Server Virtual Machines (Windows)
2025/07/22
Posted Tag: #Windows
Other Tags: #Linux, #Personal, #All
You can run Virtual Machine Manager on Windows and manage virtual machines on a server like I do on Linux. You need to learn some about Linux but it is not very much. I discussed installing Debain in WSL along with Virtual Machine Manager before. Here I am going to express how to create a virtual machine on a Unbuntu Server LTS based server using my bash script Strings.
Getting Arch Linux
Go here and scroll down to find a mirror to download Arch Linux. In your Windows Downloads folder you will find an ISO like below.
Creating the Virtual Machine
First of all you need to use the public key I discussed earlier and establish a connection to the server. Start WSL Debian and type ssh [email protected] and connect. We are doing this so as to allow Debian to trust the server connection so Virtual Machine Manager does not have to when you start it. If Virtual Machine Manager will not start it is likely this issue. In the Start Menu scroll down to the Debain folder and start Virtual Machine Manager (Debian). Under File in the upper left choose Add Connection ....
Fill in the form as above and Connect. With the resulting connection highlighted right-click and chose Details. Click the Storage tab.
Note the Location /var/lib/libvirt/images. This is where the Arch Linux ISO or any other ISO you want to use to create a virtual machine with needs to be on the server. Either leave the dialog open or write down the location folders. You will need this information shortly. Now open the Windows Downloads folder, right-click and Open in Terminal.
Type wsl and a Debian session should open. Type ls to see files in this folder.
Type the above to copy the Arch Linux ISO to the server. You can highlight the Arch Linux ISO and use CNRL + c to copy the name. Now click in the area to type the above and use Shift + CNTRL + v to paste the filename into Debian. You can use your arrow keys on on your keyboard to move back and forth in what you type to edit anything before using Enter to execute the command. Do not forget the colon on the end.
Now connect to the server using ssh [email protected]. Type ls again and then the above command to move the ISO so it can be used by Virtual Machine Manager.
Virtual Machine Manager accesses everything when it first starts so you will need to close it, start it again and connect to the server to see the above. Close the above and now we can create the virtual machine. Using File with the server connection highlighted and chose New Virtual Machine.
Browse to select the Arch Linux ISO. Type Arch Linux in Choose the operating system you are installing: and click Forward.
8192 is 8GiB of memory and for CPU you may want 2.
When doing extra curriculum activates with a virtual machine I may choose 80 GiB for the disk size. I can't here because there is only 40 GiB available. The Ubuntu Server LTS installation I am using here is in installed within a virtual machine.
The Name was suggested to me but you can edit it to whatever you want. Check Customize configuration before install and choose Bridge device typing in your bridge name, mine being BR10.
Choose Firmware and click Apply in the lower right.
Choose a SATA Disk bus and again Apply.
Finally check the SATA CDROM 1 and move it above SATA Disk 1 for Boot device order. Power on the virtual machine using the upper right arrow and then choose the icon on the far left to open the console. Arch Linux will boot.
When Arch Linux has fully booted, type passwd to establish root a password. Type ip to get the current IP address you will need soon.
Strings
Go here to get Strings.
On the right click Code and then zip to download a zipped folder of Strings' files.
Right-click and Extract all.
You will get a strings-main folder within another strings-main folder. But create a folder named strings.
Open the strings-main folder containing the files and highlight everything except the addons folder copying all of the selected files to the strings folder you created. We do not include the addons folder because its size is too great for Arch Linux right now. Right-click the folder containing the strings folder and choose Open in Terminal.
Type ls to see the folders. Type scp -r strings [email protected]:.
Back in the Arch Linux installation type ls and you should see a strings folder. Change to the folder and type the above chmod +x * to make all the files executable.
Type ./strings to start installation. You can optionally create a configuration file or you will be prompted for password and such. To install home or what I use on my everyday computer, a configuration file is needed. Toward the end of installation your user password will be needed a few times In the process of installing Arch Linux AUL helper yay .
When installation is done the CDROM may not contain the ISO file and the installation boots. But if the Arch Linux installation starts again use the down arrow to Force Off the virtual machine. Click the ! icon and remove the ISO. Then select the right arrow a little to the right and initiate a boot.
Go to the strings-main folder again, Open Terminal in it again but this time type the above to transfer the addons folder to the Arch Linux installation.
In the strings folder in your home folder you will find an addons folder. Double-click restore_my_cinnamon and Run in Terminal to install my modifications to the Cinnamon desktop.
You can install whatever ISO you want into a virtual machine on the server and run them concurrently up to the limits of hard drive space and memory. I would just advice a reasonable fast CPU so they can run at a reasonable speed.
Note About Keys
Sometimes when dealing with managing virtual machines you do not have a public key recorded for your username and the SSH connection fails similar to the below.
@DESKTOP-5UR8I4O:~$ ssh [email protected]. .
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!
Someone could be eavesdropping on you right now (man-in-the-middle attack)!
It is also possible that a host key has just been changed.
The fingerprint for the ED25519 key sent by the remote host is
SHA256:hhtL/NGzaEO2ipgR2FyKOObPHvrXCJKnbtJ9lH0OPyY.
Please contact your system administrator.
Add correct host key in /home/ /.ssh/known_hosts to get rid of this message.
Offending ECDSA key in /home/ /.ssh/known_hosts:11
remove with:
ssh-keygen -f "/home/ /.ssh/known_hosts" -R "192.168. . "
Host key for 192.168. . has changed and you have requested strict checking.
Host key verification failed.They inform you of what to do but there is a much easier way.
In Windows Explorer within the Debian folder and your home folder there is a .ssh folder. It contains two files being known_hosts and known_host.old. Delete both of these files and the connection will work. You will however need to answer yes to add the key again when connecting.