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== Virtualization ==
== Virtualization ==
In this section, we cover discussion on the @et-mgmnt-tools-list, @fedora-xen-list, @libvirt-list and @ovirt-devel-list of Fedora virtualization technologies.  
In this section, we cover discussion on the @et-mgmnt-tools-list, @fedora-xen-list, @libvirt-list and @ovirt-devel-list of Fedora virtualization technologies.  


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=== Enterprise Management Tools List ===
=== Enterprise Management Tools List ===
This section contains the discussion happening on the
This section contains the discussion happening on the
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/et-mgmt-tools et-mgmt-tools list]
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/et-mgmt-tools et-mgmt-tools list]


==== Virt-p2v and RAID Controller Drivers ====
==== ====
 
Based on Fedora 10, "<code>virt-p2v</code> is an experimental live CD for migrating physical machines to virtual machine guests." <ref>http://et.redhat.com/~rjones/virt-p2v/</ref>
 
Jonathan Pregler<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/et-mgmt-tools/2009-March/msg00075.html</ref>
and
Nick Haunold asked about a lack of HP and Dell RAID drivers in <code>virt-p2v</code>. No answer was found, but
Jonathan Pregler is now working<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/et-mgmt-tools/2009-March/msg00085.html</ref> on creating a SUSE live CD with <code>virt-p2v</code> and the RAID drivers embedded.
 
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==== NetWare Support added to virtinst ====
=== Fedora Virtualization List ===
 
This section contains the discussion happening on the
[[JohnLevon|John Levon]] patched<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/et-mgmt-tools/2009-March/msg00065.html</ref>
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-virt fedora-virt list].
{{package|python-virtinst}} to support NetWare PV installs.


====  ====
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=== Fedora Xen List ===
=== Fedora Xen List ===
This section contains the discussion happening on the
This section contains the discussion happening on the
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-xen fedora-xen list].
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-xen fedora-xen list].


==== Which Xen Configuration Files ====
==== ====
 
Urs Golla was confused<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-xen/2009-March/msg00043.html</ref> "about the configuration files for XEN user domains in Fedora."
 
[[DanielBerrange|Daniel P. Berrange]]<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-xen/2009-March/msg00054.html</ref>
explained that parts of Xen uses different configuration formats.
* <code>xend</code> stores master config files in SXPR<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-expression</ref> format in <code>/var/lib/xend</code>.
* <code>xm</code> stores python-like config files  in <code>/etc/xen</code>
"XenD itself has no knowledge of these files," (in <code>/etc/xen</code>) "so it can't manage them. They should not be used in Xen >= 3.0.4 If you have existing files in <code>/etc/xen</code>, then you can load them into XenD by doing '<code>xm new configname</code>', at which point both Xend and <code>libvirt</code> will be able to manage them. For Xen < 3.0.4 <code>libvirt</code> has some limited support for reading /etc/xen files directly"
 
Using {{package|libvirt}} and the <code>virsh</code> command, the above configuration files are essentially obviated. Instead an intermediate XML configuration<ref>http://libvirt.org/formatdomain.html</ref> can be modified and applied back to <code>xend</code>.
 
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=== Libvirt List ===
=== Libvirt List ===
This section contains the discussion happening on the
This section contains the discussion happening on the
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/libvir-list libvir-list].
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/libvir-list libvir-list].


==== Xen PCI Device Passthrough ====
==== ====
 
A patch<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00270.html</ref> from [[DanielBerrange| Daniel P. Berrange]]
"provides initial support for PCI device passthrough in Xen, at time of boot. It does not (yet) implement device hotplug for PCI".
"XenD only supports 'unmanaged' PCI devices - ie mgmt app is responsible for detaching/reattaching PCI devices from/to  host device drivers.
XenD itself won't automatically do this".
 
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==== Secure Guest Migration Draft Patch ====
=== oVirt Devel List ===
 
This section contains the discussion happening on the
[[ChrisLalancette|Chris Lalancette]] followed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00276.html</ref>
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/ovirt-devel ovirt-devel list].
the RFC<ref>https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FWN/Issue166#Secure_Guest_Migration_Between_Hosts</ref> of last week with a "rough first draft of the secure migration code" and sought comments on the approach before putting the final polish on it.
 
[[DanielVeillard|Daniel Veillard]] wasn't enitrely satisfied<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00338.html</ref> with the "costs related to the 64KB chunking imposed by the XML-RPC" and was "Trying to reopen a bit the discussion we had before on opening a
separate encrypted connection". Daniel Veillard "would like to make sure we have room in the initial phase to add such a negociation where an optimal solution" on a dedicated TCP/IP connection "may be attempted, possibly falling back to a normal XML-RPC solution".
 
[[DanielBerrange|Daniel P. Berrange]] pointed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00341.html</ref> out "This isn't XML-RPC. This is our own binary protocol using XDR encoding, which has very little metadata overhead - just a single 24 byte header  per 64kb of data.", and poposed a 'MIGRATION_INCOMING' message which could cause <code>libvirted</code> to "switch the TCP channel to 'data stream' mode."
 
[[ChrisLalancette|Chris Lalancette]] tested the migration code and found the draft secure migration caused a "slowdown of between 1.5 and 3 times". "What I'm going to do early next week is do some additional work to try to get DanB's suggestion of the STREAM_DATA RPC working.  Then I'll try benchmarking (both for duration, and CPU usage)".
 
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==== More Flexible x86 Emulator Choice ====
 
[[DanielBerrange|Daniel P. Berrange]] explained<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00281.html</ref>
the current {{package|libvirt}} restricts "what emulator binary we allow for QEMU guests on x86 arches". "This patch makes QEMU driver more flexible" ... "when setting up its capabilities information." "This should finally remove the confusion where a user in {{package|virt-manager}}
selectrs 'i686' and then wonders why we've disallowed choice of 'kvm'. It also fixes 'virsh version' when only qemu-kvm is installed."
 
The path to each emulator binary is hardcoded in <code>libvirt</code>. [[DanielVeillard|Daniel Veillard]] found<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00339.html</ref> this approach "worrying". The merge<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/KVM_and_QEMU_merge</ref>
of {{package|qemu}} and {{package|kvm}} will make the reliance on a pathname to determine a binary's capabilities even less tenable.
 
[[DanielBerrange|Daniel P. Berrange]] agreed <ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00345.html</ref>
"this approach we're currently using has pretty much reached the end of its practicality. In particular it is impossible to solve
the problem of figuring out whether a plain 'qemu' binary supports kvm natively. To adress that, we'd actually need to run the binary
and probe its output. This would require pretty much re-writing this entire capabilities setup logic from scratch. Similarly coping with
varying path locations is another problem we can't easily solve with this current code."


====  ====
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Revision as of 01:18, 25 March 2009


Virtualization

In this section, we cover discussion on the @et-mgmnt-tools-list, @fedora-xen-list, @libvirt-list and @ovirt-devel-list of Fedora virtualization technologies.

Contributing Writer: Dale Bewley

Enterprise Management Tools List

This section contains the discussion happening on the et-mgmt-tools list


Fedora Virtualization List

This section contains the discussion happening on the fedora-virt list.


Fedora Xen List

This section contains the discussion happening on the fedora-xen list.


Libvirt List

This section contains the discussion happening on the libvir-list.


oVirt Devel List

This section contains the discussion happening on the ovirt-devel list.