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Virtualization

  3 minute read.

Last Modified 2022-04-07 16:08 EDT

The Virtualization section allows users to set up Virtual Machines (VMs) to run alongside TrueNAS. Delegating processes to VMs reduces the load on the physical system, which means users can utilize additional hardware resources. Users can customize six different segments of a VM when creating one in TrueNAS SCALE.

TrueNAS assigns a portion of system RAM and a new zvol to each VM. While a VM is running, these resources are not available to the host computer or other VMs.

TrueNAS VMs use the KVM virtual machine software. This type of virtualization requires an x86 machine running a recent Linux kernel on an Intel processor with VT (virtualization technology) extensions or an AMD processor with SVM extensions (also called AMD-V). Users cannot create VMs unless the host system supports these features.

To verify that you have Intel VT or AMD-V, open the Shell and run egrep '^flags.*(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo. If device information appears, your system has VT. You can also check the processor model name (in /proc/cpuinfo) on the vendor’s website.

VirtualizationSCALE

The Operating System menu lets users chose the VM operating system type, the time it uses, its boot method, and its display type.

The menu also lets users set a shutdown timeout duration and IP address type, as well as set whether the VM should start when the system boots or have a display.

The CPU and Memory menu lets users select how many virtual CPUs to allocate to the virtual machine, how many cores per virtual CPU socket, and how many threads per core.

This menu also has options for CPU mode and model, and how much RAM to allocate for the VM.

The Disks menu lets users choose to either create a new zvol on an existing dataset for a disk image or use an existing zvol or file for the VM.

Users may also select the disk type, zvol location, and how much space to allocate to the zvol.

The Network Interface menu provides options for the adapter type, Mac address, and which physical interface to associate with the VM.
The Installation Media menu lets users decide if they want to choose an installation media image on a dataset or upload one from the local machine.
The GPU menu allows users to select a graphics processing unit (GPU) for the VM. It also provides the option to hide the VM from the Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR) on Windows systems.
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