Re: Xen 4.2 added to pkgsrc

[Miguel Clara <miguelmclara%gmail.com@localhost>]

On Wed, May 15, 2013 at 10:26 AM, Christoph Egger
<Christoph_Egger%gmx.de@localhost> wrote:
> On 15.05.13 10:30, Jean-Yves Migeon wrote:
>> Le 15/05/2013 09:18, jnemeth%victoria.tc.ca@localhost a écrit :
>>> I've just committed sysutils/xenkernel42 and sysutils/xentools42.
>>> They have had fairly extensive testing, but they are just initial
>>> commits.  I've added them so that people can test them, break them,
>>> improve them, etc.
>>
>> Thanks for your work!
>>
>>>      Note that xm/xend is deprecated but they do still work.  xl is
>>> working in this version.  But, I've only tested it with file backed
>>> vbds.  I haven't tested it with LVM or raw partitions.
>>>
>>>      Major things that don't work yet are HVM and grant tables.  The
>>> issue with HVM is that Qemu wasn't compiling, and I just commented it
>>> out in order to move forward.  The issue with grant tables is that it
>>> appears that the interface has changed and I haven't fully adapted the
>>> code.
>>>
>>>      So, have at it.  Let me know what breaks.  Patches would be
>>> greatly appreciated (or just commit if you have cvs access).
>>> Otherwise, I need enough details on what breaks in order to
>>> duplicate/fix the problem.
>>>
>>>      One thing to note is that Xen 4.3.0rc1 was released a week ago.
>>> This raises the question of whether to spend a lot of time working on
>>> improving the Xen 4.2 packages, or switch to starting work on the Xen
>>> 4.3 packages?  Any thoughts on this question?
>>
>> That depends on the portability efforts of your patches from 4.2 to 4.3
>> (that remark will not help you much, I know).
>>
>> Regarding 4.3, there are a few things that will definitely impact NetBSD
>> in terms of integration:
>> - PCI passthru is closer to the upstreamed QEMU (and also KVM); the
>> upstreaming will likely require patches to adapt to this change in
>> xpci(4) and pciback(4) (hence: more patches);
>> - CD insertion/ejection through xl (unknown impact on PV guests);
>> - the cpuidle feature does not require ACPI magic from dom0 anymore, so
>> those that use Xen on a laptop (my case for example) will have an easier
>> time with heat and battery consumption. No patch required, only testing
>> (which I can easily do: booting it on my laptop).
>
> I prefer to test Xen 4.3 and get patches upstream rather into pkgsrc
> before Xen 4.3 release is out!
>
> Christoph
>

I agree 100% with this!
I've tried myself to compile it but I see some patches need to be
done, I'll be happy to help testing!


>>
>> Although 4.3 provides notable improvements, I would not rush into it
>> instead of 4.2. The modifications affect other areas than those you had
>> to patch in 4.2, and getting 4.2 working decently first (especially
>> xl...) is a better choice IMHO.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>