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Vmctl /

Using vmctl

VMM(4) is a hypervisor, which allows us to run multiple virtual machines inside a single physical server (a dedicated server). Your virtual machine is a guest which lives inside the host.

Connect to the Virtual Machine

Connect to the guest, username.host.example.com.

  1. For Linux/Mac, open up a terminal and run $ ssh username@username.host.example.com -- note that the hostname is username.host.example.com and not host.example.com.
  2. For Windows, you can use PuTTY. For hostname, put username@username.host.example.com -- note that the hostname is username.host.example.com and not host.example.com.

Manage the Virtual Machine

Connect to the host, which runs the hypervisor. For IRCNow, this host is host.example.com.

  1. For Linux/Mac, open up a terminal and run $ ssh username@host.example.com -- note that the hostname is host.example.com and not username.host.example.com.
  2. For Windows, you can use PuTTY. For hostname, put username@host.example.com -- note that the hostname is host.example.com and not username.host.example.com.

NOTE: The host is not your personal VM. Your personal VM is a guest inside the host, and will have the name username.host.example.com, not host.example.com. The guest lives inside the host, so in order to create the guest, you must first log in to the host.

Attach:Openbsd.Vmmuser/vmminstall-1.png

Once inside the host (host.example.com), you can control your virtual machine using the following commands. <vm-name> is most likely your username.

  1. To view the serial console to install, upgrade, or repair the system: 
$ vmctl console <vm-name>

To shutdown the VM: 

$ vmctl stop <vm-name>

To boot the VM: 

$ vmctl start <vm-name>

To pause the VM: 

$ vmctl pause <vm-name>

To unpause the VM: 

$ vmctl unpause <vm-name>

At any time, if you want to escape the serial console, type ~. (tilde followed by a period) or ~^d (tilde followed by ctrl+d). Note: ^d is ctrl+d. Sometimes, you may need to press enter a few times before the ~. or ~^d combination works. On some keyboards, you may need to type ~~. (two tildes followed by a period).

Install, Upgrade, Repair

If you need to upgrade, install, or repair OpenBSD, you will also want to check out the VMM Install Guide.

See Also

vmctl(8)VMM Install Guide