Currently the docker container configuration files are saved to the following location on the flash disk:

 

/boot/config/plugins/dockerMan/templates-user/

 

With these stored container configuration files I can recreate a docker container, and it's previously configured options, even without the docker.img file:

 

Page "Docker" > "Add container" > "Select a template" > "User templates"

 

This does not work the same way with VMs.

 

 

Here's my feature request:

 

1.) Add a new folder:

 

/boot/config/plugins/dynamix.kvm.manager/templates-user/

 

2.) Store the XML configuration files of all VMs into that folder with "virsh dumpxml <VM name>".

 

3.) At the top of the "Add VM" page, add a dropdown list like that from the "Add container". Populate the dropdown list with the stored VM configuration names (see above). Put a label "Template:" in front of the dropdown list, put the header "User templates" above the list of names of the stored VM configuration files.

 

4.) After the user selected an entry from the dropdown list, the Create/Edit window should be shown in XML view. This view will contain the previously stored XML of the VM.

 

With these stored VM configuration files I can recreate a VM, and it's previously configured options, even without the libvirt.img file. However, the domain image files (e.g. vdisk1.img) are needed as well. But these files are all I need to backup, and I can backup these files savely without shutting down the docker/KVM subsystem.

 

To backup docker.img, libvirt.img I need to shutdown both subsystems as well. With this additional feature, it's no longer required.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

 

34 minutes ago, hawihoney said:

With these stored VM configuration files I can recreate a VM, and it's previously configured options, even without the libvirt.img file. However, the domain image files (e.g. vdisk1.img) are needed as well. But these files are all I need to backup, and I can backup these files savely without shutting down the docker/KVM subsystem.

 

It might be worth pointing out that the VM Backup plugin backs up the XML as well as the vdisk files and only shuts down individual VMs as it backs up the vdisk files.

 

Does not mean, though, that backing up the XML as part of configuring a VM is not a good idea and probably very little effort to add.  Whether the rest will be considered too much effort I have no idea although it certainly falls into the "nice to have" category.

 

3 hours ago, itimpi said:

nice to have

 

For Docker we "have" it already (Container XML configuration files stored on flash). Why not for VMs as well (VM XML configuration files stored on flash)?

 

IMHO a system should act identical wherever possible. It makes it better for users to understand.

 

This change does not make Backup/Restore obsolet. Backup of appdata (Docker Container) and vdisk images (VMs) is still neccessary. But it helps to recreate Container/VMs or create Container/VMs based on existing Containers/VMs.

 

+1

 

This makes absolute sense, and I agree with the philosophy that VMs and containers should have the same details and behaviours wherever possible.

As an aside, if you're using the appdata backup plugin, it also (if configured) makes a backup of libvirt.img which contains everything you need.