27

I created a KVM guest from the command line with virt-install where I used the command line options --disk pool=vg0,size=20 and --name virt1.example.com.

How can I delete this KVM guest from the command line? I don't need it anymore.

Just for the record the whole command line was

virt-install --debug --hvm --vnc --name virt1.example.com --os-type=linux --os-variant=rhel6 --pxe --network network=default,model=e1000,mac=02:54:00:13:be:e4 --disk pool=vg0,size=20 --ram 1024 --vcpus=1

and here is some extra information

[root@server ~]# virsh vol-list vg0
Name                 Path                                    
-----------------------------------------
lv0                  /dev/vg0/lv0                            
lv_swap              /dev/vg0/lv_swap                        
virt1.example.com.img /dev/vg0/virt1.example.com.img  

[root@server ~]# virsh list
 Id Name                 State
----------------------------------
  3 virt1.example.com running

Update

Running these three commands seems to remove the installed KVM

virsh destroy virt1.example.com
virsh undefine virt1.example.com
virsh vol-delete --pool vg0 virt1.example.com.img

For more details see the terminal session:

[root@server ~]# virsh list --all
 Id Name                 State
----------------------------------
 3 virt1.example.com running

[root@server ~]# virsh undefine virt1.example.com
error: Failed to undefine domain virt1.example.com
error: Requested operation is not valid: cannot delete active domain

[root@server ~]# virsh destroy virt1.example.com
Domain virt1.example.com destroyed

[root@server ~]# virsh list --all
 Id Name                 State
----------------------------------
  - virt1.example.com shut off

[root@server ~]# virsh undefine virt1.example.com
Domain virt1.example.com has been undefined

[root@server ~]# virsh list --all
 Id Name                 State
----------------------------------

[root@server ~]# virsh vol-list --pool vg0
Name                 Path                                    
-----------------------------------------
lv0                  /dev/vg0/lv0                            
lv_swap              /dev/vg0/lv_swap                        
virt1.example.com.img /dev/vg0/virt1.example.com.img  

[root@server ~]# virsh vol-delete --pool vg0 virt1.example.com.img
Vol virt1.example.com.img deleted

[root@server ~]# virsh vol-list --pool vg0
Name                 Path                                    
-----------------------------------------
lv0                  /dev/vg0/lv0                            
lv_swap              /dev/vg0/lv_swap                        

[root@server ~]# cat /etc/issue
CentOS Linux release 6.0 (Final)
Kernel \r on an \m

[root@server ~]# virsh --version
0.8.1
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1
  • 1
    For others looking at this answer, if your error is at the virsh undefine virt1.example.com step (with an error like 'Refusing to undefine while domain managed save image exists'). Then you may need an additional command like: virsh managedsave-remove virt1.example.com.
    – nmtoken
    Aug 5, 2014 at 12:09

1 Answer 1

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32

According to the manual of virsh this is:

virsh destroy _domain-id_
virsh undefine _domain-id_
virsh vol-delete --pool vg0 _domain-id_.img

And it further says: "Undefine (destroy) the configuration for an inactive domain. Since the domain is not running the domain name or UUID must be used as the domain-id."

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  • Thanks @mailq I think I managed to delete the KVM. Maybe you could update your answer accordingly?
    – Erik Sjölund
    Aug 11, 2011 at 12:35
  • Now it reflects the solution
    – mailq
    Aug 11, 2011 at 12:49
  • 6
    For those who are curious, this is what those commands do: virsh destroy does a forced shutdown of the vm, virsh undefine removes the configuration from KVM, and virsh vol-delete removes the actual disk image. If you need to get the _domain-id_ type virsh list --all to get a list of your VMs.
    – Rick Chatham
    Sep 30, 2015 at 23:24
  • 3
    This recipe has been scripted in virt-delete from virt-utils, which also has a few other useful scripts.
    – imz -- Ivan Zakharyaschev
    Jan 25, 2017 at 3:05
  • You can do virsh undefine yourdomainname --storage vda in one step. Be careful not to use --remove-all-storage, unless you know what you're doing.
    – ILMostro_7
    Oct 3, 2018 at 19:00

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