NixOS MicroVM

Table of Contents

- [Introduction](#introduction) - [Access the ThreeFold Dashboard](#access-the-threefold-dashboard) - [Deploy a NixOS MicroVM](#deploy-a-nixos-microvm) - [Questions and Feedback](#questions-and-feedback) *** ## Introduction __NixOS MicroVM__ refers to a minimalistic virtual machine environment based on the NixOS Linux distribution. The NixOS MicroVM leverages these principles to create a highly customizable and reproducible virtual machine environment. It allows users to define the entire system configuration, including packages, services, and dependencies, in a declarative manner using the Nix language. This ensures that the MicroVM is consistent, easily reproducible, and can be version-controlled. In this guide, will learn how to make reproducible, declarative and reliable systems by deploying a NixOS MicroVM weblet in ThreeFold Dashboard. For more information on Nix, you can read the [Nix Reference Manual](https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/). ## Access the ThreeFold Dashboard * Go to the ThreeFold Dashboard website, based on the deployment network you prefer: * [Mainnet](https://dashboard.grid.tf) * [Testnet](https://dashboard.test.grid.tf) * [Devnet](https://dashboard.dev.grid.tf) * [QAnet](https://dashboard.qa.grid.tf) * Make sure you have a [wallet](../wallet_connector.md) * From the sidebar click on **Solutions** * Click on **Micro Virtual Machine** to start your NixOS MicroVM Deployment ## Deploy a NixOS MicroVM We now present the main steps to properly configure your NixOS MicroVM running on the TFGrid. * In the section `Config`, make sure to select `Nixos` as the `VM Image`. You can choose different parameters (CPU, Memory, etc.) for your deployment depending on your workload needs. ![](./img/nxios-micro1.png) * In the section `Environment Variables`, you can add the default configurations for Nix. Here's an example: * ``` { pkgs ? import { } }: let pythonEnv = pkgs.python3.withPackages(ps: [ ]); in pkgs.mkShell { packages = [ pythonEnv ]; } ``` * This will be written to `/root/default.nix`. You can change the Nix shell configuration there. ![](./img/nixos-micro2.png) * In the section `Disks`, you should mount a disk large enough for Nix to store its files used for `nix-store`. ![](./img/nixos-micro3.png) * Once your configured the parameters, you can deploy the MicroVM. If you need more information on how to SSH into your deployment, read [this section](../../system_administrators/getstarted/tfgrid3_getstarted.md) of the TF Manual. ## Questions and Feedback You should now be able to easily deploy a NixOS MicroVM on the ThreeFold Grid. If you have any question or feedback, you can write a post on the [ThreeFold Forum](http://forum.threefold.io/).