Unique Linux ID in virtualized environment

Linux and Unix-Like Linux
1

Hi

I need to know what is the unique identifier for Linux OS even in a virtualized environment?

eg like Machine GUID for windows. I need to know something similar for linux, AIX, Solaris in virtualized environment.

Thanks

2

Try...

dmidecode | grep -i uuid

or

lshal |grep -i system.hardware.uuid

On my system, red hat

[josephgr@oc0887178221 ~]$ dmidecode | grep -i uuid
UUID: CACAAB01-521D-11CB-BFE3-E99ACE12806A

[josephgr@oc0887178221 ~]$ lshal |grep -i system.hardware.uuid
system.hardware.uuid = '01ABCACA-1D52-CB11-BFE3-E99ACE12806A'  (string)
3

since its based on hardware, so i think it won't be unique in virtualised environment. Could you please tell?

4

The only truly "unique" ID, given emulated hardware, might be the server's public keys.

5

Could you please details it a bit? How does server public key gurantee unique ID in virtualised environment?

Also, i am looking for a C language API. Kindly guide

6

It doesn't. It's a unique ID that's usually generated on install, but it can be duplicated. (For that matter, so can the Windows GUID!)

I don't think you can guarantee a unique ID in a virtualized environment, unless you generate a fresh ID every boot.

7

Thanks for this thread my problem just solved!