Configuring Insight Virtual Machines

Ensure that you have a Core license installed on the switch (for more information about licenses, see the ExtremeXOS 30.3 Feature License Requirements), and that you have purchased a Solid State Storage Device (SSD) SSD-120.

To set up an Insight guest virtual machine (VM):

  1. Install the Solid State Storage Device (SSD) SSD-120:
    1. Power down the switch.
    2. On the rear panel of the switch, remove the cover from the SSD slot.
    3. Insert SSD-120 into the SSD slot.
    4. Power up the switch.
  2. Download a virtual machine (VM) installation file (OVA file or QEMU-compatible qcow2 file.) to SSD-120 to /usr/local/vm/packages using the command scp2 {cipher cipher} {mac mac} {compression [on | off]} {port portnum} {vr vr_name} user [hostname | ipaddress]:remote_file local_file . Alternatively, you can use the Third-Party Virtual Machine (TPVM) VM, which is included on SSD-120.
  3. Install the VM using one of the following commands:
    • Disk image: create vm vm_name image image_file {memory memory_size} {cpus num_cpus}
    • OVA file: create vm vm_name ova ova_file {memory memory_size} {cpus num_cpus}
      Note

      Note

      Compatibility issues may occur when using third-party OVA files. The image format qcow2 is generally more reliable.

    The default for number of CPUs allocated is 1. The default amount of RAM allocated to a VM is 4,096 MB. You can change this with the create vm command as needed.

  4. Add Insight (sideband) ports to the VM.
    configure vm vm_name {add | delete} ports portlist
  5. Choose whether or not the VM should start up automatically when ExtremeXOS starts. Automatic start-up is disabled by default. To enable automatic start-up, use the following command:
    enable vm vm_name auto-start
  6. To open a session to the VM's serial console, use the following command:
    open vm vm_name {console}
    Note

    Note

    TPVM is configured to use a serial console.
    Note

    Note

    You cannot access the serial console before starting a VM. You must start the VM, and then reboot it to gain serial console access.
  7. Start the VM.
    start vm vm_name
To check the status of the VM, use the following commands:
  • For operational status information: show vm {vm_name | detail}
  • For interfaces information: show vm vm_name guest interfaces

If needed to save disk space, after successful creation of the VM, you can delete the VM package file at /usr/local/vm/packages.

For additional Insight commands, see Insight Commands.