Re: NetBSD/Xen Howto

[Rainer Brinkmöller <rainer.brinkmoeller%web.de@localhost>]

Manuel Bouyer schrieb:

> On Tue, Mar 07, 2006 at 08:09:14PM +0100, Rainer Brinkmöller wrote:
>  
>
> > 2.
> > Binary snapshots are available from 
> > ftp://ftp.NetBSD.org/pub/NetBSD/arch/i386/snapshot/.
> > at the bsdforen.de wiki (German) i wrote something like:
> > Actual it is recommended to use the i386pkg-3.0.iso 
> > <ftp://iso3.de.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/iso/3.0/i386pkg-3.0.iso> image.
> >    
> No, iso are one way to install but not the only one. I always do network
> install as I have a network boot infrastructure installed, for example.
> I changed the links to point to the 3.0 release and NetBSD-daily though.
>  
My failure. What i would say was what you did change to - to point to 
the 3.0 release

> > 3.
> > In the moment i am a bit confused because of the list of machine 
> > architectures for sysutils/xenkernel20.
> > The way I understand the howto it is only possible to run Xen only on 
> > i386 (i686).
> >    
> It is. But you can run xentools on others to manage a Xen system remotely.
>  
Ok, this argument makes sense :)

> > Is it now possible to run it on the other machine architectures too?
> > shouldn't the |xen-2.0.7-install.tgz | be recommended (instead to say 
> > |xen-2.0.x-install.tgz)|?
> >    
> Using xen-2.0.x-install.tgz means we don't need to update it when a new
> Xen release appears :)
>  
I see, but ... isn't it recommended to use the 2.0.7 (at the moment - do 
you think there will be a 2.0.8 later)?

> > ...
> > xm destroy
> > xm info
> > As far as i know the commands 'xm shutdown', 'xm shutdown -R' and 'xm 
> > shutdown -H' need the name or ID of the domain.
> > This is Information is not in the howto and someone new to NetBSD and/or 
> > Xen could be confused.
> >    
> Well, all this is in the Xen documentation. The goal is not to redo the
> Xen documentation here, just mention NetBSD-specific things.
>  
Sure, you are right. But there are also functions documentet which are 
not supportet yet by NetBSD.
How about to just list the supported (or the not supported) commands?

> > Also the key combination Ctrl + ] should be used to change from a domU 
> > to the dom0. Especially if you work local.
> >    
> xm console tell you this when you start it.
>  
Only if you switch from dom0 to domU by the 'xm console' command.
If you go up to domU with the command 'xm create -c' you don't get this 
information.
So, the first time i did read about this was a online documentation 
somewhere in the wide wide wide web.
Long time i didn't know about and was wondering about that nothing did 
happen after a domU
was halted. If you than hit enter some times you get back to dom0 but 
you also  get some output
which could confuse people who are new to this (like me i first did use 
xen) :)

> > 6.
> > Maybe a few more words to this part:
> > # Kernel image file. This kernel will be loaded in the new domain.
> > kernel = "/home/bouyer/netbsd-XENU"
> > #kernel = "/home/bouyer/netbsd-INSTALL_XENU"
> >
> > Especially that the second entry is needed to install NetBSD in a new 
> > domU, so the hash should be set to the first entry
> > instead to the second one for installation.
> >    
> This is mentionned later in the howto.
>  
Sure, if a user switch on the brain s/he should understand this.
But it maybe would be easyer for no English speaking people (or German 
meanwhile).
Read and remember what was descirbed before is not simple for all of them.
So, they have to read often twice or more because of this.

> > Also that the 
> > netbsd-INSTALL_XENU kernel is part of the xenkernel20 package.
> >    
> No, it's not. It's part of the i386 binary release.
>  
Oh, is see. I didn't really remember (i have to read my own 
documentations ;))

> > 7.
> > Is it really necessary to show the |/usr/pkg/etc/xen/vif-bridge| for 
> > xvif?.? configuration file?
> > This will available when you did install xentools20. Maybe it is enough 
> > to write down that this file could be found at /usr/pkg/etc/xen.
> >    
> Is it in /usr/pkg/etc/xen or only in /usr/share/examples ?
> I just added a note that there is a working vif-bridge file in the
> xentools20
>  
Yes, as far i remember there are some samples, also this file, in 
/usr/pkg/etc/xen after you install xentools20

> > 8.
> > "load the INSTALL_XENU kernel "
> > exact:
> > "load the netbsd-INSTALL_XENU kernel "
> >    
> netbsd-INSTALL_XENU is the binary provided with a binary distrib, INSTALL_XENU
> is the name of the kernel config file to generate this binary.
> Depends on what we're talking about :)
>  
What i talk about is this part of the howto:
"...an easier way: load the INSTALL_XENU kernel provided in the 
NetBSD/i386 binary sets."
Here is the kernel of the binary meant, not a config file.

> > 9.
> > Maybe a reference to never execute the shutdown command inside a domU
> >    
> Why ? I do this regulary and I didn't notice problems.
>  
Well, you are right. No problem. But if i do so the shutdown seam to 
hang after haltet.
Also when 'powerd=YES' is set in my rc.conf. So, i had to use the 'xm 
destroy' command after this from out
of the dom0. But most the domU completly "switch off" when i use the 'xm 
shutdown -H' command from
out of dom0.

> > //@Manuel:
> > Would it be possible to integrate the command execution of "cd /dev && 
> > sh MAKEDEV xen" into the xentools20,
> >    
> No, because you can install xentools on system which may not run Xen.
> This would break the build on those systems if it's not a NetBSD/i386
>  
Oh, ok.

> > or maybe better into the xenkernel20 installation?
> >    
> I don't use xenkernel20 :)
>  
But me :( ;)

Thanks. I did already learn a lot.

Greetings,
Rainer