Vaark is...
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the simplest, most portable way to describe and build VMs and networks.
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the most rapid and reproducible way to build VMs for local development.
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the most secure way to build VM images for cloud deployments.
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a great way to develop and run clustered applications locally.
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a handy tool for software integration testers.
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a free open source project!
Vaark uses QEMU to support x86_64 guests on x86_64 hosts. Vaark is currently being ported so it will also support aarch64 guests on aarch64 hosts.
Quick Install
Paste this command into a terminal prompt on Mac or Linux*:
source /dev/stdin <<< "$(curl -fsSL https://vaark.org/dist/vaark-install)"
* on Linux, you might need to install curl first.
The installer will alert you about any dependencies.
See Installing Vaark And Dependencies for further details.
Quick Start 1 — Just a VM, please
- Make a minimal clone of any popular linux distribution. Let’s call it “bessie”
vrk-vm-clone debian-netinst-11 bessie
(Your choices are:)• debian-netinst-11 • debian-netinst-12 • ubuntu-server-20 • ubuntu-server-22 • almalinux-minimal-8 # redhat • almalinux-minimal-9 # redhat • rockylinux-minimal-8 # redhat • rockylinux-minimal-9 # redhat • oraclelinux-server-8 # redhat • oraclelinux-server-9 # redhat
- Start the VM and connect
vrk-vm-ssh bessie
Quick Start 2 — Minimal Project
- Create a 2-line Vaark project file (project.vrk) defining a single Debian VM, called “holstein”
mkdir -p ~/my-cluster echo '[holstein.vm]' > ~/my-cluster/project.vrk echo ' vm_proto=debian-netinst-11' >> ~/my-cluster/project.vrk
- Build the project
vrk-project-build --file ~/my-cluster
- Start the VM and connect
vrk-vm-ssh holstein
Quick Start 3 — Template Project
- Use vrk-project-starter to start a project called herd using a simple template.
The default template defines 2 VMs – one client and one server.vrk-project-starter ./herd
- Build the project
./herd/project-build
- Start the VMs and connect
vrk-vm-ssh herd-client
vrk-vm-ssh herd-server
- To make changes, edit the files in ./herd/ and build again!