summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/system/xen/domU/README.domU
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'system/xen/domU/README.domU')
-rw-r--r--system/xen/domU/README.domU57
1 files changed, 57 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/system/xen/domU/README.domU b/system/xen/domU/README.domU
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f060dceece
--- /dev/null
+++ b/system/xen/domU/README.domU
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+ HOW TO INSTALL A SLACKWARE DOMU XEN GUEST
+
+After the ordeal of installing and configuring LILO/GRUB, Xen, kernel-xen
+and possibly also a new initrd, editing /etc/rc.d/rc.local and
+/etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown, and finally booting on your Slackware XenLinux,
+you might be wondering how are you to load you guest OS. If you look around,
+you might find Xen domU (unprivileged) guest that you can download from the
+Internet, but some of us might want to roll their own. This MINI-HOWTO shows
+how to install a Slackware domU guest. The fastest way is to mount your
+Slackware DVD on /media/SlackDVD, normally this is the mount point chosen by
+HAL. Then run the included domU.sh script.
+
+# ./domU.sh
+
+This will install Slackware onto an 8GB file called slackware.img and a 500MB
+swap file called swap_file. By default, a typical server installation ensues.
+
+Have a good look at the mydom file as you need to fill in the full path to the
+slackware.img and swap_file files.
+
+Then run the following command:
+
+# xm create -c mydom
+
+Your Slackware XenLinux domU should boot instantly.
+
+Since Xen domU support has been in mainline kernel for a while now, those that
+wish to have the best performance can compile a seperate domU kernel based on a
+stock Slackware kernel config.
+This is what you have to select/unselect when building domU only kernel:
+
+---
+Processor type and features --->
+ [*] Paravirtualized guest support --->
+ [*] Xen guest support
+
+Bus options (PCI etc.) --->
+ [ ] PCI support
+
+Device Drivers --->
+ < > Serial ATA and Parallel ATA drivers --->
+ SCSI device support --->
+ < > SCSI device support
+---
+
+Disabling SCSI support frees up the /dev/sd* device names for use as Xen
+virtual block devices. Basicly, this changes their names from /dev/sd* to a
+Xen device name format /dev/xvd*. If this is left enabled, ocasionaly domU can
+get stuck in a reboot-loop, with this error:
+"XENBUS: Waiting for devices to initialise..."
+Naturaly, to get the best performance you can disable everything that you
+don't need in domU kernel.
+
+Note that these files are not intended for a production environment. Users who
+have particular requirements will need to set up their own methods, but these
+files might provide a good starting point. Refer to the Xen manual and
+http://xen.org for more details and options.