View: KVM Instances, Status, and Configuration

The following information describes how to use the virsh command to obtain a list of KVM instances available on a host, along with their status (running, paused, and so on). It also describes how to view and edit the XML configuration of a specific KVM instance.

What Do You Need?

Root privileges on host system.
Existing KVM instance on a host system.

Steps

Follow theses steps to: 1) view KVM instances and their status on a host, and 2) view basic and detailed configuration information about a specific KVM instance.

To list all virtual machines on a local host system, type:
```
virsh list --all
```
Example output:
```
 Id    Name                           State
----------------------------------------------------
 1     My_KVM_Guest                   running
 
```
Where:
- KVM ID or Name: The unique ID and name assigned to the KVM instance.
- State: The operating status of the KVM instance. Possible status states that might appear include:
  - Running – The KVM instance is considered operational and working.
  - Paused – Execution of the KVM instance has been paused until it's resumed.
  - Shut off or Shutdown – The KVM instance is powered off.
  - Saved – The saved state is similar to the paused state, however the KVM instance's configuration is saved to persistent storage.
  For more details on how to manage the state of a KVM instance, see Start, Shutdown, Reboot, or Remove KVM.

To view basic details about a specific KVM instance, type:

sudo virsh dominfo My_KVM_Guest

Example output:

Id:             1
Name:           My_KVM_Guest
UUID:           c321630AA-2f5e-665c-8949-75b7d99999e1
OS Type:        hvm
State:          running
CPU(s):         2
CPU time:       188.3s
Max memory:     4188304 KiB
Used memory:    4188304 KiB
Persistent:     yes
Autostart:      disable
Managed save:   no
Security model: selinux
Security DOI:   0
Security label: system_u:system_r:svirt_t:s0:###,### (enforcing)

To view the complete XML configuration associated with a KVM instance, use the virsh dumpxml command. For example:
```
sudo virsh dumpxml My_KVM_Guest
```
The virsh dumpxml command output returns the guest KVM XML configuration file, which can be viewed, saved, changed, or used in other ways.
To edit the XML configuration file associated with a KVM guest, use the virsh edit command. For example:
```
sudo virsh edit [My_KVM_Guest_Name]
```