How to use virtual machines

Metal-as-a-Service (MAAS) supports virtual machine deployment and management, enabling efficient resource utilization through virtualization. The recommended virtual machine hypervisor is LXD, a performant, container-based system. MAAS also accommodates other hypervisors like libvirt or VMware.

Proper configuration of the virtual machine host is required prior to deployment. MAAS provides documentation on setting up LXD as well as other supported hypervisors. Once configured, virtual machines can be created, customized, deleted and otherwise managed through the MAAS user interface or command line tools.

Key capabilities facilitated by MAAS virtual machine support include:

• Automated deployment of VMs across the bare metal environment
• Dynamic resource allocation controls for CPU, memory, storage and networking
• Customization of VM images and properties
• Integration with configuration management tools to enable infrastructure-as-code workflows

Virtualization allows condensing many workloads onto fewer physical servers. This improves efficiency and flexibility while reducing costs associated with physical infrastructure sprawl. MAAS streamlines the provisioning and life cycle management of both physical and virtual machines. With robust virtual machine support, MAAS enables optimized utilization in modern hybrid environments.