How to Configure QEMU with SupremeRAID RAID as a Datastore for Virtual Machines #

Environment

RAID Model: All Supreme RAID model

Host Hardware: AMD/Intel

Operating System: Linux RHEL

QEMU

Description

Virtualization has become an essential tool for modern computing, enabling multiple virtual machines (VMs) to operate on a single physical machine. QEMU, an open-source virtualization platform, is widely used to create and manage VMs across various platforms, including Linux. To ensure optimal performance of your QEMU environment, it's crucial to select a reliable and high-performance storage solution for your VMs. In this article, we will explore the process of configuring QEMU on Linux to use SupremeRAID RAID as a datastore for your virtual machines.

Resolution

Note: The IOMMU(AMD) or Vd-t (Intel) need to enable in the BIOS to enable the Virtualization

Step1: Install the Qemu KVM dependency

$ sudo yum install qemu-kvm virt-install virt-viewer

Step2: Attach VD to the virtual machine.

Create an VD with specific size

To create a RAID-5 virtual drive with 5 NVMe SSDs:

1. Create a physical drive.

$ sudo graidctl create physical_drive /dev/nvme0-4

2. Create a drive group.

$ sudo graidctl create drive_group raid5 0-4

3. Create a virtual drive.

$ sudo graidctl create virtual_drive 0

4. Check the device path of the new virtual drive.

$ sudo graidctl list virtual_drive --dg-id=0

Set the VD path into the kvm disk parameter
1. use text mode to install VM
  1. execute virt-install
```
$ sudo virt-install \
--virt-type=kvm \
--name=graid-demo-kvm \
--vcpus=16 \
--memory=102400 \
--location=/home/graid/ubuntu-20.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso \
--disk path=/dev/gvd0n1 \
--graphics none \
--extra-args='console=ttyS0'
```
  Detail parameter description:
  location: the ISO's filepath
  extra-args: extra configuration, the "location" parameter must be if using this parameter.
  disk: the graid's vd path (/dev/gvd<#>n1)
  1. start to install VM

Output example:

use GUI mode via VNC to install VM

execute virt-install

$ sudo virt-install \
--virt-type=kvm \
--name=graid-demo-kvm \
--vcpus=16 \
--memory=102400 \
--cdrom=/home/graid/ubuntu-20.04.3-live-server-amd64.iso \
--disk path=/dev/gvd0n1 \
--graphics vnc,listen=0.0.0.0,password=<your password>\

Detail parameter description:

cdrom: the ISO's filepath

disk: the graid's vd path (/dev/gvd<#>n1)

check the VNC connection port
After execute the virt-install check the VNC connection port
```
$ virsh vncdisplay graid-demo-kvm
```
trun-off firewall

$ sudo systemctl stop firewalld

execute VNC to install VM

Start using