Debian 6 (Squeeze) KVM Virtualization Howto

• Contents
• Introduction and Prerequisites
• Install Debian 6 (Squeeze) on the Server
• Install and Configure KVM on the Server
• Install VirtualBox on the Management Workstation
• Install a Debian 6 Desktop System in VirtualBox
• Install and Configure virt-manager on the Workstation
• Deploy Your First KVM Virtual Machine
• Final Notes and Tips

Install Debian 6 (Squeeze) on the Server

Download Debian 6 Installation Media

Download a fresh copy of the Debian 6 network install ISO. Burn this image to a blank CD and boot your server with it. Note: You must burn the image as an ISO CD image; you cannot simply burn it as you might an ordinary file.

Install Debian 6

You'll be greeted by the Debian 6 installer splash screen. Press "Enter" to continue.

Choose your language and press "Enter" to continue.

Select your location and press "Enter" to continue.

Select your keyboard mapping and press "Enter" to continue.

Enter a unique hostname for your system and press "Enter" to continue.

Enter your system's domain name and press "Enter" to continue.

Select a strong root password, consisting of letters, numbers, and other characters.

Enter your full name when prompted, and press "Enter" to continue.

Enter a username for your user account and press "Enter" to continue.

Select a strong user account password, consisting of letters, numbers, and other characters.

Select your time zone and press "Enter" to continue.

The disk partitioning program will start. Select "Manual" and press "Enter" to continue.

Select your hard disk and press "Enter" to continue.

When asked whether you want to initialize the partition table, select "Yes" and press "Enter" to continue.

Select "Create a new partition" and press "Enter" to continue.

Select the newly allocated free space and press "Enter" to continue.

To keep things simple, you may use all but one or two gigabytes of the available space for this partition. Enter a size and press "Enter" to continue.

Select "Primary" and press "Enter" to continue.

Select "Beginning" and press "Enter" to continue.

Select "Ext3" or "Ext4" for the filesystem type, "/" for the mount point, and then navigate to "Done setting up the partition" and press "Enter" to continue.

Select the free space remaining and press "Enter" to continue.

Select "Create a new partition" and press "Enter" to continue.

Allocate your remaining disk space to the new partition.

Select "Logical" for the partition type and press "Enter" to continue.

Choose to use the new partition for swap, select "Done setting up the partition" and press "Enter" to continue,

Select "Finish partitioning and write changes to disk" and press "Enter" to continue.

The base system will be installed. This will take a few minutes.

Select a location near you when prompted for a mirror country.

Select a Debian archive mirror and press "Enter" to continue.

If you need to use an HTTP proxy to access things outside your network, enter it here. Otherwise, leave this blank and press "Enter" to continue.

If you wish to participate in the Debian package popularity contest system, select "Yes" and press "Enter" to continue.

Select the "SSH server" and "Standard system utilities" package groups and press "Enter" to continue.

When asked whether to install the grub bootloader to the master boot record, select "Yes" and press "Enter" to continue.

After the installation has finished, your system will be rebooted. Be sure to remove any installation media before the reboot finishes. Your newly installed system should boot cleanly at this point.

Continue: Install and Configure KVM on the Server
Previous: Introduction and Prerequisites