About nested VMs when building a KVM environment inside a VM built in an Azure environment

Question

Hi Team,

I am writing this in English using Google Translate, so it may be difficult to read, but I hope you will bear with me.

I am planning to set up Ubuntu Server 24 in an Azure environment and create a nested VM using Linux KVM, but I could not find any official page on setting up a nested VM using Linux KVM in Azure.

Is it possible to build a nested VM using KVM in Azure?

Also, please let me know if there are any blog pages or similar with the above configuration.

Best Regards,

Rion Chiba

Answer 1

Hi

despite not having tested it and not officially supported, it is possible to build a nested VM using Linux KVM in Azure, but there are certain requirements and limitations.
Select a supported VM size for nested virtualization:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/818320/virtual-machine-that-supports-nested-virtualisatio

You need to enable nested virtualization explicitly on the Azure VM. For a Linux-based VM like Ubuntu, this involves enabling the KVM module and configuring the system accordingly.
SSH into your Azure VM and check if virtualization is supported

grep -E 'vmx|svm' /proc/cpuinfo

References: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1405242/how-to-enable-nested-virtualization-on-d4s-v3

Install KVM:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install qemu-kvm libvirt-daemon-system libvirt-clients bridge-utils virt-manager

other reference: https://brianlinkletter.com/2018/06/create-a-nested-virtual-machine-in-a-microsoft-azure-linux-vm/
Get in touch if you need more help with this issue.

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