Installation of XCP-ng

XCP-ng is suitable as Open Source virtualization platform to virtualize Linux, Windows and BSD systems. The following article shows the installation of XCP-ng on a host system.

Create installation medium

The installation of XCP-ng can be made via USB stick. In the following, the steps are described.

ISO download

You have two options for the installation of XCP-ng image files.

XCP-ng GitHub repository

In the Github repository, you will always find the latest images as Full version, Netinstall version and Upgrade Only version.

The images can be found behind the following link:

https://github.com/xcp-ng/xcp/releases

Official XCP-ng website

You can also obtain the images from the official page of XCP-ng:

https://xcp-ng.org/#easy-to-install

Creation of USB-stick

Hint: When creating the installation medium, all data on the stick will be deleted. Make sure that there are no files on the medium that you still need.

There are multiple opportunities when creating a bootable USB stick.

Application-based

You can create a bootable USB stick with an application such as Rufus or Ventoy:

• Create Bootable USB stick with Rufus (replace DOS with XCP-ng)

• Create bootable USB stick with Ventoy

dd

The USB stick can be created with the dd command on a Linux system. Please note that you have to replace /dev/sdX by the correct description for your USB-stick:

dd if=xcp-ng-8.3.0-20250606.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=8M status=progress oflag=direct

Installation

Below are step-by-step instructions for installing XCP-ng using the installation media you created:

• 
  Plug the USB stick you created into the server and turn it on.
• 
  Click [Del] to access the BIOS.
• 
  Boot from the created USB stick.
• 
  Select install.
• 
  Select the suitable keymap. [qwertz] de
• 
  Confirm with [Ok] for new installation or upgrade.
• 
  Confirm with [Accept EUA] license terms.
• 
  Select target drive for host system
• 
  Select VM storage for virtual machines.
• 
  Select Virtual Machine Storage Type with [EXT]
• 
  Select installation source type [Local Media]
• 
  [Verify installation source] test source medium.
• 
  Determine [Password] for XCP-ng host.
• 
  determine Management/Networking interface
• 
  Determine addressing type. In the example: [IPv4]
• 
  Networking / Management here in the example: [DHCP] * IPs are recommended for productive installations.
• 
  Determine hostname as well as the accessible DNS servers
• 
  Determine time zone
• 
  Determine city/area
• 
  Configure DHCP NTP server for time synchronization
• 
  Start installation with [Install XCP-ng]
• 
  XCP-ng is installed on target drive.
• 
  Installation completed and confirm with [OK]. System is restarted.

Initial start

After installation, the console will display the URL that you can use to access the XCP-ng web interface:

• 
  Overview page on the local screen
• 
  Access on the XO-Lite webinterface
• 
  The XO-LITE webinterface

Author: Wilfried Seifert Wilfried Seifert, working in the Systems Engineering department at Thomas-Krenn, is responsible for system/prototype development in his work area. LPIC 3 certified, deals with construction / programming of embedded / GPIO systems; in his spare time he likes to repair old home computers, attends Linux conferences or is on the road with his bike (MTB) for sporting compensation.

Translator: Alina Ranzinger Alina has been working at Thomas-Krenn.AG since 2024. After her training as multilingual business assistant, she got her job as assistant of the Product Management and is responsible for the translation of texts and for the organisation of the department.