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What hypervisor for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS ARMv8 virtualization

mj_

mj_

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 18, 2017
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Austin, TX
I need to virtualize Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for a major project at work. ISA doesn't matter, which means it can be both x86_64 or ARMv8, but I would really prefer to run the VM on my M1 Air instead of my iMac since I might need it when out and about. On my iMac I normally use either Parallels, VMware Fusion, or Oracle VirtualBox to run my numerous Linux, UNIX, and BSD VMs. What's currently available to virtualize Ubuntu 18.04 LTS ARMv8 on my M1 Air? Parallels Preview for ARM? UTM? Anything else?
 
mj_ said:
I need to virtualize Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for a major project at work. ISA doesn't matter, which means it can be both x86_64 or ARMv8, but I would really prefer to run the VM on my M1 Air instead of my iMac since I might need it when out and about. On my iMac I normally use either Parallels, VMware Fusion, or Oracle VirtualBox to run my numerous Linux, UNIX, and BSD VMs. What's currently available to virtualize Ubuntu 18.04 LTS ARMv8 on my M1 Air? Parallels Preview for ARM? UTM? Anything else?
Click to expand...
Parallels Preview for ARM runs very well.
Captura de ecrã 2021-03-23, às 21.22.29.png
 
I might be SOL here... tried both Parallels Preview for M1 and UTM today and neither is capable of virtualizing Ubuntu 18.04 LTS ARMv8. I get it to boot into EFI and even load the boot menu but no luck booting the installer itself. Both will allegedly run 20.04 LTS but that won't help as I need 18.04 for this project.

The only solution I found was emulating an x86_64 CPU via UTM and running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS AMD64 instead, which seems to be working alright. A bit slow, maybe, but it is running just fine.
 
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mj_ said:
I might be SOL here... tried both Parallels Preview for M1 and UTM today and neither is capable of virtualizing Ubuntu 18.04 LTS ARMv8. I get it to boot into EFI and even load the boot menu but no luck booting the installer itself. Both will allegedly run 20.04 LTS but that won't help as I need 18.04 for this project.

The only solution I found was emulating an x86_64 CPU via UTM and running Ubuntu 18.04 LTS AMD64 instead, which seems to be working alright. A bit slow, maybe, but it is running just fine.
Click to expand...
Is there a Server build for ARM for the specific version of Ubuntu that you can install?

To get Ubuntu to run in Parallels, I installed the Server version, then manually installed the GUI. I kept the Server install as minimal as possible to alleviate any bloat that maybe installed as part of a Server installation vs. Desktop.

For me it works great.
 
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Yes, there is a server build of 18.04 LTS ARMv8/AArch64, which is exactly what I was trying to install: https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/18.04/release/. I don't really need a desktop for this, a barebones minimal server with sshd will suffice.

Unfortunately, I cannot get the ISO to boot in neither Paralles 16 for M1 nor UTM 2.0.25. On both I get the Grub2 selection screen but once I attempt to actually boot the installer, either in normal or in text-only mode, it will simply go either blank (Parallels) or leave me with a blinking cursor in the top left corner (UTM). I have not yet found a way to get the 18.04 LTS ARMv8/AArch64 installer to boot on my M1 Air.
 
mj_ said:
Yes, there is a server build of 18.04 LTS ARMv8/AArch64, which is exactly what I was trying to install: https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/18.04/release/. I don't really need a desktop for this, a barebones minimal server with sshd will suffice.

Unfortunately, I cannot get the ISO to boot in neither Paralles 16 for M1 nor UTM 2.0.25. On both I get the Grub2 selection screen but once I attempt to actually boot the installer, either in normal or in text-only mode, it will simply go either blank (Parallels) or leave me with a blinking cursor in the top left corner (UTM). I have not yet found a way to get the 18.04 LTS ARMv8/AArch64 installer to boot on my M1 Air.
Click to expand...
That's odd. I was able to install 18.04 in parallels. It doesn't run all that great, but it runs. (having Java problems.)

How do you have your VM configured?
 
That's very odd indeed. I went with the default settings, no customizations. Upon first launch Parallels found the ISO file in my Downloads folder and offered to create a VM for me. I also tried redownloading the ISO file just to make sure it didn't get corrupted but no dice.

I do have to apologize for giving an incorrect statement in my post above as I get the same flashing cursor in the top left corner in Parallels as well. I simply didn't see it yesterday because the 80x24 boot screen isn't scaled and consequently the cursors is not in the top left corner but moved inwards:

Screen Shot 2021-03-24 at 3.40.30 PM.png


When I select "Install Ubuntu Server" this happens:
Screen Shot 2021-03-24 at 3.40.35 PM.png

When I select "Rescue a broken system" this happens:
Screen Shot 2021-03-24 at 3.40.49 PM.png
It will just sit there indefinitely. I am running the latest version of Parallels Technical Preview, Version 16.3.2 (50531)
 
I installed the desktop, so that's different.

I set it for 6G of RAM and 2 Processors in the VM's settings, and to use my external USB Nic in a bridged networking scheme.
 
maybe Docker could be the solution? Docker Desktop RC1 was released a few days ago:
docs.docker.com

Mac

Install Docker for Mac to get started. This guide covers system requirements, where to download, and instructions on how to install and update.
docs.docker.com docs.docker.com
Ubuntu Bionic Beaver seems to be available for Docker/AArch64:
hub.docker.com

ubuntu - Official Image | Docker Hub

Ubuntu is a Debian-based Linux operating system based on free software.
hub.docker.com hub.docker.com
 
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I need to run Docker and Kubernetes in that particular VM as well as a bunch of other self-written services and daemons to replicate a specific environment for a migration project. Not sure if Dockerception is the best way to go about this :D

Thanks for the suggestion though. I wasn't aware that Docker desktop for M1 had already been released. Need to take a closer look, thank you.
 
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mj_ said:
Where did you find the ISO for the desktop version? I can only find the server ISO
Click to expand...
It's been a while since I installed it, but I don't remember where I got it. I don't have my MBA with me today, but I'll see if I can find anything tonight. I think it was a live CD version that I used to do the install.

One thing I think I remember is that booting it the first time to do the install took a long time with nothing happening on the screen.
 
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mj_ said:
Where did you find the ISO for the desktop version? I can only find the server ISO
Click to expand...
Sorry, I was wrong, I was mixing up my versions. The M1 Mac is running 20.04, sorry! I have 18.04 on my intel Mac.
 
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