Let’s see the steps to create QCOW2 on QEMU in this article. Bobcares, as a part of our Proxmox Support Service offers solutions to every query that comes our way.

Creating QCOW2 on QEMU

Creating a new disk image file in the QCOW2 (QEMU Copy-On-Write 2) format using QEMU is simple and useful for virtualization. QCOW2 is a popular format because it saves disk space, supports snapshots, and can be encrypted. We use QCOW2 since:

i. QCOW2 only stores changes from the original image, saving space.

ii. We can resize the disk image without rewriting the whole file.

iii. QCOW2 works with various virtualization software, including QEMU and KVM.

Steps to Create a QCOW2 Disk Image

1. Initially, ensure QEMU is setup on the system. We can set it up via the system’s package manager or download it from the QEMU website.

2. Now, choose the size of the QCOW2 disk image. We can specify the size in kilobytes (K), megabytes (M), gigabytes (G), or terabytes (T).

3. Then, use the qemu-img command-line tool to create the QCOW2 disk image. The basic syntax is:

Replace with the desired file name and with the desired size of the disk image.

4. After running the command, QEMU will create the disk image with the specified size and name. We can check the directory where we ran the command to verify the file’s creation.

Benefits of QCOW2 Disk Images

Creating QCOW2 disk images is beneficial for virtualization tasks such as:

1. Storing operating systems

2. Saving data

3. Managing files for virtual machines

These images are compatible with QEMU/KVM, VirtualBox, VMware, and other virtualization platforms, providing a flexible and efficient storage solution for virtual environments. By following these steps, we can easily create and manage virtual disk images for the VMs.

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Conclusion

To sum up, our Support Team went over the details of creating QCOW2 on QEMU.