirt-daemon-driver-vbox libvirt-daemon-driver-xen libvirt-daemon-system \
libvirt-daemon-system-systemd libvirt-dev libvirt-doc libvirt-login-shell \
libvirt-sanlock libvirt-wireshark libnss-libvirt swtpm swtpm-tools bmap-tools adb \
autoconf automake libtool cmake g++ gcc git intel-gpu-tools libssl3 libssl-dev make \
mosquitto mosquitto-clients build-essential apt-transport-https default-jre \
docker-compose git-lfs gnuplot lbzip2 libglew-dev libglm-dev libsdl2-dev mc openssl \
pciutils python3-pandas python3-pip python3-seaborn terminator wmctrl \
wayland-protocols gdbserver ethtool iperf3 msr-tools powertop linuxptp lsscsi \
tpm2-tools tpm2-abrmd binutils cifs-utils i2c-tools xdotool gnupg lsb-release \
intel-opencl-icd iproute2 socat

Download and install graphics userspace packages:

wget https://github.com/intel/intel-graphics-compiler/releases/download/v2.10.8/intel-igc-core-2_2.10.8+18926_amd64.deb
wget https://github.com/intel/intel-graphics-compiler/releases/download/v2.10.8/intel-igc-opencl-2_2.10.8+18926_amd64.deb
wget https://github.com/intel/compute-runtime/releases/download/25.13.33276.16/intel-level-zero-gpu_1.6.33276.16_amd64.deb
wget https://github.com/intel/compute-runtime/releases/download/25.13.33276.16/intel-opencl-icd_25.13.33276.16_amd64.deb
sudo dpkgi -i *.deb

Install the Linux kernel and reboot:

Install Linux headers:

sudo apt install linux-headers-6.12-intel linux-image-6.12-intel

Update the bootloader:

sudo sed -i 's/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=.*/GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=\"i915.enable_guc=3 i915.max_vfs=7 i915.force_probe=* udmabuf.list_limit=8192 console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200n8 systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=0 cgroup_enable=memory cgroup_enable=cpuset\"/' /etc/default/grub
sudo sed -i 's/GRUB_DEFAULT=.*/GRUB_DEFAULT=\"Advanced options for Ubuntu>Ubuntu, with Linux 6.12-intel\"/g' /etc/default/grub
sudo update-grub

Reboot the system:
```
sudo reboot
```

Prepare the host with KVM MultiOS scripts#

Ensure the host platform meets the following requirements:
- it has sufficiently large disk allocation for /var during installation of OS,
  
  Note: The default storage path for libvirt for all guest domain disk images and other usage is at /var.
- it has a physical display monitor connected prior to the installation,
- it has a network connection and Internet access
- proxy variables (http_proxy, https_proxy, no_proxy) are set appropriately in /etc/environment if required for the network access,
- it is updated by running sudo apt update,
- it has a current date/ time set up,
- a user already logged into the UI home screen prior to any operations, or a user account set to auto-login, as required for VM support with Intel GPU SR-IOV.
For more details, refer to the prerequisites.
Clone the KVM MultiOS repository:

Check the tag version and clone the kvm-multios repository.
```
cd ~
git clone -b <tag> https://github.com/intel/kvm-multios.git
```

Run the host setup script:

cd kvm-multios
./host_setup/ubuntu/setup_host.sh -u GUI

Create Guest OS images#

Now that the host has been set up, you can prepare Ubuntu 22.04 and Windows 11 Enterprise operating systems for your virtual machines.

Ubuntu VM image#

Configure Ubuntu user creation#

By default, Ubuntu desktop images prompt for user creation during the first boot on the welcome screen. To enable automatic user creation and login, modify the auto-install configuration file.

Automated Configuration (Recommended)

Run the following commands to configure automatic user creation and auto-login.

Note: Make sure to replace YOURUSERNAME and YOURPASSWORD with your proper credentials.

cd ~/kvm-multios
# Backup the original file
cp guest_setup/ubuntu/auto-install-ubuntu-desktop.yaml guest_setup/ubuntu/auto-install-ubuntu-desktop.yaml.backup
# Apply the user creation configuration
sed -i "/users: \[''\]/c\    users:\n      - name: 'YOURUSERNAME'\n        plain_text_passwd: 'YOURPASSWORD'\n        shell
# Add automatic login configuration
sed -i '/runcmd:/a\      - sed -i '"'"'s/#  AutomaticLoginEnable =/AutomaticLoginEnable =/g'"'"' /etc/gdm3/custom.conf\n

Manual Edit

If you prefer to manually edit the file, open guest_setup/ubuntu/auto-install-ubuntu-desktop.yaml in a text editor and make the following changes:

Find the user-data: section and replace:

  user-data:
    # This inhibits user creation, which for Desktop images means that
    # gnome-initial-setup will prompt for user creation on first boot.
    users: ['']

with the following data:

  user-data:
    # This inhibits user creation, which for Desktop images means that
    # gnome-initial-setup will prompt for user creation on first boot.
    users:
      - name: 'YOURUSERNAME'
        plain_text_passwd: 'YOURPASSWORD'
        shell: /bin/bash
        lock_passwd: false
        gecos: 'user'
        sudo:  ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL
        groups: [adm, cdrom, sudo, dip, plugdev, lpadmin, lxd, render]

Find the runcmd: section and add the following lines:

  runcmd:
    - sed -i 's/#  AutomaticLoginEnable =/AutomaticLoginEnable =/g' /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
    - sed -i 's/#  AutomaticLogin = user1/AutomaticLogin = user/g' /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
    - cp /var/log/syslog /tmp/syslog_setup_cont
    # shutdown after install
    - shutdown

Configuration details:

Username:
Password:
Sudo access: Passwordless sudo enabled
Auto-login: Enabled via GDM3 configuration

Verify the changes:

grep -A 8 "users:" guest_setup/ubuntu/auto-install-ubuntu-desktop.yaml
grep -A 3 "runcmd:" guest_setup/ubuntu/auto-install-ubuntu-desktop.yaml

Create Ubuntu VM image#

Start automated creation of Ubuntu VM#

Open a terminal window in the host, and run the following command to start automated creation of the Ubuntu VM image.

./guest_setup/ubuntu/ubuntu_setup.sh --force --viewer

(Optional) Customize disk size for Ubuntu VM#

The default storage size of the ubuntu VM is 60 GiB. To customize the disk size, add the --disk-size option:

./guest_setup/ubuntu/ubuntu_setup.sh --force --viewer --disk-size 100

Replace 100 with your desired disk size in GiB.

Once the installation has completed, the VM image will be in the shutdown state. The ubuntu.qcow2 VM image will be located in the /var/lib/libvirt/images/ directory. The image must be copied to an appropriate host machine with SR-IOV support.

For more details, refer to the Ubuntu VM installation guide.

You can use the virtual machine on Edge Microvisor Toolkit host.

Windows 11 Enterprise VM image#

Configure Windows 11 creation#

1. Download Windows 11 ISO image#

Download Windows 11 24H2 Enterprise Evaluation at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-11-enterprise.

Fill out the required registration form, select your language and download the 64-bit ISO. Save the ISO file to your host system.

2. Create a no-prompt Windows installation ISO image#

Important:

This step is required only for a fully-automated setup without any human intervention.

This step is optional if you are able to monitor the initial boot during the installation and respond when prompted with “Press Any Key To Boot From…”.

You will need a Windows machine to perform the steps below.

Install Windows ADK (Assessment and Deployment Kit)

Download and install the Windows ADK that matches Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 above:
1. Download both components:
- Windows ADK for Windows 11, version 22H2
- Windows PE add-on for the ADK
1. Install both components:
  - First, run the ADK installer (accept all defaults).
  - Then, run the Windows PE add-on installer.
  The default installation path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit.
Prepare the “NoPrompt ISO Creation” script.
1. Download the CreateNoPromptISO.ps1 PowerShell script and save it to C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Downloads\CreateNoPromptISO.ps1.
2. Configure the script.
  
  Open CreateNoPromptISO.ps1 in a text editor (Notepad or PowerShell ISE) and modify the following three variables
```
# Input: Your original Windows 11 ISO file
$WinPE_InputISOfile = "C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Downloads\26100.1.240331-1435.ge_release_CLIENTENTERPRISE_OEM_x64FRE_en-us.iso
# Output: The NoPrompt ISO file to create
$WinPE_OutputISOfile = "C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Downloads\Windows11-NoPrompt.iso"
# ADK Path: Where you installed Windows ADK (from Step 2.1.1)
$ADK_Path = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Assessment and Deployment Kit"
```
  - $WinPE_InputISOfile - the path to the downloaded Windows 11 ISO file.
  - $WinPE_OutputISOfile - the path for saving the generated NoPrompt ISO. Mmake sure the folder exists.
  - $ADK_Path - the installation path for ADK from Step 1.

Generate the ISO image.

Start PowerShell as administrator.
Navigate to your Downloads folder:
```
cd $env:USERPROFILE\Downloads
```

Enable script execution (if needed):

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process

When prompted, type Y and press Enter to confirm.

Execution Policy Change
The execution policy helps protect you from scripts that you do not trust. Changing the execution
policy might expose you to the security risks described in the about_Execution_Policies help topic at
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170. Do you want to change the execution policy?
[Y] Yes  [A] Yes to All  [N] No  [L] No to All  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "N"): Y

Run the script:
```
.\CreateNoPromptISO.ps1
```
The script will create the NoPrompt ISO file at the location specified in $WinPE_OutputISOfile. The new ISO file is ready for automated installation.

Copy the generated ISO image.

cd kvm-multios
cp ../Windows11-NoPrompt.iso guest_setup/ubuntu/unattend_win11/windowsNoPrompt.iso

3. Prepare the Windows 11 OS patch 26100.7922#

Download the required .msu files:

KB5043080:

https://catalog.sf.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/d8b7f92b-bd35-4b4c-96e5-46ce984b31e0/public/windows11.0-kb5043080-x64_953449672073f8fb99badb4cc6d5d7849b9c83e8.msu

KB5077241:

https://catalog.sf.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/66b28d24-251c-4c0a-8a19-82bc599deac3/public/windows11.0-kb5077241-x64_739bca934f7f45038f9752637f632afa52c35f75.msu

Copy the .msu files to the unattend_win11 folder:

# Copy KB5043080
cp windows11.0-kb5043080-x64_953449672073f8fb99badb4cc6d5d7849b9c83e8.msu ./guest_setup/ubuntu/unattend_win11/windows-updates_01.msu
# Copy KB5077241
cp windows11.0-kb5077241-x64_739bca934f7f45038f9752637f632afa52c35f75.msu ./guest_setup/ubuntu/unattend_win11/windows-updates_02.msu

4. Prepare the Intel Graphics driver#

Download the driver package:

win64.zip

Copy the driver package to the unattend_win11 folder:

mkdir install
sudo cp win64.zip install
cd install/
unzip win64.zip
rm win64.zip
cd ..
zip -r Driver-Release-64-bit.zip ./install
cd ~/kvm-multios
# Copy and rename the graphics driver
cp ~/Driver-Release-64-bit.zip \
   ./guest_setup/ubuntu/unattend_win11/Driver-Release-64-bit.zip

5. Prepare the Intel Graphics SR-IOV ZeroCopy driver#

Download the driver package required for GPU virtualization:

ZCBuild_*_Installer.zip