Organizing QEMU Virtual Machines
In my experience working with QEMU, I’ve found that the best way to organize virtual machines is to put each one in a separate directory (folder) on the host system.
Directory Hierarchy
In practice, if you’re storing VMs for multiple courses and projects, you’re going to need more than one directory (folder). Each virtual machine should be stored in its own directory, in order to avoid having conflicting filenames and potential confusion or data loss.
These directories can be organized into a hierarchy, making it easier to keep the virtual machines together while still separating the various files. For example, an outer directory can be created in a convenient location to hold the rest of the directories. Within that outer directory, each VM can then be given its own directory.
Different levels of organization are possible. Virtual machines related to a single class could be stored together as a collection of directories within a class directory. Classes could be organized by semester, and so forth.
Check the Working Directory
When working with QEMU, you’re going to be dealing with multiple directories while working on the command line. Be sure you’re in the right location, and that the correct files are present, before running qemu commands. It is always a good idea to run the ls (Linux/BSD/macOS) or dir command (Windows) to see what is in the current directory before doing anything else in that directory.
