Re: Xen HVM's on raw disk partitions

[Tobias Nygren <tnn%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

On Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:28:51 -0600
eric%cirr.com@localhost (Eric Schnoebelen) wrote:

> Emperical evidence suggests that it is impossible to put an Xen
> HVM on a raw disk (r?d?*) partition.  Only a file backed disk image will
> work.
> 
> Having had success with running NetBSD DomU's on a raw disk
> partition (marked as type CCD in the disklabel), I'd like to do
> the same for HVM systems.
> 
> My software:
> 
>       NetBSD egsner.cirr.com 5.99.27 NetBSD 5.99.27 (XEN3_DOM0) #0: Tue Apr 
> 13 00:12:10 CDT 2010  
> eric%bob-the-builder.cirr.com@localhost:/work/eric/NetBSD-current/obj/amd64/sys/arch/amd64/compile/XEN3_DOM0
>  amd64
> 
>       xentools33-3.3.2nb5
>       xenkernel33-3.3.2nb1
> 
> Is there a way to use raw partitions for HVM's?  Is it a bug in
> the qemu back end driver, or somewhere else?

Works for me, like below. But I do recall having had issues with it.
I think it only worked with /dev/rsd0d, not /dev/sd0d.

kernel='/usr/pkg/lib/xen/boot/hvmloader'
builder='hvm'
memory='384'
device_model='/usr/pkg/libexec/qemu-dm'
name='svartkonst'
vif=['bridge=bridge1,type=ioemu,model=e1000']
disk=['phy:/dev/rsd0d,hda,w']
boot='c'
serial='pty'

-Tobias