Libguestfs - Mar 2016 - Re: [virt-tools-list] [libvirt] Usability Enhancement: Import/Export VMs GUI

On Fri, Mar 04, 2016 at 04:23:18PM +0000, bancfc@openmailbox.org
wrote:
>The single most important usability feature missed by our less technical
>users who migrate  from VirtualBox is a one click import/export of VMs
>and their config settings.
>
>I was optimistic about the Gnome Boxes effort on Govf lib but
>unfortunately it was never realized and I would hesitate to recommend it
>because libvirt/virt-manager has the security advantages of sVirt.
>
>An ideal solution would work across all KVM frontends.
>
This is a great idea, but I don't know about such one-click solution.
This could be suitable for virt-manager and libguestfs projects (Cc'd
both projects).  If nobody grabs it right now, it could be at least
suggested as GSoC and/or Outreachy project idea.  Or were you looking
forward to adding such solution?

Have a nice day,
Martin

On 03/10/2016 02:29 AM, Martin Kletzander wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 04, 2016 at 04:23:18PM +0000, bancfc@openmailbox.org wrote:
>> The single most important usability feature missed by our less
technical
>> users who migrate  from VirtualBox is a one click import/export of VMs
>> and their config settings.
>>
Who are you users? I gather you work on tails/tor, name dropping the project
and explaining the use case a bit might actually help drum up interest :)

- Cole

On 2016-03-10 07:29, Martin Kletzander wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 04, 2016 at 04:23:18PM +0000, bancfc@openmailbox.org wrote:
>> The single most important usability feature missed by our less 
>> technical
>> users who migrate  from VirtualBox is a one click import/export of VMs
>> and their config settings.
>> 
>> I was optimistic about the Gnome Boxes effort on Govf lib but
>> unfortunately it was never realized and I would hesitate to recommend 
>> it
>> because libvirt/virt-manager has the security advantages of sVirt.
>> 
>> An ideal solution would work across all KVM frontends.
>> 
> 
> This is a great idea, but I don't know about such one-click solution.
> This could be suitable for virt-manager and libguestfs projects (Cc'd
> both projects).  If nobody grabs it right now, it could be at least
> suggested as GSoC and/or Outreachy project idea.  Or were you looking
> forward to adding such solution?
Thanks for your interest. I agree, Outreachy and especially GSoC is a 
good place to announce this.
> 
> Have a nice day,
> Martin

On 2016-03-10 15:43, Cole Robinson wrote:
> On 03/10/2016 02:29 AM, Martin Kletzander wrote:
>> On Fri, Mar 04, 2016 at 04:23:18PM +0000, bancfc@openmailbox.org 
>> wrote:
>>> The single most important usability feature missed by our less 
>>> technical
>>> users who migrate  from VirtualBox is a one click import/export of 
>>> VMs
>>> and their config settings.
>>> 
> 
> Who are you users? I gather you work on tails/tor, name dropping the 
> project
> and explaining the use case a bit might actually help drum up interest 
> :)
> 
> - Cole
Alright I'll introduce myself.

I work on the Whonix Project [whonix.org] which is a Tor centric distro 
similar to TAILS but goes a step futher by leveraging the isolation 
properties of virtualizaiton for security.

The setup is made up of two VMs a "Gateway" that runs Tor and which
all
traffic from an untrusted "Workstation" VM is forced thru it. The idea
is that even if an attacker successfully roots the Workstation VM they 
still cannot deanonymize a user or infect the host. Its a fantastic 
project. You should try it and maybe even hack on it with us ;)

Running on a secure and libre stack like KVM and Libvirt is awesome and 
wins half the battle. The rest of the way is about making the setup as 
easy as possible to expand the user base and to pull people away from 
proprietary hypervisors or fake opensource ones like VirtualBox.

The initial import process with virsh commands puts off many newbies who 
lack the technical skills to get up and running. This is the single most 
coveted feature that comes up. It would be great if you guys can make it 
happen at GSoC :)