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Getting Started with KubeVirtBMC

This guide will help you get KubeVirtBMC up and running in your Kubernetes cluster quickly.

Prerequisites

  • Kubernetes cluster (v1.32.0 or later)
  • kubectl configured to access your cluster
  • helm (v3.0+) installed (optional, only needed for Helm installation method)

Installation

Step 1: Install cert-manager

KubeVirtBMC requires cert-manager for webhook certificates and Redfish API TLS support.

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/cert-manager/cert-manager/releases/download/v1.19.2/cert-manager.yaml

Wait for cert-manager to be ready:

kubectl wait --for=condition=ready pod \
    -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=cert-manager \
    -n cert-manager \
    --timeout=300s

For more information about cert-manager installation options and configuration, see the cert-manager installation documentation.

Step 2: Install KubeVirt

KubeVirtBMC requires KubeVirt to be installed in your cluster.

Install KubeVirt Operator:

export VERSION=$(curl -s https://storage.googleapis.com/kubevirt-prow/release/kubevirt/kubevirt/stable.txt)
echo $VERSION
kubectl create -f "https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirt/releases/download/${VERSION}/kubevirt-operator.yaml"

Verify components

Check the deployment:

kubectl get kubevirt.kubevirt.io/kubevirt -n kubevirt -o=jsonpath="{.status.phase}"

Check the components:

kubectl get all -n kubevirt

For more information about KubeVirt installation and configuration, see the KubeVirt quickstart guide.

Step 3: Install KubeVirtBMC

Choose one of the following installation methods:

Option A: Latest Installation (Recommended)

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/kubevirtbmc/kubevirtbmc/releases/download/v0.7.1/kubevirtbmc-install.yaml

Or install a specific version:

kubectl apply -f https://github.com/kubevirtbmc/kubevirtbmc/releases/download/<version>/kubevirtbmc-install.yaml

Note

Starting from v0.7.1, we began publishing a single kubevirtbmc-install.yaml file. Therefore, you can use v0.7.1 or any later version.

Option B: Helm Repository

helm repo add kubevirtbmc https://charts.zespre.com/
helm repo update
helm upgrade --install kubevirtbmc kubevirtbmc/kubevirtbmc \
    --namespace=kubevirtbmc-system \
    --create-namespace

Verify Installation:

# Check controller pod
kubectl get pods -n kubevirtbmc-system

# Verify CRD
kubectl get crd virtualmachinebmcs.bmc.kubevirt.io

Create Your First Virtual BMC

Step 1: Create a VirtualMachine

kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
kind: VirtualMachine
metadata:
  name: testvm
  namespace: default
spec:
  runStrategy: Always
  template:
    spec:
      domain:
        devices:
          disks:
            - name: containerdisk
              disk:
                bus: virtio
          interfaces:
            - name: default
              masquerade: {}
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: 64Mi
      volumes:
        - name: containerdisk
          containerDisk:
            image: quay.io/kubevirt/cirros-container-disk-demo
      networks:
        - name: default
          pod: {}
EOF

Step 2: Create Authentication Secret

kubectl create secret generic bmc-secret \
    --from-literal=username=admin \
    --from-literal=password=admin123 \
    -n default

Step 3: Create VirtualMachineBMC Resource

kubectl apply -f - <<EOF
apiVersion: bmc.kubevirt.io/v1beta1
kind: VirtualMachineBMC
metadata:
  name: test-bmc
  namespace: default
spec:
  virtualMachineRef:
    name: testvm
  authSecretRef:
    name: bmc-secret
EOF

Step 4: Verify Virtual BMC Creation and all it's child component

# Check VirtualMachineBMC 
kubectl get virtualmachinebmc test-bmc

# Verify Deployment, Pod and Service were created
kubectl get pods,services -l kubevirt.io/virtualmachinebmc-name=test-bmc

Expected output: 

NAME       VIRTUALMACHINE   SECRET       CLUSTERIP       READY
test-bmc   testvm           bmc-secret   10.43.230.200   True

NAME                 READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
pod/testvm-virtbmc   1/1     Running   0          112s

NAME                     TYPE        CLUSTER-IP      EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)          AGE
service/testvm-virtbmc   ClusterIP   10.43.230.200   <none>        623/UDP,80/TCP   112s

Additionally controller also create the Service Account and RoleBinding in the same namespace where VirtualMachineBMC object is created.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed KubeVirtBMC. Please continue to the User Guide to learn more about its capabilities.