Mastering KVM Virtualization

Deploying VMs using the thin provisioning method

Perform the following steps to get started with VM deployment using the thin provisioning method:

1. Create two new qcow2 images using /vms/win7.raw as the backing file:

   # qemu-img create -b /vms/win7.img -f qcow2 /vms/vm1.qcow2
   #qemu-img create -b /vms/win7.img -f qcow2 /vms/vm2.qcow2
   

2. Verify that the backing file attribute for newly created qcow2 images is pointing correctly to the image /vms/win7.raw, using the qemu-img command:

   qemu-img info /vms/vm2.qcow2
   image: /vms/vm2.qcow2
   file format: qcow2
   virtual size: 10G (10737418240 bytes)
   disk size: 196K
   cluster_size: 65536
   backing file: /vms/win7.img
   Format specific information:
     compat: 1.1
     lazy refcounts: false
     refcount bits: 16
     corrupt: false