Re: [Xen-users] Ubuntu 8.04 DomU crash

[Chris 'Xenon' Hanson <xenon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thiago Camargo Martins Cordeiro wrote:
> The easy/fast way that I know to stabilize Ubuntu under Xen is:
> echo "deb http://ftp.br.debian.org/debian lenny main" >>
> /etc/apt/sources.list
> aptitude update
> aptitude install linux-image-2.6.26-2-xen-686
>  And configure the Debian Linux kernel within your domU...
>  OpenSUSE kernel its great too, but it isn't a debianified package.

  I just wanted to follow up and document what I ended up doing, for anyone 
else who runs
into it.

  I tried the suggestion above, but I became worried when it wanted to update 
libc and
warned about a bunch of other packages it thought should be updated but wasn't 
going to
update. having been burned by libc mismatches in the past, I decided not to 
perform the
update from within the DomU, and instead pursue manually updating the kernel 
that Xen uses
to launch the DomU (but which is stored within the Dom0).

  I manually downloaded the kernel and modules packages within the Dom0, and 
took them
apart with ar and tar. I placed the kernel where it would be accessible to xm 
create in
the Dom0, then copied the kernel AND the modules folder over to their proper 
locations
within the DomU. I updated the initramfs with update-initramfs -c, and copied 
the
resulting ramdisk filesystem back to the Dom0 (where xen launches it from).

  Then, I changed my DomU config file to point to the new kernel and initrd 
files, and
stopped and restarted the DomU.

  It seems to be working well, and I haven't had a crash in a few days.

  As far as why I'm not using pygrub or pvgrub to launch the DomU, I had heard 
(perhaps
erroneously) from other users that this was a security risk -- that storing the 
kernel
where it is potentially writable from within the DomU was a bit of a violation 
of the
virtualization principle, since it is code that the Dom0 sort of runs. I know 
some Xen VPS
ISPs won't allow you to supply your own kernel for security reasons. This could 
be a whole
different discussion if anyone wanted to reflect on it.

  Anyway, thanks to all for the assistance, and I hope this info helps others. 
I wish
Ubuntu 8.04 had a Xen-stable kernel right out of the box, as it would save a 
lot of
trouble. Actually, first-class Xen support from later Ubuntu releases would be 
even better.


-- 
Chris 'Xenon' Hanson, omo sanza lettere                  Xenon AlphaPixel.com
PixelSense Landsat processing now available! http://www.alphapixel.com/demos/
"There is no Truth. There is only Perception. To Perceive is to Exist." - Xen

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