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Console and SSH

Two ways to reach a guest: noVNC console (browser) and SSH (keys + optional NodePort expose).

noVNC console

UI: Compute → open a VM → Console, or /console with the VM selected.

The browser opens a WebSocket to /ws/console, which proxies KubeVirt’s VNC subresource.

Requirement Notes
Permission vms:console (included for admin/operator)
VM state Prefer Running

Tip

Console is best for installers (ISO/Windows) and recovery when networking is broken. Prefer SSH for day-2 Linux access.

SSH keys

UI: Compute → SSH keys (/ssh-keys)

Action Description
Generate Creates a key pair; private key download once
Register Paste an existing public key
Delete Remove from the catalog

Keys can be selected at VM deploy so cloud-init injects them (container-disk Linux images).

Method Path
GET /api/v1/ssh-keys
POST /api/v1/ssh-keys (generate)
POST /api/v1/ssh-keys/register
DELETE /api/v1/ssh-keys/{id}

Expose SSH (NodePort)

For lab access without a public Multus IP:

# Status
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  https://iaas.example/api/v1/vms/web-1/ssh

# Expose
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  https://iaas.example/api/v1/vms/web-1/ssh

Response includes how to reach SSH (NodePort / service details). Use with a registered key or the password set via cloud-init.

Security

NodePort exposes SSH on the cluster node network. Prefer private Multus networks or a bastion in production — see Topologies.