1: Introduction
2: ============
3:
4: [![[Xen
5: screenshot]](http://www.netbsd.org/gallery/in-Action/hubertf-xens.png)](../../gallery/in-Action/hubertf-xen.png)
6:
7: Xen is a virtual machine monitor or hypervisor for x86 hardware
8: (i686-class or higher), which supports running multiple guest
9: operating systems on a single physical machine. With Xen, one uses
10: the Xen kernel to control the CPU, memory and console, a dom0
11: operating system which mediates access to other hardware (e.g., disks,
12: network, USB), and one or more domU operating systems which operate in
13: an unprivileged virtualized environment. IO requests from the domU
14: systems are forwarded by the hypervisor (Xen) to the dom0 to be
15: fulfilled.
16:
17: Xen supports two styles of guests. The original is Para-Virtualized
18: (PV) which means that the guest OS does not attempt to access hardware
19: directly, but instead makes hypercalls to the hypervisor. This is
20: analogous to a user-space program making system calls. (The dom0
21: operating system uses PV calls for some functions, such as updating
22: memory mapping page tables, but has direct hardware access for disk
23: and network.) PV guests must be specifically coded for Xen.
24:
25: The more recent style is HVM, which means that the guest does not have
26: code for Xen and need not be aware that it is running under Xen.
27: Attempts to access hardware registers are trapped and emulated. This
28: style is less efficient but can run unmodified guests.
29:
30: Generally any amd64 machine will work with Xen and PV guests. For HVM
31: guests, the VT or VMX cpu feature (Intel) or SVM/HVM/VT (amd64) is
32: needed; "cpuctl identify 0" will show this. TODO: Clean up and check
33: the above features. TODO: Explain if i386 (non-amd64) machines can
34: still be used - I think that witthe requirement to use PAE kernels is
35: about the hypervisor being amd64 only.
36:
37: At boot, the dom0 kernel is loaded as module with Xen as the kernel.
38: The dom0 can start one or more domUs. (Booting is explained in detail
39: in the dom0 section.)
40:
41: NetBSD supports Xen in that it can serve as dom0, be used as a domU,
42: and that Xen kernels and tools are available in pkgsrc. This HOWTO
43: attempts to address both the case of running a NetBSD dom0 on hardware
44: and running NetBSD as a domU in a VPS.
45:
46: Some versions of Xen support "PCI passthrough", which means that
47: specific PCI devices can be made available to a specific domU instead
48: of the dom0. This can be useful to let a domU run X11, or access some
49: network interface or other peripheral.
50:
51: Prerequisites
52: -------------
53:
54: Installing NetBSD/Xen is not extremely difficult, but it is more
55: complex than a normal installation of NetBSD.
56: In general, this HOWTO is occasionally overly restrictive about how
57: things must be done, guiding the reader to stay on the established
58: path when there are no known good reasons to stray.
59:
60: This HOWTO presumes a basic familiarity with the Xen system
61: architecture. This HOWTO presumes familiarity with installing NetBSD
62: on i386/amd64 hardware and installing software from pkgsrc.
63: See also the [Xen website](http://www.xen.org/).
64:
65: History
66: -------
67:
68: NetBSD used to support Xen2; this has been removed.
69:
70: Before NetBSD's native bootloader could support Xen, the use of
71: grub was recommended. If necessary, see the
72: [old grub information](/xen/howto-grub/).
73:
74: Versions of Xen and NetBSD
75: ==========================
76:
77: Most of the installation concepts and instructions are independent of
78: Xen version. This section gives advice on which version to choose.
79: Versions not in pkgsrc and older unsupported versions of NetBSD are
80: inentionally ignored.
81:
82: Xen
83: ---
84:
85: In NetBSD, xen is provided in pkgsrc, via matching pairs of packages
86: xenkernel and xentools. We will refer only to the kernel versions,
87: but note that both packages must be installed together and must have
88: matching versions.
89:
90: xenkernel3 and xenkernel33 provide Xen 3.1 and 3.3. These no longer
91: receive security patches and should not be used. Xen 3.1 supports PCI
92: passthrough.
93:
94: xenkernel41 provides Xen 4.1. This is no longer maintained by Xen,
95: but as of 2014-12 receives backported security patches. It is a
96: reasonable although trailing-edge choice.
97:
98: xenkernel42 provides Xen 4.2. This is maintained by Xen, but old as
99: of 2014-12.
100:
101: Ideally newer versions of Xen will be added to pkgsrc.
102:
103: Note that NetBSD support is called XEN3; it works with 3.1 through
104: 4.2, because the hypercall interface has been stable.
105:
106: Xen command program
107: -------------------
108:
109: Early Xen used a program called "xm" to manipulate the system from the
110: dom0. Starting in 4.1, a replacement program with similar behavior
111: called "xl" is provided. In 4.2, "xm" is no longer available.
112:
113: NetBSD
114: ------
115:
116: The netbsd-5, netbsd-6, netbsd-7, and -current branches are all
117: reasonable choices, with more or less the same considerations for
118: non-Xen use. Therefore, netbsd-6 is recommended as the stable version
119: of the most recent release.
120:
121: As of NetBSD 6, a NetBSD domU will support multiple vcpus. There is
122: no SMP support for NetBSD as dom0. (The dom0 itself doesn't really
123: need SMP; the lack of support is really a problem when using a dom0 as
124: a normal computer.)
125:
126: Architecture
127: ------------
128:
129: Xen is basically amd64 only at this point. One can either run i386
130: domains or amd64 domains. If running i386, PAE versions are required,
131: for both dom0 and domU. These versions are built by default in NetBSD
132: releases. While i386 dom0 works fine, amd64 is recommended as more
133: normal. (Note that emacs (at least) fails if run on i386 with PAE when
134: built without, and vice versa, presumably due to bugs in the undump
135: code.)
136:
137: Recommendation
138: --------------
139:
140: Therefore, this HOWTO recommends running xenkernel42 (and xentools42),
141: xl, the NetBSD 6 stable branch, and to use amd64 as the dom0. Either
142: the i386 or amd64 of NetBSD may be used as domUs.
143:
144: NetBSD as a dom0
145: ================
146:
147: NetBSD can be used as a dom0 and works very well. The following
148: sections address installation, updating NetBSD, and updating Xen.
149: Note that it doesn't make sense to talk about installing a dom0 OS
150: without also installing Xen itself. We first address installing
151: NetBSD, which is not yet a dom0, and then adding Xen, pivoting the
152: NetBSD install to a dom0 install by just changing the kernel and boot
153: configuration.
154:
155: Styles of dom0 operation
156: ------------------------
157:
158: There are two basic ways to use Xen. The traditional method is for
159: the dom0 to do absolutely nothing other than providing support to some
160: number of domUs. Such a system was probably installed for the sole
161: purpose of hosting domUs, and sits in a server room on a UPS.
162:
163: The other way is to put Xen under a normal-usage computer, so that the
164: dom0 is what the computer would have been without Xen, perhaps a
165: desktop or laptop. Then, one can run domUs at will. Purists will
166: deride this as less secure than the previous approach, and for a
167: computer whose purpose is to run domUs, they are right. But Xen and a
168: dom0 (without domUs) is not meaingfully less secure than the same
169: things running without Xen. One can boot Xen or boot regular NetBSD
170: alternately with little problems, simply refraining from starting the
171: Xen daemons when not running Xen.
172:
173: Note that NetBSD as dom0 does not support multiple CPUs. This will
174: limit the performance of the Xen/dom0 workstation approach.
175:
176: Installation of NetBSD
177: ----------------------
178:
179: First,
180: [install NetBSD/amd64](../../docs/guide/en/chap-inst.html)
181: just as you would if you were not using Xen.
182: However, the partitioning approach is very important.
183:
184: If you want to use RAIDframe for the dom0, there are no special issues
185: for Xen. Typically one provides RAID storage for the dom0, and the
186: domU systems are unaware of RAID. The 2nd-stage loader bootxx_* skips
187: over a RAID1 header to find /boot from a filesystem within a RAID
188: partition; this is no different when booting Xen.
189:
190: There are 4 styles of providing backing storage for the virtual disks
191: used by domUs: raw partitions, LVM, file-backed vnd(4), and SAN,
192:
193: With raw partitions, one has a disklabel (or gpt) partition sized for
194: each virtual disk to be used by the domU. (If you are able to predict
195: how domU usage will evolve, please add an explanation to the HOWTO.
196: Seriously, needs tend to change over time.)
197:
198: One can use lvm(8) to create logical devices to use for domU disks.
199: This is almost as efficient sa raw disk partitions and more flexible.
200: Hence raw disk partitions should typically not be used.
201:
202: One can use files in the dom0 filesystem, typically created by dd'ing
203: /dev/zero to create a specific size. This is somewhat less efficient,
204: but very convenient, as one can cp the files for backup, or move them
205: between dom0 hosts.
206:
207: Finally, in theory one can place the files backing the domU disks in a
208: SAN. (This is an invitation for someone who has done this to add a
209: HOWTO page.)
210:
211: Installation of Xen
212: -------------------
213:
214: In the dom0, install sysutils/xenkernel42 and sysutils/xentools42 from
215: pkgsrc (or another matching pair).
216: See [the pkgsrc
217: documentation](http://www.NetBSD.org/docs/pkgsrc/) for help with pkgsrc.
218:
219: For Xen 3.1, support for HVM guests is in sysutils/xentool3-hvm. More
220: recent versions have HVM support integrated in the main xentools
221: package. It is entirely reasonable to run only PV guests.
222:
223: Next you need to install the selected Xen kernel itself, which is
224: installed by pkgsrc as "/usr/pkg/xen*-kernel/xen.gz". Copy it to /.
225: For debugging, one may copy xen-debug.gz; this is conceptually similar
226: to DIAGNOSTIC and DEBUG in NetBSD. xen-debug.gz is basically only
227: useful with a serial console. Then, place a NetBSD XEN3_DOM0 kernel
228: in /, copied from releasedir/amd64/binary/kernel/netbsd-XEN3_DOM0.gz
229: of a NetBSD build. Both xen and NetBSD may be left compressed. (If
230: using i386, use releasedir/i386/binary/kernel/netbsd-XEN3PAE_DOM0.gz.)
231:
232: In a dom0 kernel, kernfs is mandatory for xend to comunicate with the
233: kernel, so ensure that /kern is in fstab.
234:
235: Because you already installed NetBSD, you have a working boot setup
236: with an MBR bootblock, either bootxx_ffsv1 or bootxx_ffsv2 at the
237: beginning of your root filesystem, /boot present, and likely
238: /boot.cfg. (If not, fix before continuing!)
239:
240: See boot.cfg(5) for an example. The basic line is
241:
242: "menu=Xen:load /netbsd-XEN3_DOM0.gz console=pc;multiboot /xen.gz dom0_mem=256M"
243:
244: which specifies that the dom0 should have 256M, leaving the rest to be
245: allocated for domUs.
246:
247: As with non-Xen systems, you should have a line to boot /netbsd (a
248: kernel that works without Xen) and fallback versions of the non-Xen
249: kernel, Xen, and the dom0 kernel.
250:
251: Configuring Xen
252: ---------------
253:
254: Now, you have a system that will boot Xen and the dom0 kernel, and
255: just run the dom0 kernel. There will be no domUs, and none can be
256: started because you still have to configure the dom0 tools.
257:
258: For 3.3 (and probably 3.1), add to rc.conf (but note that you should
259: have installed 4.2):
260: xend=YES
261: xenbackendd=YES
262:
263: For 4.1 and 4.2, add to rc.conf:
264: xend=YES
265: xencommons=YES
266:
267: Updating NetBSD in a dom0
268: -------------------------
269:
270: This is just like updating NetBSD on bare hardware, assuming the new
271: version supports the version of Xen you are running. Generally, one
272: replaces the kernel and reboots, and then overlays userland binaries
273: and adjusts /etc.
274:
275: Note that one must update both the non-Xen kernel typically used for
276: rescue purposes and the DOM0 kernel used with Xen.
277:
278: To convert from grub to /boot, install an mbr bootblock with fdisk,
279: bootxx_ with installboot, /boot and /boot.cfg. This really should be
280: no different than completely reinstalling boot blocks on a non-Xen
281: system.
282:
283: Updating Xen versions
284: ---------------------
285:
286: Updating Xen is conceptually not difficult, but can run into all the
287: issues found when installing Xen. Assuming migration from 4.1 to 4.2,
288: remove the xenkernel41 and xentools41 packages and install the
289: xenkernel42 and xentools42 packages. Copy the 4.2 xen.gz to /.
290:
291: Ensure that the contents of /etc/rc.d/xen* are correct. Enable the
292: correct set of daemons. Ensure that the domU config files are valid
293: for the new version.
294:
295: Creating unprivileged domains (domU)
296: ====================================
297:
298: Creating domUs is almost entirely independent of operating system. We
299: first explain NetBSD, and then differences for Linux and Solaris.
300:
301: Creating an unprivileged NetBSD domain (domU)
302: ---------------------------------------------
303:
304: Once you have *domain0* running, you need to start the xen tool daemon
305: (`/usr/pkg/share/examples/rc.d/xend start`) and the xen backend daemon
306: (`/usr/pkg/share/examples/rc.d/xenbackendd start` for Xen3\*,
307: `/usr/pkg/share/examples/rc.d/xencommons start` for Xen4.\*). Make sure
308: that `/dev/xencons` and `/dev/xenevt` exist before starting `xend`. You
309: can create them with this command:
310:
311: # cd /dev && sh MAKEDEV xen
312:
313: xend will write logs to `/var/log/xend.log` and
314: `/var/log/xend-debug.log`. You can then control xen with the xm tool.
315: 'xm list' will show something like:
316:
317: # xm list
318: Name Id Mem(MB) CPU State Time(s) Console
319: Domain-0 0 64 0 r---- 58.1
320:
321: 'xm create' allows you to create a new domain. It uses a config file in
322: PKG\_SYSCONFDIR for its parameters. By default, this file will be in
323: `/usr/pkg/etc/xen/`. On creation, a kernel has to be specified, which
324: will be executed in the new domain (this kernel is in the *domain0* file
325: system, not on the new domain virtual disk; but please note, you should
326: install the same kernel into *domainU* as `/netbsd` in order to make
327: your system tools, like MAN.SAVECORE.8, work). A suitable kernel is
328: provided as part of the i386 and amd64 binary sets: XEN3\_DOMU.
329:
330: Here is an /usr/pkg/etc/xen/nbsd example config file:
331:
332: # -*- mode: python; -*-
333: #============================================================================
334: # Python defaults setup for 'xm create'.
335: # Edit this file to reflect the configuration of your system.
336: #============================================================================
337:
338: #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
339: # Kernel image file. This kernel will be loaded in the new domain.
340: kernel = "/home/bouyer/netbsd-XEN3_DOMU"
341: #kernel = "/home/bouyer/netbsd-INSTALL_XEN3_DOMU"
342:
343: # Memory allocation (in megabytes) for the new domain.
344: memory = 128
345:
346: # A handy name for your new domain. This will appear in 'xm list',
347: # and you can use this as parameters for xm in place of the domain
348: # number. All domains must have different names.
349: #
350: name = "nbsd"
351:
352: # The number of virtual CPUs this domain has.
353: #
354: vcpus = 1
355:
356: #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
357: # Define network interfaces for the new domain.
358:
359: # Number of network interfaces (must be at least 1). Default is 1.
360: nics = 1
361:
362: # Define MAC and/or bridge for the network interfaces.
363: #
364: # The MAC address specified in ``mac'' is the one used for the interface
365: # in the new domain. The interface in domain0 will use this address XOR'd
366: # with 00:00:00:01:00:00 (i.e. aa:00:00:51:02:f0 in our example). Random
367: # MACs are assigned if not given.
368: #
369: # ``bridge'' is a required parameter, which will be passed to the
370: # vif-script called by xend(8) when a new domain is created to configure
371: # the new xvif interface in domain0.
372: #
373: # In this example, the xvif is added to bridge0, which should have been
374: # set up prior to the new domain being created -- either in the
375: # ``network'' script or using a /etc/ifconfig.bridge0 file.
376: #
377: vif = [ 'mac=aa:00:00:50:02:f0, bridge=bridge0' ]
378:
379: #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
380: # Define the disk devices you want the domain to have access to, and
381: # what you want them accessible as.
382: #
383: # Each disk entry is of the form:
384: #
385: # phy:DEV,VDEV,MODE
386: #
387: # where DEV is the device, VDEV is the device name the domain will see,
388: # and MODE is r for read-only, w for read-write. You can also create
389: # file-backed domains using disk entries of the form:
390: #
391: # file:PATH,VDEV,MODE
392: #
393: # where PATH is the path to the file used as the virtual disk, and VDEV
394: # and MODE have the same meaning as for ``phy'' devices.
395: #
396: # VDEV doesn't really matter for a NetBSD guest OS (it's just used as an index),
397: # but it does for Linux.
398: # Worse, the device has to exist in /dev/ of domain0, because xm will
399: # try to stat() it. This means that in order to load a Linux guest OS
400: # from a NetBSD domain0, you'll have to create /dev/hda1, /dev/hda2, ...
401: # on domain0, with the major/minor from Linux :(
402: # Alternatively it's possible to specify the device number in hex,
403: # e.g. 0x301 for /dev/hda1, 0x302 for /dev/hda2, etc ...
404:
405: disk = [ 'phy:/dev/wd0e,0x1,w' ]
406: #disk = [ 'file:/var/xen/nbsd-disk,0x01,w' ]
407: #disk = [ 'file:/var/xen/nbsd-disk,0x301,w' ]
408:
409: #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
410: # Set the kernel command line for the new domain.
411:
412: # Set root device. This one does matter for NetBSD
413: root = "xbd0"
414: # extra parameters passed to the kernel
415: # this is where you can set boot flags like -s, -a, etc ...
416: #extra = ""
417:
418: #----------------------------------------------------------------------------
419: # Set according to whether you want the domain restarted when it exits.
420: # The default is False.
421: #autorestart = True
422:
423: # end of nbsd config file ====================================================
424:
425: When a new domain is created, xen calls the
426: `/usr/pkg/etc/xen/vif-bridge` script for each virtual network interface
427: created in *domain0*. This can be used to automatically configure the
428: xvif?.? interfaces in *domain0*. In our example, these will be bridged
429: with the bridge0 device in *domain0*, but the bridge has to exist first.
430: To do this, create the file `/etc/ifconfig.bridge0` and make it look
431: like this:
432:
433: create
434: !brconfig $int add ex0 up
435:
436: (replace `ex0` with the name of your physical interface). Then bridge0
437: will be created on boot. See the MAN.BRIDGE.4 man page for details.
438:
439: So, here is a suitable `/usr/pkg/etc/xen/vif-bridge` for xvif?.? (a
440: working vif-bridge is also provided with xentools20) configuring:
441:
442: #!/bin/sh
443: #============================================================================
444: # $NetBSD: howto.mdwn,v 1.22 2014/12/24 01:27:36 gdt Exp $
445: #
446: # /usr/pkg/etc/xen/vif-bridge
447: #
448: # Script for configuring a vif in bridged mode with a dom0 interface.
449: # The xend(8) daemon calls a vif script when bringing a vif up or down.
450: # The script name to use is defined in /usr/pkg/etc/xen/xend-config.sxp
451: # in the ``vif-script'' field.
452: #
453: # Usage: vif-bridge up|down [var=value ...]
454: #
455: # Actions:
456: # up Adds the vif interface to the bridge.
457: # down Removes the vif interface from the bridge.
458: #
459: # Variables:
460: # domain name of the domain the interface is on (required).
461: # vifq vif interface name (required).
462: # mac vif MAC address (required).
463: # bridge bridge to add the vif to (required).
464: #
465: # Example invocation:
466: #
467: # vif-bridge up domain=VM1 vif=xvif1.0 mac="ee:14:01:d0:ec:af" bridge=bridge0
468: #
469: #============================================================================
470:
471: # Exit if anything goes wrong
472: set -e
473:
474: echo "vif-bridge $*"
475:
476: # Operation name.
477: OP=$1; shift
478:
479: # Pull variables in args into environment
480: for arg ; do export "${arg}" ; done
481:
482: # Required parameters. Fail if not set.
483: domain=${domain:?}
484: vif=${vif:?}
485: mac=${mac:?}
486: bridge=${bridge:?}
487:
488: # Optional parameters. Set defaults.
489: ip=${ip:-''} # default to null (do nothing)
490:
491: # Are we going up or down?
492: case $OP in
493: up) brcmd='add' ;;
494: down) brcmd='delete' ;;
495: *)
496: echo 'Invalid command: ' $OP
497: echo 'Valid commands are: up, down'
498: exit 1
499: ;;
500: esac
501:
502: # Don't do anything if the bridge is "null".
503: if [ "${bridge}" = "null" ] ; then
504: exit
505: fi
506:
507: # Don't do anything if the bridge doesn't exist.
508: if ! ifconfig -l | grep "${bridge}" >/dev/null; then
509: exit
510: fi
511:
512: # Add/remove vif to/from bridge.
513: ifconfig x${vif} $OP
514: brconfig ${bridge} ${brcmd} x${vif}
515:
516: Now, running
517:
518: xm create -c /usr/pkg/etc/xen/nbsd
519:
520: should create a domain and load a NetBSD kernel in it. (Note: `-c`
521: causes xm to connect to the domain's console once created.) The kernel
522: will try to find its root file system on xbd0 (i.e., wd0e) which hasn't
523: been created yet. wd0e will be seen as a disk device in the new domain,
524: so it will be 'sub-partitioned'. We could attach a ccd to wd0e in
525: *domain0* and partition it, newfs and extract the NetBSD/i386 or amd64
526: tarballs there, but there's an easier way: load the
527: `netbsd-INSTALL_XEN3_DOMU` kernel provided in the NetBSD binary sets.
528: Like other install kernels, it contains a ramdisk with sysinst, so you
529: can install NetBSD using sysinst on your new domain.
530:
531: If you want to install NetBSD/Xen with a CDROM image, the following line
532: should be used in the `/usr/pkg/etc/xen/nbsd` file:
533:
534: disk = [ 'phy:/dev/wd0e,0x1,w', 'phy:/dev/cd0a,0x2,r' ]
535:
536: After booting the domain, the option to install via CDROM may be
537: selected. The CDROM device should be changed to `xbd1d`.
538:
539: Once done installing, `halt -p` the new domain (don't reboot or halt, it
540: would reload the INSTALL\_XEN3\_DOMU kernel even if you changed the
541: config file), switch the config file back to the XEN3\_DOMU kernel, and
542: start the new domain again. Now it should be able to use `root on xbd0a`
543: and you should have a second, functional NetBSD system on your xen
544: installation.
545:
546: When the new domain is booting you'll see some warnings about *wscons*
547: and the pseudo-terminals. These can be fixed by editing the files
548: `/etc/ttys` and `/etc/wscons.conf`. You must disable all terminals in
549: `/etc/ttys`, except *console*, like this:
550:
551: console "/usr/libexec/getty Pc" vt100 on secure
552: ttyE0 "/usr/libexec/getty Pc" vt220 off secure
553: ttyE1 "/usr/libexec/getty Pc" vt220 off secure
554: ttyE2 "/usr/libexec/getty Pc" vt220 off secure
555: ttyE3 "/usr/libexec/getty Pc" vt220 off secure
556:
557: Finally, all screens must be commented out from `/etc/wscons.conf`.
558:
559: It is also desirable to add
560:
561: powerd=YES
562:
563: in rc.conf. This way, the domain will be properly shut down if
564: `xm shutdown -R` or `xm shutdown -H` is used on the domain0.
565:
566: Your domain should be now ready to work, enjoy.
567:
568: Creating an unprivileged Linux domain (domU)
569: --------------------------------------------
570:
571: Creating unprivileged Linux domains isn't much different from
572: unprivileged NetBSD domains, but there are some details to know.
573:
574: First, the second parameter passed to the disk declaration (the '0x1' in
575: the example below)
576:
577: disk = [ 'phy:/dev/wd0e,0x1,w' ]
578:
579: does matter to Linux. It wants a Linux device number here (e.g. 0x300
580: for hda). Linux builds device numbers as: (major \<\< 8 + minor). So,
581: hda1 which has major 3 and minor 1 on a Linux system will have device
582: number 0x301. Alternatively, devices names can be used (hda, hdb, ...)
583: as xentools has a table to map these names to devices numbers. To export
584: a partition to a Linux guest we can use:
585:
586: disk = [ 'phy:/dev/wd0e,0x300,w' ]
587: root = "/dev/hda1 ro"
588:
589: and it will appear as /dev/hda on the Linux system, and be used as root
590: partition.
591:
592: To install the Linux system on the partition to be exported to the guest
593: domain, the following method can be used: install sysutils/e2fsprogs
594: from pkgsrc. Use mke2fs to format the partition that will be the root
595: partition of your Linux domain, and mount it. Then copy the files from a
596: working Linux system, make adjustments in `/etc` (fstab, network
597: config). It should also be possible to extract binary packages such as
598: .rpm or .deb directly to the mounted partition using the appropriate
599: tool, possibly running under NetBSD's Linux emulation. Once the
600: filesystem has been populated, umount it. If desirable, the filesystem
601: can be converted to ext3 using tune2fs -j. It should now be possible to
602: boot the Linux guest domain, using one of the vmlinuz-\*-xenU kernels
603: available in the Xen binary distribution.
604:
605: To get the linux console right, you need to add:
606:
607: extra = "xencons=tty1"
608:
609: to your configuration since not all linux distributions auto-attach a
610: tty to the xen console.
611:
612: Creating an unprivileged Solaris domain (domU)
613: ----------------------------------------------
614:
615: Download an Opensolaris [release](http://opensolaris.org/os/downloads/)
616: or [development snapshot](http://genunix.org/) DVD image. Attach the DVD
617: image to a MAN.VND.4 device. Copy the kernel and ramdisk filesystem
618: image to your dom0 filesystem.
619:
620: dom0# mkdir /root/solaris
621: dom0# vnconfig vnd0 osol-1002-124-x86.iso
622: dom0# mount /dev/vnd0a /mnt
623:
624: ## for a 64-bit guest
625: dom0# cp /mnt/boot/amd64/x86.microroot /root/solaris
626: dom0# cp /mnt/platform/i86xpv/kernel/amd64/unix /root/solaris
627:
628: ## for a 32-bit guest
629: dom0# cp /mnt/boot/x86.microroot /root/solaris
630: dom0# cp /mnt/platform/i86xpv/kernel/unix /root/solaris
631:
632: dom0# umount /mnt
633:
634:
635: Keep the MAN.VND.4 configured. For some reason the boot process stalls
636: unless the DVD image is attached to the guest as a "phy" device. Create
637: an initial configuration file with the following contents. Substitute
638: */dev/wd0k* with an empty partition at least 8 GB large.
639:
640: memory = 640
641: name = 'solaris'
642: disk = [ 'phy:/dev/wd0k,0,w' ]
643: disk += [ 'phy:/dev/vnd0d,6:cdrom,r' ]
644: vif = [ 'bridge=bridge0' ]
645: kernel = '/root/solaris/unix'
646: ramdisk = '/root/solaris/x86.microroot'
647: # for a 64-bit guest
648: extra = '/platform/i86xpv/kernel/amd64/unix - nowin -B install_media=cdrom'
649: # for a 32-bit guest
650: #extra = '/platform/i86xpv/kernel/unix - nowin -B install_media=cdrom'
651:
652:
653: Start the guest.
654:
655: dom0# xm create -c solaris.cfg
656: Started domain solaris
657: v3.3.2 chgset 'unavailable'
658: SunOS Release 5.11 Version snv_124 64-bit
659: Copyright 1983-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
660: Use is subject to license terms.
661: Hostname: opensolaris
662: Remounting root read/write
663: Probing for device nodes ...
664: WARNING: emlxs: ddi_modopen drv/fct failed: err 2
665: Preparing live image for use
666: Done mounting Live image
667:
668:
669: Make sure the network is configured. Note that it can take a minute for
670: the xnf0 interface to appear.
671:
672: opensolaris console login: jack
673: Password: jack
674: Sun Microsystems Inc. SunOS 5.11 snv_124 November 2008
675: jack@opensolaris:~$ pfexec sh
676: sh-3.2# ifconfig -a
677: sh-3.2# exit
678:
679:
680: Set a password for VNC and start the VNC server which provides the X11
681: display where the installation program runs.
682:
683: jack@opensolaris:~$ vncpasswd
684: Password: solaris
685: Verify: solaris
686: jack@opensolaris:~$ cp .Xclients .vnc/xstartup
687: jack@opensolaris:~$ vncserver :1
688:
689:
690: From a remote machine connect to the VNC server. Use `ifconfig xnf0` on
691: the guest to find the correct IP address to use.
692:
693: remote$ vncviewer 172.18.2.99:1
694:
695:
696: It is also possible to launch the installation on a remote X11 display.
697:
698: jack@opensolaris:~$ export DISPLAY=172.18.1.1:0
699: jack@opensolaris:~$ pfexec gui-install
700:
701:
702: After the GUI installation is complete you will be asked to reboot.
703: Before that you need to determine the ZFS ID for the new boot filesystem
704: and update the configuration file accordingly. Return to the guest
705: console.
706:
707: jack@opensolaris:~$ pfexec zdb -vvv rpool | grep bootfs
708: bootfs = 43
709: ^C
710: jack@opensolaris:~$
711:
712:
713: The final configuration file should look like this. Note in particular
714: the last line.
715:
716: memory = 640
717: name = 'solaris'
718: disk = [ 'phy:/dev/wd0k,0,w' ]
719: vif = [ 'bridge=bridge0' ]
720: kernel = '/root/solaris/unix'
721: ramdisk = '/root/solaris/x86.microroot'
722: extra = '/platform/i86xpv/kernel/amd64/unix -B zfs-bootfs=rpool/43,bootpath="/xpvd/xdf@0:a"'
723:
724:
725: Restart the guest to verify it works correctly.
726:
727: dom0# xm destroy solaris
728: dom0# xm create -c solaris.cfg
729: Using config file "./solaris.cfg".
730: v3.3.2 chgset 'unavailable'
731: Started domain solaris
732: SunOS Release 5.11 Version snv_124 64-bit
733: Copyright 1983-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
734: Use is subject to license terms.
735: WARNING: emlxs: ddi_modopen drv/fct failed: err 2
736: Hostname: osol
737: Configuring devices.
738: Loading smf(5) service descriptions: 160/160
739: svccfg import warnings. See /var/svc/log/system-manifest-import:default.log .
740: Reading ZFS config: done.
741: Mounting ZFS filesystems: (6/6)
742: Creating new rsa public/private host key pair
743: Creating new dsa public/private host key pair
744:
745: osol console login:
746:
747:
748: Using PCI devices in guest domains
749: ----------------------------------
750:
751: The domain0 can give other domains access to selected PCI devices. This
752: can allow, for example, a non-privileged domain to have access to a
753: physical network interface or disk controller. However, keep in mind
754: that giving a domain access to a PCI device most likely will give the
755: domain read/write access to the whole physical memory, as PCs don't have
756: an IOMMU to restrict memory access to DMA-capable device. Also, it's not
757: possible to export ISA devices to non-domain0 domains (which means that
758: the primary VGA adapter can't be exported. A guest domain trying to
759: access the VGA registers will panic).
760:
761: This functionality is only available in NetBSD-5.1 (and later) domain0
762: and domU. If the domain0 is NetBSD, it has to be running Xen 3.1, as
763: support has not been ported to later versions at this time.
764:
765: For a PCI device to be exported to a domU, is has to be attached to the
766: `pciback` driver in domain0. Devices passed to the domain0 via the
767: pciback.hide boot parameter will attach to `pciback` instead of the
768: usual driver. The list of devices is specified as `(bus:dev.func)`,
769: where bus and dev are 2-digit hexadecimal numbers, and func a
770: single-digit number:
771:
772: pciback.hide=(00:0a.0)(00:06.0)
773:
774: pciback devices should show up in the domain0's boot messages, and the
775: devices should be listed in the `/kern/xen/pci` directory.
776:
777: PCI devices to be exported to a domU are listed in the `pci` array of
778: the domU's config file, with the format `'0000:bus:dev.func'`
779:
780: pci = [ '0000:00:06.0', '0000:00:0a.0' ]
781:
782: In the domU an `xpci` device will show up, to which one or more pci
783: busses will attach. Then the PCI drivers will attach to PCI busses as
784: usual. Note that the default NetBSD DOMU kernels do not have `xpci` or
785: any PCI drivers built in by default; you have to build your own kernel
786: to use PCI devices in a domU. Here's a kernel config example:
787:
788: include "arch/i386/conf/XEN3_DOMU"
789: #include "arch/i386/conf/XENU" # in NetBSD 3.0
790:
791: # Add support for PCI busses to the XEN3_DOMU kernel
792: xpci* at xenbus ?
793: pci* at xpci ?
794:
795: # Now add PCI and related devices to be used by this domain
796: # USB Controller and Devices
797:
798: # PCI USB controllers
799: uhci* at pci? dev ? function ? # Universal Host Controller (Intel)
800:
801: # USB bus support
802: usb* at uhci?
803:
804: # USB Hubs
805: uhub* at usb?
806: uhub* at uhub? port ? configuration ? interface ?
807:
808: # USB Mass Storage
809: umass* at uhub? port ? configuration ? interface ?
810: wd* at umass?
811: # SCSI controllers
812: ahc* at pci? dev ? function ? # Adaptec [23]94x, aic78x0 SCSI
813:
814: # SCSI bus support (for both ahc and umass)
815: scsibus* at scsi?
816:
817: # SCSI devices
818: sd* at scsibus? target ? lun ? # SCSI disk drives
819: cd* at scsibus? target ? lun ? # SCSI CD-ROM drives
820:
821: Links and further information
822: =============================
823:
824: - The [HowTo on Installing into RAID-1](http://mail-index.NetBSD.org/port-xen/2006/03/01/0010.html)
825: explains how to set up booting a dom0 with Xen using grub
826: with NetBSD's RAIDframe. (This is obsolete with the use of
827: NetBSD's native boot.)
828: - An example of how to use NetBSD's native bootloader to load
829: NetBSD/Xen instead of Grub can be found in the i386/amd64 boot(8)
830: and boot.cfg(5) manpages.
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