Before we dive into installing Multipass, we must first understand the importance and implications of virtual machines in the operating systems ecosystem.
A virtual machine is an emulating software that can mock the behavior of a different operating system or hardware architecture on top of the host operating system. Virtual Machines mirror a physical computer’s functionality.
Multipass lets you create Ubuntu VMs that are functional on any workstation. By executing a single command, you get an instant Ubuntu VM up and running.
Also, Multipass lets you configure your VMs to emulate a public cloud infrastructure via cloud-init. It also does not cost you anything to locally prototype such cloud launches.
In summary, with Multipass, a command-line interface lets you launch, manage, and explore Linux instances.
Installing Multipass in Linux
The installation environment for Multipass should be up-to-date for optimal performance of both the operating system and its installed or yet-to-be installed software packages.
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Since Multipass software is available on Snap, we can install it with the following command:
$ sudo snap install multipass
The installation process should take a minute or two to successfully complete.
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Using Multipass in Linux
The first step in using Multipass is to check the availability of associated images:
$ multipass find
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To launch an instance, first identify the Image name from the above command output. To launch let’s say Image core for Ubuntu core 16, we will execute the following command:
$ multipass launch core
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If any of your Multipass command execution processes are interrupted, restart it with the command:
$ sudo snap restart multipass
Now that we have launched an instance, we need to check on its running state with the command:
$ multipass list
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We can further check on this running instance’s VM with the command:
$ multipass info ethereal-ermine
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Since we have confirmed that the Ubuntu instance is running, we can connect to it with the command:
$ multipass shell ethereal-ermine
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From here, we can execute normal commands associated with the Instance VM like updates, installations, configurations, and even checking the instance release.
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To stop and/or delete a running instance:
$ exit $ multipass stop ethereal-ermine $ multipass delete ethereal-ermine
With this guide, you should now be confident in navigating around Multipass VM instances. While using a VM instance, consult snap help --all
for appropriate command syntax.