Common Virtualization Platforms for CentOS Virtual Machines
KVM is the most widely used virtualization platform for CentOS, leveraging hardware acceleration (Intel VT-x/AMD-V) to run virtual machines (VMs) with near-native performance. It integrates with libvirt (a unified management API) and virt-manager (a graphical tool) to simplify VM creation, configuration, and management. Key features include support for live migration, snapshots, and high availability. KVM is ideal for both desktop and server environments, especially when performance and scalability are critical.
yum install qemu-kvm libvirt virt-manager virt-install bridge-utils to install core components.systemctl enable --now libvirtd) and configure bridge networking for direct VM access to the physical network.Xen is an open-source hypervisor that supports both paravirtualization (modified guest OS for better performance) and hardware-assisted virtualization. It is commonly used in cloud infrastructure (e.g., Amazon EC2) and enterprise environments. Xen requires a dedicated management domain (Dom0) to control other VMs (DomU). While it offers advanced features like live migration and resource allocation, its setup is more complex than KVM.
yum install xen-utils and configure the Xen environment by editing /etc/xen/auto for automatic VM startup.xm command-line tool (e.g., xm create -c myvm to start a VM in console mode).oVirt is an open-source distributed virtualization platform built on KVM. It provides a centralized web-based interface for managing multiple hosts, storage pools, and networks. Key features include live VM migration, high availability, and template-based provisioning. oVirt is designed for enterprise environments and integrates with other Red Hat ecosystem tools (e.g., Ansible, Gluster).
yum install ovirt-engine to install the engine and follow the setup wizard.Proxmox Virtual Environment (VE) is an open-source virtualization platform that combines KVM (for full virtualization) and LXC (for containerization) in a single interface. It offers features like live migration, snapshots, and a built-in backup system. Proxmox is known for its ease of use and strong community support, making it a popular choice for small to medium enterprises.
VirtualBox is a free and open-source desktop virtualization tool from Oracle. It supports a wide range of guest operating systems (including CentOS) and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. VirtualBox is user-friendly, with a graphical interface for creating and managing VMs. While it lacks some enterprise features (e.g., live migration), it is suitable for testing, development, and personal use.
yum install VirtualBox to install the package. Create VMs via the VirtualBox GUI, selecting CentOS as the guest OS and configuring resources (CPU, memory, storage)…