--- name: openshift-rovs-getting-started title: 'Quickstart: Creating a Virtualization Service cluster from the console' description: Get started quickly with OpenShift Virtualization Service by creating a pre-configured cluster using the IBM Cloud console. This quickstart focuses on the fastest path to deploying virtual machines using only the console interface. last-updated: 2026-08-25 --- > ## Documentation Index > The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?format=markdown > The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt > Use these files to discover more information as needed. # Quickstart: Creating a Virtualization Service cluster from the console {: #rovs-getting-started} [Virtual Private Cloud]{: tag-vpc} [4.21 and later]{: tag-red} [Bare metal worker nodes only]{: tag-warm-gray} Get started quickly with OpenShift Virtualization Service by creating a pre-configured cluster using the IBM Cloud console. This quickstart focuses on the fastest path to deploying virtual machines using only the console interface. {: shortdesc} ## Before you begin {: #rovs-gs-prereqs} 1. Ensure you have the required permissions: - **Operator** role for IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service - **Editor** or **Administrator** role for VPC Infrastructure Services 2. Verify that your VPC infrastructure meets the requirements, or be prepared to create the necessary resources: - A VPC in your target region - Subnets in at least 3 zones for high availability (256 IP addresses recommended per subnet) - Bare metal capacity available in your selected zones (flavors ending in `d` for local NVME storage) For detailed VPC setup instructions, see [Create or verify your VPC setup](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-cluster-create&format=markdown#rovs-create-vpc). ## Create a Virtualization Service cluster {: #rovs-gs-create} 1. Log in to the [IBM Cloud console](https://cloud.ibm.com/). 2. Navigate to **Infrastructure** > **OpenShift Virtualization**. 3. Click **Create cluster**. 4. Review the pre-configured cluster settings (automatically configured, cannot be changed): - **Orchestrator**: Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud - **Infrastructure**: VPC - **Machine type**: Bare metal - **Operating system**: Red Hat CoreOS (RHCOS) - **Networking plugin**: Open Virtual Network (OVN-Kubernetes) 5. Select the **OpenShift version** (4.21 or later is automatically selected). 6. Configure **Virtualization integrations**: **OpenShift Virtualization operator** : Required. Automatically configured with default settings. Creates and maintains OpenShift Virtualization Deployment. **Advanced Cluster Management (ACM)** : Optional. Configure this cluster as the ACM hub cluster to control and monitor other Kubernetes clusters. **OpenShift Data Foundation (ODF)** : Recommended. Provides persistent storage for VMs. Configured with default settings. **File Storage for VPC** : **Beta**: Alternative to ODF. Provides file storage backed by VPC infrastructure. You must select at least one storage option (ODF or File Storage for VPC). {: important} 7. Select your **Virtual private cloud** (or create a new one if needed). 8. Configure the **Location**. Choose your worker zones and configure your subnets. Select at least 3 zones for high availability. For each zone, you can edit the automatically selected subnet as needed. 9. Configure the **Worker pool**: - **Flavor**: Select a bare metal flavor with local NVME storage (e.g., `bx2d.metal.96x384`) - **Worker nodes per zone**: Specify at least 3 for high availability 10. Configure **Networking** (optional): - **Network settings**: Choose private & public endpoints (default) or private only - **Internal registry**: Select a Cloud Object Storage instance 11. Configure **Security** settings (optional): - **Cluster encryption**: Enable KMS for encrypting secrets - **Ingress secrets management**: Register Secrets Manager instance - **VPC security groups**: Apply custom security groups 12. Configure **Cluster details**: - **Cluster name**: Enter a unique name (e.g., `my-vs-cluster`) - **Resource group**: Select a resource group - **Tags**: Optional - add tags for organization 13. Review the **Integrations** section and verify that the OpenShift Virtualization operator and any selected add-ons are listed. 14. Review the estimated cost and click **Create**. The cluster typically takes 30-45 minutes to provision. You can monitor the progress in the console. ## Access the OpenShift console {: #rovs-gs-access} 1. In the IBM Cloud console, navigate to **OpenShift** > **Clusters**. 2. Click your cluster name to view details. 3. Wait until the cluster **Status** shows **Normal** and **Master status** shows **Ready**. 4. Click **OpenShift web console** to access the cluster interface. ## Verify pre-configured components {: #rovs-gs-verify} 1. In the OpenShift web console, navigate to **Ecosystem** > **Installed Operators**. 2. Verify that the **OpenShift Virtualization** operator shows a status of **Succeeded**. 3. Navigate to **Ecosystem** > **Installed Operators**. 4. Verify that the **OpenShift Data Foundation** operator has a status of **Succeeded**. This can take a few minutes to complete. 5. Navigate to **Storage** > **Data Foundation**. 6. Verify that the storage system shows **Resiliency** of **Healthy**. 7. Navigate to **Storage** > **StorageClasses**. 8. Verify that multiple OCS storage classes are available, including **ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd-virtualization**, which should be indicated as the default for VirtualMachines. ## Deploy your first virtual machine {: #rovs-gs-first-vm} 1. In the OpenShift console, click **Virtualization** in the left navigation menu. 2. Click **VirtualMachines**. 3. Click **Create VirtualMachine**. 4. Select **From template** to use a pre-configured template. 5. Choose a template such as **Fedora** or **CentOS Stream**. 6. Configure the VM: - **Name**: Enter a name for your VM (e.g., `my-first-vm`) - **Storage class**: Select `ocs-storagecluster-ceph-rbd-virtualization` - **CPU**: Adjust as needed (default is usually sufficient) - **Memory**: Adjust as needed (default is usually sufficient) 7. Click **Create VirtualMachine**. 8. In the VM details page, click **Start** to start the VM. 9. Monitor the VM status until it shows **Running**. 10. Click the **Console** tab to access the VM console. You now have a running virtual machine on your Virtualization Service cluster! ## Next steps {: #rovs-gs-next-steps} - [Managing Virtualization Service clusters](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-manage&format=markdown) - [Understanding limitations](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-limitations&format=markdown) - [Detailed cluster creation tutorial](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-rovs-cluster-create&format=markdown) - [Configure virtual machine networking](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.17/html/virtualization/networking){: external} - [Set up VM snapshots and cloning](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/openshift_container_platform/4.17/html/virtualization/virtual-machines){: external} ## Troubleshooting {: #rovs-gs-troubleshoot} **Cluster creation fails** : Verify that bare metal capacity is available in your selected zones. Try a different zone or contact IBM Cloud support. **Cannot access OpenShift console** : Wait for the cluster master status to show **Ready**. This can take up to 45 minutes. **Virtual machine fails to start** : - Verify that OpenShift Data Foundation is in **Ready** state - Check that you selected a valid storage class - Ensure sufficient resources are available in your cluster For more troubleshooting guidance, see [Troubleshooting OpenShift Virtualization](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-ts-virt-operator-install-fails&format=markdown).