# Deploy ZSvirt Without Physical Hardware: qcow2 and OVA Images Are Here

> ZSvirt download center now offers qcow2 and OVA images: deploy the management node inside a VM on VMware, KVM, VirtualBox, or a cloud host — no physical server needed. This post explains why we added both formats and walks you through downloading, importing, and initializing.

- Published: 2026-09-07
- Updated: 2026-09-07
- Author: [ZSvirt Team](https://github.com/ZSvirt)
- Category: Best Practice
- Tags: ZSvirt, Virtualization, Deployment, qcow2, OVA, Nested Virtualization, ZSvirt qcow2, ZSvirt OVA, nested virtualization, install ZSvirt in a VM, ZSvirt deployment, VMware OVA import, KVM image

Over the past few weeks, we've covered everything from the open-source announcement to evaluating, deploying, and migrating. Today, we want to share a change that makes evaluating ZSvirt faster: **the download center now offers qcow2 and OVA images**.

Trying ZSvirt used to mean either provisioning a physical server or mounting the ISO inside a VM and walking through a full installation. For teams that just want to see whether it works, that's a real barrier to entry.

Not anymore. Download a qcow2 or OVA file, create a VM on your VMware, VirtualBox, KVM, or cloud host, boot it, set an IP — and the ZSvirt management node is ready. No physical hardware required.

Head to the [download center](https://zsvirt.io/download/) to see the newly added packages:

[Image available on the canonical HTML page: ZSvirt download center with the software packages available for download](https://zsvirt.io/blog/nested-virtualization-management-node/)

## Why qcow2 and OVA

The ISO targets a from-scratch install: an installer guides you through selecting the system disk, configuring the network, and setting the root password. qcow2 and OVA are prepackaged VM images — **the OS and management-node services are already baked in, so they boot straight into a working state** and skip the entire installer interaction.

The two formats complement each other for different runtime environments:

| Image format | What it is | Typical environment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| qcow2 | Standard KVM/QEMU disk format; compact and grows on demand | KVM, cloud hosts |
| OVA | A packaged VM template; import it and get a complete VM | VMware Workstation / ESXi, VirtualBox |

> The ISO installer still fits production rollouts and brand-new hardware. qcow2/OVA are the lighter path for evaluation, PoC, and lab environments.

## Before You Start: What You'll Need

The bar is low — a single VM can act as the management node. Create it with these settings:

| Item | Recommendation |
| --- | --- |
| CPU | 16 vCPUs (the OVA image's default) |
| Memory | 16 GiB (the OVA image's default) |
| System disk | The downloaded qcow2 or OVA image |
| NIC | At least one virtual NIC on the management network |
| IP | An available management-node IP, netmask, and gateway |

One easy pitfall to avoid: **running virtualization inside a VM requires nested virtualization support from the hypervisor.** On VMware, when creating or importing the VM, check *Expose hardware assisted virtualization to the guest OS* in the processor settings. VirtualBox, KVM, and cloud hosts each have their own toggle, covered in the scenarios below.

## Scenario 1: VMware with OVA

OVA is the most natural format for the VMware ecosystem.

1. Download the `.ova` file from the [download center](https://zsvirt.io/download/);
2. In VMware Workstation, choose **File → Open** and select the downloaded OVA to import it;
3. Edit the VM settings and confirm CPU and memory meet the requirements (the OVA ships with **16 vCPUs / 16 GiB** by default; keep or adjust as needed);
4. Under **Processors**, check **Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI** (the equivalent ESXi option is *Expose hardware assisted virtualization to the guest OS*);
5. Power on, open the console, and proceed to initialization below.

## Scenario 2: KVM/QEMU with qcow2

qcow2 is the native KVM/QEMU format — attach it directly as a disk.

When creating a VM in virt-manager, choose **Import existing disk image**, point to the downloaded qcow2 file, allocate 8 vCPUs / 8 GiB, and boot. The same works from the command line with virt-install:

```bash
virt-install \
  --name zsvirt-mn \
  --vcpus 8 \
  --memory 8192 \
  --disk path=/var/lib/libvirt/images/ZSvirt-x86_64-<version>-h84r.qcow2,format=qcow2,device=disk \
  --network network=default \
  --import
```

If virtualization doesn't work inside the guest, first confirm nested virtualization is enabled on the host:

```bash
cat /sys/module/kvm_intel/parameters/nested   # Intel
cat /sys/module/kvm_amd/parameters/nested     # AMD
```

An output of `1` or `Y` means it's enabled; otherwise, add `nested=1` to the KVM kernel module and reload it.

## Scenario 3: VirtualBox and Cloud Hosts

**VirtualBox**: the easiest path is OVA — **File → Import Appliance**, then select the downloaded OVA. After importing, enable **Nested VT-x/AMD-V** under **System → Processor**.

**Cloud hosts**: pick an **instance type that supports nested virtualization** (offerings vary by provider — typically bare-metal or specific performance instance families). Create a cloud host from the qcow2 as its system disk, or upload it to the image service first and create an instance from it.

## First Boot and Initialization

Whatever the environment, initialization after first boot is the same.

**Step 1: Log in and change the password.** Press `Ctrl+Alt+F2` in the console to switch to the login terminal and sign in as `root`. The default password is `zsvirt.123` — run `passwd` right after logging in and change it. That's a habit worth keeping in any environment.

**Step 2: Configure the network and start the services.** Two cases:

**When the management network has DHCP**, first check the address the NIC picked up:

```bash
ip addr
```

Write the address into the management-node config and start the services:

```bash
zstack-ctl change_ip --ip <management-node-ip>
zstack-ctl start
```

**Without DHCP**, create a bond and assign a static address manually:

```bash
# Create bond0
zs-bond-ab -c bond0

# Add the management NIC to bond0
zs-nic-to-bond -a bond0

# Assign a static address to bond0 (IP, netmask, gateway, in that order)
zs-network-setting -i bond0 <management-node-ip> <netmask> <gateway>
```

Once networking is ready, run `zstack-ctl change_ip --ip <management-node-ip>` and `zstack-ctl start` to finish initialization.

**Step 3: Open the web UI.** Point your browser at `https://<management-node-ip>` and follow the wizard to initialize the platform, then add hosts, storage, and networks and create your first VM. For the full flow, follow the [quick-start tutorial](https://zsvirt.io/blog/zsvirt-quickstart-deploy-your-first-vm).

## Going Further: The Same Image Can Act as a Compute Node

If you only need this node as a compute node joining an existing cluster, you can skip the `zstack-ctl change_ip` and `zstack-ctl start` steps — the image supports that use case too. A management node, by contrast, runs the full control-plane services.

## Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet

| Symptom | Check first |
| --- | --- |
| UI won't load | Is the VM running? Is the management NIC attached to the right network? |
| Wrong IP / netmask / gateway | Was `zstack-ctl change_ip --ip <management-node-ip>` run with the correct value? |
| Services not started | Was `zstack-ctl start` run, and did you wait for startup to finish? |
| No external access | Can a workstation or another host reach the management-node IP? Is port 443 open in the firewall? |
| Virtualization unavailable | Is nested virtualization enabled on the hypervisor? (see scenarios above) |

More detailed troubleshooting is in the docs: [Nested Virtualization Management Node](https://docs.zsvirt.io/en/docs/quick-start/nested-virtualization-management-node).

## What's Next

- [Download the qcow2 / OVA images](https://zsvirt.io/download/)
- Follow the [quick-start tutorial](https://zsvirt.io/blog/zsvirt-quickstart-deploy-your-first-vm) to create your first VM
- Migrating from VMware? Read [ZSvirt Migration in Practice: Three Ways to Migrate VMs](https://zsvirt.io/blog/zmigrate-workflow-walkthrough)
- For a systematic evaluation, work through the [PoC guide](https://zsvirt.io/blog/evaluate-zsvirt-as-a-vmware-alternative)

We've always believed a good evaluation should start at the lowest possible cost. Now, a single VM is enough.

## Join the Community

- **Issue tracker**: [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/zsvirt/zsvirt/issues)
- **Community discussions**: [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/ZSvirt/zsvirt/discussions)
- **Social media**:
  - YouTube: [https://youtube.com/@ZSvirt](https://youtube.com/@ZSvirt)
  - LinkedIn: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/zsvirt-community/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/zsvirt-community/)
  - X/Twitter: [https://x.com/ZSvirt](https://x.com/ZSvirt)
  - Discord: [https://discord.com/invite/KHsw63z9xA](https://discord.com/invite/KHsw63z9xA)
  - Email: [community@zsvirt.io](mailto:community@zsvirt.io)

## Official links


- [Canonical HTML page](https://zsvirt.io/blog/nested-virtualization-management-node/)
- [Discuss on GitHub](https://github.com/ZSvirt/zsvirt/discussions)