[relnotes] [Fedora Project Wiki] Update of "Docs/Beats/Virtualization" by SamFolkWilliams

Sat Sep 2 17:33:16 UTC 2006

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The following page has been changed by SamFolkWilliams:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs/Beats/Virtualization

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- NOTE: I've just taken ownership of this page. Will be working on updating it the week of 8/29
+ NOTE: First pass at release notes below. Edits/Additions/Comments welcome
  -SamFolkWilliams

  = Virtualization =

- Virtualization in Fedora Core is based on Xen. Xen 3.0 is integrated within Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] in the installer. Refer to [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Tools/Xen] for more information about Xen.
+ Virtualization in Fedora Core is based on Xen. Xen 3.0.2. It is integrated within the Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] installer. Refer to [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Tools/Xen] for more information about Xen.

  == Types of Virtualization ==

- There are several types of virtualization: full virtualization, paravirtualization, and single kernel image virtualization. Under Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] using Xen 3.0, paravirtualization is the most common type. With VM hardware, it is also possible to implement full virtualization. 
+ Under Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] using Xen 3.0.2, both paravirtualization and full virtualization can be implemented. Full virtualization requires a VT-capable processor. Paravirtualization does not require special hardware, but does require the guest OS to be modified. To learn more about how to configure and use Xen, see [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FedoraXenQuickstartFC6].

- === Benefits of Paravirtualization ===
+ == Guest OSs that Can Run Under Xen 3.0.2 on Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] ==

+ The Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] development team has tested Xen with Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Beta1 guests. Other guests have not been tested. However, with paravirtualization users can expect reasonable success running any Linux guest OS that was built for Xen 3.0.2. With full virtualization (using VT hardware), users can expect reasonable success with a larger variety of operating systems, including some proprietary operating systems. 
-  * Allows low overhead virtualization of system resources
-  * Can provide direct hardware access in special cases, such as dedicated NICs for each guest OS
-  * Allows hypervisor-assisted security mechanisms for guest OS

- === Requirements for Paravirtualization ===
+ == Changes to the Xen Packages ==

+ In Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] a single kernel supports both the host and the guest operating systems. In previous versions, there was one kernel for the host or hypervisor (kernel-xenU), and a separate kernel for the guests (kernel-xen0). In Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] the `kernel-xen` package is the only kernel needed.
-  * A guest OS that has been modified to enabled paravirtualization
-  * Host OS must use GRUB as its bootloader (default with Fedora Core)
-  * Enough hard drive space to hold each guest OS (600 MB - 6 GB per OS)
-  * At least 256 MB of RAM for each guest, plus at least 256 MB RAM for the host

- == Installing Xen, Configuring and Using Xen ==
+ Introducing the `virt-manager` package.  Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)] features `virt-manager`, a GUI application for installing and managing virtual machines. Paravirtualized guests now support a graphical framebuffer. This means that the X window environment of the guest operating system can be accessed directly from `virt-manager`. In addition,  `virt-manager` supports the graphical installer without the need to use VNC. 

- Xen must be installed on the host OS and the host OS must be booted into the Hypervisor Kernel. Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] includes an installation program for the guest OS that will use an existing installation tree of a paravirtualized-enabled OS to access that OS's existing installation program. Currently, Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] is the only available paravirtualized-enabled guest OS. Other OSs can be installed using existing images, but not through the OS's native installation program.
+ In Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] there are two methods to install a guest OS: via the command line using the `xenguest-install` program, or via the GUI application `virt-manager`.

- This section has not been completed for Fedora Core [[GetVal(DocsDict,BeatsVer)]] by the [http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/ReleaseNotes/Beats beat writer].
+  [[Admonition("note","`xenguest-install` Script Renamed","The `xenguest-install` script was named `xenguest-install.py` in previous versions.")]]

+ Xen log messages are stored under `/var/log/xen`. This allows administrators to easily separate Xen related log messages from other system messages.
+  
+    [[Admonition("important","i386 Guest Kernels Require PAE","PAE support in the CPU is required by i386 guests. Some older computers might not have this functionality.")]]
+ 