UTM: Run x86 VM on Mac M1

TheProtos included in Macos

2023-04-01 387 words 2 minutes

Contents

UTM is a full-featured system emulator and virtual machine host for iOS and macOS. It is based off of QEMU.

Typical tasks

run docker images designed for amd64(or any other including RISC) on Apple Silicon (M1, M2 chips)
compile code for amd64(or any other including RISC) on Apple Silicon (M1, M2 chips)
run and test application developed not for on Apple Silicon (M1, M2 chips)

UTM VM setup for Ubuntu

Get UTM via brew

brew install --cask utm

Choose:

[Option A]: install OS from UTM gallery https://mac.getutm.app/gallery/
[Option B]: Install OS manually. You need ISO file for desired OS!

Below UTM config works for Ubuntu version 14/16/18/22

        
        
        
    
Edit VM:
  - System:
    - Architecture: x86_64
    - System: Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996) (alias of pc-i440fx-7.0)
    - CPU cores: 4
  - QEMU:  
    - Tweaks: RNG Device, Use local time for base clock, Force PS/2 controller
  - Network:
    - Network Mode: Emulated VLAN
    - Emulated Network Cartd: rtl8139
    - Port Forwarding: Host(2022)->Guest(22) 

If port forwarding configured as above user ubuntu:ubuntu can login via ssh

ssh [email protected] -p 2022

via Spice drive

sudo apt install spice-vdagent spice-webdavd

via SMB

        
sudo apt-get install cifs-utils
sudo mount -t cifs //10.0.2.2/shared ~/shared

Performance results (not finished)

Benchmarking software used https://github.com/akopytov/sysbench

Prepared:

Host: MAC Monterey 12.6.1, M1 pro 10 cores, 32GB RAM
```
brew install sysbench
```
UTM Emulated guest: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS, 4 cores, 4GB RAM
```
sudo apt-get install sysbench
```

CPU Benchmark results

sysbench cpu --threads=$NUMBER_OF_THREADS --cpu-max-prime=200000 run

	Host, threads=1	Guest, threads=1	Host, threads=2	Guest, threads=2
events/sec	134361546	14.43	25967909.85	13.39
exec time	3.4302	10.0377	8.3293	9.9731

Increasing of $NUMBER_OF_THREADS just makes the results worse on HOST and GUEST systems

MEM Benchmark results

        
sysbench --threads=$NUMBER_OF_THREADS --test=memory --memory-block-size=1M --memory-total-size=30G run

	H 1	G 1	H 2	G 2
—	—	—	—	—

I/O

Not needed

7zip

7z b

UTM VM setup for Windows 11

Get Windows® 11 installer ISO images by crystalfetch

brew install --cask crystalfetch

To run ARM (AARCH64): create a New Virtual Machine > Virtualize > Windows To run x64 (AMD64): create a New Virtual Machine > Emulate > Windows

Setup wizard options:

        
[x] Install Windows 10 or higher
[ ] Import VHDX Image

Boot ISO Image: <image from crystalfetch>

[x] Install drivers and SPICE tools

[x] Open VM Settings

VM Settings:

        
CPU: 4
Memory: 4096 MB
Network Mode: Bridged

Windows setup network issue: https://docs.getutm.app/guides/windows/#networking-does-not-work