rob wilco wrote: > Hello, > > I have been using KVM on debian 4.1 lenny with several virtual > machines (debian 4.0 etch, fedora 7, centos4) every day for work for > the past two weeks. The machine is a Dell Optiplex 745 with an Intel > Core Duo 2. > > What I like the most is the simplicity of the set up. The wiki page on > debian is short, super clear and correct. > (kvm.qumranet.com/kvmwiki/Debian) > > Compared to Xen, I like the fact that I keep my debian kernel and > drivers. It is less invasive: 'modprobe kvm-intel' is really > convenient. Also, compared to Xen it works 'out of the box'. > > VM configuration with command line options also helps to get a VM > running in a few seconds. Compared to VMware, the creation of a new VM > is easier: less mandatory parameters. Except maybe for the '-net' > parameters which are not cristal clear to me. > > So far, the host and VMs have never crashed which is a great confort > when you want it to 'just work' and focus on your job. > > Also, there are few things that I find not easy to do : > > - I can't mount the logical volume where the VM sits, I guess it is > the qcow format not 'recognised' by mount. It is cool to be able to do > that with Xen or Vserver, you do not have to boot the machine or read > the docs on the qcow format to check out a file. >
http://hg.codemonkey.ws/qemu-nbd/ This will let you expose a qcow file (or an individual partition within a qcow file) as an NBD server which you can then mount on your host. A bit round-about but it gets the job done. > - I can't launch kvm from a console and still see the kernel boot > message (i'll dig into the qemu options someday) > If you configure your guest to output to the serial console (add console=ttyS0 to the kernel command line in menu.lst), then you only need to pass -serial stdio when launching the VM. > - the VM will almost pause when you're not watching! It is quite > obvious on a VM boot: when you're working on another virtual desktop > ! Does it have something to do with the debian kernel being maybe > optimized for 'desktop usage' and the active window getting most of > the responsiveness? I tried to 'nice' kvm without much noticeable > effect. > Yeah, this is a weird SDL issue. I'm not really sure why it happens. > - I don't understand the output of ifconfig when there is a bridge > involved. The bridge is said transparent but it is the only interface > carrying with the real IP address. It is a bit confusing and does not > help network troubleshootings. I know it is standard linux bridging > but if you can put a super clear wiki page on bridging designed on use > cases that would help numerous VM users. > http://kvm.qumranet.com/kvmwiki/AnthonyLiguori/Networking This is for Ubuntu but it probably works in Debian too. It uses NAT instead of bridging and it is what I use on my desktop. Regards, Anthony Liguori > We work in the Telco field and see the virtualization tools mainly for > development and tests purpose. Production architecture based on > virtualization are in the roadmap though. > > I guess the company will go VMWare as it has an ecosystem of third > party companies offering expertise on VMWare deployment architectures. > If the techies have a say, we will propose Xen or Vserver as these two > technologies have > several years of experience and user feedback. > > Thank you for your work, have a good day, > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. > Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. > Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. > Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ > _______________________________________________ > kvm-devel mailing list > kvm-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/kvm-devel > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ _______________________________________________ kvm-devel mailing list kvm-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/kvm-devel
