3.4. Comparison of virt-install and virt-manager Installation options

This table provides a quick reference to compare equivalent virt-install and virt-manager installation options for when installing a virtual machine.
Most virt-install options are not required. The minimum requirements are --name, --memory, guest storage (--disk, --filesystem or --disk none), and an install method (--location, --cdrom, --pxe, --import, or boot). These options are further specified with arguments; to see a complete list of command options and related arguments, enter the following command: 
# virt-install --help
In virt-manager, at minimum, a name, installation method, memory (RAM), vCPUs, storage are required.

Table 3.1. virt-install and virt-manager configuration comparison for guest installations

Configuration on virtual machine virt-install option virt-manager installation wizard label and step number
Virtual machine name --name, -n Name (step 5)
RAM to allocate (MiB) --ram, -r Memory (RAM) (step 3)
Storage - specify storage media --disk Enable storage for this virtual machine → Create a disk image on the computer's hard drive, or Select managed or other existing storage (step 4)
Storage - export a host directory to the guest --filesystem Enable storage for this virtual machine → Select managed or other existing storage (step 4)
Storage - configure no local disk storage on the guest --nodisks Deselect the Enable storage for this virtual machine check box (step 4)
Installation media location (local install) --file Local install media → Locate your install media (steps 1-2)
Installation using a distribution tree (network install) --location Network install → URL (steps 1-2)
Install guest with PXE --pxe Network boot (step 1)
Number of vCPUs --vcpus CPUs (step 3)
Host network --network Advanced options drop-down menu (step 5)
Operating system variant/version --os-variant Version (step 2)
Graphical display method --graphics, --nographics * virt-manager provides GUI installation only