The difference from the original version is that qcow2 supports multiple snapshots using a newer, more flexible model for storing them. The official documentation for the format is part of the QEMU Git tree.

A qcow2 image file is organized in units of constant size, which are called (host) clusters. A cluster is the unit in which all allocations are done, both for actual guest data and for image metadata.

Jul 6, 2021 · A QCOW2 file is a disk image saved in the second version of the QEMU Copy On Write (QCOW2) format, which is used by QEMU virtualization software. It stores the hard drive contents of …

Nov 14, 2025 · In the realm of virtualization and system administration, Qcow2 (QEMU Copy On Write 2) is a popular disk image format used by QEMU and KVM. These images allow for features such as …

QCOW2 is a storage format for virtual disk images. QCOW stands for QEMU copy on write. The QCOW2 format decouples the physical storage layer from the virtual layer by adding a mapping …

May 28, 2025 · QCOW2 is one of many available virtual disk formats, primarily used in QEMU/KVM and open-source cloud environments. It supports complete VM storage, along with features like …

specifies the output disk image format at “qcow2”, a format native to the QEMU project (it is the second version, and latest/recommended version, of the format)

Oct 11, 2025 · QCOW2, short for QEMU Copy On Write, is a popular virtual disk image format used by the QEMU emulator. It is designed to optimize storage space and improve performance by utilizing a …

The following table shows the installation times for a minimal RHEL 5.3 VM with old and new qcow2 drivers, and for comparison raw images. The installation was done with all three different cache …

Aug 23, 2024 · Qcow2 is a disk image format used by Qemu, a popular open-source emulator and virtualizer. Qcow2 is a more efficient and flexible format compared to traditional raw disk images, …