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Chapter 13. Configuring virtual machine network connections

For your virtual machines (VMs) to connect over a network to your host, to other VMs on your host, and to locations on an external network, the VM networking must be configured accordingly. To provide VM networking, the RHEL 8 hypervisor and newly created VMs have a default network configuration, which can also be modified further. For example:

  • You can enable the VMs on your host to be discovered and connected to by locations outside the host, as if the VMs were on the same network as the host.
  • You can partially or completely isolate a VM from inbound network traffic to increase its security and minimize the risk of any problems with the VM impacting the host.

The following sections explain the various types of VM network configuration and provide instructions for setting up selected VM network configurations.

13.1. Understanding virtual networking

The connection of virtual machines (VMs) to other devices and locations on a network has to be facilitated by the host hardware. The following sections explain the mechanisms of VM network connections and describe the default VM network setting.

13.1.1. How virtual networks work

Virtual networking uses the concept of a virtual network switch. A virtual network switch is a software construct that operates on a host machine. VMs connect to the network through the virtual network switch. Based on the configuration of the virtual switch, a VM can use an existing virtual network managed by the hypervisor, or a different network connection method.

The following figure shows a virtual network switch connecting two VMs to the network:

vn 02 switchandtwoguests

From the perspective of a guest operating system, a virtual network connection is the same as a physical network connection. Host machines view virtual network switches as network interfaces. When the libvirtd service is first installed and started, it creates virbr0, the default network interface for VMs.

To view information about this interface, use the ip utility on the host. 

$ ip addr show virbr0
3: virbr0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state
 UNKNOWN link/ether 1b:c4:94:cf:fd:17 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
 inet 192.168.122.1/24 brd 192.168.122.255 scope global virbr0

By default, all VMs on a single host are connected to the same NAT-type virtual network, named default, which uses the virbr0 interface. For details, see Virtual networking default configuration.

For basic outbound-only network access from VMs, no additional network setup is usually needed, because the default network is installed along with the libvirt-daemon-config-network package, and is automatically started when the libvirtd service is started.

If a different VM network functionality is needed, you can create additional virtual networks and network interfaces and configure your VMs to use them. In addition to the default NAT, these networks and interfaces can be configured to use one of the following modes:

13.1.2. Virtual networking default configuration

When the libvirtd service is first installed on a virtualization host, it contains an initial virtual network configuration in network address translation (NAT) mode. By default, all VMs on the host are connected to the same libvirt virtual network, named default. VMs on this network can connect to locations both on the host and on the network beyond the host, but with the following limitations:

  • VMs on the network are visible to the host and other VMs on the host, but the network traffic is affected by the firewalls in the guest operating system’s network stack and by the libvirt network filtering rules attached to the guest interface.
  • VMs on the network can connect to locations outside the host but are not visible to them. Outbound traffic is affected by the NAT rules, as well as the host system’s firewall.

The following diagram illustrates the default VM network configuration:

vn 08 network overview

13.2. Using the web console for managing virtual machine network interfaces

Using the RHEL 8 web console, you can manage the virtual network interfaces for the virtual machines to which the web console is connected. You can:

13.2.1. Viewing and editing virtual network interface information in the web console

Using the RHEL 8 web console, you can view and modify the virtual network interfaces on a selected virtual machine (VM):

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Virtual Machines interface, click the VM whose information you want to see.

    A new page opens with an Overview section with basic information about the selected VM and a Console section to access the VM’s graphical interface.

  2. Scroll to Network Interfaces.

    The Networks Interfaces section displays information about the virtual network interface configured for the VM as well as options to Add, Delete, Edit, or Unplug network interfaces.

    Image displaying the network interface details of the selected virtual machine.

    + The information includes the following:

    • Type - The type of network interface for the VM. The types include virtual network, bridge to LAN, and direct attachment.

      Note

      Generic Ethernet connection is not supported in RHEL 8 and later.

    • Model type - The model of the virtual network interface.
    • MAC Address - The MAC address of the virtual network interface.
    • IP Address - The IP address of the virtual network interface.
    • Source - The source of the network interface. This is dependent on the network type.
    • State - The state of the virtual network interface.

  3. To edit the virtual network interface settings, Click Edit. The Virtual Network Interface Settings dialog opens.

    Image displaying the various options that can be edited for the selected network interface.
  4. Change the interface type, source, model, or MAC address.

  5. Click Save. The network interface is modified.

    Note

    Changes to the virtual network interface settings take effect only after restarting the VM.

    Additionally, MAC address can only be modified when the VM is shut off.

Additional resources

13.2.2. Adding and connecting virtual network interfaces in the web console

Using the RHEL 8 web console, you can create a virtual network interface and connect a virtual machine (VM) to it.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Virtual Machines interface, click the VM whose information you want to see.

    A new page opens with an Overview section with basic information about the selected VM and a Console section to access the VM’s graphical interface.

  2. Scroll to Network Interfaces.

    The Networks Interfaces section displays information about the virtual network interface configured for the VM as well as options to Add, Delete, Edit, or Plug network interfaces.

    Image displaying the network interface details of the selected virtual machine.

  3. Click Plug in the row of the virtual network interface you want to connect.

    The selected virtual network interface connects to the VM.

13.2.3. Disconnecting and removing virtual network interfaces in the web console

Using the RHEL 8 web console, you can disconnect the virtual network interfaces connected to a selected virtual machine (VM).

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. In the Virtual Machines interface, click the VM whose information you want to see.

    A new page opens with an Overview section with basic information about the selected VM and a Console section to access the VM’s graphical interface.

  2. Scroll to Network Interfaces.

    The Networks Interfaces section displays information about the virtual network interface configured for the VM as well as options to Add, Delete, Edit, or Unplug network interfaces.

    Image displaying the network interface details of the selected virtual machine.

  3. Click Unplug in the row of the virtual network interface you want to disconnect.

    The selected virtual network interface disconnects from the VM.

13.4. Types of virtual machine network connections

To modify the networking properties and behavior of your VMs, change the type of virtual network or interface the VMs use. The following sections describe the connection types available to VMs in RHEL 8.

13.4.1. Virtual networking with network address translation

By default, virtual network switches operate in network address translation (NAT) mode. They use IP masquerading rather than Source-NAT (SNAT) or Destination-NAT (DNAT). IP masquerading enables connected VMs to use the host machine’s IP address for communication with any external network. When the virtual network switch is operating in NAT mode, computers external to the host cannot communicate with the VMs inside the host.

vn 04 hostwithnatswitch
Warning

Virtual network switches use NAT configured by firewall rules. Editing these rules while the switch is running is not recommended, because incorrect rules may result in the switch being unable to communicate.

13.4.2. Virtual networking in routed mode

When using Routed mode, the virtual switch connects to the physical LAN connected to the host machine, passing traffic back and forth without the use of NAT. The virtual switch can examine all traffic and use the information contained within the network packets to make routing decisions. When using this mode, the virtual machines (VMs) are all in a single subnet, separate from the host machine. The VM subnet is routed through a virtual switch, which exists on the host machine. This enables incoming connections, but requires extra routing-table entries for systems on the external network.

Routed mode uses routing based on the IP address:

vn 06 routed switch

Common topologies that use routed mode include DMZs and virtual server hosting.

DMZ

You can create a network where one or more nodes are placed in a controlled sub-network for security reasons. Such a sub-network is known as a demilitarized zone (DMZ).

vn 09 routed mode DMZ

Host machines in a DMZ typically provide services to WAN (external) host machines as well as LAN (internal) host machines. Since this requires them to be accessible from multiple locations, and considering that these locations are controlled and operated in different ways based on their security and trust level, routed mode is the best configuration for this environment.

Virtual server hosting

A virtual server hosting provider may have several host machines, each with two physical network connections. One interface is used for management and accounting, the other for the VMs to connect through. Each VM has its own public IP address, but the host machines use private IP addresses so that only internal administrators can manage the VMs.

vn 10 routed mode datacenter

13.4.3. Virtual networking in bridged mode

In most VM networking modes, VMs automatically create and connect to the virbr0 virtual bridge. In contrast, in bridged mode, the VM connects to an existing Linux bridge on the host. As a result, the VM is directly visible on the physical network. This enables incoming connections, but does not require any extra routing-table entries.

Bridged mode uses connection switching based on the MAC address:

vn Bridged Mode Diagram

In bridged mode, the VM appear within the same subnet as the host machine. All other physical machines on the same physical network can detect the VM and access it.

Bridged network bonding

It is possible to use multiple physical bridge interfaces on the hypervisor by joining them together with a bond. The bond can then be added to a bridge, after which the VMs can be added to the bridge as well. However, the bonding driver has several modes of operation, and not all of these modes work with a bridge where VMs are in use.

The following bonding modes are usable:

  • mode 1
  • mode 2
  • mode 4

In contrast, using modes 0, 3, 5, or 6 is likely to cause the connection to fail. Also note that media-independent interface (MII) monitoring should be used to monitor bonding modes, as Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) monitoring does not work correctly.

For more information on bonding modes, refer to the Red Hat Knowledgebase.

Common scenarios

The most common use cases for bridged mode include:

  • Deploying VMs in an existing network alongside host machines, making the difference between virtual and physical machines invisible to the end user.
  • Deploying VMs without making any changes to existing physical network configuration settings.
  • Deploying VMs that must be easily accessible to an existing physical network. Placing VMs on a physical network where they must access DHCP services.
  • Connecting VMs to an existing network where virtual LANs (VLANs) are used.

Additional resources

13.4.4. Virtual networking in isolated mode

When using isolated mode, virtual machines connected to the virtual switch can communicate with each other and with the host machine, but their traffic will not pass outside of the host machine, and they cannot receive traffic from outside the host machine. Using dnsmasq in this mode is required for basic functionality such as DHCP.

vn 07 isolated switch

13.4.5. Virtual networking in open mode

When using open mode for networking, libvirt does not generate any firewall rules for the network. As a result, libvirt does not overwrite firewall rules provided by the host, and the user can therefore manually manage the VM’s firewall rules.

13.4.6. Comparison of virtual machine connection types

The following table provides information about the locations to which selected types of virtual machine (VM) network configurations can connect, and to which they are visible.

Table 13.1. Virtual machine connection types

 Connection to the hostConnection to other VMs on the hostConnection to outside locationsVisible to outside locations

Bridged mode

YES

YES

YES

YES

NAT

YES

YES

YES

no

Routed mode

YES

YES

YES

YES

Isolated mode

YES

YES

no

no

Open mode

Depends on the host’s firewall rules

13.5. Booting virtual machines from a PXE server

Virtual machines (VMs) that use Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) can boot and load their configuration from a network. This chapter describes how to use libvirt to boot VMs from a PXE server on a virtual or bridged network.

Warning

These procedures are provided only as an example. Ensure that you have sufficient backups before proceeding.

13.5.1. Setting up a PXE boot server on a virtual network

This procedure describes how to configure a libvirt virtual network to provide Preboot Execution Environment (PXE). This enables virtual machines on your host to be configured to boot from a boot image available on the virtual network.

Prerequisites

  • A local PXE server (DHCP and TFTP), such as:

    • libvirt internal server
    • manually configured dhcpd and tftpd
    • dnsmasq
    • Cobbler server
  • PXE boot images, such as PXELINUX configured by Cobbler or manually.

Procedure

  1. Place the PXE boot images and configuration in /var/lib/tftpboot folder.

  2. Set folder permissions: 

    # chmod -R a+r /var/lib/tftpboot

  3. Set folder ownership: 

    # chown -R nobody: /var/lib/tftpboot

  4. Update SELinux context: 

    # chcon -R --reference /usr/sbin/dnsmasq /var/lib/tftpboot
# chcon -R --reference /usr/libexec/libvirt_leaseshelper /var/lib/tftpboot

  5. Shut down the virtual network: 

    # virsh net-destroy default

  6. Open the virtual network configuration file in your default editor: 

    # virsh net-edit default

  7. Edit the <ip> element to include the appropriate address, network mask, DHCP address range, and boot file, where BOOT_FILENAME is the name of the boot image file. 

    <ip address='192.168.122.1' netmask='255.255.255.0'>
   <tftp root='/var/lib/tftpboot' />
   <dhcp>
      <range start='192.168.122.2' end='192.168.122.254' />
      <bootp file='BOOT_FILENAME' />
   </dhcp>
</ip>

  8. Start the virtual network: 

    # virsh net-start default

Verification

  • Verify that the default virtual network is active: 

    # virsh net-list
Name             State    Autostart   Persistent
---------------------------------------------------
default          active   no          no

Additional resources

13.5.2. Booting virtual machines using PXE and a virtual network

To boot virtual machines (VMs) from a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server available on a virtual network, you must enable PXE booting.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  • Create a new VM with PXE booting enabled. For example, to install from a PXE, available on the default virtual network, into a new 10 GB qcow2 image file: 

    # virt-install --pxe --network network=default --memory 2048 --vcpus 2 --disk size=10

    • Alternatively, you can manually edit the XML configuration file of an existing VM:

      1. Ensure the <os> element has a <boot dev='network'/> element inside: 

        <os>
   <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc-i440fx-rhel7.0.0'>hvm</type>
   <boot dev='network'/>
   <boot dev='hd'/>
</os>

      2. Ensure the guest network is configured to use your virtual network: 

        <interface type='network'>
   <mac address='52:54:00:66:79:14'/>
   <source network='default'/>
   <target dev='vnet0'/>
   <alias name='net0'/>
   <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x03' function='0x0'/>
</interface>

Verification

  • Start the VM using the virsh start command. If PXE is configured correctly, the VM boots from a boot image available on the PXE server.

13.5.3. Booting virtual machines using PXE and a bridged network

To boot virtual machines (VMs) from a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server available on a bridged network, you must enable PXE booting.

Prerequisites

  • Network bridging is enabled.
  • A PXE boot server is available on the bridged network.

Procedure

  • Create a new VM with PXE booting enabled. For example, to install from a PXE, available on the breth0 bridged network, into a new 10 GB qcow2 image file: 

    # virt-install --pxe --network bridge=breth0 --memory 2048 --vcpus 2 --disk size=10

    • Alternatively, you can manually edit the XML configuration file of an existing VM:

      1. Ensure the <os> element has a <boot dev='network'/> element inside: 

        <os>
   <type arch='x86_64' machine='pc-i440fx-rhel7.0.0'>hvm</type>
   <boot dev='network'/>
   <boot dev='hd'/>
</os>

      2. Ensure the VM is configured to use your bridged network: 

        <interface type='bridge'>
   <mac address='52:54:00:5a:ad:cb'/>
   <source bridge='breth0'/>
   <target dev='vnet0'/>
   <alias name='net0'/>
   <address type='pci' domain='0x0000' bus='0x00' slot='0x03' function='0x0'/>
</interface>

Verification

  • Start the VM using the virsh start command. If PXE is configured correctly, the VM boots from a boot image available on the PXE server.

Additional resources

13.6. Additional resources