Use the following command to boot the ISO. Note the use of virtio drivers for maximum performance. qemu-system-x86_64 -m 2G -drive file=windows8.qcow2,if=virtio -cdrom win8_install.iso -net nic,model=virtio -enable-kvm Performance Optimization
The QCOW2 format offers several advantages over raw disk images:
Supports transparent zlib compression to save space. windows 8 qcow2
Protects the virtual disk at the storage level. Creating a Windows 8 QCOW2 Image
Standard IDE emulation is slow. Download the ISO from the Fedora Project. During Windows installation, "Load Driver" and point to the VirtIO SCSI and Network folders to enable high-speed I/O. Enable KVM Acceleration Use the following command to boot the ISO
Boot Windows and use Disk Management ( diskmgmt.msc ) to "Extend Volume" into the newly unallocated space.
Convert and upload the image to Glance to provide Windows-based cloud instances. Maintenance and Resizing Protects the virtual disk at the storage level
Use Windows 8 QCOW2 images to simulate end-user workstations in complex network topologies.
Create a virtual disk with enough headroom for updates and software. qemu-img create -f qcow2 windows8.qcow2 40G 2. Launch the Installation
Always use the -enable-kvm flag on Linux hosts. This allows the guest OS to run at near-native speeds by using the host CPU's virtualization extensions (VT-x or AMD-V). Deployment Scenarios