[clug] I need help with KVM vitualization

[eyal at eyal.emu.id.au]

The first thing I need is a pointer at a good doco that explains what linux kvm is and how to import
a physical machine into the virtual domain.

I dd'ed the root disk (/dev/sda) to a file on a local disk of the machine that will be the VM host.
I searched for instructions and found most are missing what I consider essential detail, like where
exactly I should run each step etc. Others have a more complicated setup (lvm and what not).

My main worry is that I tried it once, used the GUI tool (virt-manager) and pointed it at a disk
image (from a VirtualBox I had lying around). It started booting (offered the grub selection)
then showed a screen with three dots and gone quiet. After a few minutes I got an error message
and a dracut prompt.

Not knowing how to proceed I decided to just abandon this vm. I issued 'halt' inside the small
console window and it did it.
It also shut down the host machine (and probably every other linux machine in Australia - I
could not tell).

I was surprised that a virtual tool can do this to the host, having used Vmware and VirtualBox
where there is a clear fence around the VM world.

So much fun, but I probably need to educate myself better about what KVM really is.

My need is simple:
   - I have an image (dd) of the disk from a physical machine. I want to run it as a virtual
     machine on another host. How do I import the image?
   - Is kvm the correct tool for this? Should I go back to using VirtualBox?

TIA

-- 
Eyal at Home (eyal at eyal.emu.id.au)