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{{Anchor|Virtualization}}
{{Anchor|Virtualization}}


== 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 of Fedora virtualization technologies on the
@fedora-virt list.


Contributing Writer: [[User:Dale | Dale Bewley]]
Contributing Writer: [[User:Dale | Dale Bewley]]


=== Enterprise Management Tools List ===
=== Fedora Virtualization 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/fedora-virt fedora-virt 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.
 
<references />


==== NetWare Support added to virtinst ====
==== Virt Status Report ====
[[JohnLevon|John Levon]]
[[JustinForbes|Justin Forbes]]
patched<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/et-mgmt-tools/2009-March/msg00065.html</ref>
posted<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-virt/2009-December/msg00056.html</ref> a Fedora virtualization status report.
{{package|python-virtinst}} to support NetWare PV installs.
Justin pointed out F13 bugs<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Virtualization_bugs</ref> now include Important and Pony classifications in addition to Blocker and Target.


<references />
<references />


==== RHEL and Fedora Virtualization Feature Parity ====
Robert Day wondered how the virtualization features<ref>http://www.redhat.com/virtualization/rhev/</ref> of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4
compared to Fedora 12.


 
[[DanielBerrange|Daniel Berrange]]  
=== Fedora Xen List ===
explained<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-virt/2009-December/msg00040.html</ref>
This section contains the discussion happening on the
"The KVM based virtualization in RHEL-5.4 is not nearly so far behind
[http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-xen fedora-xen list].
Fedora as you might think. The {{package|libvirt}} mgmt stack in RHEL-5.4 was
 
rebased to be near parity with [[Releases/11|Fedora 11]], and KVM in RHEL-5.4 is
==== Which Xen Configuration Files ====
also pretty close to that using what's best described as a hybrid of
Urs Golla was
kvm-83 and kvm-84."
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>.


<references />
<references />


=== Libvirt List ===
This section contains the discussion happening on the
[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".
<references />
==== Secure Guest Migration Draft Patch ====
[[ChrisLalancette|Chris Lalancette]]
followed<ref>http://www.redhat.com/archives/libvir-list/2009-March/msg00276.html</ref>
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."
 
<references />
<references />

Latest revision as of 18:09, 18 December 2009



Virtualization

In this section, we cover discussion of Fedora virtualization technologies on the @fedora-virt list.

Contributing Writer: Dale Bewley

Fedora Virtualization List

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

Virt Status Report

Justin Forbes posted[1] a Fedora virtualization status report. Justin pointed out F13 bugs[2] now include Important and Pony classifications in addition to Blocker and Target.

RHEL and Fedora Virtualization Feature Parity

Robert Day wondered how the virtualization features[1] of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 compared to Fedora 12.

Daniel Berrange explained[2] "The KVM based virtualization in RHEL-5.4 is not nearly so far behind Fedora as you might think. The Package-x-generic-16.pnglibvirt mgmt stack in RHEL-5.4 was rebased to be near parity with Fedora 11, and KVM in RHEL-5.4 is also pretty close to that using what's best described as a hybrid of kvm-83 and kvm-84."