Virtual Disk Setup
by Rich Mahn
I am setting up several VMs using an F11 host. Most of the VMs will
be F11 as well.
>From earlier discussions on this list I recognize that the best
performance for virtual disks is with the backing storage on the host
being a parititon or LV. Since I want some flexibility I will use
LVs, with virtio disks on most of the VMs.
Here's my questions:
1. Each f11 VM needs three file systems--/boot, root, and swap
(assuming you can call swap a file system). Is it better to create
three LVs (each) on the hosts, and treat it as three separate disks
on the VMs? Or is it better to just create one LV on the host and
then divide up that virtual disk on the VM?
2. Do I get better performance/stability by NOT using lvm on the VMs?
In other words, just partition the virtio disk and create
filesystems directly on the partitions? Or do the wonders of LVM
and virtio already build in any advantage that might give?
3. Do I get the best performance/stability by creating an LV for each
disk I need, and then NOT partitioning it on the VM, but using the
whole disk for a file system. In other words, use vda, not vda1,
vda2, etc for the filesystem. This would give the side effect
being able to easily mount the filesystem on the host machine when
the VM wasn't being run.
4. Lastly (for now) are these issues too miniscule in their effects
that I probably shouldn't even be worrying about them?
Thanks for all the help.
Rich
14 years, 9 months
fence_xvm and qemu/kvm problem
by Gianluca Cecchi
Hello,
I'm testing this:
host = Fedora 11 x86_64 using Qemu/Kvm as virtualization
specs on sw versions:
libvirt-0.6.2-12.fc11.x86_64
qemu-common-0.10.5-3.fc11.x86_64
qemu-kvm-0.10.5-3.fc11.x86_64
qemu-system-x86-0.10.5-3.fc11.x86_64
qemu-img-0.10.5-3.fc11.x86_64
cman-3.0.0-15.rc1.fc11.x86_64
two guests = CentOS 5.3 x86_64 with cluster suite installed and
configured with almost latest packages
specs on sw versions:
cman-2.0.98-1.el5_3.1
openais-0.80.3-22.el5_3.4
rgmanager-2.0.46-1.el5.centos.3
kernel-2.6.18-128.1.10.el5
the cluster itself works well in preliminary tests (I have quorum disk
and one heuristic pinging to the qemu/kvm host as a gateway):
poweroff and automatic relocation, manual relocation with clusvcadm, HALVM, ecc.
I registered one problem though, that could lead to data corruption or
other unintended effects in my opinion.
I configured fence_xvm agent on the guests.
At the moment the host is a standalone one.
I read (bugzilla https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=362351)
that I can manage this configuration using on the host side the
standalone command
fence_xvmd -LX
(installing cman and dependencies, but actually not running it as a service)
My guests use virbr0 as the prod lan and virbr1 as rhe intracluster
one, and I noticed that I had to issue actually this command to keep
alive the daemon on host side:
fence_xvmd -dLX -i ipv4 -I virbr0 -U qemu:///system
(probably the key part is the -I virbr0 option)
Otherwise I get:
Jul 15 11:54:04 virtfed xvmd[606]: Could not set up multicast listen socket
Configuring the fence daemon, at first I was wrong configuring the
"domain=" part
<clusternode name="node1" nodeid="1" votes="1">
<fence>
<method name="1">
<device domain="XXXXXX" name="xvm"/>
</method>
</fence>
In fact initially I put in the node name (node1), instead of the
domain name of the guest inside the qemu/kvm HV.....
This error gave me the opportunity to detect a wrong behaviour in my
combination.
If I put node name and issue this command from node2:
fence_xvm -H node1
I get:
Remote: operation was successful
but actually the guest is not fenced at all.
The qemu/kvm host /var/log/messages contains:
Jul 15 12:17:21 virtfed libvirtd: 12:17:21.566: error : Domain not found
Jul 15 12:17:21 virtfed xvmd[658]: Rebooting domain node1...
Jul 15 12:17:21 virtfed libvirtd: 12:17:21.574: error : Domain not found
Jul 15 12:17:21 virtfed xvmd[658]: Failed to connect to caller: Bad
file descriptor
Instead, when using the correct domain name part:
fence_xvm -H centos53
I again get
Remote: operation was successful
and the guest is really fenced (rebooted by default)
In qemu/kvm host logs I get now:
Jul 15 12:18:31 virtfed xvmd[658]: Rebooting domain centos53...
Jul 15 12:18:31 virtfed kernel: virbr0: port 2(vnet2) entering disabled state
Jul 15 12:18:31 virtfed kernel: device vnet2 left promiscuous mode
Jul 15 12:18:31 virtfed kernel: virbr0: port 2(vnet2) entering disabled state
Jul 15 12:18:31 virtfed kernel: virbr1: port 2(vnet3) entering disabled state
Jul 15 12:18:31 virtfed kernel: device vnet3 left promiscuous mode
Jul 15 12:18:31 virtfed kernel: virbr1: port 2(vnet3) entering disabled state
Jul 15 12:18:32 virtfed libvirtd: 12:18:32.245: error : operation
failed: domain 'centos53' is already defined
Jul 15 12:18:32 virtfed kernel: device vnet2 entered promiscuous mode
Jul 15 12:18:32 virtfed kernel: virbr0: topology change detected, propagating
Jul 15 12:18:32 virtfed kernel: virbr0: port 2(vnet2) entering forwarding state
Jul 15 12:18:32 virtfed kernel: device vnet3 entered promiscuous mode
Jul 15 12:18:32 virtfed kernel: virbr1: topology change detected, propagating
Jul 15 12:18:32 virtfed kernel: virbr1: port 2(vnet3) entering forwarding state
Jul 15 12:18:33 virtfed xvmd[658]: Failed to connect to caller: Bad
file descriptor
Is it my configuration (F11 host with cman part based on 3.0 and
centos53 guests with 2.98 cman part) supposed to work?
In this case where to bugzilla?
Thanks in advance,
Gianluca
14 years, 9 months
cannot mount USB disks even after selinux update for Windows VM
by Paul Lambert
I have searched the bug list to resolve this problem and after making
the same changes as others still am not able to get external USB disks
to mount to my Windows virt machine.
current versions
qemu-system-x86-2.0.10.5-3.fc11
selinux-policy-doc-3..6.12.62.fc11
1) The first problem encountered was a SELinux matter that updating to
.62 corrected. There was no virt_use_usb parameter in the version
that was previously installed. The absence of this SELinux permission
disallowed access to /sbin/ifconig generating a selinux permission
error
2) Next I received a "broken pipe" error. I then tried commenting out
the line containing
"nss_initgroups_ignoreusers" in /etc/ldap.conf which was documented in
the bug list and has worked for others. This did not work for me.
Current status is the shown below from the virt machine log file.
LC_ALL=C PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin /usr/bin/qemu-kvm -S -M pc -m 768 -s
mp 2 -name Windows-XP-SP3-Home -uuid ee3bc9fe-a724-45b5-b675-11251f5c453f -monit
or pty -pidfile /var/run/libvirt/qemu//Windows-XP-SP3-Home.pid -boot c -drive fi
le=/var/lib/libvirt/images/Windows-XP-SP3-Home.img,if=ide,index=0,boot=on -drive
file=,if=ide,media=cdrom,index=2 -net nic,macaddr=54:52:00:7e:1c:92,vlan=0,mode
l=virtio -net tap,fd=17,vlan=0 -serial pty -parallel none -usb -usbdevice tablet
-vnc 127.0.0.1:0 -usbdevice host:1d6b:0002
char device redirected to /dev/pts/0
char device redirected to /dev/pts/1
husb: open device 2.1
husb: config #1 need -1
husb: 1 interfaces claimed for configuration 1
husb: grabbed usb device 2.1
usb_linux_update_endp_table: Broken pipe
Warning: could not add USB device host:1d6b:0002
14 years, 9 months
KVM update available?
by Paul Lambert
On the SourceForge page there is a new Fedora KVM release 87 available.
No date, no version.
When I open add/remove software under Gnome (Fedora 11) I find that I
have QEMU system emulator x86-2:0.10.5-3.fc11 installed and
x86-2:0.10-16.fc11 available. This looks like a newer verion but how to
I know? There is no release date or release version shown in the lower
right pane where the package information is shown. Additionally, the
10.5-3 versus 10-16 versioning makes me hesitate since I am not sure
these are one in the same package.
Several problems here that are all contributing to the amount of blog
and Email traffic: Consistent documentation and identification of what
is current. If the two packages are the same and 10-16 is an update
then it should be 10.16-0(?) for consistency.
Should I install this update?
PJAL
14 years, 9 months
kvm/qemu network problem
by Bret Rusnak
In installed win xp and everything installed fine, however my virtual
network card is not getting an ip address from my router. It is showing
up as a realtek RTL 8139 network card and is showing that the device is
working properly.
Anyone had similar issues or have a way to fix this?
Thanks in advance
14 years, 9 months
Update on virtio network driver performance
by Paul Lambert
Just some feedback for Rich on performance after switching to virtio
network driver.
Before both cpus were running at 70-90%. After virtio driver cpus
running 20-30%. That's something like 67% less loading. The real test
is whether the keyboard, mouse and window dragging "shadow" or delay
when moving. This is much better but not equal to that of performing
these functions on the host machine.
OK, so where's the virtio drivers for Windows? I found a link dated
early March that stated they were coming soon. Can't find them anywhere.
PJAL
14 years, 9 months
RE: [fedora-virt] cannot mount USB disks even after selinux update for Windows VM: UPDATE
by Paul Lambert
Yes, I saw Mark's comments yesterday. I now have a USB disk working
as prescribed. The issue was due to adding the Linux Foundation USB
2.0 hardware when I actually had the ext USB disk plugged into the one
USB port that is part of a JM20336, Sata, USB Combo. Once I added
this hardware I did get the USB disk to work. I then tested the ext
USB disk on the other two USB ports that use the Linux Foundation USB
2.0 drivers. They both worked too.
I would second the comment to Bug#508645 to make the USB devices
dynamic if the managed field is set to yes. This should be done by
implementing a button or checkbox ("auto connect enable") on the
details page of the VM when the specific USB hardware is selected.
Similar to the CDROM "connect" button.
Can the --usbdevice host:auto:*:*:xxxx:xxxx statement be hacked into
the KVM startup script somewhere or is this a feature for the next
release?
Though solving the ext USB disk matter, it created another one in the
process. While I was at it I connected my ext disk via the eSata
connection on my laptop just for kicks. The ext. case has dual
connections, USB/eSATA. I noticed when I went back to add the
hardware to the VM that the "Sata" and "USB" references were now gone.
This might be a Fedora matter first since the ext. disk does not
mount to it either. Needless to say, the Windows VM did not see the
eSata ext disk either. The eSata bug appears to be reported in
bug#485666. The combo interface is a JM20366 Dual sata/usb interface;
http://www.jmicron.com/JM20336.html. Getting SATA to work is
important since running more than a few VMs on the same disk won't
make it. I searched around for Linux drivers for this device and only
could find that these should already be part of the Linux distro.
Note: [There is strange behavior when adding and removing hardware.
I went back to repeat my steps and removed the JM20336 combo which was
installed as a USB device. When I went back to re-install it, the
entry for the hardware device was not there. I then deleted the other
USB device and rebooted. Still nothing. Finally I added the Logitech
Camera that was also a part of the combo and then removed it. Presto,
they all reappeared. I then added the Sata/USB combo and then went
back to add additional hardware. The Sata/USB was still listed. I
added it again then there were two entries for the same device in the
.xml file. I deleted it again and the re-added it. After this it was
not listed in the available hardware. I have experienced similar such
things when adding/removing hardware.]
On 7/12/09, Richard W.M. Jones <rjones(a)redhat.com> wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 11:35:59AM -0400, Paul Lambert wrote:
>> I have searched the bug list to resolve this problem and after making
>> the same changes as others still am not able to get external USB disks
>> to mount to my Windows virt machine.
>
> You've read Mark's thread?
>
> http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-virt/2009-June/msg00182.html
>
> Rich.
>
> --
> Richard Jones, Emerging Technologies, Red Hat http://et.redhat.com/~rjones
> virt-top is 'top' for virtual machines. Tiny program with many
> powerful monitoring features, net stats, disk stats, logging, etc.
> http://et.redhat.com/~rjones/virt-top
>
14 years, 9 months
Re: [fedora-virt] Virt USB issues (doesn't work without customizing)
by Gianluca Sforna
On Sun, Jul 12, 2009 at 4:39 AM, Paul Lambert<eb30750(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for the tip. Yes, I was able to get the selinux software
> updated. But, I do believe the Gnome software should allow for
> alternative hosts to be selected to download from other sites than
> just the main Fedora page.
I am not sure what you mean but both the gnome updater (PackageKit)
and the CLI one (yum) picks from fedora servers a list of mirrors and
downloads from them, all without user intervention.
>
> After relaunching virt I did get past the selinux error but now I am
> getting blocked at the USB device with could not add the usb host .
> /proc/bus/usb/002/001 and 004. This appears to be directory
> permission error. Root has rw but root group on only r. I switched
> to root when launching virt manager so I should be OK anyway. Made
> any progress yourself?
I did not test this stuff myself, sorry.
Please when replying make sure you hit "reply all" otherwise you're
not replying to list
--
Gianluca Sforna
http://morefedora.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/gianlucasforna
14 years, 9 months
Virt USB issues (doesn't work without customizing)
by Paul Lambert
Lot's of blog material out there. Trying to get ext. USB disk to map in
Windows virt image. Here is where I am.
1) I found a link to someone who did get external USB disks working with
FE.11 Virt the issues that prevent this from working by just adding the
hardware through the virt manager are:
a) need selinux-policy-target-3.6.12-62.fcc11.noarch or later
b) selinux blocks access to this device and must be customized.
2) OK, this should take that long. (or should it?)
a) went to add/remove software through Gnome and did not find any
pending updates for selinux.
b) after searching for another hour found how to command line Yum for
selinux updates. Here's what I got.
[root@BRSINC-VC01 qemu]# rpm -qa | grep selinux
libselinux-utils-2.0.80-1.fc11.i586
libselinux-python-2.0.80-1.fc11.i586
selinux-policy-targeted-3.6.12-53.fc11.noarch
libselinux-2.0.80-1.fc11.i586
selinux-policy-3.6.12-53.fc11.noarch
[root@BRSINC-VC01 qemu]# yum -y upgrade selinux-policy-targeted
Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit
rpmfusion-nonfree-updates | 3.8 kB 00:00
updates/metalink | 23 kB 00:01
Setting up Upgrade Process
No Packages marked for Update
Based on this I would assume there are no updates even though others
claim there are. Where is 62 and why does it not show up in the Gnome
software update tool?
14 years, 9 months
