Incus on OMV (an idea revisited)

Krisbee · Mar 17th 2025

===============================================================================================================================

This thread is about using INCUS on OMV. It's not a detailed [How-TO] but gives an overview.

1. Added 17/03/2025 - Using incus to manage containers & VMs, how OMV storage and "bridged" networks can be used & the lxconsole UI.

2. Added 18/03/2025 - Using a "macvlan" network in incus. An example of the official "Incus UI"

3. Added 18/03/2025 - Using the incus command line & managing incus from your Linux desktop.

4. Added 18/03/2025 - Using vlans in incus. A basic example.

5. Added 20/03/2025 - Using OMV "shared folders" on EXT4 and BRTFS filesystems for INCUS storage pools.

6. Added 20/03/2025 - Using LVM in OMV for an INCUS storage pool.

7. Added 21/03/2025 - Using additional storage for VMs and giving containers access to OMV files.

8. Added 22/03/2025 - Using ISOs to create VMs in incus.

9. Added 22/03/2025 - Using incus to creating instance snapshots, duplicates and images from instances.

10. Added 26/03/2025 - Using incus profile to configure instances.

11. Added 31/03/2025 - Using incus exec, etc. in first steps to automation.

12 Added 01/04/2025 - Using incus with cloud-init for automated configuration with examples.

13. Added 03/04/2025 - Using incus with cloud-init: a last example and summary.

14. Added 07/04/2025 - Using an incus container as a "docker" host.

15. Added 09/04/2025 - Using docker images directly in incus - part 1.

16 Added 09/04/2025 - Using docker images directly in incus - part 2.

17. Added 09/04/2025 - Using docker images directly in incus - part 3.

18. Added 11/04/2025 - Using incus-compose: Installation.

19. Added 11/04/2025 - Using incus-compose: Managing OCI containers with examples.

20. Added 11/04/2025 - Using incus-compose: Managing OCI containers with further examples and incus-compose commands.

21. Added 16/04/2025 - Using incus to backup instance or volume, part 1 of 3 : taking snapshots.

22. Added 16/04/2025 - Using incus to backup instance or volume, part 2 of 3 : exports and imports.

23. Added 17/04/2025 - Using incus to backup instance or volume, part 3 of 3 : copy or migrate between servers.

24. Added 22/04/2025 - Using incus: A Summary

===============================================================================================================================

A few weeks ago trythat asked about using INCUS on OMV (Incus and LXConsole) . Apart from the fact that ryecoaaron has all the bases covered in their "KVM plugin", I was sceptical it could work on OMV at all. Well, I was wrong.

If you've never heard of incus, or are uncertain as to what the project is about it's described as: "A next-generation system container, application container, and virtual machine manager.", there's more here: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus/

If anyone wants to experiment there are guides on the net you can use/adapt to get started by installing both incus and the latest version of the lxconosle web UI (this is not the same as the incus-ui-canonical package) on OMV. I used the zabbly stable repo in my try out.

The first caveat is about how incus uses storage, to quote the docs: "The two best options for use with Incus are ZFS and Btrfs. They have similar functionalities, but ZFS is more reliable.", but you can read more here: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus/docs/main/storage/ . You can use other storage types like "dir" or "LVM", but these are less optimized for incus.

The second caveat is the use of networks. Similar to how libvirt/KVM/qemu works, incus creates a default NAT'ed bridge "incusbr0" by which both containers and VMs communicate with the outside world but not directly with the host. But just as you can with the KVM plugin, creating a bridge (or a macvlan) on a OMV nic is straightforward and this can be added to an incus profile.

Using the lxconosle WEB UI removes the chore from using the incus at the command line. For graphical VMs, the vga console makes use of spice.

I'm not suggesting this is a replacement for the well estbalished "KVM plugin" and the curious are probably best advised to set it up in a VM at first. But trying it out will give you an idea of the project's scope.

In case you're wondering, I've run this on my now ancient desktop with limited resources which is set up for nested virtualisation.

OMV screenshots:

omv-nvme1.jpeg

omv-nvme10.jpeg

omv-nvme2.jpeg

Incus create both filesystems for containers and zvols for VMs on the pool ( Incus would create subvols on BTRFS for both)

omv-nvme11.jpeg

lxconsole screenshots:

More below

Krisbee · Mar 17th 2025

Last lxconsole screenshotsomv-nvme12.jpeg:

omv-nvme9.jpeg

Krisbee · Mar 18th 2025

Adding a "macvlan" to Incus:

1. Using an OMV host NIC

omv-nvme14.jpeg

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# ip addr show enp4s0
3: enp4s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 68:05:ca:16:f3:fe brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.1.104/24 metric 100 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global dynamic enp4s0
       valid_lft 4365sec preferred_lft 4365sec
root@ovm-nvme:~#

2. Creating a "macvlan" profile on incus:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile create macvlan
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile device add macvlan eth0 nic nictype=macvlan parent=enp4s0

3. To apply "macvlan" profile to an incus instance either use incus profile assign <instance name> default,macvlan or "attach profile" via lxconsole WebUI. In this example the eth0 nic of the instance BORON-VM is changed from the default incus network to the 192.1681.0/24 subnet:

omv-nvme13.jpeg

omv-nvme15.jpeg

3. The "macvlan" as seen on the OMV host:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# ip a | grep enp4s0
3: enp4s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000
    inet 192.168.1.104/24 metric 100 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global dynamic enp4s0
14: mac49d768f7@enp4s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,ALLMULTI,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 500
root@ovm-nvme:~#

jata1 · Mar 18th 2025

Thanks for sharing.

Looks interesting and I do like to tinker when not smashed with my real work!

My question is what is/are the use case(s) over the VMs and occasional lx containers I use?

I’m keen to try this but everything I really need servicewise I have solved using docker. I just play with VMs for fun and testing stuff.

Krisbee · Mar 18th 2025

I added a "macvlan" example above. This is an example of the official "Incus UI":

incus_ui.jpeg

Krisbee · Mar 18th 2025

Incus configuration and instance management at the CLI ranges from the simple to more lengthy commands.

Listing all instances:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus ls
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
|      NAME      |  STATE  |             IPV4             | IPV6 |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| BORON-VM       | RUNNING |                              |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-1   | RUNNING | 192.168.1.105 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-2   | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-vm       | RUNNING | 192.168.1.107 (enp5s0)       |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb-b-cont     | RUNNING | 192.168.0.201 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| lxconsole      | RUNNING | 192.168.0.200 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
|                |         | 172.18.0.1 (br-863d72b889da) |      |                 |           |
|                |         | 172.17.0.1 (docker0)         |      |                 |           |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| my-container-1 | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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The command that launched a new instance using a debian vm image and setting the roofs size and profiles:

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus launch images:debian/12 deb12-vm --vm --device root,size=10GiB --profile=default --profile=macvlan

The BORON-VM instance shows no IP as it was created from an uploaded iso in which the incus-agent.service is yet to be installed.

If incus was set to be available over the network during it's initialization, then it can be controlled remotely. After installing incus on a linux desktop to acts as a remote client, a "trusted" connection and be established between server and client.

OMV server:

Code

chris@ovm-nvme:/$ incus config trust list
+---------------+--------+-------------+--------------+----------------------+
|     NAME      |  TYPE  | DESCRIPTION | FINGERPRINT  |     EXPIRY DATE      |
+---------------+--------+-------------+--------------+----------------------+
| deb12         | client |             | db0b7d9c3974 | 2035/03/13 17:15 GMT |
+---------------+--------+-------------+--------------+----------------------+
| lxconsole.crt | client |             | b1ab2cca15d7 | 2035/03/15 15:52 GMT |
+---------------+--------+-------------+--------------+----------------------+
chris@ovm-nvme:/$

Linux Destop:

Code

chris@deb12:~$ incus remote list
+-----------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
|      NAME       |                URL                 |   PROTOCOL    |  AUTH TYPE  | PUBLIC | STATIC | GLOBAL |
+-----------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| debincus-vm     | https://192.168.0.55:8443          | incus         | tls         | NO     | NO     | NO     |
+-----------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| images          | https://images.linuxcontainers.org | simplestreams | none        | YES    | NO     | NO     |
+-----------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| local (current) | unix://                            | incus         | file access | NO     | YES    | NO     |
+-----------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| omv-nvme        | https://192.168.0.66:8443          | incus         | tls         | NO     | NO     | NO     |
+-----------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
chris@deb12:~$

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Switch context on the linux desktop for incus commands to apply to a given server:

Code

chris@deb12:~$ incus remote switch omv-nvme
chris@deb12:~$ incus remote list
+--------------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
|        NAME        |                URL                 |   PROTOCOL    |  AUTH TYPE  | PUBLIC | STATIC | GLOBAL |
+--------------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| debincus-vm        | https://192.168.0.55:8443          | incus         | tls         | NO     | NO     | NO     |
+--------------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| images             | https://images.linuxcontainers.org | simplestreams | none        | YES    | NO     | NO     |
+--------------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| local              | unix://                            | incus         | file access | NO     | YES    | NO     |
+--------------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
| omv-nvme (current) | https://192.168.0.66:8443          | incus         | tls         | NO     | NO     | NO     |
+--------------------+------------------------------------+---------------+-------------+--------+--------+--------+
chris@deb12:~$ incus ls
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
|      NAME      |  STATE  |             IPV4             | IPV6 |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| BORON-VM       | RUNNING |                              |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-1   | RUNNING | 192.168.1.105 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-2   | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-vm       | RUNNING | 192.168.1.107 (enp5s0)       |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb-b-cont     | RUNNING | 192.168.0.201 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| lxconsole      | RUNNING | 192.168.0.200 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
|                |         | 172.18.0.1 (br-863d72b889da) |      |                 |           |
|                |         | 172.17.0.1 (docker0)         |      |                 |           |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| my-container-1 | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
chris@deb12:~$

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Krisbee · Mar 18th 2025

Using vlans in incus. A basic example.

1. Initial state:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus ls
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
|      NAME      |  STATE  |             IPV4             | IPV6 |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| BORON-VM       | STOPPED |                              |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-1   | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-2   | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-vm       | STOPPED |                              |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb-b-cont     | RUNNING | 192.168.0.203 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| lxconsole      | RUNNING | 192.168.0.204 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
|                |         | 172.18.0.1 (br-863d72b889da) |      |                 |           |
|                |         | 172.17.0.1 (docker0)         |      |                 |           |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| my-container-1 | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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2. OMV NIC enp8s0 carries vlan20 provided by router.

3. Create a profile and add the vlan to it.

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile create vlan20
Profile vlan20 created
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile device add vlan20 eth0 nic name=eth0 nictype=macvlan vlan=20 parent=enp8s0
Device eth0 added to vlan20
root@ovm-nvme:

4. Assign vlan20 profile to container and start it:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile add deb12-cont-1 vlan20
Profile vlan20 added to deb12-cont-1
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus start deb12-cont-1
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus ls
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
|      NAME      |  STATE  |             IPV4             | IPV6 |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| BORON-VM       | STOPPED |                              |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-1   | RUNNING | 192.168.20.31 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-cont-2   | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-vm       | STOPPED |                              |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb-b-cont     | RUNNING | 192.168.0.203 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| lxconsole      | RUNNING | 192.168.0.204 (eth0)         |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
|                |         | 172.18.0.1 (br-863d72b889da) |      |                 |           |
|                |         | 172.17.0.1 (docker0)         |      |                 |           |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| my-container-1 | STOPPED |                              |      | CONTAINER       | 0         |
+----------------+---------+------------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
root@ovm-nvme

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5. Network inside deb12-cont-1 container

Code

root@deb12-cont-1:~# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
11: eth0@if10: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:16:3e:32:d3:04 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff link-netnsid 0
    inet 192.168.20.31/24 metric 1024 brd 192.168.20.255 scope global dynamic eth0
       valid_lft 4965sec preferred_lft 4965sec
    inet6 fe80::216:3eff:fe32:d304/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
root@deb12-cont-1:~#

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6. Container as seen by router:

incus_vlan.jpeg

Krisbee · Mar 20th 2025

OMV "shared folders" on EXT4 and BRTFS filesystems can be used for INCUS storage pools.

1. OMV "shared folders":

omv-storage1.jpeg

omv-storage2.jpeg

2. Creating Incus storage pools:

New incus storage pool based is created with a given storage type and the absolute path of a "shared folder" as the source.

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage create dir-pool dir source=/srv/dev-disk-by-uuid-8fa08869-d70b-41a1-88b9-b5b5dbc928bf/incus-pool-dir
Storage pool dir-pool created
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage ls
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
|   NAME   | DRIVER | DESCRIPTION | USED BY |  STATE  |
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| default  | zfs    |             | 11      | CREATED |
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| dir-pool | dir    |             | 0       | CREATED |
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage create btrfs-pool btrfs source=/srv/dev-disk-by-id-nvme-QEMU_NVMe_Ctrl_ctrl1/incus-pool-btrfs
Storage pool btrfs-pool created
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage ls
+------------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
|    NAME    | DRIVER | DESCRIPTION | USED BY |  STATE  |
+------------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| btrfs-pool | btrfs  |             | 0       | CREATED |
+------------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| default    | zfs    |             | 11      | CREATED |
+------------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| dir-pool   | dir    |             | 0       | CREATED |
+------------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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In the case of BTRFS storage, incus will use subvolumes for both containers and VMs.

3. Creating instances on a given incus storage pool:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus launch images:debian/12 deb12-cont-3 --storage dir-pool
Launching deb12-cont-3
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume ls dir-pool
+-----------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
|   TYPE    |     NAME     | DESCRIPTION | CONTENT-TYPE | USED BY |
+-----------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container | deb12-cont-3 |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------+--------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus launch images:debian/12 deb12-cont-5 --storage btrfs-pool
Launching deb12-cont-5
root@ovm-nvme:~#

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume ls btrfs-pool
+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
|   TYPE    |                               NAME                               | DESCRIPTION | CONTENT-TYPE | USED BY |
+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container | deb12-cont-5                                                     |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image     | fcb7b98d6483056fad489c530060e6008aee580bf952fdb3db723a59569733a5 |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~# 

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus launch images:debian/12 deb12-vm-2 --vm  --storage btrfs-pool
Launching deb12-vm-2
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume ls btrfs-pool
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
|      TYPE       |                               NAME                               | DESCRIPTION | CONTENT-TYPE | USED BY |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container       | deb12-cont-5                                                     |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image           | 9407ec31937a5309a2d9091054f1233c7dee34f6a4d5ddf1456a81f9a3d4c320 |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image           | fcb7b98d6483056fad489c530060e6008aee580bf952fdb3db723a59569733a5 |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| virtual-machine | deb12-vm-2                                                       |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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Note: The btrfs subvols created by incus appear on OMV as below and show that a virtual machine's rootfs is stored as an img file:

Code

 root@ovm-nvme:/srv/dev-disk-by-id-nvme-QEMU_NVMe_Ctrl_ctrl1/incus-pool-btrfs# btrfs sub li .
ID 256 gen 17 top level 5 path incus-pool-btrfs
ID 257 gen 11 top level 256 path images/fcb7b98d6483056fad489c530060e6008aee580bf952fdb3db723a59569733a5
ID 258 gen 19 top level 256 path containers/deb12-cont-5
ID 259 gen 17 top level 256 path images/9407ec31937a5309a2d9091054f1233c7dee34f6a4d5ddf1456a81f9a3d4c320
ID 260 gen 22 top level 256 path virtual-machines/deb12-vm-2
root@ovm-nvme:/srv/dev-disk-by-id-nvme-QEMU_NVMe_Ctrl_ctrl1/incus-pool-btrfs# cd ./virtual-machines/deb12-vm-2
root@ovm-nvme:/srv/dev-disk-by-id-nvme-QEMU_NVMe_Ctrl_ctrl1/incus-pool-btrfs/virtual-machines/deb12-vm-2# ls -l
total 1260260
-rw-r--r-- 1 root  root         700 Mar 20 09:18 agent-client.crt
-rw------- 1 root  root         288 Mar 20 09:18 agent-client.key
-rw-r--r-- 1 root  root         729 Mar 20 09:18 agent.crt
-rw------- 1 root  root         288 Mar 20 09:18 agent.key
-r-------- 1 root  root        2653 Mar 20 09:18 backup.yaml
dr-x------ 1 incus root         210 Mar 20 09:18 config
-rw-r--r-- 1 root  root         535 Mar 19 05:28 metadata.yaml
-rw------- 1 incus root      540672 Mar 20 09:18 OVMF_VARS.4MB.ms.fd
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root  root          19 Mar 20 09:18 qemu.nvram -> OVMF_VARS.4MB.ms.fd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root  root 10737418240 Mar 20 09:23 root.img
drwxr-xr-x 1 root  root          42 Mar 19 05:28 templates
root@ovm-nvme:/srv/dev-disk-by-id-nvme-QEMU_NVMe_Ctrl_ctrl1/incus-pool-btrfs/virtual-machines/deb12-vm-2#

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4. A stopped VM instance can be moved from one incus storage pool to another:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus ls deb12-vm-2
+------------+---------+------------------------+-------------------------------------------------+-----------------+-----------+
|    NAME    |  STATE  |          IPV4          |                      IPV6                       |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+------------+---------+------------------------+-------------------------------------------------+-----------------+-----------+
| deb12-vm-2 | RUNNING | 10.152.178.23 (enp5s0) | fd42:f286:8716:e584:216:3eff:fe33:f97e (enp5s0) | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+------------+---------+------------------------+-------------------------------------------------+-----------------+-----------+
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus stop deb12-vm-2
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus move deb12-vm-2 --storage dir-pool
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume ls dir-pool
+-----------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
|      TYPE       |     NAME      | DESCRIPTION | CONTENT-TYPE | USED BY |
+-----------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container       | deb12-cont-3  |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container       | deb12-cont-4  |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container       | imported-cont |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| virtual-machine | deb12-vm-2    |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+---------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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Krisbee · Mar 20th 2025

To use LVM in OMV for an incus storage pool:

1. First install the "LVM2 plugin", then create a physical volume using available block dev(s) followed by creating a volume group.

lvm1.jpeg

2. Create the incus storage pool based on the OMV volume group, in this example vg_inc_pool.

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage create lvm-pool lvm source=vg_inc_pool
Storage pool lvm-pool created
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage ls
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
|   NAME   | DRIVER | DESCRIPTION | USED BY |  STATE  |
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| default  | zfs    |             | 11      | CREATED |
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| dir-pool | dir    |             | 4       | CREATED |
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
| lvm-pool | lvm    |             | 0       | CREATED |
+----------+--------+-------------+---------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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3. Container and VMs can then be created on the LVM storage pool.

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus launch images:debian/12 deb12-vm-3 --vm  --storage lvm-pool
Launching deb12-vm-3
root@ovm-nvme:~#

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume ls lvm-pool
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
|      TYPE       |                               NAME                               | DESCRIPTION | CONTENT-TYPE | USED BY |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image           | 9407ec31937a5309a2d9091054f1233c7dee34f6a4d5ddf1456a81f9a3d4c320 |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| virtual-machine | deb12-vm-3                                                       |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus launch images:debian/12 deb12-cont-6 --storage lvm-pool
Launching deb12-cont-6
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume ls lvm-pool
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
|      TYPE       |                               NAME                               | DESCRIPTION | CONTENT-TYPE | USED BY |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container       | deb12-cont-6                                                     |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image           | 9407ec31937a5309a2d9091054f1233c7dee34f6a4d5ddf1456a81f9a3d4c320 |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image           | fcb7b98d6483056fad489c530060e6008aee580bf952fdb3db723a59569733a5 |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| virtual-machine | deb12-vm-3                                                       |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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4. Incus creates all the necessary "volume groups" .

lvm2.jpeg

Krisbee · Mar 21st 2025

Adding storage to VMs and giving containers access to OMV files.

1. If your VM's disk is full, you can resize it.

Before resize:

Code

root@deb12-vm-2:~# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 10 GiB, 10737418240 bytes, 20971520 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 2F4DF536-6700-4D96-A15D-17F2ABE2EBC2

Device      Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1    2048   206847   204800  100M EFI System
/dev/sda2  206848 20971486 20764639  9.9G Linux filesystem
root@deb12-vm-2:~#

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After resize:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config device set deb12-vm-2  root size=12GB
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus start deb12-vm-2
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus exec deb12-vm-2 -- sh
# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 11.18 GiB, 12000002048 bytes, 23437504 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 2F4DF536-6700-4D96-A15D-17F2ABE2EBC2

Device      Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1    2048   206847   204800  100M EFI System
/dev/sda2  206848 23437470 23230623 11.1G Linux filesystem
# exit
root@ovm-nvme:~

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2. To add a virtual disk to a VM, first create the disk on a storage pool, and then attach it to the VM.

For example, create a 10GB virtual disk block device in the incus lvm-pool:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume create lvm-pool  deb12-vm-3-disk1  --type=block size=10GB
Storage volume deb12-vm-3-disk1 created
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume ls lvm-pool
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
|      TYPE       |                               NAME                               | DESCRIPTION | CONTENT-TYPE | USED BY |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| container       | deb12-cont-6                                                     |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| custom          | deb12-vm-3-disk1                                                 |             | block        | 0       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image           | 9407ec31937a5309a2d9091054f1233c7dee34f6a4d5ddf1456a81f9a3d4c320 |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| image           | fcb7b98d6483056fad489c530060e6008aee580bf952fdb3db723a59569733a5 |             | filesystem   | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
| virtual-machine | deb12-vm-3                                                       |             | block        | 1       |
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+--------------+---------+
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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Attach the custom block device "deb12-vm-3-disk1" to vm "deb12-vm-3" :

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus storage volume attach lvm-pool deb12-vm-3-disk1 deb12-vm-3
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus exec deb12-vm-3 -- sh
# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sdb: 9.32 GiB, 10003415040 bytes, 19537920 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/sda: 10 GiB, 10737418240 bytes, 20971520 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 2F4DF536-6700-4D96-A15D-17F2ABE2EBC2

Device      Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1    2048   206847   204800  100M EFI System
/dev/sda2  206848 20971486 20764639  9.9G Linux filesystem
#

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3. Incus containers can access OMV files via a "sharedfolder" disk device added to the container.

The synax is "incus config device add <mycontainer> <mysharedfolder> disk source=<host path> path=<container mount path> shift=true"

Idampping between host and a container needs to taken into account for permissions, but this is automagic when the option "shift=true" is used.

This example shows the container "deb-b-cont" uses two "sharedfolder" disk devices but only one was created with "shift=true".

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config device show deb-b-cont
omusic:
  path: /mnt/omusic
  shift: "true"
  source: /mnt/omusic
  type: disk
oplaylist:
  path: /mnt/oplaylist
  source: /mnt/oplaylist
  type: disk
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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The permission n the container and on the OMV host are:

Code

 root@deb-b-cont:~# cd /mnt/;ls -lr
total 25
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 nobody nogroup 2 Mar 16 15:54 oplaylist
drwxrwsr-x+ 6 root   users   6 Mar 16 16:05 omusic
root@deb-b-cont:/mnt# ls -lr omusic
total 122
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 30 Mar 16 16:05  Telemann_Chameleon
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 16 Mar 16 16:05 'Praga Rosa Bohemiae - Music in Renaissance Prague.'
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 14 Mar 16 16:05  Marias_La_Reveuse
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 93 Mar 16 16:05  Dunedin_Samson
root@deb-b-cont:/mnt#

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Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# ls -lr /mnt/omusic
total 122
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 30 Mar 16 16:05  Telemann_Chameleon
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 16 Mar 16 16:05 'Praga Rosa Bohemiae - Music in Renaissance Prague.'
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 14 Mar 16 16:05  Marias_La_Reveuse
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 chris users 93 Mar 16 16:05  Dunedin_Samson
root@ovm-nvme:~# ls -lr /mnt/oplaylist
total 0
root@ovm-nvme:~#

root@ovm-nvme:~# ls -ld /mnt/oplaylist
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 root users 2 Mar 16 15:54 /mnt/oplaylist
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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To correct the perms for the container "oplaylist" folder, remove and then re-add it to the container config using the "shift=true" option:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config device remove deb-b-cont oplaylist
Device oplaylist removed from deb-b-cont
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config device add deb-b-cont oplaylist disk source=/mnt/oplaylist path=/mnt/oplaylist shift=true
Device oplaylist added to deb-b-cont
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config device show deb-b-cont
omusic:
  path: /mnt/omusic
  shift: "true"
  source: /mnt/omusic
  type: disk
oplaylist:
  path: /mnt/oplaylist
  shift: "true"
  source: /mnt/oplaylist
  type: disk
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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Check the perms in the container:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus start deb-b-cont
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus shell deb-b-cont
root@deb-b-cont:~# ls -ld /mnt/oplaylist
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 root users 2 Mar 16 15:54 /mnt/oplaylist
root@deb-b-cont:~# exit
logout
root@ovm-nvme:~#

Krisbee · Mar 22nd 2025

You're not limited to just using the images at https://images.linuxcontainers.org/ to create a VM instance as ISOs may also be used. But not everything installable from an ISO is compatible with incus as it expects UEFI and Virtio device support by default. Things that work with the KVM plugin should also work in incus. Creating Windows10/11 VMs may need extra steps ( see here: https://discuss.linuxcontainer…on-incus-on-linux/18884/2 ).

Using an incus ui streamlines uploading a "custom iso" which is created as a volume in an incus pool, and can then be used to create a VM instance. Graphical installers and the installed VMs themselves are accessed via a "vga" console.

The steps to achieve this via the incus command line are outlined here: https://linuxcontainers.org/in…vm-that-boots-from-an-iso

It's important to note that OMV has no graphical environment of its own and to use a graphical installer and/or VM via the command line a remote connection must be used when not using an incus ui. For example:

1. Accessing a graphical VM for a Linux Desktop via remote connection:

custom_iso1.jpeg

2. Using the OMV installer:

custom_iso2.jpeg

3. Accessing a fresh install of OMV:

custom_iso3.jpeg

trythat · Mar 22nd 2025

Nicely done, I didn't get much further that installing LXConsole in a docker container and spinning up a VM to try it, got side tracked, so easy at my age now

I'm going to make some time for this and give it a go, to see which I prefer either KVM or Incus, even though I tend to use docker.

If anyone is interested in a some deep dives into Incus via Youtube please have a look at scottibyte Youtube He does some great videos, from beginners upwards.

Krisbee · Mar 22nd 2025

Creating instance snapshots, duplicates and images from instances.

1. Instance snaphots:

You can create a snapshot of an incus instance, make changes and then revert to the previous state by restoring from the snapshot. It's an ideal way to test various configurations within a container or VM. The support and limitations of snapshot depends on the type of storage pool used as described here - https://linuxcontainers.org/in…#storage-drivers-features - BTRFS and ZFS offer the best support.

You can create duplicates of an instance, or instance snapshot, at the click of a button in a UI, or via the command line as described here:

incus copy

Copy instances within or in between servers Synopsis: Description:, Copy instances within or in between servers,, Transfer modes (–mode):,- pull: Target server…

linuxcontainers.org

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus snapshot create omv-vm omv-vm-base
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus snapshot restore omv-vm omv-vm-base

2. Instance duplicates:

incus copy [<remote>:]<source>[/<snapshot>] [[<remote>:]<destination>] [flags]

For example, duplicate an instance by copying an instance snapshot to another incus pool:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus copy omv-vm/omv-vm-base omv-vm-copy -s dir-pool

3. Create an image from an instance:

The ability to create your own "image" from an instance based on a modified standard image or custom iso install is a particularly powerful feature of incus. You use images to create instances which can become the basis for new images from which other instances can be created.

For example, you want to test out various OMV configurations and you don't want to install from scratch each time and want always to start with OMV configured with DHCP for the single nic, a single user belonging to the _ssh, sudo and users groups, a dashboard with a given set of widgets, with omv-extras installed but no plugins and fully updated.

To avoid installing from scratch for each test you decide to install and configure a working base once, using snapshots in case you want to revert any errors. You duplicate the final version as the base to duplicate again for each OMV you wish to test. But here is another way.

Once you have configured an instance as you want it, the "incus publish" command can convert this into a new image. You can then base any new OMV instances on this new image.

In the case of OMV, it's best to start by creating a VM instance from the standard incus debian12 vm image. OMV can then be installed in the debian 12 VM instance using the script at https://github.com/OpenMediaVa…-Developers/installScript .

E.g: Here the instance debian-vm is a configured OMV install used to create the image named "omv-base-image". The "omv-base-vm1" & "omv-base-vm2" instances were created from this base image.

Code

chris@deb12:~$ incus ls
+--------------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
|     NAME     |  STATE  |          IPV4          | IPV6 |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+--------------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| BORON-VM     | STOPPED |                        |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+--------------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| debian-vm    | STOPPED |                        |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 1         |
+--------------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| omv-base-vm1 | RUNNING | 192.168.0.203 (enp5s0) |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+--------------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| omv-base-vm2 | RUNNING | 192.168.0.204 (enp5s0) |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+--------------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
chris@deb12:~$ incus image ls
+----------------+--------------+--------+----------------------------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------+----------------------+
|     ALIAS      | FINGERPRINT  | PUBLIC |              DESCRIPTION               | ARCHITECTURE |      TYPE       |    SIZE    |     UPLOAD DATE      |
+----------------+--------------+--------+----------------------------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------+----------------------+
| omv-base-image | 29e0a9f8edcf | no     | Debian bookworm amd64 (20250313_07:36) | x86_64       | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 1809.47MiB | 2025/03/22 12:46 GMT |
+----------------+--------------+--------+----------------------------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------+----------------------+
|                | 19c752a40ad1 | no     | Debian bookworm amd64 (20250322_05:24) | x86_64       | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 354.96MiB  | 2025/03/22 08:55 GMT |
+----------------+--------------+--------+----------------------------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------+----------------------+
|                | 5106bb9d9b89 | no     | Debian bookworm amd64 (20250322_05:24) | x86_64       | CONTAINER       | 103.14MiB  | 2025/03/22 08:55 GMT |
+----------------+--------------+--------+----------------------------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------+----------------------+
|                | 2661640b3e2d | no     | Ubuntu noble amd64 (20250322_07:42)    | x86_64       | CONTAINER       | 128.25MiB  | 2025/03/22 14:54 GMT |
+----------------+--------------+--------+----------------------------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------+----------------------+
|                | f460ac61552c | no     | Ubuntu focal amd64 (20250322_07:42)    | x86_64       | CONTAINER       | 120.88MiB  | 2025/03/22 14:54 GMT |
+----------------+--------------+--------+----------------------------------------+--------------+-----------------+------------+----------------------+
chris@deb12:~$

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Starting with the standard debian12 VM image ensures that instances created from the new base image get their own ip and a hostname that matches the instance name.

Krisbee · Mar 22nd 2025

Quote from trythat

Nicely done, I didn't get much further that installing LXConsole in a docker container and spinning up a VM to try it, got side tracked, so easy at my age now

I'm going to make some time for this and give it a go, to see which I prefer either KVM or Incus, even though I tend to use docker.

If anyone is interested in a some deep dives into Incus via Youtube please have a look at scottibyte Youtube He does some great videos, from beginners upwards.

I have seen some of those vids and the linked blog entries - very useful. Yet to really explore the power of "profiles" and other features.

I adapted this to get lxconsole running: https://wiki.opensourceisaweso…incus-and-setup-lxconsole

trythat · Mar 23rd 2025

Quote from Krisbee

I have seen some of those vids and the linked blog entries - very useful. Yet to really explore the power of "profiles" and other features.

I adapted this to get lxconsole running: https://wiki.opensourceisaweso…incus-and-setup-lxconsole

I do believe Brian from the Awesome Open Source channel is friendly with Scott, and gets a lot of info from Scott

But I agree you can never have to much information, especially good information.

Have you any preferences yet, between KVM and Incus?

Krisbee · Mar 23rd 2025

trythat I've used libvirt/kvm/qemu with virsh & virt-manager for a long time, together with proxmox to a lesser extent. But it's early days in using incus and I've not made a side by side comparison with KVM in OMV as yet. I hope to make more incus posts over the next few days.

Krisbee · Mar 26th 2025

Every incus instance comes with a device on the "incusbr0" network and a rootfs, it's a configuration set by the "default" profile and applied to all instances. For VMs, the resources are set to 1 cpu , 1GB and a 10GB root by default. These configuration values can be set and overridden, along with adding additional devices, on individual instances or by using profiles that can be applied to any instance. For example:

1. A Linux "Desktop Profile"

You can generate a Linux Desktop VM with a single command or at the click of a button in Incus UI by using an Ubuntu or OpenSUSE "desktop image".

Code

incus create images:ubuntu/noble/desktop Ubuntu24-04 --vm

But for a full desktop you might want 2 cpus, 4GB of memory and a 20GB disk. Use these commands to set these values on a specific instance.

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config set Ubuntu24-04 limits.cpu=2
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config set Ubuntu24-04 limits.memory=4GB
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config device set Ubuntu24-04 root size=20GB
Error: Device from profile(s) cannot be modified for individual instance. Override device or modify profile instead
root@ovm-nvme:~# root@ovm-nvme:~# incus config device override Ubuntu24-04 root size=20GB
Device root overridden for Ubuntu24-04
root@ovm-nvme:~#

Notice how the root size is actually part of the "default" profile and has to be overridden not set. Checking the config in the VM shows:

ubuntu_vm1.jpeg

But the desktop VM is still in the "incusbr0" network. To use the OMV host bridge br0, adjust the desktop VM config using:

Code

incus config device override Ubuntu24-04 eth0 nictype=bridged parent=br0 network=""

As the network was part of the original "default" profile we use "override" and not "set". Restarting the desktop Vm shows the change:

ubuntu_vm2.jpeg

Rather than having to repeat these commands on every instance, a new "desktop" profile with these configuration settings can be assigned to any desktop image instance.

Code

incus profile copy default desktop-profile
incus profile set desktop-profile limits.cpu=2
incus profile set desktop-profile limits.memory=4GB
incus profile device set desktop-profile root size=20GB
incus profile device set desktop-profile eth0 nictype=bridged parent=br0 network=""

Creating an instance of the Ubuntu desktop with these settings is simplified to:

Code

incus create images:ubuntu/noble/desktop Ubuntu24-04v2 --vm -p desktop-profile

ubuntu_vm3.jpeg

Examining the "desktop" profile shows:

Code

chris@deb12:~$ incus profile show desktop-profile
config:
  limits.cpu: "2"
  limits.memory: 4GB
description: Linux Desktop profile 2CPU,4GB RAM,20GB disk
devices:
  eth0:
    name: eth0
    nictype: bridged
    parent: br0
    type: nic
  root:
    path: /
    pool: default
    size: 20GB
    type: disk
name: desktop-profile
used_by:
- /1.0/instances/Ubuntu24-04v2
project: default
chris@deb12:~$

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3. A "Windows" Profile

The same idea can be applied to creating a Windows 10/11 VM which needs a min of 2 cpu, 4 GB, a 60GB disk, and a tmp device.

Code

incus profile copy default windows-profile
incus profile set windows-profile limits.cpu=2
incus profile set windows-profile limits.memory=4GiB
incus profile device add windows-profile vtpm tpm path=/dev/tpm0
incus profile device set windows-profile root size=60GB
incus profile set windows-profile --property description="Windows profile 2CPU, 4GB RAM, 60GB space"
incus init win11vm --empty --vm -p windows-profile
incus config device add win11vm install disk source=<path to windows incus.iso> boot.priority=10
incus start win11vm --console=vga

The Windows ISO has to be repacked using distrobuilder ( see: https://blog.simos.info/how-to…achine-on-incus-on-linux/ )

This can be done on any Linux host or on OMV itself. The required packages to install are:

Code

apt-get incus-extra
apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends genisoimage libwin-hivex-perl rsync wimtools

A typical distrobuilder command is:

Code

sudo distrobuilder repack-windows --windows-arch=amd64 --windows-version=w10 Win11_EnglishInternational_x64.iso 
Win11_EnglishInternational_x64.incus.iso --drivers=virtio-win-0.1.266.iso

The first stage of install:

win11_vm1.jpeg

Krisbee · Mar 26th 2025

More about profiles, to quote the incus docs @ https://linuxcontainers.org/incus/docs/main/profiles/ :

Code

Profiles store a set of configuration options. They can contain instance options, devices and device options.

You can apply any number of profiles to an instance. They are applied in the order they are specified, so the last profile to specify a specific key takes precedence. However, instance-specific configuration always overrides the configuration coming from the profiles.

Consider these further examples:

1. An amended "desktop" profile.

Removing the network config from the "desktop" profile to a separate profile gives the flexibility to use either a host "bridge" or "macvlan" network.

The desktop instance is then created/launched with two profiles: "desktop-no-net" plus "bridge-net-profile.

Code

inucs profile create bridge-net-profile
incus profile device add bridge-net-profile eth0 nic name=eth0 nictype=bridged parent=br0

incus profile copy desktop-profile desktop-no-net
incus profile device remove desktop-no-net eth0
incus create images:ubuntu/noble/desktop Ubuntu24-04v3 --vm -p desktop-no-net -p bridge-net-profile


chris@deb12:~$ incus start Ubuntu24-04v3
chris@deb12:~$ incus shell  Ubuntu24-04v3
root@Ubuntu24-04v3:~# grep -m 1 -i "core" /proc/cpuinfo
model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3470 CPU @ 3.20GHz
root@Ubuntu24-04v3:~# free -m
               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:            3618         966        2328          61         599        2651
Swap:              0           0           0
root@Ubuntu24-04v3:~# sudo fdisk -l /dev/sda
Disk /dev/sda: 18.63 GiB, 20000014336 bytes, 39062528 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 31B734FA-6BB5-4B41-A556-EB3BF24F1935

Device      Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1    2048   206847   204800  100M EFI System
/dev/sda2  206848 39062494 38855647 18.5G Linux filesystem
root@Ubuntu24-04v3:~# ip addr show enp5s0
2: enp5s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:16:3e:1f:32:0d brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.0.204/24 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global dynamic noprefixroute enp5s0
       valid_lft 86232sec preferred_lft 86232sec
    inet6 fe80::216:3eff:fe1f:320d/64 scope link
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
root@Ubuntu24-04v3:~#

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2. A Lyrion Music Player container.

To run the "Lyrion Music Player ( Logitech Media Server - LMS)" in a container, access to OMV host folders can be configured in a "sharedfolders" profile. The container could be launched with these profiles: "default", "bridge-net-profile" and "sharedfolders".

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile device add sharedfolders musicfolder disk source=/mnt/omusic path=/mnt/music shift=true
Device musicfolder added to sharedfolders

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile device add sharedfolders playlistfolder disk source=/mnt/oplaylist path=/mnt/playist shift=true
Device playlistfolder added to sharedfolders
root@ovm-nvme:~#

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile show  sharedfolders
config: {}
description: ""
devices:
  musicfolder:
    path: /mnt/music
    shift: "true"
    source: /mnt/omusic
    type: disk
  playlistfolder:
    path: /mnt/playist
    shift: "true"
    source: /mnt/oplaylist
    type: disk
name: sharedfolders
used_by: []
project: default
root@ovm-nvme:~#

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus create images:debian/12 lyrion-player -p default -p bridge-net-profile -p sharedfolders
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus start lyrion-player

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus shell lyrion-player
root@lyrion-player:~# ip a
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
15: eth0@if16: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:16:3e:51:3c:7e brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff link-netnsid 0
    inet 192.168.0.206/24 metric 1024 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global dynamic eth0
       valid_lft 86197sec preferred_lft 86197sec
    inet6 fe80::216:3eff:fe51:3c7e/64 scope link
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
root@lyrion-player:~# cd /mnt;ls -l
total 25
drwxrwsr-x+ 6 root users 6 Mar 16 16:05 music
drwxrwsr-x+ 2 root users 2 Mar 16 15:54 playist
root@lyrion-player:/mnt#

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3. A OMV test VM.

A running OMV instance needs data disk. To mimic installing OMV on a "2 bay NAS", stack "server-no-net" and "bridge" profiles with a newly created "2bay-disk-set" profile.

First copy the "desktop-no-net" to a new "server-no-net" profile and then edit the new profile's yaml file

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile copy desktop-no-net server-no-net
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile edit server-no-net

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile show server-no-net 
config:
  limits.cpu: "2"
  limits.memory: 4GB
description: Linux server profile 2CPU,4GB RAM,12GB disk
devices:
  root:
    path: /
    pool: default
    size: 12GB
    type: disk
name: server-no-net
used_by: []
project: default
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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Create the ""2bay-disk-set" profile.

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile device add 2bay-disk-set disk1 disk pool=default source=omv-vm-d1
Device disk1 added to 2bay-disk-set
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile device add 2bay-disk-set disk2 disk pool=default source=omv-vm-d21
Device disk2 added to 2bay-disk-set

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus profile show 2bay-disk-set
config: {}
description: ""
devices:
  disk1:
    pool: default
    source: omv-vm-d1
    type: disk
  disk2:
    pool: default
    source: omv-vm-d21
    type: disk
name: 2bay-disk-set
used_by: []
project: default
root@ovm-nvme:~#

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Create the omv-2-bay VM:

Code

root@ovm-nvme:~# incus create images:debian/12 omv-2-bay --vm -p server-no-net -p bridge-net-profile -p 2bay-disk-set
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus start omv-2-bay
root@ovm-nvme:~# incus shell omv-2-bay
root@omv-2-bay:~#


root@ovm-nvme:~# incus shell omv-2-bay
root@omv-2-bay:~# grep -m 1 -i "core" /proc/cpuinfo
model name      : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3470 CPU @ 3.20GHz
root@omv-2-bay:~# free -m
               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:            3617         309        3384          25         111        3307
Swap:              0           0           0
root@omv-2-bay:~# ip addr show enp5s0
2: enp5s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:16:3e:94:75:15 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.0.207/24 metric 1024 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global dynamic enp5s0
       valid_lft 86311sec preferred_lft 86311sec
    inet6 fe80::216:3eff:fe94:7515/64 scope link
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
root@omv-2-bay:~# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sdc: 4.66 GiB, 5000003584 bytes, 9765632 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes


Disk /dev/sda: 11.18 GiB, 12000002048 bytes, 23437504 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 22C058C0-314C-4A3A-A2D2-4064C9770603

Device      Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1    2048   206847   204800  100M EFI System
/dev/sda2  206848 23437470 23230623 11.1G Linux filesystem


Disk /dev/sdb: 4.66 GiB, 5000003584 bytes, 9765632 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
root@omv-2-bay:~#

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Part 2 follows

Krisbee · Mar 26th 2025

Part2 of above:

But there is a snag if you try to remove an existing drive from the "omv-2-bay" VM.

Code

chris@deb12:~$ incus ls omv-2-bay
+-----------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
|   NAME    |  STATE  |          IPV4          | IPV6 |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+-----------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| omv-2-bay | RUNNING | 192.168.0.207 (enp5s0) |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+-----------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
chris@deb12:~$ incus config device remove omv-2-bay disk1
Error: Device from profile(s) cannot be removed from individual instance. Override device or modify profile instead
chris@deb12:~$

The "2bay-disk-set" profile is of limited use and can be removed from the instance. If the VM is to act more like a real machine, you need to add the "data disks" individually to the "omv-2-bay" VM which you can then remove or add, as required. For example:

Code

chris@deb12:~$ incus ls omv-2-bay
+-----------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
|   NAME    |  STATE  |          IPV4          | IPV6 |      TYPE       | SNAPSHOTS |
+-----------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
| omv-2-bay | RUNNING | 192.168.0.207 (enp5s0) |      | VIRTUAL-MACHINE | 0         |
+-----------+---------+------------------------+------+-----------------+-----------+
chris@deb12:~$ incus config device remove omv-2-bay disk1
Error: Device from profile(s) cannot be removed from individual instance. Override device or modify profile instead
chris@deb12:~$ incus profile remove omv-2-bay 2bay-disk-set
Profile 2bay-disk-set removed from omv-2-bay
chris@deb12:~$ incus config device add omv-2-bay disk1 disk pool=default source=omv-vm-d1
Device disk1 added to omv-2-bay
chris@deb12:~$ incus config device add omv-2-bay disk2 disk pool=default source=omv-vm-d2
Device disk2 added to omv-2-bay
chris@deb12:~$

chris@deb12:~$ incus shell omv-2-bay
root@omv-2-bay:~# fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 11.18 GiB, 12000002048 bytes, 23437504 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 22C058C0-314C-4A3A-A2D2-4064C9770603


Device      Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1    2048   206847   204800  100M EFI System
/dev/sda2  206848 23437470 23230623 11.1G Linux filesystem




Disk /dev/sdb: 4.66 GiB, 5000003584 bytes, 9765632 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes




Disk /dev/sdc: 4.66 GiB, 5000003584 bytes, 9765632 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
root@omv-2-bay:~#

chris@deb12:~$ incus config device remove omv-2-bay disk1
Device disk1 removed from omv-2-bay
chris@deb12:~$ incus shell omv-2-bay
root@omv-2-bay:~# fdisk -l 
Disk /dev/sda: 11.18 GiB, 12000002048 bytes, 23437504 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK   
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 22C058C0-314C-4A3A-A2D2-4064C9770603

Device      Start      End  Sectors  Size Type
/dev/sda1    2048   206847   204800  100M EFI System
/dev/sda2  206848 23437470 23230623 11.1G Linux filesystem


Disk /dev/sdc: 4.66 GiB, 5000003584 bytes, 9765632 sectors
Disk model: QEMU HARDDISK   
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
root@omv-2-bay:~

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To summarise:

1. Incus profiles act as configuration templates.

2. Incus profiles can be generic like the "bridge-net-profile" which can apply to any instance, or be specific like the "windows-profile" which is meant for Windows VMs.

3. Incus profiles stack as in the examples above.

Remember that using an incus UI reduces much of this to a "point and click" activity. But the range of incus CLI commands lends themselves to automation via writing scripts. The simplest just being a collection of incus commands.

But what you really want in both the example of the "Lyrion Music Player" container and "omv-2-bay" VM is a step that completes the configuration within the instance itself.

Krisbee · Mar 31st 2025

Using incus with "automation" - the first steps

=================================================

1. Create instances by simple scripts.

Incus commands can be lengthy, using simple scripts saves on error prone repetitive typing and are easily modified. For example,

CLI commands:

Code

incus launch images:debian/12  lms-player --profile default  --p bridge-net-profile --p sharedfolders

incus launch images:ubuntu/noble nobleVM --vm -c limits.cpu=2 -c limits.memory=4GB -d root,size=20GiB -p default -p bridge-net-profile

Simple Scripts:

Code

#!/usr/bin/bash
incus launch images:debian/12  lms-player \
-p default \
-p bridge-net-profile \
-p sharedfolders

Code

#!/usr/bin/bash
incus launch images:ubuntu/noble nobleVM --vm \
-c limits.cpu=2 \
-c limits.memory=4GB \
-d root,size=20GiB \
-p default \
-p bridge-net-profile \

2. Use incus commands to configure an instance post-creation.

Typically instances need configuration post-creation, anything for adding packages to executing commands or adding files from the host.

Use "incus exec .." to run commands inside an instance. Use "incus file .." to edit, delete, pull or push files to an instance.

In the example of the Lyrion Music Player (LMS) container, it's configuration requires some standard packages to be installed and downloading and installing one other. The "incus exec .." commands are:

Code

incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "apt update -y && apt upgrade -y"
incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "apt install wget perl libio-socket-ssl-perl libcrypt-openssl-rsa-perl -y"
incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "wget https://downloads.lms-community.org/LyrionMusicServer_v9.0.2/lyrionmusicserver_9.0.2_amd64.deb  -O /root/lms.deb"
incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "apt install /root/lms.deb

This simple script to create a Lyrion Music Player (LMS) container from scratch illustrates how the creation of a single profile combines with "incus exec ..." commands to configure the container instance.

Code

#!/usr/bin/bash

exists=$(incus profile ls -c n | grep lms_profile)

if [[ ! $exists ]]; then

    echo ""
    echo "Creating lms-player container profile ..."
    echo ""

    incus profile copy default lms_profile -q
    incus profile device set lms_profile eth0 nictype=bridged parent=br0 network="" -q
    incus profile device add lms_profile musicfolder disk source=/mnt/omusic path=/mnt/music shift=true -q
    incus profile device add lms_profile playlistfolder disk source=/mnt/oplaylist path=/mnt/playlist shift=true -q
    incus profile device add lms_profile configfolder disk source=/mnt/incus_apps/lms/config path=/var/lib/squeezeboxserver shift=true -q
fi

read -p "Launching lms-player container with shared music & playlist folders ... Press enter to continue"
echo ""

incus launch images:debian/12  lms-player --profile  lms_profile -q

echo ""
read -p "Installing required packages in lms-player container ... Press enter to continue"
echo ""

incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "apt update -y && apt upgrade -y"
incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "apt install wget perl libio-socket-ssl-perl libcrypt-openssl-rsa-perl -y"
incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "wget https://downloads.lms-community.org/LyrionMusicServer_v9.0.2/lyrionmusicserver_9.0.2_amd64.deb  -O /root/lms.deb"
incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "apt install /root/lms.deb"

echo ""
read -p "Checking LMS is running and shared folders are present ... Press enter to continue"
echo ""

incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "pgrep -a squeeze;ls -l /mnt"
incus exec lms-player -- sh -c "ss -4 -tulip | grep squeeze"

echo "LMS container details"
echo ""

incus ls lms-player

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Note: The "echo" and "read" statement are simple debug break points that can be removed .

Boron is the current version of the BunsenLabs lightweight Linux distro. It can be installed via a script after first using a debian net install. The "bunsen net install script" is designed to be run interactively by a non-root used with sudo privileges. This is a example script of how this might be done in incus:

Bash

#!/bin/bash

#######################################################################
# Create a BORON LINUX VM based on debian/12 image
#######################################################################
# boron install normally happens after a debian netinstall
# boron install in an debian image requires:
# 1. a non-root user as member of the sudo group
# 2. additional pkgs: curl, wget and lsb-release
# 3. running boron install script in a non-root user login shell.
#######################################################################

# use a HERE doc to create a boron_install.sh file to push to VM.

cat << EOF > boron_install.sh
#!/bin/bash
wget https://github.com/bunsenlabs/bunsen-netinstall/archive/boron.tar.gz
tar -xpf boron.tar.gz
cd bunsen-netinstall-boron
./install
EOF

exists=$(incus profile ls -c n | grep boron_vm_profile)

if [[ ! $exists ]]; then

    echo ""
    echo "Creating BunsenLabs Boron VM profile ..."
    echo ""

    incus profile copy default boron_vm_profile
    incus profile set boron_vm_profile limits.cpu=2
    incus profile set boron_vm_profile limits.memory=4GiB
    incus profile device set boron_vm_profile root size=20GB
    incus profile device set boron_vm_profile eth0 nictype=bridged parent=br0 network=""
    incus profile set boron_vm_profile --property description="Boron profile 2CPU, 4GB RAM, 20GB space"
    incus profile show boron_vm_profile

    read -p "Showing Boron Linux VM  profile ... Press enter to continue"
fi

read -p "Launching a Boron Linux VM with 2cpu, 4GB memory, 20GB disk ... Press enter to continue"
echo ""

incus launch images:debian/12  boron-vm1 --vm  --profile  boron_vm_profile

sleep 30

echo ""
read -p "Installing required packages in boron_vm & non-root user ... Press enter to continue"
echo ""

incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "apt update -y && apt upgrade -y"
incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "apt install wget curl lsb-release -y"
incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "groupadd -g 1000 chris"
incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "useradd -g 1000 -u 1000 -m -s /bin/bash chris"
incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "usermod -aG sudo chris"
incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "echo "chris:changeme" | sudo chpasswd"
incus file push boron_install.sh boron-vm1/home/chris/
incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "chown chris:chris -R /home/chris/*"
incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "chmod u+x /home/chris/boron_install.sh"
incus exec boron-vm1 -- su -l chris

echo ""
read -p "Checking Boron is running ... Press enter to continue"
echo ""

incus exec boron-vm1 -- sh -c "lsb_release -cs"

echo "Boron VM details"
echo "Logon as User: Chris Password: changeme - change insecure user password ASAP"

incus ls boron-vm1

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Follows on ..

Incus on OMV (an idea revisited)

chente Mar 30th 2025

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