Nested Virtualization on Dedicated Server

Question

I am currently evaluating the possibility of deploying EVE-NG (Emulated Virtual Environment-Next Generation) on an Ubuntu Server (22.04 or 24.04 LTS) instance within AWS.

Previously, I attempted to deploy EVE-NG on standard EC2 instances (based on both Ubuntu Server 22.04 and 24.04) and the installation failed due to the lack of nested virtualization support — the KVM kernel module could not be loaded, and QEMU-based nodes could not be initialized.

I would like to clarify the following points before proceeding further:

1.Which AWS instance types (particularly dedicated or bare-metal) currently support nested virtualization / KVM passthrough for Ubuntu-based environments?

2.Is there any official documentation or configuration guidance from AWS for enabling or verifying nested virtualization support on such instances?

3.Would an EC2 Bare Metal instance (e.g., i3.metal, m5.metal, or c5.metal) provide full virtualization capabilities required to run EVE-NG and QEMU nodes natively?

4.Are there any known limitations or best-practice recommendations when deploying virtualization-heavy workloads (like EVE-NG or GNS3) on AWS bare-metal instances?

My goal is to confirm the most suitable instance type and configuration for a stable EVE-NG deployment, as I need consistent KVM performance and hardware virtualization support.

Thank you in advance for your guidance and confirmation.

re:Post Agent · Accepted Answer

For deploying EVE-NG on AWS with nested virtualization support, here's what you need to know:

1. AWS bare metal instances are your best option for nested virtualization and KVM passthrough. Instances with the ".metal" suffix like i3.metal, m5.metal, c5.metal, and c5n.metal provide direct access to the underlying hardware without AWS's hypervisor layer. These instances should support KVM and nested virtualization for your Ubuntu-based environment.

2. AWS doesn't provide extensive official documentation specifically for enabling nested virtualization. However, once you have a bare metal instance, you can install KVM following standard Ubuntu procedures. You can verify KVM support by checking if the KVM module can be loaded and by examining CPU flags for virtualization support.

3. Yes, EC2 bare metal instances provide full virtualization capabilities required to run EVE-NG and QEMU nodes natively. Since these instances give you direct access to the physical server hardware without a hypervisor layer, you can use KVM and other virtualization technologies that require hardware virtualization extensions.

4. When deploying virtualization-heavy workloads like EVE-NG on AWS bare metal instances:
- Be aware of the cost implications as bare metal instances are typically more expensive than virtualized instances
- Consider network performance requirements, as virtualized networking can be resource-intensive
- Properly size your instance based on the number of virtual nodes you plan to run
- Implement appropriate security measures since you're managing the virtualization layer yourself
- Use EBS volumes with sufficient IOPS for the storage requirements of multiple virtual machines

For your EVE-NG deployment, a c5n.metal instance might be particularly suitable as it offers high compute performance and enhanced networking capabilities, which would benefit network virtualization workloads.  
**Sources**  
[How to enable KVM Hardware Virtualization on EC2 Dedicated host | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUz_Vm_uCvRwue5DRdOvyoog/how-to-enable-kvm-hardware-virtualization-on-ec2-dedicated-host)  
[Are KVM and nested virtualization supported on AWS ? | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUwJaiNYKvQmK1XEracLvTjA/are-kvm-and-nested-virtualization-supported-on-aws)  
[Launch SEV virtual machines inside the bare metal server | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUSJRQBpTCSDuz4S1MrdBt0g/launch-sev-virtual-machines-inside-the-bare-metal-server)  
[Host and Instance Features - Logical Separation on AWS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/whitepapers/latest/logical-separation/host-and-instance-features.html)

Nested Virtualization on Dedicated Server

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