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1 @example
2 @c man begin SYNOPSIS
3 @command{qemu-img} [@var{standard} @var{options}] @var{command} [@var{command} @var{options}]
4 @c man end
5 @end example
6
7 @c man begin DESCRIPTION
8 qemu-img allows you to create, convert and modify images offline. It can handle
9 all image formats supported by QEMU.
10
11 @b{Warning:} Never use qemu-img to modify images in use by a running virtual
12 machine or any other process; this may destroy the image. Also, be aware that
13 querying an image that is being modified by another process may encounter
14 inconsistent state.
15 @c man end
16
17 @c man begin OPTIONS
18
19 Standard options:
20 @table @option
21 @item -h, --help
22 Display this help and exit
23 @item -V, --version
24 Display version information and exit
25 @item -T, --trace [[enable=]@var{pattern}][,events=@var{file}][,file=@var{file}]
26 @findex --trace
27 @include qemu-option-trace.texi
28 @end table
29
30 The following commands are supported:
31
32 @include qemu-img-cmds.texi
33
34 Command parameters:
35 @table @var
36 @item filename
37 is a disk image filename
38
39 @item --object @var{objectdef}
40
41 is a QEMU user creatable object definition. See the @code{qemu(1)} manual
42 page for a description of the object properties. The most common object
43 type is a @code{secret}, which is used to supply passwords and/or encryption
44 keys.
45
46 @item --image-opts
47
48 Indicates that the source @var{filename} parameter is to be interpreted as a
49 full option string, not a plain filename. This parameter is mutually
50 exclusive with the @var{-f} parameter.
51
52 @item --target-image-opts
53
54 Indicates that the @var{output_filename} parameter(s) are to be interpreted as
55 a full option string, not a plain filename. This parameter is mutually
56 exclusive with the @var{-O} parameters. It is currently required to also use
57 the @var{-n} parameter to skip image creation. This restriction may be relaxed
58 in a future release.
59
60 @item fmt
61 is the disk image format. It is guessed automatically in most cases. See below
62 for a description of the supported disk formats.
63
64 @item --backing-chain
65 will enumerate information about backing files in a disk image chain. Refer
66 below for further description.
67
68 @item size
69 is the disk image size in bytes. Optional suffixes @code{k} or @code{K}
70 (kilobyte, 1024) @code{M} (megabyte, 1024k) and @code{G} (gigabyte, 1024M)
71 and T (terabyte, 1024G) are supported. @code{b} is ignored.
72
73 @item output_filename
74 is the destination disk image filename
75
76 @item output_fmt
77 is the destination format
78 @item options
79 is a comma separated list of format specific options in a
80 name=value format. Use @code{-o ?} for an overview of the options supported
81 by the used format or see the format descriptions below for details.
82 @item snapshot_param
83 is param used for internal snapshot, format is
84 'snapshot.id=[ID],snapshot.name=[NAME]' or '[ID_OR_NAME]'
85 @item snapshot_id_or_name
86 is deprecated, use snapshot_param instead
87
88 @item -c
89 indicates that target image must be compressed (qcow format only)
90 @item -h
91 with or without a command shows help and lists the supported formats
92 @item -p
93 display progress bar (compare, convert and rebase commands only).
94 If the @var{-p} option is not used for a command that supports it, the
95 progress is reported when the process receives a @code{SIGUSR1} or
96 @code{SIGINFO} signal.
97 @item -q
98 Quiet mode - do not print any output (except errors). There's no progress bar
99 in case both @var{-q} and @var{-p} options are used.
100 @item -S @var{size}
101 indicates the consecutive number of bytes that must contain only zeros
102 for qemu-img to create a sparse image during conversion. This value is rounded
103 down to the nearest 512 bytes. You may use the common size suffixes like
104 @code{k} for kilobytes.
105 @item -t @var{cache}
106 specifies the cache mode that should be used with the (destination) file. See
107 the documentation of the emulator's @code{-drive cache=...} option for allowed
108 values.
109 @item -T @var{src_cache}
110 specifies the cache mode that should be used with the source file(s). See
111 the documentation of the emulator's @code{-drive cache=...} option for allowed
112 values.
113 @end table
114
115 Parameters to snapshot subcommand:
116
117 @table @option
118
119 @item snapshot
120 is the name of the snapshot to create, apply or delete
121 @item -a
122 applies a snapshot (revert disk to saved state)
123 @item -c
124 creates a snapshot
125 @item -d
126 deletes a snapshot
127 @item -l
128 lists all snapshots in the given image
129 @end table
130
131 Parameters to compare subcommand:
132
133 @table @option
134
135 @item -f
136 First image format
137 @item -F
138 Second image format
139 @item -s
140 Strict mode - fail on different image size or sector allocation
141 @end table
142
143 Parameters to convert subcommand:
144
145 @table @option
146
147 @item -n
148 Skip the creation of the target volume
149 @item -m
150 Number of parallel coroutines for the convert process
151 @item -W
152 Allow out-of-order writes to the destination. This option improves performance,
153 but is only recommended for preallocated devices like host devices or other
154 raw block devices.
155 @end table
156
157 Parameters to dd subcommand:
158
159 @table @option
160
161 @item bs=@var{block_size}
162 defines the block size
163 @item count=@var{blocks}
164 sets the number of input blocks to copy
165 @item if=@var{input}
166 sets the input file
167 @item of=@var{output}
168 sets the output file
169 @item skip=@var{blocks}
170 sets the number of input blocks to skip
171 @end table
172
173 Command description:
174
175 @table @option
176 @item bench [-c @var{count}] [-d @var{depth}] [-f @var{fmt}] [--flush-interval=@var{flush_interval}] [-n] [--no-drain] [-o @var{offset}] [--pattern=@var{pattern}] [-q] [-s @var{buffer_size}] [-S @var{step_size}] [-t @var{cache}] [-w] @var{filename}
177
178 Run a simple sequential I/O benchmark on the specified image. If @code{-w} is
179 specified, a write test is performed, otherwise a read test is performed.
180
181 A total number of @var{count} I/O requests is performed, each @var{buffer_size}
182 bytes in size, and with @var{depth} requests in parallel. The first request
183 starts at the position given by @var{offset}, each following request increases
184 the current position by @var{step_size}. If @var{step_size} is not given,
185 @var{buffer_size} is used for its value.
186
187 If @var{flush_interval} is specified for a write test, the request queue is
188 drained and a flush is issued before new writes are made whenever the number of
189 remaining requests is a multiple of @var{flush_interval}. If additionally
190 @code{--no-drain} is specified, a flush is issued without draining the request
191 queue first.
192
193 If @code{-n} is specified, the native AIO backend is used if possible. On
194 Linux, this option only works if @code{-t none} or @code{-t directsync} is
195 specified as well.
196
197 For write tests, by default a buffer filled with zeros is written. This can be
198 overridden with a pattern byte specified by @var{pattern}.
199
200 @item check [-f @var{fmt}] [--output=@var{ofmt}] [-r [leaks | all]] [-T @var{src_cache}] @var{filename}
201
202 Perform a consistency check on the disk image @var{filename}. The command can
203 output in the format @var{ofmt} which is either @code{human} or @code{json}.
204
205 If @code{-r} is specified, qemu-img tries to repair any inconsistencies found
206 during the check. @code{-r leaks} repairs only cluster leaks, whereas
207 @code{-r all} fixes all kinds of errors, with a higher risk of choosing the
208 wrong fix or hiding corruption that has already occurred.
209
210 Only the formats @code{qcow2}, @code{qed} and @code{vdi} support
211 consistency checks.
212
213 In case the image does not have any inconsistencies, check exits with @code{0}.
214 Other exit codes indicate the kind of inconsistency found or if another error
215 occurred. The following table summarizes all exit codes of the check subcommand:
216
217 @table @option
218
219 @item 0
220 Check completed, the image is (now) consistent
221 @item 1
222 Check not completed because of internal errors
223 @item 2
224 Check completed, image is corrupted
225 @item 3
226 Check completed, image has leaked clusters, but is not corrupted
227 @item 63
228 Checks are not supported by the image format
229
230 @end table
231
232 If @code{-r} is specified, exit codes representing the image state refer to the
233 state after (the attempt at) repairing it. That is, a successful @code{-r all}
234 will yield the exit code 0, independently of the image state before.
235
236 @item create [-f @var{fmt}] [-b @var{backing_file}] [-F @var{backing_fmt}] [-u] [-o @var{options}] @var{filename} [@var{size}]
237
238 Create the new disk image @var{filename} of size @var{size} and format
239 @var{fmt}. Depending on the file format, you can add one or more @var{options}
240 that enable additional features of this format.
241
242 If the option @var{backing_file} is specified, then the image will record
243 only the differences from @var{backing_file}. No size needs to be specified in
244 this case. @var{backing_file} will never be modified unless you use the
245 @code{commit} monitor command (or qemu-img commit).
246
247 Note that a given backing file will be opened to check that it is valid. Use
248 the @code{-u} option to enable unsafe backing file mode, which means that the
249 image will be created even if the associated backing file cannot be opened. A
250 matching backing file must be created or additional options be used to make the
251 backing file specification valid when you want to use an image created this
252 way.
253
254 The size can also be specified using the @var{size} option with @code{-o},
255 it doesn't need to be specified separately in this case.
256
257 @item commit [-q] [-f @var{fmt}] [-t @var{cache}] [-b @var{base}] [-d] [-p] @var{filename}
258
259 Commit the changes recorded in @var{filename} in its base image or backing file.
260 If the backing file is smaller than the snapshot, then the backing file will be
261 resized to be the same size as the snapshot. If the snapshot is smaller than
262 the backing file, the backing file will not be truncated. If you want the
263 backing file to match the size of the smaller snapshot, you can safely truncate
264 it yourself once the commit operation successfully completes.
265
266 The image @var{filename} is emptied after the operation has succeeded. If you do
267 not need @var{filename} afterwards and intend to drop it, you may skip emptying
268 @var{filename} by specifying the @code{-d} flag.
269
270 If the backing chain of the given image file @var{filename} has more than one
271 layer, the backing file into which the changes will be committed may be
272 specified as @var{base} (which has to be part of @var{filename}'s backing
273 chain). If @var{base} is not specified, the immediate backing file of the top
274 image (which is @var{filename}) will be used. For reasons of consistency,
275 explicitly specifying @var{base} will always imply @code{-d} (since emptying an
276 image after committing to an indirect backing file would lead to different data
277 being read from the image due to content in the intermediate backing chain
278 overruling the commit target).
279
280 @item compare [-f @var{fmt}] [-F @var{fmt}] [-T @var{src_cache}] [-p] [-s] [-q] @var{filename1} @var{filename2}
281
282 Check if two images have the same content. You can compare images with
283 different format or settings.
284
285 The format is probed unless you specify it by @var{-f} (used for
286 @var{filename1}) and/or @var{-F} (used for @var{filename2}) option.
287
288 By default, images with different size are considered identical if the larger
289 image contains only unallocated and/or zeroed sectors in the area after the end
290 of the other image. In addition, if any sector is not allocated in one image
291 and contains only zero bytes in the second one, it is evaluated as equal. You
292 can use Strict mode by specifying the @var{-s} option. When compare runs in
293 Strict mode, it fails in case image size differs or a sector is allocated in
294 one image and is not allocated in the second one.
295
296 By default, compare prints out a result message. This message displays
297 information that both images are same or the position of the first different
298 byte. In addition, result message can report different image size in case
299 Strict mode is used.
300
301 Compare exits with @code{0} in case the images are equal and with @code{1}
302 in case the images differ. Other exit codes mean an error occurred during
303 execution and standard error output should contain an error message.
304 The following table sumarizes all exit codes of the compare subcommand:
305
306 @table @option
307
308 @item 0
309 Images are identical
310 @item 1
311 Images differ
312 @item 2
313 Error on opening an image
314 @item 3
315 Error on checking a sector allocation
316 @item 4
317 Error on reading data
318
319 @end table
320
321 @item convert [-c] [-p] [-n] [-f @var{fmt}] [-t @var{cache}] [-T @var{src_cache}] [-O @var{output_fmt}] [-B @var{backing_file}] [-o @var{options}] [-s @var{snapshot_id_or_name}] [-l @var{snapshot_param}] [-m @var{num_coroutines}] [-W] [-S @var{sparse_size}] @var{filename} [@var{filename2} [...]] @var{output_filename}
322
323 Convert the disk image @var{filename} or a snapshot @var{snapshot_param}(@var{snapshot_id_or_name} is deprecated)
324 to disk image @var{output_filename} using format @var{output_fmt}. It can be optionally compressed (@code{-c}
325 option) or use any format specific options like encryption (@code{-o} option).
326
327 Only the formats @code{qcow} and @code{qcow2} support compression. The
328 compression is read-only. It means that if a compressed sector is
329 rewritten, then it is rewritten as uncompressed data.
330
331 Image conversion is also useful to get smaller image when using a
332 growable format such as @code{qcow}: the empty sectors are detected and
333 suppressed from the destination image.
334
335 @var{sparse_size} indicates the consecutive number of bytes (defaults to 4k)
336 that must contain only zeros for qemu-img to create a sparse image during
337 conversion. If @var{sparse_size} is 0, the source will not be scanned for
338 unallocated or zero sectors, and the destination image will always be
339 fully allocated.
340
341 You can use the @var{backing_file} option to force the output image to be
342 created as a copy on write image of the specified base image; the
343 @var{backing_file} should have the same content as the input's base image,
344 however the path, image format, etc may differ.
345
346 If the @code{-n} option is specified, the target volume creation will be
347 skipped. This is useful for formats such as @code{rbd} if the target
348 volume has already been created with site specific options that cannot
349 be supplied through qemu-img.
350
351 Out of order writes can be enabled with @code{-W} to improve performance.
352 This is only recommended for preallocated devices like host devices or other
353 raw block devices. Out of order write does not work in combination with
354 creating compressed images.
355
356 @var{num_coroutines} specifies how many coroutines work in parallel during
357 the convert process (defaults to 8).
358
359 @item dd [-f @var{fmt}] [-O @var{output_fmt}] [bs=@var{block_size}] [count=@var{blocks}] [skip=@var{blocks}] if=@var{input} of=@var{output}
360
361 Dd copies from @var{input} file to @var{output} file converting it from
362 @var{fmt} format to @var{output_fmt} format.
363
364 The data is by default read and written using blocks of 512 bytes but can be
365 modified by specifying @var{block_size}. If count=@var{blocks} is specified
366 dd will stop reading input after reading @var{blocks} input blocks.
367
368 The size syntax is similar to dd(1)'s size syntax.
369
370 @item info [-f @var{fmt}] [--output=@var{ofmt}] [--backing-chain] @var{filename}
371
372 Give information about the disk image @var{filename}. Use it in
373 particular to know the size reserved on disk which can be different
374 from the displayed size. If VM snapshots are stored in the disk image,
375 they are displayed too. The command can output in the format @var{ofmt}
376 which is either @code{human} or @code{json}.
377
378 If a disk image has a backing file chain, information about each disk image in
379 the chain can be recursively enumerated by using the option @code{--backing-chain}.
380
381 For instance, if you have an image chain like:
382
383 @example
384 base.qcow2 <- snap1.qcow2 <- snap2.qcow2
385 @end example
386
387 To enumerate information about each disk image in the above chain, starting from top to base, do:
388
389 @example
390 qemu-img info --backing-chain snap2.qcow2
391 @end example
392
393 @item map [-f @var{fmt}] [--output=@var{ofmt}] @var{filename}
394
395 Dump the metadata of image @var{filename} and its backing file chain.
396 In particular, this commands dumps the allocation state of every sector
397 of @var{filename}, together with the topmost file that allocates it in
398 the backing file chain.
399
400 Two option formats are possible. The default format (@code{human})
401 only dumps known-nonzero areas of the file. Known-zero parts of the
402 file are omitted altogether, and likewise for parts that are not allocated
403 throughout the chain. @command{qemu-img} output will identify a file
404 from where the data can be read, and the offset in the file. Each line
405 will include four fields, the first three of which are hexadecimal
406 numbers. For example the first line of:
407 @example
408 Offset Length Mapped to File
409 0 0x20000 0x50000 /tmp/overlay.qcow2
410 0x100000 0x10000 0x95380000 /tmp/backing.qcow2
411 @end example
412 @noindent
413 means that 0x20000 (131072) bytes starting at offset 0 in the image are
414 available in /tmp/overlay.qcow2 (opened in @code{raw} format) starting
415 at offset 0x50000 (327680). Data that is compressed, encrypted, or
416 otherwise not available in raw format will cause an error if @code{human}
417 format is in use. Note that file names can include newlines, thus it is
418 not safe to parse this output format in scripts.
419
420 The alternative format @code{json} will return an array of dictionaries
421 in JSON format. It will include similar information in
422 the @code{start}, @code{length}, @code{offset} fields;
423 it will also include other more specific information:
424 @itemize @minus
425 @item
426 whether the sectors contain actual data or not (boolean field @code{data};
427 if false, the sectors are either unallocated or stored as optimized
428 all-zero clusters);
429
430 @item
431 whether the data is known to read as zero (boolean field @code{zero});
432
433 @item
434 in order to make the output shorter, the target file is expressed as
435 a @code{depth}; for example, a depth of 2 refers to the backing file
436 of the backing file of @var{filename}.
437 @end itemize
438
439 In JSON format, the @code{offset} field is optional; it is absent in
440 cases where @code{human} format would omit the entry or exit with an error.
441 If @code{data} is false and the @code{offset} field is present, the
442 corresponding sectors in the file are not yet in use, but they are
443 preallocated.
444
445 For more information, consult @file{include/block/block.h} in QEMU's
446 source code.
447
448 @item measure [--output=@var{ofmt}] [-O @var{output_fmt}] [-o @var{options}] [--size @var{N} | [--object @var{objectdef}] [--image-opts] [-f @var{fmt}] [-l @var{snapshot_param}] @var{filename}]
449
450 Calculate the file size required for a new image. This information can be used
451 to size logical volumes or SAN LUNs appropriately for the image that will be
452 placed in them. The values reported are guaranteed to be large enough to fit
453 the image. The command can output in the format @var{ofmt} which is either
454 @code{human} or @code{json}.
455
456 If the size @var{N} is given then act as if creating a new empty image file
457 using @command{qemu-img create}. If @var{filename} is given then act as if
458 converting an existing image file using @command{qemu-img convert}. The format
459 of the new file is given by @var{output_fmt} while the format of an existing
460 file is given by @var{fmt}.
461
462 A snapshot in an existing image can be specified using @var{snapshot_param}.
463
464 The following fields are reported:
465 @example
466 required size: 524288
467 fully allocated size: 1074069504
468 @end example
469
470 The @code{required size} is the file size of the new image. It may be smaller
471 than the virtual disk size if the image format supports compact representation.
472
473 The @code{fully allocated size} is the file size of the new image once data has
474 been written to all sectors. This is the maximum size that the image file can
475 occupy with the exception of internal snapshots, dirty bitmaps, vmstate data,
476 and other advanced image format features.
477
478 @item snapshot [-l | -a @var{snapshot} | -c @var{snapshot} | -d @var{snapshot} ] @var{filename}
479
480 List, apply, create or delete snapshots in image @var{filename}.
481
482 @item rebase [-f @var{fmt}] [-t @var{cache}] [-T @var{src_cache}] [-p] [-u] -b @var{backing_file} [-F @var{backing_fmt}] @var{filename}
483
484 Changes the backing file of an image. Only the formats @code{qcow2} and
485 @code{qed} support changing the backing file.
486
487 The backing file is changed to @var{backing_file} and (if the image format of
488 @var{filename} supports this) the backing file format is changed to
489 @var{backing_fmt}. If @var{backing_file} is specified as ``'' (the empty
490 string), then the image is rebased onto no backing file (i.e. it will exist
491 independently of any backing file).
492
493 @var{cache} specifies the cache mode to be used for @var{filename}, whereas
494 @var{src_cache} specifies the cache mode for reading backing files.
495
496 There are two different modes in which @code{rebase} can operate:
497 @table @option
498 @item Safe mode
499 This is the default mode and performs a real rebase operation. The new backing
500 file may differ from the old one and qemu-img rebase will take care of keeping
501 the guest-visible content of @var{filename} unchanged.
502
503 In order to achieve this, any clusters that differ between @var{backing_file}
504 and the old backing file of @var{filename} are merged into @var{filename}
505 before actually changing the backing file.
506
507 Note that the safe mode is an expensive operation, comparable to converting
508 an image. It only works if the old backing file still exists.
509
510 @item Unsafe mode
511 qemu-img uses the unsafe mode if @code{-u} is specified. In this mode, only the
512 backing file name and format of @var{filename} is changed without any checks
513 on the file contents. The user must take care of specifying the correct new
514 backing file, or the guest-visible content of the image will be corrupted.
515
516 This mode is useful for renaming or moving the backing file to somewhere else.
517 It can be used without an accessible old backing file, i.e. you can use it to
518 fix an image whose backing file has already been moved/renamed.
519 @end table
520
521 You can use @code{rebase} to perform a ``diff'' operation on two
522 disk images. This can be useful when you have copied or cloned
523 a guest, and you want to get back to a thin image on top of a
524 template or base image.
525
526 Say that @code{base.img} has been cloned as @code{modified.img} by
527 copying it, and that the @code{modified.img} guest has run so there
528 are now some changes compared to @code{base.img}. To construct a thin
529 image called @code{diff.qcow2} that contains just the differences, do:
530
531 @example
532 qemu-img create -f qcow2 -b modified.img diff.qcow2
533 qemu-img rebase -b base.img diff.qcow2
534 @end example
535
536 At this point, @code{modified.img} can be discarded, since
537 @code{base.img + diff.qcow2} contains the same information.
538
539 @item resize [--preallocation=@var{prealloc}] @var{filename} [+ | -]@var{size}
540
541 Change the disk image as if it had been created with @var{size}.
542
543 Before using this command to shrink a disk image, you MUST use file system and
544 partitioning tools inside the VM to reduce allocated file systems and partition
545 sizes accordingly. Failure to do so will result in data loss!
546
547 After using this command to grow a disk image, you must use file system and
548 partitioning tools inside the VM to actually begin using the new space on the
549 device.
550
551 When growing an image, the @code{--preallocation} option may be used to specify
552 how the additional image area should be allocated on the host. See the format
553 description in the @code{NOTES} section which values are allowed. Using this
554 option may result in slightly more data being allocated than necessary.
555
556 @item amend [-p] [-f @var{fmt}] [-t @var{cache}] -o @var{options} @var{filename}
557
558 Amends the image format specific @var{options} for the image file
559 @var{filename}. Not all file formats support this operation.
560 @end table
561 @c man end
562
563 @ignore
564 @c man begin NOTES
565 Supported image file formats:
566
567 @table @option
568 @item raw
569
570 Raw disk image format (default). This format has the advantage of
571 being simple and easily exportable to all other emulators. If your
572 file system supports @emph{holes} (for example in ext2 or ext3 on
573 Linux or NTFS on Windows), then only the written sectors will reserve
574 space. Use @code{qemu-img info} to know the real size used by the
575 image or @code{ls -ls} on Unix/Linux.
576
577 Supported options:
578 @table @code
579 @item preallocation
580 Preallocation mode (allowed values: @code{off}, @code{falloc}, @code{full}).
581 @code{falloc} mode preallocates space for image by calling posix_fallocate().
582 @code{full} mode preallocates space for image by writing zeros to underlying
583 storage.
584 @end table
585
586 @item qcow2
587 QEMU image format, the most versatile format. Use it to have smaller
588 images (useful if your filesystem does not supports holes, for example
589 on Windows), optional AES encryption, zlib based compression and
590 support of multiple VM snapshots.
591
592 Supported options:
593 @table @code
594 @item compat
595 Determines the qcow2 version to use. @code{compat=0.10} uses the
596 traditional image format that can be read by any QEMU since 0.10.
597 @code{compat=1.1} enables image format extensions that only QEMU 1.1 and
598 newer understand (this is the default). Amongst others, this includes zero
599 clusters, which allow efficient copy-on-read for sparse images.
600
601 @item backing_file
602 File name of a base image (see @option{create} subcommand)
603 @item backing_fmt
604 Image format of the base image
605 @item encryption
606 If this option is set to @code{on}, the image is encrypted with 128-bit AES-CBC.
607
608 The use of encryption in qcow and qcow2 images is considered to be flawed by
609 modern cryptography standards, suffering from a number of design problems:
610
611 @itemize @minus
612 @item
613 The AES-CBC cipher is used with predictable initialization vectors based
614 on the sector number. This makes it vulnerable to chosen plaintext attacks
615 which can reveal the existence of encrypted data.
616 @item
617 The user passphrase is directly used as the encryption key. A poorly
618 chosen or short passphrase will compromise the security of the encryption.
619 @item
620 In the event of the passphrase being compromised there is no way to
621 change the passphrase to protect data in any qcow images. The files must
622 be cloned, using a different encryption passphrase in the new file. The
623 original file must then be securely erased using a program like shred,
624 though even this is ineffective with many modern storage technologies.
625 @item
626 Initialization vectors used to encrypt sectors are based on the
627 guest virtual sector number, instead of the host physical sector. When
628 a disk image has multiple internal snapshots this means that data in
629 multiple physical sectors is encrypted with the same initialization
630 vector. With the CBC mode, this opens the possibility of watermarking
631 attacks if the attack can collect multiple sectors encrypted with the
632 same IV and some predictable data. Having multiple qcow2 images with
633 the same passphrase also exposes this weakness since the passphrase
634 is directly used as the key.
635 @end itemize
636
637 Use of qcow / qcow2 encryption is thus strongly discouraged. Users are
638 recommended to use an alternative encryption technology such as the
639 Linux dm-crypt / LUKS system.
640
641 @item cluster_size
642 Changes the qcow2 cluster size (must be between 512 and 2M). Smaller cluster
643 sizes can improve the image file size whereas larger cluster sizes generally
644 provide better performance.
645
646 @item preallocation
647 Preallocation mode (allowed values: @code{off}, @code{metadata}, @code{falloc},
648 @code{full}). An image with preallocated metadata is initially larger but can
649 improve performance when the image needs to grow. @code{falloc} and @code{full}
650 preallocations are like the same options of @code{raw} format, but sets up
651 metadata also.
652
653 @item lazy_refcounts
654 If this option is set to @code{on}, reference count updates are postponed with
655 the goal of avoiding metadata I/O and improving performance. This is
656 particularly interesting with @option{cache=writethrough} which doesn't batch
657 metadata updates. The tradeoff is that after a host crash, the reference count
658 tables must be rebuilt, i.e. on the next open an (automatic) @code{qemu-img
659 check -r all} is required, which may take some time.
660
661 This option can only be enabled if @code{compat=1.1} is specified.
662
663 @item nocow
664 If this option is set to @code{on}, it will turn off COW of the file. It's only
665 valid on btrfs, no effect on other file systems.
666
667 Btrfs has low performance when hosting a VM image file, even more when the guest
668 on the VM also using btrfs as file system. Turning off COW is a way to mitigate
669 this bad performance. Generally there are two ways to turn off COW on btrfs:
670 a) Disable it by mounting with nodatacow, then all newly created files will be
671 NOCOW. b) For an empty file, add the NOCOW file attribute. That's what this option
672 does.
673
674 Note: this option is only valid to new or empty files. If there is an existing
675 file which is COW and has data blocks already, it couldn't be changed to NOCOW
676 by setting @code{nocow=on}. One can issue @code{lsattr filename} to check if
677 the NOCOW flag is set or not (Capital 'C' is NOCOW flag).
678
679 @end table
680
681 @item Other
682 QEMU also supports various other image file formats for compatibility with
683 older QEMU versions or other hypervisors, including VMDK, VDI, VHD (vpc), VHDX,
684 qcow1 and QED. For a full list of supported formats see @code{qemu-img --help}.
685 For a more detailed description of these formats, see the QEMU Emulation User
686 Documentation.
687
688 The main purpose of the block drivers for these formats is image conversion.
689 For running VMs, it is recommended to convert the disk images to either raw or
690 qcow2 in order to achieve good performance.
691 @end table
692
693
694 @c man end
695
696 @setfilename qemu-img
697 @settitle QEMU disk image utility
698
699 @c man begin SEEALSO
700 The HTML documentation of QEMU for more precise information and Linux
701 user mode emulator invocation.
702 @c man end
703
704 @c man begin AUTHOR
705 Fabrice Bellard
706 @c man end
707
708 @end ignore