Chapter 4. Starting virtual machines To start a virtual machine (VM) in RHEL 9, you can use the command line or the web console GUI . Prerequisites Before a VM can be started, it must be created and, ideally, also installed with an OS. For instruction to do so, see Creating virtual machines . 4.1. Starting a virtual machine by using the command line You can use the command line (CLI) to start a shut-down virtual machine (VM) or restore a saved VM. By using the CLI, you can start both local and remote VMs. Prerequisites An inactive VM that is already defined. The name of the VM. For remote VMs: The IP address of the host where the VM is located. Root access privileges to the host. Procedure For a local VM, use the virsh start utility. For example, the following command starts the demo-guest1 VM. For a VM located on a remote host, use the virsh start utility along with the QEMU+SSH connection to the host. For example, the following command starts the demo-guest1 VM on the 192.0.2.1 host. Additional resources The virsh start --help command Setting up easy access to remote virtualization hosts Starting virtual machines automatically when the host starts 4.2. Starting virtual machines by using the web console If a virtual machine (VM) is in the shut off state, you can start it by using the RHEL 9 web console. You can also configure the VM to be started automatically when the host starts. Prerequisites You have installed the RHEL 9 web console. You have enabled the cockpit service. Your user account is allowed to log in to the web console. For instructions, see Installing and enabling the web console . The web console VM plug-in is installed on your system . An inactive VM that is already defined. The name of the VM. Procedure In the Virtual Machines interface, click the VM you want to start. A new page opens with detailed information about the selected VM and controls for shutting down and deleting the VM. Click Run . The VM starts, and you can connect to its console or graphical output . Optional: To configure the VM to start automatically when the host starts, toggle the Autostart checkbox in the Overview section. If you use network interfaces that are not managed by libvirt, you must also make additional changes to the systemd configuration. Otherwise, the affected VMs might fail to start, see starting virtual machines automatically when the host starts . Additional resources Shutting down virtual machines in the web console Restarting virtual machines by using the web console 4.3. Starting virtual machines automatically when the host starts When a host with a running virtual machine (VM) restarts, the VM is shut down, and must be started again manually by default. To ensure a VM is active whenever its host is running, you can configure the VM to be started automatically. Prerequisites A created virtual machine Procedure Use the virsh autostart utility to configure the VM to start automatically when the host starts. For example, the following command configures the demo-guest1 VM to start automatically. If you use network interfaces that are not managed by libvirt , you must also make additional changes to the systemd configuration. Otherwise, the affected VMs might fail to start. Note These interfaces include for example: Bridge devices created by NetworkManager Networks configured to use <forward mode='bridge'/> In the systemd configuration directory tree, create a virtqemud.service.d directory if it does not exist yet. Create a 10-network-online.conf systemd unit override file in the previously created directory. The content of this file overrides the default systemd configuration for the virtqemud service. Add the following lines to the 10-network-online.conf file. This configuration change ensures systemd starts the virtqemud service only after the network on the host is ready. Verification View the VM configuration, and check that the autostart option is enabled. For example, the following command displays basic information about the demo-guest1 VM, including the autostart option. If you use network interfaces that are not managed by libvirt, check if the content of the 10-network-online.conf file matches the following output. Additional resources The virsh autostart --help command Starting virtual machines by using the web console .

Commands:
virsh start demo-guest1 Domain 'demo-guest1' started
virsh -c qemu+ssh://root@192.0.2.1/system start demo-guest1 root@192.0.2.1's password: Domain 'demo-guest1' started
virsh autostart demo-guest1 Domain ' demo-guest1 ' marked as autostarted
mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/virtqemud.service.d/
touch /etc/systemd/system/virtqemud.service.d/10-network-online.conf
[Unit] After=network-online.target
virsh dominfo demo-guest1 Id: 2 Name: demo-guest1 UUID: e46bc81c-74e2-406e-bd7a-67042bae80d1 OS Type: hvm State: running CPU(s): 2 CPU time: 385.9s Max memory: 4194304 KiB Used memory: 4194304 KiB Persistent: yes Autostart: enable Managed save: no Security model: selinux Security DOI: 0 Security label: system_u:system_r:svirt_t:s0:c873,c919 (enforcing)
cat /etc/systemd/system/virtqemud.service.d/10-network-online.conf [Unit] After=network-online.target