Options for hosting virtual machines on Ubuntu Server?
reddit / selfhosted

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aamd · 2023-10-27 02:53

Hey folks,

I'm new to self-hosting and Linux, but I recently got a server up and
running on some spare hardware that I had lying around. It's been a
fun journey so far, and I have a few docker containers running things
like AdGuard, Jellyfin, Portainer, etc.

I'm interested in trying out more Linux distributions like Arch and
NixOS (all thanks to r/unixporn) and was wondering what my options are
for hosting virtual machines on Ubuntu Server.  They'll likely be for
pure experimentation and light use, so I'm hoping to find a solution
that would be easy to spin up or reconfigure frequently (maybe that's
a non-issue and all virtual machines are flexible like this).

Could it be as simple as grabbing a docker image and running the VM
inside a container?

I've also started reading about QEMU and KVM but wanted to get input
before going down that route which seems pretty extensive.

Are there other options I should check out?

Also if there's a better sub to post this in, let me know

Thanks!

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Over-Advice6046 · 2023-10-27 03:57

you can try to use cockpit with virtual machine module and spin up vm
from there, oh and make sure kvm works.

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IllegalD · 2023-10-27 04:15

Proxmox.

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veyper · 2023-10-27 04:16

This is the way...

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PumaXCS · 2023-10-27 04:31

Proxmox if you want full fat versions of the OS and running programs
inside them. Webtops if you just want a lightweight desktop of the OS
that runs inside it's own docker container

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KarmaPoliceT2 · 2023-10-27 07:18

LXD

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derobert1 · 2023-10-27 08:31

Virt-manager makes qemu / kvm / libvirt pretty easy to use. It can
also be used remotely over ssh (if you don't have a GUI on your
server).

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tinker_the_bell · 2023-10-27 09:00

Yeah [Cockpit Project](https://cockpit-
project.org/running.html#ubuntu) is very easily and has a bunch or
useful [addon applications](https://cockpit-
project.org/applications.html) that give a nice basic Web based UI
overview of the server.

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osuhickeys · 2023-10-27 13:57

Might also look at Kasm.

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Boring-Concert-3102 · 2023-10-27 15:39

Proxmox all the way simply to set up great functions under the hood
and in my experience much much easier\\user friendly have QEMU and KVM

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flaming_m0e · 2023-10-27 16:58

>Could it be as simple as grabbing a docker image and running the VM
inside a container?

That's not how docker or VMs work.