In this article I will take you through 18 Useful virsh commands examples for KVM Hypervisor Management. virsh is a free tool available to manage multiple domains deployed with Linux/Other OS in a bare metal with basic hardware resources like cpu, memory etc. It can also be used in ESXi, Virtualbox, QEMU etc to deploy and manage multiple KVM. If you want to understand the virtualization concepts to save the resources and infrastructure operational cost then you have to know the role of virsh commands to create and implement that Virtualization features. You will understand more about virsh commands as you go through this article.

Syntax

virsh [ OPTION ]… [ COMMAND_STRING ]

virsh [ OPTION ]… COMMAND [ ARG ]…

virsh commands examples

Also Read: 20 Useful Linux/Unix ssh-keygen command examples (Cheatsheet)

Example 1: How to Check virsh command version

If you want to check virsh tool version then you need to use virsh -v command as shown below. As you can see from below output current virsh command version is 3.2.0.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh -v
3.2.0

-v : Ignore all other arguments, and prints the version of the libvirt library virsh is coming from. More info on virsh man page.

Example 2: How to Check Domain Error using virsh commands

If you want to check any domain error then you need to use below virsh command. As you can see from below output currently there are no error in the domain test1.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh domblkerror test1
No errors found

Example 3: How to Check Node info using virsh commands

If you want to check node info then you need to use nodeinfo option with virsh command as shown below. In this example we are trying to run virsh nodeinfo command to check the node allocated resources information.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh nodeinfo
CPU model: x86_64
CPU(s): 40
CPU frequency: 2086 MHz
CPU socket(s): 1
Core(s) per socket: 10
Thread(s) per core: 2
NUMA cell(s): 2
Memory size: 134188412 KiB

Example 4: How to check a domain information using virsh commands

If you want to check any domain information then you need to use virsh dominfo command as shown below. In this example we are checking the test1 domain information by running virsh dominfo test1 command.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh dominfo test1
Id: 19
Name: test1
OS Type: kvm
State: running
CPU(s): 36
CPU time: 13195.0s
Max memory: 125829120 KiB
Used memory: 125829120 KiB
Persistent: yes
Autostart: enable
Managed save: no

Example 5: How to Check Node CPU Stats using virsh commands

If you want to check the current CPU stats of the node then you need to run virsh nodecpustats command as shown below. You can check user utilization, system utilization, idle and iowait value from below output.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh nodecpustats
user: 161657130570000000
system: 44253475840000000
idle: 1333309894940000000
iowait: 4648559550000000

Example 6: How to Check Node Memory Stats using virsh commands

If you want to check current memory utilization of node then you need to use virsh nodememstats command as shown below. You can check total memory, free memory, buffers and cached memory information from below output.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh nodememstats
total : 131832516 KiB
free : 14828732 KiB
buffers: 0 KiB
cached : 11896940 KiB

nodememstats [cell]: Returns memory stats of the node. If cell is specified, this will prints specified cell statistics only. More information can be checked on virsh man page.

Example 7: How to Check Node hostname using virsh commands

If you want to check the hostname of the node then you need to use virsh hostname command as shown below. You can see from below output current hostname is set to default localhost.localdomain.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh hostname
localhost.localdomain

Example 8: How to Connect domain using virsh commands

If you want to connect to domain test1 then you need to use virsh console test1 command as shown below. As you can see from below output you need to provide login user name and password to connect test1 domain. After successful authentication you will given the prompt of test1 domain.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh console test1
Connected to domain test1
Escape character is ^]

CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
Kernel 3.10.0-862.el7.x86_64 on an x86_64

test1 login: centos
Password:
Last login: Thu May 28 15:18:33 from 192.168.0.100
[centos@test1 ~]$

Example 9: How to check domain Disk Usage using virt-df commands

If you want to check disk usage of all the domains then you need to use below virt-df command. In this example we are using virt-df -d test1 -h command to check the disk usage of domain test1 in human readable format.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-df -d test1 -h
Filesystem Size Used Available Use%
test1:/dev/sda2 1014M 102M 912M 11%
test1:/dev/sda4 2.0G 198M 1.8G 10%

-d : domain name

Example 10: How to Debug Node Filesystem using virt-df commands

If you need to debug node filesystems then you need to use -v option with virt-df command as shown below. Please note that output of below command could be little more descriptive.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-df -v
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use%
parallel: creating 1 threads
parallel: thread 0 starting
parallel: thread 0 waiting to get work
parallel: thread 0 taking domain 0
libguestfs: command: run: qemu-img
libguestfs: command: run: \ create
libguestfs: command: run: \ -f img
libguestfs: command: run: \ -o backing_file=/u01/test1,backing_fmt=raw
libguestfs: command: run: \ /tmp/libguestfszddZmI/overlay1
libguestfs: launch: identifier=thread_0_domain_0
libguestfs: launch: version=1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt
libguestfs: launch: backend registered: unix
libguestfs: launch: backend registered: uml
libguestfs: launch: backend registered: libvirt
libguestfs: launch: backend registered: direct
libguestfs: launch: backend=libvirt
libguestfs: launch: tmpdir=/tmp/libguestfszddZmI
libguestfs: launch: umask=0020
libguestfs: launch: euid=0
libguestfs: libvirt version = 3002000 (3.2.0)
libguestfs: guest random name = guestfs-d3kmkjvupthg1aab
libguestfs: connect to libvirt
libguestfs: opening libvirt handle: URI = qemu:///system, auth = default+wrapper, flags = 0
libguestfs: successfully opened libvirt handle: conn = 0x7f9b480032e0
libguestfs: qemu version (reported by libvirt) = 1005003 (1.5.3)
libguestfs: get libvirt capabilities
libguestfs: parsing capabilities XML
libguestfs: build appliance
libguestfs: begin building supermin appliance
supermin: version: 4.1.20
supermin: rpm: detected RPM version 4.11
supermin: package handler: fedora/rpm
supermin: acquiring lock on /var/tmp/.guestfs-0/lock
supermin: if-newer: output does not need rebuilding
libguestfs: finished building supermin appliance
libguestfs: command: run: qemu-img
libguestfs: command: run: \ create

-v : Enable verbose messages for debugging.

Example 11: How to Print Filesystems inode using virt-df commands

If you want to display filesystems inode instead of block then you need to use -i option with virt-df command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-df -i
Filesystem       Inodes     IUsed  IFree    IUse%
test1:/dev/sda2  524288      327   523961     1%
test1:/dev/sda4  1072900928 289528 1072611400 1%

-i : Print inodes instead of blocks. Check more on virt-df man page.

Example 12: How to Check other virsh commands version

If you want to check virt-cat version then you need to use virt-cat --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-cat --version
virt-cat 1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt

If you want to check virt-log version then you need to use virt-log --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-log --version
virt-log 1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt

If you want to check virt-ls version then you need to use virt-ls --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-ls --version
virt-ls 1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt

If you want to check virt-tail version then you need to use virt-tail --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-tail --version
virt-tail 1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt

If you want to check virt-top version then you need to use virt-top --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-top --version
virt-top 1.0.8 ocaml-libvirt 0.6.1.4

If you want to check virt-what version then you need to use virt-what --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-what --version
1.13

If you want to check virt-copy-in version then you need to use virt-copy-in --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-copy-in --version
virt-copy-in 1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt

If you want to check virt-copy-out version then you need to use virt-copy-out --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-copy-out --version
virt-copy-out 1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt

If you want to check virt-filesystems version then you need to use virt-filesystems --version command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-filesystems --version
virt-filesystems 1.36.3rhel=7,release=6.el7_4.3,libvirt

Example 13: How to Check logs of domain test1 using virt-log command

If you want to check complete log of domain test1 then you need to use virt-log -d test1 command but if you want to go page by page due to large size of the logs then it is better to use it with less command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-log -d test1 | less
May 24 03:34:04 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:04.807702467+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=55051c37bd24jfhfj891d5e48940e1078c67b4c617e0e2bf33b3abb77d44 module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:04 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:04.843705881+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=55051c37bd24lkjhfuff6a01d5e48940e1078c67b4c617e0e2bf33b3abb77d44 module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:05 test1 systemd: Removed slice User Slice of root.
May 24 03:34:05 test1 systemd: Stopping User Slice of root.
May 24 03:34:05 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:05.775491828+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=fe41627e48e4ca2fjjgkgfff738aa9e2b4f5baa9058b599cf9131045005c8ac0ab module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:05 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:05.807929338+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=fe41627e48e4ca23e8cfff738aa9e2b4f5baa9058b599cf9131045005c8ac0ab module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:05 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:05.943421681+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=1f3758dc708kfhfkfnmf8d03dc5920545b6b0a2a1729565c68b96ec182939a1 module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:05 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:05.974613862+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=1f3758dc7lkdkdkld8d03dc5920545b6b0a2a1729565c68b96ec182939a1 module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:19 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:19.823490001+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=55051c89jkfdf2c7f6a01d5e48940e1078c67b4c617e0e2bf33b3abb77d44 module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:19 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:19.874365921+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=55051c8snd9d6d46a2c7f6a01d5e48940e1078c67b4c617e0e2bf33b3abb77d44 module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:20 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:20.949417132+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=1f3758dc708e19b9jkjkdh898sndsi545b6b0a2a1729565c68b96ec182939a1 module=libcontainerd 
May 24 03:34:20 test1 dockerd: time="2020-05-24T03:34:20.981746772+04:00" level=warning msg="unknown container" container=1f3758dc708e1djdkjd91efndkdikd0545b6b0a2a1729565c68b96ec182939a1 module=libcontainerd 

-d : domain name

Example 14: How to check domain CPU Utilization using virt-top command

If you want to check run time utilization of domain then you need to use below virt-top command. This command is very similar to top command that we use in Linux based systems.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-top -1
virt-top 13:31:23 - x86_64 40/40CPU 1738MHz 131043MB
1 domains, 1 active, 1 running, 0 sleeping, 0 paused, 0 inactive D:0 O:0 X:0
CPU: 2.8% Mem: 122880 MB (122880 MB by guests)

PHYCPU %CPU test1
0 4.7 4.7 4.6
1 4.4 4.4 4.4
2 3.6 3.6 3.5
3 2.8 2.8 2.8
4 4.1 4.1 4.1
5 2.9 2.9 2.9
6 2.8 2.8 2.7
7 2.8 2.8 2.8
8 3.1 3.1 3.0
9 8.7 8.7 8.7
10 0.7 0.7 0.7
11 4.6 4.6 4.6
12 0.9 0.9 0.9
13 2.1 2.1 2.1

-1 : Display physical CPUs by default (instead of domains). More info can be checked on virt-top Man Page.

Example 15: How to check Network Interface Utilization using virt-top command

If you want to check network interface stats then you need to use -2 option with virt-top command as shown below. You can simply run virt-top -2 command to check the test1 network interface utilization.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-top -2
virt-top 13:32:40 - x86_64 40/40CPU 1233MHz 131043MB
1 domains, 1 active, 1 running, 0 sleeping, 0 paused, 0 inactive D:0 O:0 X:0
CPU: 1.8% Mem: 122880 MB (122880 MB by guests)

ID S RXBY TXBY RXPK TXPK DOMAIN INTERFACE
19 R 54K  31K  362  342   test1  vnet0

-2 : Display network interfaces by default (instead of domains).

Example 16: How to check Disk Utilization using virt-top command 

If you want to check disk utilization of domain test1 then you need to use -3 option with virt-top command as shown below.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-top -3
virt-top 13:33:26 - x86_64 40/40CPU 1363MHz 131043MB
1 domains, 1 active, 1 running, 0 sleeping, 0 paused, 0 inactive D:0 O:0 X:0
CPU: 1.3% Mem: 122880 MB (122880 MB by guests)

ID S RDBY WRBY RDRQ WRRQ DOMAIN DEVICE
19 R  0    92K  0    19   test1  vda

-3 : Display block devices (virtual disks) by default (instead of domains).

Example 17: How to check domain directories using virt-ls command

If you want to check all the files and directories of domain test1 recursively in the path /u01 then you need to use below virt-ls command. This command is very similar to ls command in Linux.

[root@localhost ~]# virt-ls -R -d test1 /u01
package-9.2-install-test-9.2.tar.gz
package-install-9.2/
package-install-9.2/.resources
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/deployment_am_config.html
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/deployment_am_config.html
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/deployment_cca_config.html
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/deployment_vi_editor.html
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/dest
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/dest/bootstrap.css
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/dest/saver.min.js
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/dest/font-awe.css
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/dest/vieditor.min.js
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/fonts
package-install-9.2/ConfigEditor/fon

Example 18: How to check other virsh commands option 

If you want to check all the options of virsh commands then you need to use virsh --help command as shown below. You can check all the virsh command options from below output.

[root@localhost ~]# virsh --help

virsh [options]... [<command_string>]
virsh [options]... <command> [args...]

options:
-c | --connect=URI hypervisor connection URI
-d | --debug=NUM debug level [0-4]
-e | --escape <char> set escape sequence for console
-h | --help this help
-k | --keepalive-interval=NUM
keepalive interval in seconds, 0 for disable
-K | --keepalive-count=NUM
number of possible missed keepalive messages
-l | --log=FILE output logging to file
-q | --quiet quiet mode
-r | --readonly connect readonly
-t | --timing print timing information
-v short version
-V long version
--version[=TYPE] version, TYPE is short or long (default short)
commands (non interactive mode):

Domain Management (help keyword 'domain')
attach-device attach device from an XML file
attach-disk attach disk device
attach-interface attach network interface
autostart autostart a domain
blkdeviotune Set or query a block device I/O tuning parameters.
blkiotune Get or set blkio parameters
blockcommit Start a block commit operation.
blockcopy Start a block copy operation.
blockjob Manage active block operations
blockpull Populate a disk from its backing image.
blockresize Resize block device of domain.
change-media Change media of CD or floppy drive
console connect to the guest console
cpu-baseline compute baseline CPU
cpu-compare compare host CPU with a CPU described by an XML file
cpu-stats show domain cpu statistics
create create a domain from an XML file
define define (but don't start) a domain from an XML file
desc show or set domain's description or title
destroy destroy (stop) a domain
detach-device detach device from an XML file
detach-disk detach disk device
detach-interface detach network interface
domdisplay domain display connection URI
domfsfreeze Freeze domain's mounted filesystems.
domfsthaw Thaw domain's mounted filesystems.
domfsinfo Get information of domain's mounted filesystems.
domfstrim Invoke fstrim on domain's mounted filesystems.
domhostname print the domain's hostname
domid convert a domain name or UUID to domain id
domif-setlink set link state of a virtual interface
domiftune get/set parameters of a virtual interface
domjobabort abort active domain job
domjobinfo domain job information
domname convert a domain id or UUID to domain name
domrename rename a domain
dompmsuspend suspend a domain gracefully using power management functions
dompmwakeup wakeup a domain from pmsuspended state
domuuid convert a domain name or id to domain UUID
domxml-from-native Convert native config to domain XML
domxml-to-native Convert domain XML to native config
dump dump the core of a domain to a file for analysis
dumpxml domain information in XML
edit edit XML configuration for a domain
event Domain Events
inject-nmi Inject NMI to the guest
iothreadinfo view domain IOThreads
iothreadpin control domain IOThread affinity virsh commands
iothreadadd add an IOThread to the guest domain
iothreaddel delete an IOThread from the guest domain
send-key Send keycodes to the guest virsh commands
send-process-signal Send signals to processes
lxc-enter-namespace LXC Guest virsh commands Enter Namespace
managedsave managed save of a domain state
managedsave-remove Remove managed save of a domain
memtune Get or set memory parameters

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