🧪 Testing MOS in a Virtual Machine
MOS can be tested easily inside a virtual machine. This is useful for evaluation, development, or getting familiar with the WebUI before installing MOS on physical hardware.
⚠️ Note: MOS supports UEFI boot only by default. Legacy BIOS / CSM boot is not supported.
📦 VM Image
mos_amd64.img.xz
- Intended for virtual machines
- Prebuilt disk image
- No manual partitioning required
🧰 Preparing the VM Image
Extract the image on Linux:
unxz --decompress mos_amd64.img.xz
This will produce:
mos_amd64.img
🖥️ Creating the Virtual Machine
MOS works with common hypervisors such as:
- KVM / QEMU
- Proxmox
- VMware
- VirtualBox (UEFI must be enabled)
Recommended VM Settings
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Firmware | UEFI |
| CPU | 4 cores or more |
| Memory | 8 GB recommended |
| Network | Bridged or NAT |
🔌 Attaching the Image to the VM
The extracted image must be attached as a USB device — not as a regular virtual hard disk. MOS expects the image to behave like a bootable USB stick.
| Hypervisor | Method |
|---|---|
| KVM / QEMU | Attach the image as a USB storage device |
| VMware / VirtualBox | Use USB passthrough or raw image support with UEFI enabled |
The image already contains everything needed to boot MOS.
🧱 Proxmox VE Configuration
The following steps describe how to run the MOS test image inside Proxmox VE.
⚠️ MOS requires UEFI boot and Secure Boot must be disabled.
1️⃣ Create the VM
Create a new VM with the following settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| BIOS | OVMF (UEFI) |
| Display | VirtIO-GPU |
| Secure Boot | ❌ Disabled |
| Machine | q35 (recommended) |
| Disk | Can be empty |
2️⃣ Disable Secure Boot
Proxmox enables Secure Boot by default when using OVMF. You must disable it using one of the following methods:
Option A — Recommended
During VM creation, make sure "Pre-enrolled keys" is not checked.
Option B
If Secure Boot is still active after creation:
- Boot the VM
- Enter the UEFI Setup
- Disable Secure Boot
- Save and exit
3️⃣ Upload the MOS Image
Upload mos_amd64.img to the Proxmox ISO storage:
/var/lib/vz/template/iso/
4️⃣ Move the Image
From the Proxmox host shell:
cp /var/lib/vz/template/iso/mos_amd64.img /var/lib/vz/images/mos_amd64.img
5️⃣ Modify the VM Configuration
Edit the VM config file:
nano /etc/pve/qemu-server/<vmid>.conf
Add the following lines:
usb0: spice,usb3=1
args: -drive file=/var/lib/vz/images/mos_amd64.img,format=raw,if=none,id=usbdisk -device usb-storage,drive=usbdisk
This attaches the MOS image as a USB storage device.
▶️ Start the VM
Start the VM — MOS will boot automatically.
🚀 First Boot
- Start the virtual machine and ensure it boots via UEFI
- MOS will boot automatically
- Obtain the IP address from the VM console or your DHCP server
- Open the MOS WebUI in your browser:
http://<mos-ip-address>
✅ What to Expect
- Full MOS WebUI available
- Pools, Docker, LXC, and VM features can be explored
⚠️ Limitations in Virtual Machines
- Hardware-specific features may be unavailable
- GPU or PCI passthrough depends on the hypervisor
🧪 Summary
- Use
mos_amd64.img.xzto test MOS in a VM - Extract the image and attach it as a USB device
- UEFI boot is mandatory — Secure Boot must be disabled
Parts of this documentation were created with the assistance of AI tools. All AI-generated content has undergone review, but it may still contain inaccuracies, omissions, or outdated information.