[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] [Xen-changelog] [xen-unstable] docs: update xl-disk-configuration.txt to describe new syntax
# HG changeset patch # User Ian Jackson <ian.jackson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> # Date 1309259953 -3600 # Node ID e13db1e55971a97c2045e17a09c2d7ce8f8e9800 # Parent 8510fe013fdb4edd0977fffea092b92abfa8a39c docs: update xl-disk-configuration.txt to describe new syntax Signed-off-by: Ian Jackson <ian.jackson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Committed-by: Ian Jackson <Ian.Jackson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> --- diff -r 8510fe013fdb -r e13db1e55971 docs/misc/xl-disk-configuration.txt --- a/docs/misc/xl-disk-configuration.txt Tue Jun 28 12:19:12 2011 +0100 +++ b/docs/misc/xl-disk-configuration.txt Tue Jun 28 12:19:13 2011 +0100 @@ -1,57 +1,98 @@ + --------------------- + XL DISK CONFIGURATION + --------------------- +This document specifies the xl config file format disk configuration +option. It has the following form: - ---------------------------- - xl Disk Configuration Option - ---------------------------- + disk = [ '<diskspec>', '<diskspec>', ... ] -This document provides a brief description of xl disk configuration -option, different attributes that can be passed through it and the -format in which they need to be specified. +where each diskspec is in this form: + + [<key>=<value>|<flag>,]*, + [<target>, [<format>, [<vdev>, [<access>]]]], + [<key>=<value>|<flag>,]* + [target=<target>] -At a higher level, xl disk configuration option takes the following -format: - disk = [ '[format:][path],vdev[:type],attrib', - '[format:][path],vdev[:type],attrib', ... ] +For example, these strings are equivalent: -Not all attributes are required (the attributes enclosed within square -brackets above are optional) and some are deprecated. Following is a -brief description of each of the attribute along with information on -whether or not they are mandatory. + /dev/vg/guest-volume,,hda + /dev/vg/guest-volume,raw,hda,rw + format=raw, vdev=hda, access=rw, target=/dev/vg/guest-volume + raw:/dev/vg/guest-volume,hda,w (deprecated, see below) +As are these: ------------------- -Attribute Details ------------------- + /root/image.iso,,hdc,cdrom + /root/image.iso,,hdc,,cdrom + /root/image.iso,raw,hdc,devtype=cdrom + format=raw, vdev=hdc, access=ro, devtype=cdrom, target=/root/image.iso + raw:/root/image.iso,hdc:cdrom,ro (deprecated, see below) +These might be specified in the domain config file like this: -format: + disk = [ '/dev/vg/guest-volume,,hda', '/root/image.iso,,hdc,cdrom' ] + + +More formally, the string is a series of comma-separated keyword/value +pairs, flags and positional parameters. Parameters which are not bare +keywords and which do not contain "=" symbols are assigned to the +so-far-unspecified positional parameters, in the order below. The +positional parameters may also be specified explicitly by name. + +Each parameter may be specified at most once, either as a positional +parameter or a named parameter. Default values apply if the parameter +is not specified, or if it is specified with an empty value (whether +positionally or explicitly). + +Whitespace may appear before each parameter and will be ignored. + + +===================== +POSITIONAL PARAMETERS +===================== + +target +------ + +Description: Block device or image file path. When this is + used as a path, /dev will be prepended + if the path doesn't start with a '/'. +Supported values: N/A +Deprecated values: N/A +Default value: None. While a path is provided in most cases + there is an exception: for a cdrom device, lack + of this attribute would imply an empty cdrom + drive. + +Special syntax: + + When this parameter is specified by name, ie with the "target=" + syntax in the configuration file, it consumes the whole rest of the + <diskspec>. Therefore in that case it must come last. This is + permissible even if an empty value for the target was already + specifed as a positional parameter. This is the only way to + specify a target string containing metacharacters such as commas + and (in some cases) colons, which would otherwise be + misinterpreted. + + Future parameter and flag names will start with an ascii letter and + contain only ascii alphanumerics, hyphens and underscores, and will + not be legal as vdevs. Targets which might match that syntax + should not be specified as positional parameters. + + +format ------ Description: Specifies the format of image file. Supported values: raw, qcow, qcow2, vhd Deprecated values: None -Mandatory: No. When not specified raw format is assumed. - For a physical block device the format must be - raw and need not be explicitly specified. For - an image file the format could be one of the - supported values and when not specified assumed - to be raw. -path: ----- +Default value: raw -Description: Block device or image file path. For a - physical block device a /dev will be prepended - when not specified and when the path doesn't - start with a '/'. -Supported values: N/A -Deprecated values: N/A -Mandatory: No. While a path is provided in most cases - there is an exception. For a cdrom device, lack - of this attribute would imply an empty cdrom - drive. -vdev: +vdev ---- Description: Virtual device as seen by the guest (also @@ -60,95 +101,105 @@ Supported values: hd[x], xvd[x], sd[x] etc. Please refer to the above specification for further details. Deprecated values: None -Mandatory: Yes +Default Value: None, this parameter is mandatory. -type: ----- + +access +------- + +Description: Specified access control information. Whether + or not the block device is provided to the + guest in read-only or read-write mode depends + on this attribute. +Supported values: ro, r (specifies read-only) + rw, w (specifies read/write) +Deprecated values: None +Default value: rw + unless devtype=cdrom, in which case r + + + +========================== +OTHER PARAMETERS AND FLAGS +========================== + + +devtype=<devtype> +----------------- Description: Qualifies virtual device type. Supported values: cdrom Deprecated values: None Mandatory: No -attrib: ------- -Description: Specified access control information. Whether - or not the block device is provided to the - guest in read-only or read-write mode depends - on this attribute. -Supported values: 'r', 'w' -Deprecated values: None -Mandatory: Yes +cdrom +----- +Convenience alias for "devtype=cdrom". --------------- -Example usages --------------- -disk = [ 'vhd:/path/to/dev,hda,w', '/path/to/iso,hdc:cdrom,r' ] -disk = [ 'path/to/phy/dev,hda,w', '/dev/cdrom,hdc:cdrom,r' ] -disk = [ 'qcow:/path/to/file,hda,w' ] -disk = [ 'qcow2:/path/to/file,hda,w', 'raw:/path/to/dev,hdc:cdrom,r' ] - - -------------------------- -Miscellaneous Information -------------------------- - ---------------------- -Deprecated Attributes ---------------------- - -Deprecated values are acceptable and will work the way they did -earlier except with a warning message printed to the xl log or screen. -However it's usage is supported purely for backward compatibility -purpose and not recommended. Also, support for these deprecated -attributes are likely to be dropped in future versions of xl. - -The block-dev-type and access-type deprecated attributes described -below are prepended to the format attribute. Example - tap:aio:qcow -Further details on the deprecated attributes are below: - -block-dev-type: --------------- - -Description: Specifies the block device type. -Supported values: phy,file, tap, tap2 - -access-type: ------------ - -Description: Backend implementation option to choose from - while accessing block device. - Example: tap:aio:vhd:/path/to/file -Supported values: 'aio', 'tapdisk', 'ioemu' - ---------------------- -Impementation Details ---------------------- - -Backend Details: +script=<script> --------------- -For 'phy' block device type, blkback is always used as the backend. -When the running dom0 instance does not support blkback, block device -access will fail. For block device type 'file' with format raw or -when no format specfied, tapdisk2 is used when present otherwise qemu -fallback option is used. For 'file', 'tap' or 'tap2' block device -type with format 'vhd', only tapdisk2 is used as qemu does not support -vhd format. Absence of tapdisk2 support in this case will result in -failure. When it comes to image format and how that affects the -backend choice, for qcow/qcow2 qemu backend is used as tapdisk2 does -not work with these formats. For raw format image file, tapdisk2 is -used and when not available qemu backend is used as fallback. For vhd -format, as mentioned earlier tapdisk2 is used and tapdisk2 -unavailability will result in failure as qemu fallback option does not -support vhd file format. +Specifies that <target> is not a normal host path, but rather +information to be interpreted by /etc/xen/scripts/block-<script>. +================================== +DEPRECATED PARAMETERS AND PREFIXES +================================== +Deprecated values are acceptable and are intended work compatibly with +xend and xl from xen 4.1. In future they may print a warning. +Support for deprecated parameters and syntaxes are likely to be +dropped in future versions of xl. +There is also support for a deprecated old syntax for <diskspec>: + [<format>:][<target>],<vdev>[:<devtype>],<access> (deprecated) +This syntax also supports deprecated prefixes, described below. These +are found prepended to the format parameter - eg "tap:aio:qcow:". + + +<format>: +--------- + +Description: Specifies the format (deprecated) +Supported values: raw: qcow2: vhd: + +In xend and old versions of libxl it was necessary to specify the +format with a prefix. For compatibility, these three prefixes are +recognised as specifying the corresponding format. They are +equivalent to "format=<format>" or the specification of <format> +(without a colon) as a positional parameter. + + +<script>: +--------- + +Description: Specifies the script (deprecated) +Supported values: iscsi: nbd: enbd: drbd: + +In xend and old versions of libxl it was necessary to specify the +"script" (see above) with a prefix. For compatibility, these four +prefixes are recognised as specifying the corresponding script. They +are equivalent to "script=<script>". + + +<deprecated-prefix>: +-------------------- + +Description; Deprecated prefix, ignored +Supported values: tapdisk: tap2: aio: ioemu: file: phy: + +Various prefixes were required by xend and older versions of libxl to +make the block devices work. In some cases these options would +override the backend type, but in other cases they would be ignored in +favour of "making it work"; in yet other cases it would be necessary +to specify several of these, for example: + "tap:aio:/some/path..." + +All of these prefixes are now stripped and ignored. _______________________________________________ Xen-changelog mailing list Xen-changelog@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.xensource.com/xen-changelog
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