How to find a linux machine is a VM (Virtual Machine) or a Bare Metal
7 November 2023
Motivation
You might be given access to a linux machine via SSH crendetials. But you are really curious, if this machine is actually a bare metal or a virtual machine
Commands to help out
There are many different commands that gives us the required information, lets see...
virt-what
virt-what command will give the information about any virtualization platform if relevant
Examples
Virtual Machines
VMWare VM
# virt-what
vmware
VirtualBox VM
# virt-what
virtualbox
kvm
Baremetal
# virt-what
#NOTHING - NO OUTPUT
systemd-detect-virt
systemd-detect-virt command would give the virtualization platform if relevant. Also the exit status from this command can be used as the check
Examples
Virtual Machines
VMWare VM
# systemd-detect-virt
vmware
# echo $?
0
VirtualBox VM
# systemd-detect-virt
kvm
# echo $?
0
Baremetal
# systemd-detect-virt
none
# echo $?
1
hostnamectl
hostnamectl | grep Chassis command would tell us if the machine is a VM or Baremetal
Examples
Virtual Machines
VMWare VM
# hostnamectl | grep Chassis
Chassis: vm
VirtualBox VM
# hostnamectl | grep Chassis
Chassis: vm
Baremetal
# hostnamectl | grep Chassis
Chassis: desktop
dmidecode -s system-manufacturer
dmidecode -s system-manufacturer command would give the information about the system manufacturer
Examples
Virtual Machines
VMWare VM
# dmidecode -s system-manufacturer
VMware, Inc.
VirtualBox VM
# dmidecode -s system-manufacturer
innotek GmbH
Baremetal
# dmidecode -s system-manufacturer
Dell Inc.
dmesg
dmesg | grep -i virtual command would output the logs and there is typically indication about the Virtualization platform
Examples
Virtual Machines
VMWare VM
# dmesg | grep -i virtual
[ 0.000000] DMI: VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform/XXXX Desktop Reference Platform, BIOS X.00 MM/DD/YYYY
[ 0.000000] Booting paravirtualized kernel on VMware hypervisor
[ 0.613050] systemd[1]: Detected virtualization vmware.
[ 0.634050] systemd[1]: Starting Setup Virtual Console...
[ 0.734374] VMware vmxnet3 virtual NIC driver - version
.......
# Some more relevant messages
VirtualBox VM
# dmesg | grep -i virtual
[ 0.000000] DMI: innotek GmbH VirtualBox/VirtualBox, BIOS VirtualBox 12/01/2006
[ 0.000000] CPU MTRRs all blank - virtualized system.
[ 0.000000] Booting paravirtualized kernel on KVM
[ 2.180059] KVM setup paravirtual spinlock
[ 2.183766] systemd[1]: Detected virtualization kvm.
[ 2.255794] systemd[1]: Starting Setup Virtual Console...
[1802663.588585] Hardware name: innotek GmbH VirtualBox/VirtualBox, BIOS VirtualBox 12/01/2006
[2322595.919483] Hardware name: innotek GmbH VirtualBox/VirtualBox, BIOS VirtualBox 12/01/2006
Baremetal
# dmesg | grep -i virtual
#NOTHING - NO OUTPUT
facter
facter command needs to be installed from respective package managers on linux. For example sudo yum install facter -y
Examples
Virtual Machines
VMWare VM
# facter | grep -i virtual
blockdevice_sda_model => Virtual disk
is_virtual => true
productname => VMware Virtual Platform
virtual => vmware
VirtualBox VM
# facter | grep -i virtual
bios_version => VirtualBox
boardproductname => VirtualBox
is_virtual => true
productname => VirtualBox
virtual => kvm
Baremetal
# facter | grep virtual
is_virtual => false
virtual => physical
lshw
lshw command needs to be installed from respective package managers on linux. For example sudo yum install lshw -y
Examples
Virtual Machines
VMWare VM
# sudo lshw -short | grep -i vm
system VMware Virtual Platform
/0/100/11/0/1/1 input VMware Virtual USB Mouse
/0/100/11/0/1/2 bus VMware Virtual USB Hub
VirtualBox VM
# lshw -short | grep -i -e vm -e Virtual
system VirtualBox
/0 bus VirtualBox
/0/100/2 display VirtualBox Graphics Adapter
/0/100/4 generic VirtualBox Guest Service
/0/100/d/0.0.0/2 /dev/sda2 volume 13GiB Linux LVM Physical Volume partition
Baremetal
# lshw -short | grep -i -e vm -e Virtual
# NOTHING SPECIFIC TO indicating that this is a Virtual Machine
/0/100/11 bridge C600/X79 series chipset PCI Express Virtual Root Port
/0/100/1a/1/1/3 input Virtual Keyboard and Mouse
