Connecting to Your VM

This guide covers all methods for accessing your virtual machines in Kube-DC — from browser-based consoles to SSH and direct network access.

Prerequisites

• A running Virtual Machine
• CLI access configured for kubectl/virtctl methods

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Console Access via UI

The Console UI provides instant browser-based access to your VMs — no SSH keys or network configuration required.

Launch Browser Console

1. Navigate to Virtual Machines in your project
2. Click on your VM name to open the details page
3. Click Launch Remote Console for graphical VNC access, or Launch SSH Terminal for a browser-based SSH session

Remote Console opens a VNC session in your browser — useful for VMs with desktop environments or when you need to access the boot process or BIOS.

SSH Terminal opens a web-based terminal connected via SSH — works if the VM has the QEMU guest agent running and SSH keys configured.

VNC User Access

For VNC access with password authentication:

1. Access the VM via SSH or serial console
2. Create a user with useradd -m <username>
3. Set a password with passwd <username>
4. The user can now log in via the VNC console using these credentials

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SSH Access via Floating IP

For direct SSH access from your local machine, assign a Floating IP to your VM:

apiVersion: kube-dc.com/v1
kind: FIp
metadata:
  name: my-vm-fip
spec:
  externalNetworkType: public
  vmTarget:
    vmName: ubuntu
    interfaceName: vpc_net_0

kubectl apply -f fip.yaml
kubectl get fip my-vm-fip

Once the FIP is Ready, SSH directly to the external IP:

ssh ubuntu@91.224.11.16

See Deploying VMs for complete FIP configuration.

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SSH Access via LoadBalancer

To expose SSH without using a Floating IP, create a LoadBalancer service.

Using Default Gateway EIP

For projects with egressNetworkType: public, the default gateway EIP is public:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: vm-ssh
  annotations:
    service.nlb.kube-dc.com/bind-on-default-gw-eip: "true"
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  selector:
    vm.kubevirt.io/name: ubuntu
  ports:
  - name: ssh
    port: 2222
    targetPort: 22

Using Dedicated Public EIP

For projects with egressNetworkType: cloud, create a dedicated public EIP:

apiVersion: kube-dc.com/v1
kind: EIp
metadata:
  name: vm-ssh-eip
spec:
  externalNetworkType: public
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: vm-ssh
  annotations:
    service.nlb.kube-dc.com/bind-on-eip: "vm-ssh-eip"
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  selector:
    vm.kubevirt.io/name: ubuntu
  ports:
  - name: ssh
    port: 2222
    targetPort: 22

kubectl apply -f vm-ssh-service.yaml
kubectl get svc vm-ssh

Connect using the LoadBalancer IP and custom port:

ssh -p 2222 ubuntu@<loadbalancer-ip>

For more options, see the Service Exposure Guide.

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VirtCtl Console Access

The virtctl CLI provides direct serial console access without network connectivity — useful for troubleshooting network issues or accessing VMs during boot.

Install virtctl

# Linux
curl -L -o virtctl https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirt/releases/download/v1.1.0/virtctl-v1.1.0-linux-amd64
chmod +x virtctl
sudo mv virtctl /usr/local/bin/

# macOS
curl -L -o virtctl https://github.com/kubevirt/kubevirt/releases/download/v1.1.0/virtctl-v1.1.0-darwin-amd64
chmod +x virtctl
sudo mv virtctl /usr/local/bin/

Serial Console

# Open interactive console (press Ctrl+] to exit)
virtctl console ubuntu

# View console logs without interaction
virtctl logs ubuntu

VNC Session

# Open VNC session (requires VNC client)
virtctl vnc ubuntu

This forwards the VNC connection to localhost:5900 — connect with a VNC client like TigerVNC or RealVNC.

SSH via virtctl

# SSH through virtctl port-forward
virtctl ssh ubuntu@ubuntu

This works even if the VM doesn't have a public IP — virtctl tunnels through the Kubernetes API.

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kubectl Port-Forward

For accessing VM services without exposing them externally, use kubectl port-forward to tunnel traffic through the Kubernetes API server:

# Forward VM's SSH port to localhost
kubectl port-forward vmi/ubuntu 2222:22

# In another terminal, connect via localhost
ssh -p 2222 ubuntu@localhost

This works for any service running inside the VM:

# Forward HTTP server
kubectl port-forward vmi/ubuntu 8080:80

# Access in browser
curl http://localhost:8080

note

Port-forwarding requires the VirtualMachineInstance (VMI) to be running. Use kubectl get vmi to verify.

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Connection Method Comparison

Method	Use Case	Requires Network	Requires Public IP
Console UI (VNC)	GUI access, troubleshooting boot	No	No
Console UI (SSH)	Quick terminal access	No	No
Floating IP	Direct SSH from anywhere	Yes	Yes
LoadBalancer	Shared IP, custom port	Yes	Optional
virtctl console	Serial console, boot access	No	No
virtctl vnc	VNC via API tunnel	No	No
virtctl ssh	SSH via API tunnel	No	No
kubectl port-forward	Access any VM service	No	No

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Troubleshooting

SSH Connection Refused

• Verify guest agent is running: kubectl get vmi ubuntu -o jsonpath='{.status.conditions[?(@.type=="AgentConnected")].status}'
• Check if SSH keys are injected: virtctl console ubuntu and verify ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
• Confirm SSH daemon is running inside the VM: systemctl status sshd

VNC Console Black Screen

• VM may still be booting — wait for ReadinessProbe to show True: kubectl get vm ubuntu -o jsonpath='{.status.ready}'
• Check if the VM has a graphical environment installed
• Try accessing via serial console: virtctl console ubuntu

Cannot Access via Floating IP

• Verify FIP status: kubectl get fip -o wide
• Check if externalIP is assigned and ready: true
• Test connectivity from the VM to external network: virtctl console ubuntu then ping 8.8.8.8

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Next Steps

• Managing VM Lifecycle — Start, stop, restart VMs
• Public & Floating IPs — Manage IP addresses
• Service Exposure — Expose VM services with HTTPS