How to set boot order on KVM (libvirt/virsh)?

virtualization qemu kvm libvirt
Bravo Delta picture Bravo Delta · Sep 25, 2013 · Viewed 40.1k times · Source

How would you set the boot order on KVM when using libvirt/virsh? (Either via config or command)

Answer

shawnzhu picture shawnzhu · Oct 3, 2013

Please take a look at the section Operation System booting.

The most common option is the BIOS bootloader where it allows you specifying boot order via changing domain XML. try command virsh edit <your-domain-name> then adjust the boot order with this example (copied from libvirt.org):

<os>
  <type>hvm</type>
  <loader>/usr/lib/xen/boot/hvmloader</loader>
  <boot dev='network'/>
  <boot dev='cdrom'/>
  <boot dev='hd'/>
  <bootmenu enable='yes'/>
</os>

Which means the boot order is:

  1. boot from network like PXE boot
  2. boot from CD-ROM if no PXE boot
  3. boot from local hard disk if no PXE boot nor bootable CD

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