Install FreeBSD 14.3 on KVM using Cockpit (Ubuntu 24.04)

Prerequisites

Before you start, your Ubuntu 24.04 host should already have:

• KVM (qemu-kvm)
• libvirt (libvirtd)
• Cockpit + cockpit-machines
• (Optional) Bridge networking (br0) if you want the VM to get a LAN IP

If you haven’t set these up yet, follow this post first:

After that, come back here to install FreeBSD 14.3 as a VM.

What you’ll do

• Download the FreeBSD 14.3 ISO and place it in libvirt’s image directory
• Create a FreeBSD VM in Cockpit using that ISO
• Install FreeBSD 14.3 with recommended VM defaults (VirtIO disk + VirtIO NIC)
• Verify the installed version is FreeBSD 14.3

1. Download and prepare the FreeBSD 14.3 ISO (on the host)

Download FreeBSD-14.3-RELEASE-amd64-disc1.iso from an official FreeBSD mirror, then:

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/libvirt/images
sudo cp ~/Downloads/FreeBSD-14.3-RELEASE-amd64-disc1.iso /var/lib/libvirt/images/
sudo chmod 644 /var/lib/libvirt/images/FreeBSD-14.3-RELEASE-amd64-disc1.iso

2. Create the VM in Cockpit (cockpit-machines)

Open Cockpit:

• https://<your-ubuntu-host-ip>:9090

Go to:

• Virtual Machines → Create VM

Recommended settings:

VM basics

• Name: freebsd-client
• Installation type: Local install media (ISO)
• Installation source:
  /var/lib/libvirt/images/FreeBSD-14.3-RELEASE-amd64-disc1.iso

Operating system selection (14.2 vs 14.3)

Cockpit may not list FreeBSD 14.3 yet. That’s fine.

• Choose FreeBSD 14.2 (closest option)

This selection only affects defaults. The ISO still installs FreeBSD 14.3.

CPU / Memory / Disk

• vCPU: 2–4
• Memory: 4–8 GiB (8 GiB is comfortable for ZFS)
• Disk: 50–100 GiB (qcow2)

Networking

• If you created br0 in the prerequisite post: choose Bridge br0 (LAN IP via DHCP)
• Otherwise: keep default NAT network

Click Create and run. Open the console.

3. Install FreeBSD 14.3

Install

• Install

Keymap

• Continue with default keymap

Hostname

• Example: freebsd-client

Distribution Select

• Keep defaults (base + kernel)
• Optional: src, ports only if you need them

Partitioning

Pick one:

Option A (common): Auto (ZFS)

• Virtual device type: stripe
• Disk: Select the disk shown by the installer (commonly vtbd0, sometimes da0/ada0 depending on the controller).

Option B: Auto (UFS)

• Simpler, lighter

Root password

• Set a strong root password

Network (VirtIO)

• Interface: vtnet0
• IPv4: Yes
• DHCP: Yes
• IPv6: No (unless your LAN uses IPv6)

Time zone

Example for Taiwan:

• Asia → Taiwan
• Confirm abbreviation “CST” → Yes
• Time/date: Skip

Services

• sshd
• dumpdev

Hardening

• Leave defaults

Add user

• Choose No

Finish and reboot.

4. Verify the installed version

freebsd-version
uname -a

Expected: FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE