Many thanks Chuck.
On Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 6:36 AM Chuck Zmudzinski <brchu...@netscape.net> wrote:
>
> On 8/16/2021 1:40 PM, Chuck Zmudzinski wrote:
> > On 8/16/2021 12:49 PM, Chuck Zmudzinski wrote:
> >> On 8/16/2021 4:25 AM, Andrew M.A. Cater wrote:
> >>> On Mon, Aug 16, 2021 at 02:30:33PM +0800, John Mok wrote:
> >>>> Hi all,
> >>>>
> >>>> Tried to install Debian 11 guest using netinst, but the installer
> >>>> crashed and reboot automatically.
> >>>>
> >>>> Host: Xen 4.11.4 on Debian 10
> >>>> Guest: Debian 11 (kernel 5.10)
> >>>>
> >>>> Here is the steps to reproduce the problem:-
> >>>> 1) Either guest BIOS or OVMF boot
> >>>> 2) Select "Expert install" on installation menu
> >>>>
> >>>> Then, the guest crashed and reboot.
> >>>>
> >>>> Another try with the installer on Debian Live 11, it immediately
> >>>> crashed and reboot.
> >>>>
> >>>> Is it a installer bug or something ?
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks a lot.
> >>>>
> >>>> John Mok
> >>>>
> >>> I think people would need many more details as to exactly what
> >>> happens and
> >>> when it reboots.
> >>>
> >>> So: You boot the installer - from just a .iso file / from the .iso
> >>> flashed
> >>> to a USB? Can you show what works and at what point it fails?
> >>>
> >>> The quick suggestion would be that it's something to do with Xen
> >>> hypervisor
> >>> but I'm not in any better position than to guess, since I don't use
> >>> Xen here.
> >>>
> >>> I do know that none of the tests the media team do involve booting
> >>> on Xen:
> >>> in most cases we prefer to run on real hardware. Occasionally, some
> >>> of the
> >>> tests have to be run on KVM/QEMU. Xen as DomU is untested then.
> >>>
> >>> All the very best, as ever,
> >>>
> >>> Andy Cater
> >>>
> >>
> >> I can say bullseye runs fine as a Xen DomU on both the buster xen-4.11
> >> hypervisor and the bullseye xen-4.14 hypervisor on my workstation, with
> >> either BIOS or OVMF boot, but mine is a bullseye image upgraded from
> >> buster several months ago. I have not tried the bullseye debian
> >> installer
> >> on the xen hypervisor. Maybe for installing bullseye on xen you can try
> >> installing buster first then upgrade it to bullseye if the debian
> >> bullseye
> >> installer does not work on the xen hypervisor.
> >>
> >> Chuck Zmudzinski
> >>
> >
> > I would also ask if you have successfully booted another linux distro
> > (an earlier Debian or another distribution such as ubuntu) on your
> > Debian 10 xen-4.11.4 hypervisor. If not, the problem may be with your
> > xen configuration files on your Debian 10 host system, not with the
> > Debian 11 installer. Maybe some tweaks to the DomU xl.cfg configuration
> > file for your Debian 11 DomU or to the xen hypervisor boot options
> > (usually set in /etc/default/grub) might get it working.
> >
> > Chuck Zmudzinski
> >
>
> I tested the debian-11.0.0-amd64-netinst.iso image on my Debian 10
> xen-4.11.4 hypervisor using both OVMF and BIOS boot using an HVM
> type Xen guest, and in both cases, I can confirm the same behavior as
> the OP: crash and restart after selecting any of the installation options
> from the grub menu that is displayed after booting. Nevertheless, a
> full installation of Debian 11 boots and runs fine in the same environment
> under Xen.
>
> Browsing the files in the iso image, I can see there is a folder for xen:
> /install.amd/xen with three files in it: vmlinuz, initrd.gz, and debian.cfg.
>
> However, these files in the xen folder are never referenced anywhere from
> the menu or submenu items in the /boot/grub/grub.cfg file on the iso image.
> So a workaround would be to create an iso image with a menu entry in the
> /boot/grub/grub.cfg file for an installation on xen, and that grub menu item
> would be configured to load the vmlinuz kernel and initrd.gz image in the
> /install.amd/xen directory.
>
> It might also be possible to escape to the grub command shell
> instead of selecting one of the installation options after booting and
> manually enter the commands to load the xen-enabled kernel and initrd.gz
> images in the /install.amd/xen folder on the netinst iso, but that is not
> very user friendly, and I am not even sure if those images are mainly for
> a PV type Xen guest rather that an HVM type Xen guest that really should
> not need a special kernel or initrd image, but I could be wrong about that.
>
> Also, the debian.cfg file in /install.amd/xen mentions the need to use an
> iso image that supports installation under xen, and it references things
> like multi-arch iso images which I don't think exist anymore in modern
> Debian. Anyway, I suggest the OP read this debian.cfg file and try using
> the suggestions there to get the debian 11 installer running under xen.
>
> To summarize, I do not think the Debian installer is designed for easy
> installation under Xen, and it is not clear exactly which iso is needed,
> nor is it
> clear which type of Xen guest should be configured (PV or HVM) to enable
> installation of Debian 11 under Xen.
>
> Chuck Zmudzinski
>
