NAME

DESCRIPTION

vm.conf is divided into the following main sections:

Macros

User-defined variables may be defined and used later, simplifying the configuration file.

Global Configuration

Global settings for vmd(8).

VM Configuration

Configuration for each individual virtual machine.

Switch Configuration

Configuration for virtual switches.

Within the sections, the bytes argument can be specified with a human-readable scale, using the format described in scan_scaled(3).

The current line can be extended over multiple lines using a backslash (‘\’). Comments can be put anywhere in the file using a hash mark (‘#’), and extend to the end of the current line. Care should be taken when commenting out multi-line text: the comment is effective until the end of the entire block.

Argument names not beginning with a letter, digit, underscore, or slash must be quoted.

Additional configuration files can be included with the include keyword, for example:

include "/etc/vm1.example.com.conf"

MACROS

For example:

ramdisk="/bsd.rd"
vm "vm1.example.com" {
	memory 512M
	boot $ramdisk
}

GLOBAL CONFIGURATION

local prefix address/prefix

Set the network prefix that is used to allocate subnets for local interfaces, see local interface in the VM CONFIGURATION section below. The default is 100.64.0.0/10.

local inet6 [prefix address/prefix]

Enable IPv6 on local interfaces and allocate routable subnets. If the prefix is not specified, a random prefix from the “unique local” network range fd00::/8 will be generated on startup. The specified prefix length must be /64 or smaller.

socket owner user[:group]

Set the control socket owner to the specified user or group. Users with access to the control socket will be allowed to use vmctl for restricted access to vmd. The default is root:wheel.

socket owner :group

Set the control socket owner to the specified group.

VM CONFIGURATION

vm name {...}

The name can only consist of alphanumeric characters, as well as '.', '-', and '_', and must start with a letter. Typically this is a hostname.

Followed by a block of parameters that is enclosed in curly brackets:

allow instance [{...}]

Set the permissions to create VM instances. See VM INSTANCES.

boot path

Kernel or BIOS image to load when booting the VM. If not specified, the default is to boot using the BIOS image in /etc/firmware/vmm-bios.

cdrom path

ISO image file.

enable

Automatically start the VM. This is the default if neither enable nor disable is specified.

disable

Do not start this VM.

disk path [format fmt]

Disk image file (may be specified multiple times to add multiple disk images). The format may be specified as either qcow2 or raw. If left unspecified, the format defaults to raw if it cannot be derived automatically.

[local] interface [name] [{...}]

Network interface to add to the VM. The optional name can be either ‘tap’ to select the next available tap(4) interface on the VM host side (the default) or tapN to select a specific one.

Valid options are:

group group-name

Assign the interface to a specific interface “group”. For example, this can be used to write pf.conf(5) rules for several VM interfaces in the same group. The group-name must not be longer than 15 characters or end with a digit, as described in ifconfig(8).

[locked] lladdr [etheraddr]

Change the link layer address (MAC address) of the interface on the VM guest side. If not specified, a randomized address will be assigned by vmd(8). If the locked keyword is specified, vmd(8) will drop packets from the VM with altered source addresses.

rdomain rdomainid

Attach the interface to the routing domain with the specified rdomainid. If attaching to a switch that also has an rdomainid set, the rdomainid configured for the interface takes precedence.

switch name

Set the virtual switch by name. See the SWITCH CONFIGURATION section about virtual switches. This option is ignored if a switch with a matching name cannot be found.

up

Start the interface forwarding packets. This is the default.

down

Stop the interface from forwarding packets.

A local interface will auto-generate an IPv4 subnet for the interface, configure a gateway address on the VM host side, and run a simple DHCP/BOOTP server for the VM. This option can be used for layer 3 mode without configuring a switch.

If the global local inet6 option is enabled, a routable IPv6 gateway address will be generated on the host side. Unlike the IPv4 option, vmd does not respond to DHCPv6 or router solicitation messages itself. Use rad(8) listening on the interface group, e.g. interface tap for auto-configuring the VMs accordingly.

interfaces count

Optional minimum number of network interfaces to add to the VM. If the count is greater than the number of interface statements, additional default interfaces will be added.

memory bytes

Memory size of the VM, in bytes, rounded to megabytes. The default is 512M.

owner user[:group]

Set the owner of the VM to the specified user or group. The owner will be allowed to start or stop the VM, pause or unpause the VM, and open the VM's console.

owner :group

Set the owner to the specified group.

VM INSTANCES

vm parent instance name {...}

A virtual machine can be created as an instance of any other configured VM.

The new instance will inherit settings from the VM parent, except for exclusive options such as disk, interface lladdr, or interface name. The configuration options are identical to the VM CONFIGURATION, but restricted to the allowed instance options.

The allowed instance options are configured in the parent VM:

allow instance [{...}]

Allow users to use this VM as a template for VM instances. By default, the root user can always create instances without restrictions and users or non-root owners cannot create instances. An instance will inherit the configuration from the VM and the user, if permitted, will be allowed to configure individual VM options.

Valid options are:

boot

Allow user to configure the kernel or BIOS image. The user needs read access to the image.

cdrom

Allow user to configure the ISO file. The user needs read access to the file.

disk

Allow user to configure the disk images. The user needs read and write access to image and instances are not allowed to reuse disks from the parent VM.

instance

Allow user to create additional instances from the instances.

interface

Allow user to change network interface settings.

memory

Allow user to configure the memory size.

owner user[:group]

Allow the specified user or group to create the instances. The owner will be allowed to create VM instances, start or stop the instances, pause or unpause the instances, and open the instances' consoles.

owner :group

Set the owner to the specified group.

SWITCH CONFIGURATION

Virtual switches can be configured at any point in the configuration file. Each switch section starts with a declaration of the virtual switch:

switch name {...}

This name can be any string, and is typically a network name.

Followed by a block of parameters that is enclosed in curly brackets:

enable

Automatically configure the switch. This is the default if neither enable nor disable is specified.

locked lladdr

If this option is specified, vmd(8) will drop packets with altered sources addresses that do not match the link layer addresses (MAC addresses) of the VM interfaces in this switch.

disable

Do not configure this switch.

group group-name

Assign each interface to a specific interface “group”. For example, this can be used to write pf.conf(5) rules for several VM interfaces in the same group. The group-name must not be longer than 15 characters or end with a digit, as described in ifconfig(8).

interface name

Set the switch(4) or bridge(4) network interface of this switch. If the type is changed to switch0, it will be used for each following switch.

rdomain rdomainid

Set the routing domain of the switch and all of its VM interfaces to rdomainid.

up

Start the switch forwarding packets. This is the default.

down

Stop the switch from forwarding packets.

EXAMPLES

vm "vm2.example.com" {
	memory 1G
	disk "/home/joe/vm2-disk.img"
	interface { switch "uplink" }
	owner joe
}

Create a new VM as an instance from ‘vm2.example.com’:

vm "vm2.example.com" instance "vm3.example.com" {
	disk "/home/joe/vm3-disk.img"
}

Create the switch "uplink" with an additional physical network interface:

switch "uplink" {
	interface bridge0
}

SEE ALSO

HISTORY

AUTHORS