Steps to Install KVM on Ubuntu

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a virtualization extension for the Linux Kernel. KVM requires a processor with hardware virtualization support. There are many Operating systems that are supported by KVM, which include Linux, BSD, Solaris, Windows and others. It also supports Android 2.2, GNU/Hurd (Debian K16), Minix 3.1.2a, all of these work just with some limitations.

KVM Tools Installation:

Before you proceed with the installation you must confirm that your system supports KVM. As mentioned earlier, it requires hardware virtualization support in the CPU.

Type in the following command to check the compatibility: egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo
If the output is 0, then KVM won't work as the system does not support VMX nor SVM hardware virtualization. If the output is 1 or greater than 1 it means your system is all set and ready to go for KVM installation.

Run the following commands to install KVM: sudo apt-get install qemu-kvm libvirt-bin ubuntu-vm-builder bridge-utils
The above command includes installation of 4 packages kvm, libvirt-bin, ubuntu-vm-builder and bridge-utils. You are done with the installation for now. Just make sure your Ubuntu username is addded to the group libvirtd by typing: sudo adduser `id -un` libvirtd

Installing a graphical user interface for KVM:

Install the virt-manager application with the following command: sudo apt-get install virt-manager
After you have installed virt-manager just go ahead and start it by typing virt-manager. This should start the virtual manager application for you.

Creating a KVM guest machine:

After performing the about steps, proceed to start with creating a new virtual machine by hitting the new button.
Enter the name of your virtual machine. Select your installation media type and click forward. After that, select the ISO image file that contains the operating system to be installed in the VM or select the CD/DVD-ROM to start the installation.
After the above step, you will have to set the amount RAM and CPU's that will be available to that virtual machine.
Finally, In the Advanced Option, Select the Network Adapter and click Finish.
There you go you are done with your Virtual machine with KVM.