BVM is a Bhyve virtual machine management tool based on FreeBSD. It provides a simple and easy-to-use command line interface that allows users to conveniently create, configure and manage virtual machines. BVM supports multiple mainstream operating systems and offers flexible network and storage configuration, making it a powerful virtualization management tool.
- Support for multiple mainstream operating systems, including:
- BSD systems like FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD
- Linux distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, OpenSuse, CentOS, Kali
- Windows systems like Windows 10, Windows 11
- Flexible storage configuration:
- Support for adding multiple virtual disks to each VM
- Support for dynamic disk addition and removal
- Multiple storage interfaces: AHCI, VirtIO-BLK, NVMe
- ZFS storage support with snapshot and data protection features
- Multiple CD-ROM support (up to 4 CDs for driver installation, etc.)
- Powerful networking capabilities:
- Support for configuring multiple network cards per VM
- Bridge, NAT, and Switch networking modes
- Port forwarding support in NAT mode
- Built-in DHCP server with dynamic IP display in
bvm --ll
- Multiple boot methods:
- Support for traditional GRUB boot
- Support for modern UEFI boot (including UEFI Variables persistence)
- VNC and Display:
- Configurable VNC bind address, port, resolution
- VNC password protection
- VNC wait option for boot synchronization
- HDA audio device support
- Advanced features:
- TPM 2.0 support (Trusted Platform Module) for Windows 11
- VirtIO-9P shared folders (share host directories with VMs)
- PCI passthrough (pass physical PCI devices to VMs)
- CPU topology control (sockets, cores, threads)
- VM encryption protection
- Autoboot configuration with boot order
- Snapshot and rollback support
- Complete command line management interface
# pkg update
# pkg install bvm
# portsnap fetch update
# cd /usr/ports/sysutils/bvm/
# make install clean
Before running, you need to edit /usr/local/etc/bvm/bvm.conf file to set the virtual machine storage directory
vmdir=/your/vm/dir/
Usage: bvm <options> [args...]
VM Management Options:
--create Create new VM
Usage: bvm --create <name> [from <template|vm> [options]]
Standard templates: freebsd, linux, windows
Or use an existing VM name as a template
Options: -s(grub), -U=cpus, -m=mem, -d=disk, -n=net, -i=bind_nic
--start Start VM
--stop Stop VM (ACPI shutdown)
--poweroff Force power off VM
--restart Restart VM
--reboot Restart VM (alias for --restart)
--set-hd-boot Set VM to boot from hard disk
--login Log in to VM console (for grub boot)
--config Configure VM settings (cpus, ram, disk, network, etc.)
--clone Clone VM to a new one
--remove Destroy VM(s) permanently
--rename Rename VM
--vminfo Display detailed VM configuration info
--ls List VMs (short format)
--ll List VMs (long format)
--showstats Show VM resource usage statistics
--log Show VM log entries
--os List supported OS types
VM Operation & Security:
--autoboot Start all auto-boot enabled VMs
--abinfo Show auto-boot configuration
--lock Lock VM (prevent accidental deletion/modification)
--unlock Unlock VM
--lockall Lock all VMs
--unlockall Unlock all VMs
--encrypt Encrypt VM data
--decrypt Decrypt VM data
Storage & Snapshot Options:
--addisk Add a new disk to VM
--deldisk Delete a disk from VM
--snapshot Create a snapshot of VM
--rollback Rollback VM to a snapshot
--showsnap Show snapshots of a VM
--showsnapall Show snapshots of all VMs
Network Management (NAT & Switch):
--netstats Show VM network status
--natinfo Show NAT configuration info
--addnat Add a new NAT interface
--delnat Delete a NAT interface
--setnat Set NAT IP address
--reload-nat Reload NAT port redirection rules
--swinfo Show Switch configuration info
--addswitch Add a new Switch
--delswitch Delete a Switch
--setsw Set Switch IP address
--unsetsw Unset Switch IP address
--setpr Set port redirection (dynamic)
--showpr Show active port redirection rules
--showdhcp Show DHCP client leases
--showdev Show network device mapping
--showdevall Show all network devices (class mode)
--showdevuse Show all network devices (simple mode)
Host & Hardware Options:
--passthru Show PCI passthrough device list
--pci Show all host PCI devices
Example:
bvm --create vm1 from linux -U=4 -m=4g -d=20g
bvm --start vm1
bvm --ls
bvm --ll online
bvm --vminfo vm1
For more details, please read 'man bvm'
Answer: You can create a new virtual machine in three ways:
1. Use the command 'bvm --create vmname' to create
2. Use an existing VM configuration as template:
bvm --create newname from template-vmname
- template-vmname: Name of existing VM (template)
- newname: Name of new VM
This command will copy the template VM's configuration to the new VM for customization.
Standard templates available:
- freebsd (FreeBSD standard configuration)
- linux (Linux standard configuration)
- windows (Windows standard configuration)
You can also use any existing VM name as a template.
Optional parameters for template creation:
-s Set boot type to grub
-U=N Set CPU count (e.g. -U=4)
-m=SIZE Set memory size (e.g. -m=512m, -m=2g)
-d=SIZE Set first disk size (e.g. -d=10g, -d=1t)
-n=MODE Set network mode (bridge or nat)
-i=NIC Set bind NIC (e.g. -i=em0)
Example:
bvm --create myvm from linux -s -U=4 -m=512m -d=10g -n=bridge -i=em0
3. Clone an existing VM:
bvm --clone oldname newname
- oldname: Name of existing VM
- newname: Name of new VM
This command will make a complete copy of a VM.
Answer: The VM must be powered off, then use command 'bvm --config vmname' to modify settings
Some configuration parameters explained:
Parameter Description
--------- -----------
cpus Number of CPUs used by VM (the total vCPU count)
ram Memory allocated to VM (e.g. 512M or 1G)
CD Enable/disable CD-ROM (on/off)
cd numbers Number of CD drives (1-4)
cd(N) iso ISO path for CD N (enter '-' to clear for cd1-cd3)
boot from Boot options (cd0:CD boot/hd0:Hard disk boot)
boot type Boot method (grub: Standard, uefi: UEFI, uefi_csm: UEFI CSM/Legacy BIOS)
TPM (UEFI) Enable TPM 2.0 support (requires UEFI, needed for Windows 11)
shared folder Share host directories with the VM (VirtIO-9P)
passthru PCI passthrough (share host PCI devices with the VM)
VNC Enable/disable VNC display
VNC bind VNC server bind address (default: 0.0.0.0)
VNC port VNC server port number
VNC width/height VNC display resolution
VNC password Optional password for VNC connection
VNC wait Wait for VNC connection before boot
audio Enable HDA audio device
auto boot Auto-start configuration (see bvm --autoboot)
hostbridge CPU architecture (intel:hostbridge/AMD:amd_hostbridge)
disk config Disk configuration (can add/remove disks, set storage interface: ahci-hd/virtio-blk/nvme)
network config Network configuration (Bridge/NAT/Switch modes)
Answer: Use 'bvm --vminfo vmname' to view detailed VM information, including VM name, OS, IP address, network mode, disk info, etc.
Example output:
---------------------------
Welcome to Bhyve Vm Manager
---------------------------
name : debian
os type : Debian
ram : 512m
cpus : 1
disk interface : ahci-hd
disk numbers : 1
|-ZFS support : off
|-disk(0) size : 5g
cd status : on
|-iso path : /root/iso/debian-9.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso
boot from : cd0
hostbridge : hostbridge
boot type : grub
auto boot : yes
|-index : 2
|-time : 15 sec.
nic interface : e1000
nic numbers : 1
nic_0
|-network mode : NAT
|-wan : em0
|-gateway : nat2 [GW 192.168.1.1/24]
|-redirect : disable
|-bridge : bridge1
|-tap : vmnet1
|-ip : 192.168.1.10/24
status : off
lock : no
crypt : no
Answer: Use command 'bvm --start vmname' to start, use 'bvm --restart vmname' or 'bvm --reboot vmname' to restart. For VMs using GRUB boot mode, use 'bvm --login vmname' to log in. For UEFI boot mode, 'bvm --login' can be attempted, but console login support depends on the guest OS configuration; if it fails, please use VNC or SSH.
Answer: VM auto-start means automatically starting VMs when the system boots. For example: with two VMs, vm1 and vm2, where vm1 is a database server and vm2 is a web server that depends on vm1's database service, vm1 must start before vm2. In vm1 and vm2's configurations, there are options like:
vm1's config:
[8]. auto boot : yes
[9]. boot index : 1
[a]. boot time : 60
vm2's config:
[8]. auto boot : yes
[9]. boot index : 2
[a]. boot time : 15
Where [8] indicates auto-start, [9] indicates start order, [a] indicates start delay.
This means vm2 will start 60 seconds after vm1, and if there's a vm3, its start time depends on vm2's boot time value.
To properly use this option, add to startup script:
sysrc bvmd_enable=yes
When system boots, it will automatically start all VMs set for auto-start in order, or you can manually start with:
bvm --autoboot
You can also check auto-start VM settings anytime:
bvm --abinfo
Example output:
---------------------------------
idx vm time(sec)
---------------------------------
1 freebsd 18
2 debian 15
Answer: There are two ways:
1. Normal shutdown:
bvm --stop vmname
2. Force shutdown (use when VM cannot shut down normally):
bvm --poweroff vmname
Answer: There are two formats - long and short:
- Short list:
bvm --ls
- Long list:
bvm --ll
Both show VM name, status, OS, IP address etc.
You can also use parameters to get specific information:
- Online list:
bvm --ls online
- By status:
bvm --ls bystatus
- By OS:
bvm --ls byos
- By IP:
bvm --ls byip
Answer: Sometimes you need to prevent accidental VM deletion by using the lock feature. When locked, VMs cannot be deleted until unlocked.
bvm --lock vmname
bvm --unlock vmname
bvm --lockall
bvm --unlockall
Answer: For security, some VMs need encryption when powered off to prevent unauthorized use of VM files. Encrypted VMs cannot start until decrypted. Note that encryption and decryption require the same password; if the password is lost, it cannot be decrypted. Starting from bvm 1.3.4, due to the modified encryption algorithm, old encrypted VMs cannot be decrypted; you need to decrypt them with an old version first, then encrypt them with a new version.
VM encryption/decryption is done with these commands:
bvm --encrypt vmname
bvm --decrypt vmname
Answer: Use ‘bvm --netstat’ command to view online VM network status, including network mode, IP address, gateway, port forwarding, bridge, TAP etc.
Example output:
NAME NIC MODE IP GATEWAY PORTS BRIDGE TAP
ob 0 NAT dhcp 172.16.1.1/24 (nat0) - bridge0 vmnet0
c 0 NAT dhcp 172.16.1.1/24 (nat0) - bridge0 vmnet1
freebsd-14 0 NAT 172.16.1.10/24 172.16.1.1/24 (nat0) tcp 22:2224 bridge0 vmnet3
Answer: You can use these commands to view network device information:
bvm --showdev
bvm --showdevall
bvm --showdevuse
Example output:
default-bridge
|-em0
|-c (nic1)
|-test (nic1)
nat0 [172.16.1.1/24]
|-ob (nic0)
|-c (nic0)
|-c11 (nic0)
|-c12 (nic0)
|-centos (nic0)
|-test (nic0)
|-freebsd-14 (nic0)
nat1 [10.10.30.1/24]
|-null
nat2 [192.168.1.1/24]
|-c2 (nic0)
|-debian (nic0)
switch0 [10.0.1.0/24]
|-null
switch1 [10.0.2.0/24]
|-null
switch2 [10.0.3.0/24]
|-null
switch3
|-null
switch4
|-null
switch5
|-null
switch6
|-null
switch7
|-null
The default-bridge is the default VM-host bridge; nat0-nat2 are 3 reserved NAT interfaces for host communication; switch0-switch7 are 8 reserved VM communication interfaces, which are also bridges but differ from the default bridge as they're mainly for internal networking and usually don't include host physical NICs.
Answer: bvm provides bridge and NAT modes, with 3 reserved NAT interfaces for host communication and 8 switch interfaces for host communication. Administrators can set NAT network IP addresses as needed, switches usually don't need configuration except in special cases.
NAT configuration is in /usr/local/etc/bvm/nat.conf, defined as:
nat0=172.16.1.1/24
nat1=10.10.30.1/24
nat2=192.168.1.1/24
Switch configuration is in /usr/local/etc/bvm/switch.conf, defined as:
switch0=10.0.1.0/24
switch1=10.0.2.0/24
switch2=10.0.3.0/24
switch3=
switch4=
switch5=
switch6=
switch7=
bvm provides commands to manage NAT and switch interfaces:
Query commands:
bvm --natinfo
bvm --swinfo
Setting commands:
bvm --setnat
bvm --setsw
bvm --unsetsw
Add commands:
bvm --addnat
bvm --addswitch
Delete commands:
bvm --delnat
bvm --delswitch
Answer: Port forwarding maps internal VM ports to host ports, enabling VM-host communication. bvm allows setting port forwarding during VM creation and configuration. Additionally, bvm supports dynamic port forwarding to add/remove rules without stopping VMs, using commands:
bvm --setpr
bvm --showpr
For example, to set port forwarding for a VM with IP 192.168.1.10:
bvm --setpr 192.168.1.10
You can view port forwarding rules anytime:
bvm --showpr
Example output:
PROTO VM IP:PORT HOST PORT VM NAME
tcp 172.16.1.10:22 2224 freebsd-14
tcp 172.16.1.10:80 8080 freebsd-14
Answer: Use ’bvm --showdhcp‘ command to view online VM DHCP client information, including VM name, MAC address, IP address, lease time etc.
Example output:
ip mac bind_time status
-- --- --------- ------
172.16.1.100 00:a0:98:ad:89:74 03/26 09:30:37 - 03/26 19:30:37 ASSOCIATED
192.168.1.100 00:a0:98:dc:ff:5b 03/26 09:34:26 - 03/27 09:34:26 ASSOCIATED
Answer: The DHCP configuration file is located at /usr/local/etc/bvm/dhcp.conf, where you can modify the nat0-nat2 parameters as needed.
Static IP addresses should be written in the following format:
nat0_static_ip_01="172.16.1.2 00:00:00:00:00:00"
nat0_static_ip_02="172.16.1.3 00:00:00:00:00:00"
Dynamic IP range should be written in the following format:
nat0_dynamic_ip="172.16.1.100 172.16.1.254"
Other sections can be filled in according to the default configuration.
Answer: Use 'bvm --showstats vmname' command to view VM CPU, memory, network traffic information.
Example output:
[ Infrastructure Metrics ]
CPU Usage : 0.00% (Allocated: 1 Cores)
Memory Usage : 0.97% (Allocated: 2g, Active: 19.89 MB)
Disk I/O & Cap :
- disk0 : Cap: 5g, Used: 1.82 GB (/var/vm/fb/disk.img)
Network Traffic:
- vmnet0 : RX: 726 B / TX: 4.43 KB (Drops: 0)
[ Advanced VM Stats ]
VM Exits : 1437238 (Rate: ~45784/sec)
- IO Access : 202732
- Emulation : 685290
- Interrupts : 45059 (NMI: 0)
[ Availability & Services ]
PID : 6044
Host Load Avg : 1.44, 1.43, 1.36
Status : Online
Uptime : 52:34 (Process)
Boot Time : 31s (CPU Runtime)
VNC Service : Disabled
Answer: Use 'bvm --log [vmname]' to view the logs for a specific virtual machine or all VMs.
Options:
vmname Optional. If omitted, shows logs for all VMs.
-e Show only error logs
-n=N Show last N lines
-a Show all logs (no line limit)
Examples:
bvm --log # Show last 50 lines of all logs
bvm --log vm1 # Show last 50 lines of logs for vm1
bvm --log -e # Show all error logs
bvm --log vm1 -n=100 # Show last 100 lines for vm1
答: 使用 'bvm --log [vmname]' 命令查看指定虚拟机的日志，或者查看所有日志。
选项:
vmname 可选。如果省略，显示所有虚拟机的日志。
-e 只显示错误日志
-n=N 显示最后 N 行
-a 显示所有日志（不限制行数）
示例:
bvm --log # 显示所有日志的最后 50 行
bvm --log vm1 # 显示 vm1 的最后 50 行日志
bvm --log -e # 显示所有错误日志
bvm --log vm1 -n=100 # 显示 vm1 的最后 100 行日志
Answer: Shared folders allow you to share host directories with virtual machines. Enable 'shared folder' in the VM configuration, set the share name and host path.
Configuration options:
shared folder Enable/disable file sharing (on/off)
share name Name used in guest to identify the share
share path Host directory path to share
share ro Read-only mode (on/off)
Mount in Linux guest:
mkdir -p /mnt/hostshare
mount -t 9p -o trans=virtio hostshare /mnt/hostshare
Note: VirtIO-9P is well supported in Linux guests. FreeBSD 14 guests lack the virtio_p9fs module; FreeBSD 15+ has full support.
Answer: PCI passthrough allows a VM to directly access a physical PCI device (e.g., GPU, NIC).
Prerequisites:
1. CPU must support Intel VT-d or AMD-Vi
2. PCI device must support MSI/MSI-x interrupts
3. Device must be reserved in /boot/loader.conf:
pptdevs="0/2/0 1/0/0"
Configuration:
When you enable passthrough in VM configuration, BVM will automatically
detect available passthrough devices and display them in a selection list:
Select ppt(0) device:
[0]. ppt0 - 0/20/0 - USB 3.0 Host Controller
[1]. ppt1 - 1/0/0 - AMD Radeon R7 Graphics
[2]. ppt2 - 1/0/1 - HD Audio Controller
Select ppt(0) device: _
Only devices that are:
- Bound to the ppt driver (configured in loader.conf)
- Not allocated to other VMs
will appear in the selection list.
Configuration options:
passthru Enable/disable PCI passthrough (on/off)
ppt devices Number of passthrough devices (1-8)
ppt(N) device Select from available devices list
Note: When passthrough is enabled, bhyve uses -S flag to wire guest memory.
Use 'bvm --pci' to find device addresses.
Show PCI passthrough device list:
bvm --passthru
Legend:
- Passthru Ready (Green): Device bound to ppt driver, ready for passthrough
- Allocated (Yellow): Device currently assigned to a running VM
Answer: If you encounter a blank screen or hang when using 'bvm --login' on a UEFI VM, it's likely because the Guest OS is not outputting to the serial console. You need to configure the kernel parameters in the Guest OS.
For Debian/Ubuntu:
1. Edit /etc/default/grub
2. Change: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200"
3. Run: update-grub
4. Reboot
For RHEL/CentOS/AlmaLinux:
1. Edit /etc/default/grub
2. Add to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX: "console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200"
Also recommend removing "rhgb quiet" to see full boot messages
3. Run: grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/centos/grub.cfg (adjust path for your distro)
4. Reboot
For Fedora:
1. Edit /etc/default/grub
2. Add to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX: "console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200"
Also recommend removing "rhgb quiet" to see full boot messages
3. Run: grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
4. Reboot
For openSUSE:
1. Edit /etc/default/grub
2. Add to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT: "console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200"
Also recommend removing "splash=silent quiet" to see full boot messages
3. Run: grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
4. Reboot
For OpenBSD:
1. Modify boot config /etc/boot.conf (create if missing):
echo "set tty com0" >> /etc/boot.conf
echo "stty com0 115200" >> /etc/boot.conf
2. Enable login service /etc/ttys:
Edit file, find 'tty00' line, change 'off' to 'on', and recommend adding 'secure' (allow root login)
Before: tty00 "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600" unknown off
After: tty00 "/usr/libexec/getty std.115200" vt100 on secure
3. Reboot