VMM - Virtual Machine Monitor
vmm(4) (virtual machine monitor) is the native hypervisor used on OpenBSD. A hypervisor allows us to run multiple virtual machines inside a single physical server (a dedicated server). Your virtual machine is a guest which lives inside the host.
VMM uses ssh rather than VNC or a webpanel to administer virtual machines. This can result in some confusion because ssh? is used to login to both the guest virtual machine and also the host hypervisor.
To install an operating system, to upgrade
it, or to boot to single user mode, you need to connect
to the host which runs the hypervisor. The hostname may have the form
host.example.com. Check your email or contact your network admin if you are
uncertain. Once the virtual machine is properly installed, you
can then login directly to the virtual machine's IP address (which may have the
form username.host.example.com).
- NOTE: The host machine (
host.example.com) is NOT the guest virtual machine (username.host.example.com). Regular users have root access inside the guest machine, but not the host machine. - NOTE: The host is not the personal virtual machine. The personal VM is a guest inside the host. Because the guest runs inside the host, to obtain serial console access to the guest, you must first log in to the host.