[libvirt] Re: [Libvir] [PATCH][RFC] libvirt ldoms support

[Daniel P. Berrange]

On Wed, May 07, 2008 at 03:14:52PM -0500, Eunice Moon wrote:
> Hi Daniel,
> 
> With the new LDoms release (LDoms 1.1), we plan to provide a more
> generic XML format which will be using the OVF (Open Virtual Machine
> Format) spec:
> http://www.vmware.com/pdf/ovf_spec_draft.pdf
> 
> Even though the OVF spec is still in the Draft stage, it can be
> the hypervisor independent XML format for virtual machines.
> I am wondering if it is in your radar or have any plan to move
> forward to using more generic XML format.

OVF is a way to describe the generic functional requirements of a virtual
machine (primarily, but not exclusively, for purposes of distribution of
appliances). The libvirt XML format is describing a specific deployment 
of a virtual machine on a specific hypervisor.  This is a subtle by
very important distinction.

For example, OVF may specify that a  VM requires 2 disks, of size X and Y.
It does not care about the path the disks are stored at, what container
format they use etc.  The libvirt XML format for a particular deployment
of a vm does have to specify the paths to the disks, their format (qcow,
vmdk) and many other aspects.

The OVF format is akin to the 'virt-image' XML format for distributing 
virtual appliances, except that OVF is vastly more complex.

So in summary there is no intention to use OVF in libvirt because it is 
serving a different purpose.

Dan.
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