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(Solved) KVM no network connection on OpenSuse Tumbleweed

January 13, 2026 by
(Solved) KVM no network connection on OpenSuse Tumbleweed
TxTechnician, Andrew Valenzuela
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KVM/QEMU is Simple on OpenSUSE:

  • Open Myrlyn (this is the software management GUI that replaced YAST Software)
  • Select Patterns
  • Look for KVM Virtualization Host and tools
  • Select it and install



Why the network isn't working:

Virt is going through some changes.  One of those is the switch from iptables​ to nftables​.  

You see these firewalls are what are used to manage NAT (network address translation) which Virt uses to create psuedo-networks.  

They've got it down-pat for the old firewall standard: iptables.

The new one, not  so much.

The Fix!

Switch to IP tables:

Switch to IPTables

Instructions: Add the line "firewall_backend = "iptables" to the file /etc/libvirt/network.conf.

Remeber to restart the virtnetworkd service.
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Baby's First VM (a partial how to):

Virt Manager does everything for you.  And will prompt you to enable stuff.  (like the network, just agree to every popup).

Below is just a quick overview of the UI/UX to make a VM.  (this is not a full guide).

  1. Search for Virtual Machine Manager​ and open it
  2. Click "New"
  3. ISO should already be selected, just click Forward (you should have already downloaded an ISO from the internet: Mint, Fedora, Windows, etc...)
  4. Browse:
  5. Browse Local:
  6. Find the ISO and select it (it's probably in your downloads folder).
  7. Steps 3-5... just keep clicking forward and leave everything as default:



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