RE: [Xen-users] storage is not detected during guest OS install

["Dustin Henning" <Dustin.Henning@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

        xvda is a xen block device, hda is a qemu block device, both are raw
block devices, but devices require drivers to access.  There is also a xen
networking device in HVM domains, but both the xen block devices and the xen
networking devices are paravirtual devices which require drivers that aren't
natively included in older kernels and other operating systems (such as
Windows, wherein James Harper provides a GPLPV driver often discussed on
this list).  With the xen devices, performance will be better, but with the
qemu ones, standard basic drivers work because the hardware being emulated
is very common.  Hopefully that makes sense.  Regarding whatever you are
running, it might be that you could create a new initrd with the pv drivers
for better performance, depending on whether your kernel has them included
as modules (since they obviously aren't included within the kernel).  Good
luck with Xen,
        Dustin

-----Original Message-----
From: xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Barny Kadlecsik
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 11:53
To: xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Xen-users] storage is not detected during guest OS install

Thanks Dustin, it works if I define the storage as "hda", both with file 
and ext3 partitioned FS storage. Just as curiosity, you wrote that "the 
operating systems you are trying to install do not have PV drivers". 
What do you mean exactly? I always thought that logical volumes are 
presented as "raw" block devices (like an unpartitioned hard disk) by 
Xen to the guest systems. Or you mean that the given guest OS cannot 
handle physical volumes? It seems strange, because Oracle's Enterprise 
Linux installs LVM by default, so it should use without any fuss.

Thanks again for your help!


Barny



Dustin Henning wrote:
>       Assuming that the log message you found does not indicate an issue,
> it would appear that the problem could be that the operating systems you
are
> trying to install do not have PV drivers.  Try changing this:
> disk = [
>
'file:/xenimagefs/debmed.img,xvda1,w','file:/xenimagefs/debian-502-amd64-net
> inst.iso,hdc:cdrom,r' ]
>       to this:
> disk = [
>
'file:/xenimagefs/debmed.img,xvda,w','file:/xenimagefs/debian-502-amd64-neti
> nst.iso,hdc:cdrom,r' ]
>       and then this:
> disk = [
>
'file:/xenimagefs/debmed.img,hda,w','file:/xenimagefs/debian-502-amd64-netin
> st.iso,hdc:cdrom,r' ]
>       Note that I am assuming that debmed.img is blank or a partitioned
> image, if it is an image that is not partitioned, the above will not work,
> but I am not certain that you can provide a partition instead of a disk
> image to an HVM domU anyway.
>       Dustin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:xen-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Barny
Kadlecsik
> Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 15:52
> To: xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Xen-users] storage is not detected during guest OS install
>
> Hello,
>
>
> I am running Xen (3.2-1-amd64) on Debian (Lenny) and have the following 
> problem. I installed Openfiler (from tarball) and works like a charm, 
> both with file and logical volume backed storage. However, when I tried 
> to run Enterprise Linux (Oracle), no matter how and which kind of 
> storage was defined for the guest system, it didn't recognize during 
> install. I also tried to install Debian, same problem. Neither logical 
> volume, nor file based storage detected during install, so even if both 
> of the guest systems are booting flawlessly, practically I'm with a 
> diskless system. This is the config file I used with Debian:
>
> ------------------------------------------------------
> name            =       'debmed'
> kernel          =       '/usr/lib/xen-3.2-1/boot/hvmloader'
> builder         =       'hvm'
> bootloader      =       '/usr/lib/xen-3.2-1/bin/pygrub'
> memory          =       '512'
> disk            =       [ 'file:/xenimagefs/debmed.img,xvda1,w',
>                           
> 'file:/xenimagefs/debian-502-amd64-netinst.iso,hdc:cdrom,r' ]
> boot            =       'dc'
> vif             =       [ "mac=00:3e:3e:3e:3e:75,bridge=eth0,type=ioemu" ]
> on_poweroff     =       'destroy'
> on_reboot       =       'restart'
> on_crash        =       'restart'
> vnc=1
> vnclisten="0.0.0.0"
> vncdisplay=1
> vncconsole=1
> vncdisplay      =       '3'
> vncpasswd=''
> ------------------------------------------------------
>
> No useful hints in the logs, except this one (it means nothing to me, 
> but maybe rings a bell for somebody):
>
> "I/O request not ready: 0, ptr: 0, port: 0, data: 0, count: 0, size: 0"
>
> This is the last entry after booting the guest OS, I always got this one 
> whether I tried to use logical volume as storage, or file. Since I 
> almost has no experience with Xen, chances are that I did something 
> wrong; all hints/comments are appreciated!
>
>
> Barny
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Xen-users mailing list
> Xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
>
>
>
>   


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