Virtual graphics cards support remote access from workstations to guest applications that require user interaction through a
graphical user interface.
About this task
Some workstation setups do not provide ready access to graphical applications on KVM guests on IBM Z®.
Virtual graphics processing unit (GPU) devices act as virtual graphics cards that provide remote
frame buffers for workstation clients. Workstation clients can use Virtual Network Computing (VNC)
to access these frame buffers. Along with the GPU, you need to configure one or more input devices,
like a keyboard or a mouse.
Procedure
-
Use the graphics element as child of the devices element to configure a GPU device.
| graphics type attribute: |
vnc |
| graphics autoport attribute: |
yes |
| graphics port attribute: |
<port_number> |
Attributes autoport and port are mutually exclusive. Use autoport to automatically assign a
free port number. Use port to explicitly assign a port number, for example, if you must adhere to a
specific network topology.
- Optional: Use the listen element as child of the graphics element to specify
where on the virtual server the GPU should listen to
clients.
| listen type attribute: |
address |
| listen address attribute: |
<IP_address> |
<IP_address> specifies the IP address or host name on the virtual server at which the GPU listens to clients. The
specification 0.0.0.0 configures all of the virtual server's IP addresses. This is the default.
- Use the input element as child of the devices element to configure the workstation
keyboard as an input device.
| input type attribute: |
keyboard |
| input bus attribute: |
virtio |
- Use the input element as child of the devices element to configure the workstation mouse
as an input device.
| input type attribute: |
mouse |
| input bus attribute: |
virtio |
Example
<domain type="kvm">
...
<devices>
...
<graphics type="vnc" autoport="yes"
<listen type="address" address="0.0.0.0"/>
</graphics>
<input type="keyboard" bus="virtio"/>
<input type="mouse" bus="virtio"/>
...
</devices>
...
</domain>