kvm2

Linux KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) driver

Overview

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is a full virtualization solution for Linux on x86 hardware containing virtualization extensions. To work with KVM, minikube uses the libvirt virtualization API

Proper installation of KVM and libvirt is highly specific to each Linux distribution. Please consult:

Once configured, validate that libvirt reports no errors:

virt-host-validate

Start a cluster using the kvm2 driver:

minikube start --driver=kvm2

To make kvm2 the default driver:

minikube config set driver kvm2

To use VM drivers, verify that your system has virtualization support enabled:

egrep -q 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo && echo yes || echo no

If the above command outputs “no”:

If you are running within a VM, your hypervisor does not allow nested virtualization. You will need to use the None (bare-metal) driver
If you are running on a physical machine, ensure that your BIOS has hardware virtualization enabled

The minikube start command supports 3 additional kvm specific flags:

minikube will repeatedly ask for the root password if user is not in the correct libvirt group #3467
Machine didn't return an IP after 120 seconds when firewall prevents VM network access #3566
unable to set user and group to '65534:992 when dynamic ownership = 1 in qemu.conf #4467
KVM VM’s cannot be used simultaneously with VirtualBox #4913
On some distributions, libvirt bridge networking may fail until the host reboots

If you are running KVM in a nested virtualization environment ensure your config the kernel modules correctly follow either this or this tutorial.

Run virt-host-validate and check for the suggestions.
Run minikube start --alsologtostderr -v=7 to debug crashes
Run docker-machine-driver-kvm2 version to verify the kvm2 driver executes properly.
Read How to debug Virtualization problems