Re: [Xen-users] xen-4.9.0 and cdrom block-attach/-detach

[squidmobile@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

03 nov 2017

>> greetings xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxx,
>>
>> i ran into a problem adding and removing cdrom images from a
>> xen-4.9.0 vm.  i put a series of commands into a shell script, ran
>> a script command, and captured the output from ksh -xv.
>>
>> i figure these errors propagate through to the vm so that it sees
>> neither the disk removal nor the new disk attachment.
:>
>> i noticed the cdrom did NOT add a .../script = entry similar to the
>> disk test, so i ran an experiment and manually added a similar
>> xenstore entry.  however, the block-detach commmand failed as
>> before.
>>
>> any comments or suggestions?

> Why do you want to add hdd as a cdrom?

i cloned the cdrom (iso9660) to a disk image.  for example, on
domain0:
  dd if=/dev/sr0 of=linux.iso bs=1k
  cmp   /dev/sr0    linux.iso
the block-attach requires some variant of:
  <file path>, raw, hdd,  ro, cdrom
  <file path>, raw, sdd,  ro, cdrom
  <file path>, raw, xvdd, ro, cdrom
i can then boot the vm from the cd image or install packages as
necessary.  i use variants of these commands to install linux into
my vm's.

i chose hdd/sdd/xvdd because i already attached two disks to the
ata bus.  i favor *d, because i prefer to put my disks on the ata
bus at locations 0-0 (hda/sda/xvda), 0-1 (*b), and maybe 1-0 (*c).
that leaves the last slot (1-1) for the cdrom.  in rare situations,
i sometimes attach a second cdrom at 1-0.

i used *d as a test to log the errors from the attach and detach
commands.  to me, the important part came from the error dialog.
WHY did the block-detach command fail for the cdrom image?  why did
it work when it thought it was a disk image?  what did xen expect
to happen that did not?  did i set something up wrong?  do i need
to adjust an out-of-the-box xen script?  what does it take to get
a clean eject of the vm's cdrom device?

from a guest os perspective, i'm not sure it makes much difference
between hdd and sdd.  however, it could make a great deal of
difference with xvdd, assuming the guest os ran pv instead of hvm.

> Could you add an empty cdrom to the domain config file, then use
> `xl cd-insert` and `xl cd-eject` instead of block-attach and
> block-detach?

i suppose it would have made a difference, had i known about the
xl cd-insert or cd-eject commands.  somehow, that one slid
completely by me.  checking on that is VERY definitely on my todo
list when i get home.

i've tried an empty cdrom using a line similar to this:
  , raw, hdd, ro, cdrom
with the block-detach/-attach commands, i usually have to detach
the empty cdrom device, attach the flat file, and reboot the vm.

oddly enough, the block-attach and -detach worked as expected for
a while a couple of years ago, but it failed both before and after
that short time window.  no idea why, although your cd-eject and
cd-insert commands might explain the recent observations.

thank you for your comments and suggestions.
frank smith
_______________________________________________
Xen-users mailing list
Xen-users@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://lists.xen.org/xen-users