Virt-manager

A kvm image can be created on any linux system. The page describes how to install a kvm image using the virt-manager gui. Alternatively, the command line tool virsh could be used.

prerequeste

The following packages are needed:

• libvirt-daemon-kvm
• qemu-kvm
• virt-manager

It is recommanded to use a CPU with virtualization support:

egrep '^flags.*(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo 

Make sure libvirtd is running:

/etc/init.d/libvirtd restart

Prepare a network bridge:
RedHat (CentOS, Fedora)
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0

DEVICE=br0
TYPE=Bridge
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
NM_CONTROLLED=no

/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

DEVICE=eth0
HWADDR=00:11:22:33:44:55
ONBOOT=yes
NM_CONTROLLED=no
BRIDGE=br0

brctl addbr br0
brctl addif br0 eth0
brctl show
bridge name     bridge id               STP enabled     interfaces
br0             0080.000000000000       no              eth0
ifup br0

Note that the NetworkManager does not support bridges.
Ubuntu

Installation of Image

Start virt-manager (as superuser) and click on 'Create a new virtual machine' button: