VMs won't start

[SaltyCoffee]

Hi, having trouble with VMs in TrueNAS Core v13.0-U5.3. I'm hoping this is learning curve since I am new to bhyve. But any VM I create just won't start. Even blank ones with all default settings. From time to time they will start, but 10-15 seconds after spinning up, they will crash. This has happened maybe 3-4 times out of countless I've created (varying settings), and even with a VM that previously wasn't working, so it seems completely random when they briefly start up.

The errors in /var/log/messages are always the same after a failed start, the NIC changing state:

Code:

Sep  1 10:19:28 Kubrick kernel: tap0: Ethernet address: meh
Sep  1 10:19:28 Kubrick kernel: tap0: changing name to 'vnet7'
Sep  1 10:19:28 Kubrick kernel: vnet7: promiscuous mode enabled
Sep  1 10:19:28 Kubrick kernel: vnet7: link state changed to UP
Sep  1 10:19:28 Kubrick kernel: vnet7: link state changed to DOWN
Sep  1 10:19:28 Kubrick kernel: vnet7: promiscuous mode disabled

Nothing in /var/log/middlewared.log or any other logs in /var/log. I thought it could have been a memory thing for a second but the issue persists across reboots.

I've seen others get these errors for all kinds of bhyve related issues, so it tells me really nothing about the issue I'm having.

So knowing not much about virtualization in TN, I was hoping y'all could coach me in troubleshooting this? Not sure where to look next.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that when they do start, VNC won't connect, if that matters (probably to be expected given the impending crash)

 

[somethingweird]

Just wondering what guest OS are you running (please include version) - maybe that would help us out?

 

[SaltyCoffee]

The intent is to run HAOS (home assistant) in the VM, but right now, the process never gets that far. I can't even start a newly created VM to install something.

Since this issue seems to get precious little attention...

Can't start VMs from the WebUI

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www.truenas.com

Cannot start any VM

When I create a VM it shows in the web UI, but after I start it the VNC never connects and the serial interface never outputs any text. The freenas syslog contains May 19 09:57:36 freenas kernel: tap0: Ethernet address: 58:9c:fc:10:ff:d3 May 19 09:57:36 freenas kernel: tap0: changing name to...

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Many others... I'll include here this post which indicates it might be a CPU thing. I have a similar CPU. W3520 instead of X3460 but Nahalem anyway.

FreeNAS 11 - RC VMs not starting/working

Hi, I updated FreeNAS 9.10-U5 to FreeNAS 11-RC a few days ago. Everything is working great, including all my jails! I was trying to setup an Ubuntu Mate 16 VM, and followed the Guide. These are the settings: CPU: 1 Memory 1024 UEFI Autostart Y Devices are NIC (default intel) VNC (port 5904...

www.truenas.com

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

I have been running HAOS in a VM on CORE just fine before changing back to the TrueCharts app on my SCALE system.

Please post your VM settings. And how did you write the HAOS image to the disk zvol?

 

[SaltyCoffee]

Yeah this is totally a me problem, that's not lost on me. It's a sore point that nearly everyone else seems to have no issues. But, I'd definitely be happy to hear it's not the CPU, since that would take a couple weeks to resolve through ebay.

Here's a vanilla default basic VM I just created for demo:

Code:

VM Summary
Guest Operating System: Linux
Number of CPUs: 1
Number of Cores: 1
Number of Threads: 1
Memory: 512 MiB
Disk Size: 10 GiB
Name: TEST

Result in /var/log/messages when trying to start it:

Code:

Sep  3 19:20:03 Kubrick kernel: tap0: Ethernet address: meh
Sep  3 19:20:03 Kubrick kernel: tap0: changing name to 'vnet0'
Sep  3 19:20:03 Kubrick kernel: vnet0: promiscuous mode enabled
Sep  3 19:20:03 Kubrick kernel: vnet0: link state changed to UP
Sep  3 19:20:03 Kubrick kernel: vnet0: link state changed to DOWN
Sep  3 19:20:03 Kubrick kernel: vnet0: promiscuous mode disabled

To answer the HAOS image question, I copied it over using dd. But my VM's never get far enough for there to be a problem with the disk image.

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

512 MB might be far too little. Also what boot method? UEFI is the only one working to my knowledge.

And you did get the haos_generic-x86-64-10.5.img.xz image and wrote that to the zvol with dd - uncompressed, of course?

 

[SaltyCoffee]

I've tried all different RAM sizes, that one just has 512 cuz I went with all stock options to make the point. Boot method UEFI. Before I understood that my VMs had issues, I was using this guide:

Alternative way of running HassOS (full OS) on FreeNAS (without iocage or Docker)

While there is the possibility of installing Home Assistant on FreeNAS in iocage (or as a community plugin) or through Docker, FreeNAS also allows for the use of VMs. This guide is not about installing Home Assistant in FreeNAS or onto a Linux VM machine running on FreeNAS but burning a HassOS...

community.home-assistant.io

You basically dl that img from home assistant and convert it to raw then dd it over the zvol you created in the pool. Supposed to just work from there, but that pre-supposes that VMs are working on your system.

To my knowledge in TN, in any case, a basic VM with default options should at least start so you can attach install media?

 

[somethingweird]

Could it be an IP collision/conflict issue? When I installed HAOS - I installed Debian (via iso) first (boot with UEFI) then installed HAOS

 

[SaltyCoffee]

I would think an IP collision would show up in the log? It does when it happens in other applications, anyway. I can't install Debian or anything else because the VMs don't start to even attach or read install media, regardless of OS/platform.

Given the dearth of information on this, I think I'll roll the dice on the CPU theory. I can get a Westmere CPU that fits my mobo on ebay for about 60€.