[Xen-users] Clone self-contained domU's

["Ferreira, N. L. (Nuno)" <n.l.ferreira@xxxxx>]

Dear *, again

My goal:
install a PV self-contained guest (i.e. kernel on domU with guest config 
file using pygrub as bootloader) inside LVM logical volumes on dom0, and 
use it as a pristine template for other VM's
What I did till now, just for reference (LVM already in place as well as 
needed LV's) :
  
   domU installation
1 - virt-install -n vm1 --nographics -p -f  /dev/vgxen/vm1 -l 
http://..... -r 1024
2 - xm create -c vm1 [runs ok]

   domU tweekings (with Fajar's help)
1 - xm shutdown vm1
2 - kpartx -av /dev/vgxen/vm1
3 - mount /dev/mapper/vm1p1 /mnt/vgxen/vm1
4 - cd /mnt/vgxen/vm1; and tweek things here
5 - cd; umount /mnt/vgxen/vm1
6 - kpartx -dv /dev/vgxen/vm1


So far so good.
And now here's my naive question.
What's the best way to clone this self-contained domU, and populate 
another, say, logical volume?
Some weeks ago, I played a bit with another guest installer, xen-strap. 
The goal was the same as stated in the beginning of this e-mail. This 
xen-strap does not create create a new partition inside the final 
container, which was a logical volume. It was easy to clone this LV. I 
used the same ideas as explained in the LVM manual 
(http://www.linux.org/docs/ldp/howto/LVM-HOWTO/snapshotintro.html) i.e., 
produced a clone of the LV,  mounted it, tared the contents of the 
mounted clone device, and then dumped it to a new LV. And that was it.
I tried to do the same here for this vm1 domU, but after dumping the tar 
contents and booting the new box (vm2), I get a kernel panic. I 
understand that while with xen-strap installed OS to a domU without 
creating a partition, virt-install creates a partition. And thus in 
order to work/assess/manage/clone with this virt-install(ed) domU should 
be different.
I suppose theres's an easy way to produce a self-contained domU, without 
the need to actually have to create a new partition (say ext3) inside my 
LVM logical volume.
Best,
Nuno




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