Home > Store

Running Xen: A Hands-On Guide to the Art of Virtualization

Register your product to gain access to bonus material or receive a coupon.

Running Xen: A Hands-On Guide to the Art of Virtualization

eBook (Watermarked)

  • Sorry, this book is no longer in print.
  • Includes EPUB and PDF
  • About eBook Formats
  • This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase:

    ePub EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices.

    Adobe Reader PDF The popular standard, used most often with the free Adobe® Reader® software.

    This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read. We customize your eBook by discreetly watermarking it with your name, making it uniquely yours.

Not for Sale

Description

  • Copyright 2008
  • Edition: 1st
  • eBook (Watermarked)
  • ISBN-10: 0-13-279919-7
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-13-279919-5

“This accessible and immediately useful book expertly provides the Xen community with everything it needs to know to download, build, deploy and manage Xen implementations.”

—Ian Pratt, Xen Project Leader VP Advanced Technology, Citrix Systems

The Real–World, 100% Practical Guide to Xen Virtualization in Production Environments

Using free, open source Xen virtualization software, you can save money, gain new flexibility, improve utilization, and simplify everything from disaster recovery to software testing. Running Xen brings together all the knowledge you need to create and manage high–performance Xen virtual machines in any environment. Drawing on the unparalleled experience of a world–class Xen team, it covers everything from installation to administration—sharing field-tested insights, best practices, and case studies you can find nowhere else.

The authors begin with a primer on virtualization: its concepts, uses, and advantages. Next, they tour Xen’s capabilities, explore the Xen LiveCD, introduce the Xen hypervisor, and walk you through configuring your own hard–disk–based Xen installation. After you’re running, they guide you through each leading method for creating “guests” and migrating existing systems to run as Xen guests. Then they offer comprehensive coverage of managing and securing Xen guests, devices, networks, and distributed resources. Whether you’re an administrator, data center manager, developer, system integrator, or ISP, Running Xen will help you achieve your goals with Xen–reliably, efficiently, with outstanding performance, and at a surprisingly low cost.

•Understanding the Xen hypervisor: what it does, and how it works

•Using pre-built system images, including compressed file systems

•Managing domains with the xm console

•Populating and storing guest images

•Planning, designing, and configuring networks in Xen

•Utilizing Xen security: special purpose VMs, virtual network segments, remote access, firewalls, network monitors, sHype access control, Xen Security Modules (XSM), and more

•Managing guest resources: memory, CPU, and I/O

•Employing Xen in the enterprise: tools, products, and techniques

Sample Content

Table of Contents

    Foreword xxi

    Preface xxiii

Chapter 1: Xen–Background and Virtualization Basics 1

    Common Uses and Benefits of Virtualization  2

    Types of Virtualization 5

        Emulation 6

        Full Virtualization 7

        Paravirtualization  8

        Operating System Level Virtualization  9

        Other Types of Virtualization 11

        Overview of Virtualization Types 12

    Virtualization Heritage 13

        The IBM Mainframe 14

        Virtualization on Commodity Hardware 15

        Virtualization Extensions for x86 15

        Xen Origins and Time Line 15

    Other Virtualization Systems for Commodity Hardware 18

        Emulation 18

        Full Virtualization 19

        Paravirtualization 21

        Operating System Virtualization 23

        Popular Virtualization Products 24

    Summary 25

    References and Further Reading 26

Chapter 2: A Quick Tour with the Xen LiveCD 27

    Running the LiveCD 28

    Step 1: Downloading the LiveCD Image and Creating the CD 29

    Step 2: Choosing a Domain0 Image from the GRUB Menu 30

    Step 3: Logging In and the Desktop 31

    Step 4: Creating Guests  33

    Step 5: Deleting a Guest  38

    Step 6: Interacting with Your Guests 38

    Step 7: Testing Your Networking 41

    Too Many Guests 44

    Summary 44

    References and Further Reading 45

Chapter 3: The Xen Hypervisor 47

    Xen Hypervisor 48

    A Privileged Position 50

        Protection Rings 50

    Domain0 51

    Xen Boot Options 54

    Choosing an OS for Domain0 59

    xend 60

        Controlling xend 60

        xend Logs 62

        xend Configuration 63

    XenStore 67

    Summary 73

    References and Further Reading 73

Chapter 4: Hardware Requirements and Installation of Xen Domain0 75

    Xen Domain0 Processor Requirements 76

        Intel VT 77

        AMD-V 77

        HVM 78

    Hardware Device Support and Recommendations 78

        Disks and Controllers 78

        Networking Devices 80

        Graphics Devices 80

        Power Management 81

        Help for Unsupported Hardware 81

    Memory Requirements 81

    Choosing and Obtaining a Version of Xen 83

        Open Source Distributions 83

        Commercially Supported Options 84

    Methods of Installing Domain0 Hosts 86

        Common Prerequisite: The Grand Unified Boot Loader (GRUB) 87

    Linux Distributions 87

        OpenSUSE 88

        CentOS 91

        Ubuntu 98

        Xen from Binary Packages 101

        Gentoo 105

    XenExpress 112

    Non-Linux Domain0 Installations 114

    Building from Source 116

    Summary 118

    References and Further Reading 118

Chapter 5: Using Prebuilt Guest Images 121

    Introduction to DomU Guests 122

        Guest Images 122

        Operating System Kernels 123

        Configuration Files 123

    Working with Prebuilt Guest Images 128

        Types of Guest Images 128

        Downloading Prebuilt Guest Images 130

        Mounting and Booting Prebuilt Images 131

        Downloading Compressed File Guest Images 146

    Converting Images from Other Virtualization Platforms 161

    Summary 162

    References and Further Reading 163

Chapter 6: Managing Unprivileged Domains 165

    Introduction to the xm Utility 166

        Prerequisites for Running the xm Utility 166

        Generic Format of an xm Command 167

    The xm list Subcommand 169

        Basic List Information 169

        Listing Information about a Specific Guest 171

        long Option 172

        Label Option 173

    The xm create Subcommand 174

        Prerequisites for xm create 174

        Simple Examples of xm create 175

    Guest Configuration Files 178

        Python Format 178

        Common Configuration Options 179

        S-Expression (SXP) Format 180

        Path to Configuration Files 181

    Diagnosing Problems with Guest Creation 182

        Dry Run 182

        Console Output 183

        Sample Problems 184

    Automatically Starting DomUs 191

    Shutting Down Guest Domains 193

        xm shutdown 193

        xm reboot 196

        xm destroy 198

    Pausing Domains 199

        xm pause 200

        xm unpause 200

    Interacting with a Guest Nongraphically 201

        xm console 202

        SSH 204

    Interacting with a Guest Graphically 204

        X Forwarding with SSH 205

        Configuration of SSH Server and Client 205

        VNC 207

        Virtual Frame Buffer and Integrated VNC/SDL Libraries 210

        Freenx 212

        Remote Desktop 213

    Summary 215

    References and Further Reading 216

Chapter 7: Populating Guest Images 217

    Hardware Virtual Machine (HVM) Guest Population 218

        Populating a Guest Image from a Disc or Disc Image (Windows XP Example) 218

        Automated Population with virt-install 225

    Paravirtualized (PV) Guest Population 228

        OpenSUSE: YaST Virtual Machine Management 229

        CentOS/Fedora: virt-manager 233

        Debian/Ubuntu: debootstrap 242

        Gentoo: quickpkg and domi Scripts 246

        Xen Express 256

    Guest Image Customization 266

        Customizing Hostnames  266

        Customizing Users 267

        Customizing Packages and Services 268

        Customizing the File System Table (/etc/fstab) 268

    Converting Existing Installations 270

    Summary 274

    References and Further Reading 274

Chapter 8: Storing Guest Images 277

    Logical Volumes 278

        Basic LVM Usage 279

        Resizing Images 282

        Image Snapshots Using Copy on Write 286

    Network Image Storage Options 287

        iSCSI 288

        ATA over Ethernet (AoE) 293

        NFS 297

        Comparing Network Storage Options 300

    Guest Image Files 301

        Preparing Compressed tar Image Files 301

        Preparing Disk Image Files 302

        Preparing Guest Partition Image Files 312

        Mounting Disks and Partition Images 314

    Summary 316

    References and Further Reading 316

Chapter 9: Device Virtualization and Management 319

    Device Virtualization 320

        Paravirtualization of Devices 320

        Full Virtualization of Devices 321

        No Virtualization 321

    Backends and Frontends 322

        Backend Information in XenStore 323

        Frontend Information in XenStore 325

    Granting Control of a PCI Device 326

        Identifying a PCI Device 326

        Hiding a PCI Device from Domain0 at Boot 327

        Manually Unbinding/Binding a PCI Device at Runtime 328

        Granting a PCI Device to Another Domain 329

    Exclusive Device Access Versus Trusted Driver Domains 331

        Exclusive Device Access 331

        Trusted Driver Domains 332

        Problems Using Trusted Driver Domains 333

    Device Emulation with QEMU-DM 334

    Future Directions 335

        More Devices 336

        Smart Devices 336

    Summary 336

    References and Further Reading 337

Chapter 10: Network Configuration 339

    Network Virtualization Overview 340

    Designing a Virtual Network Topology 341

    Bridging, Routing, and Network Address Translation 343

    Frontend and Backend Network Drivers and Naming 347

    Overview of Network Configuration in Xen 349

        High-Level Steps 349

        Xend Configuration File 350

        Guest Domain’s Configuration File 352

    Details of Bridging Mode  354

        Bridging Configuration Example 355

        Testing Results 361

    Details of Routing Mode 364

        Routing Configuration Example 365

        Testing Results 371

    Details of NAT Mode 373

        NAT Configuration Example 373

        Testing Results 379

    Configuring Purely Virtual Network Segments 382

        Configuring dummy0 383

        Testing dummy0 385

        Configuring Dummy Bridge 385

        Testing Dummy Bridge 388

    Assigning MAC Addresses to Virtual Network Interfaces 389

        MAC Addresses 389

        Specifying or Generating a MAC Address for a Guest Domain 390

    Assigning IP Addresses 391

        Using an External DHCP Server to Obtain an IP for a Guest Domain 392

        Manually Assigning an IP to a Guest Domain 392

        Using an Internal DHCP Server to Obtain an IP for a Guest Domain 393

    Handling Multiple Network Interfaces in a Domain 394

        Handling Multiple Network Interfaces in a driver domain 394

        Handling Multiple Network Interfaces in a Guest Domain 396

    vnet—Domain Virtual Network 399

        Installing vnet 400

        Running vnet 401

    Summary 403

    References and Further Reading 403

Chapter 11: Securing a Xen System 405

    Structuring Your System for Security 406

        Special Purpose Virtual Machines 406

        Creating Virtual Network Segments 407

    Securing the Privileged Domain 407

        Removing Software and Services 407

        Limiting Remote Access 408

        Limiting the Local Users 412

        Move Device Drivers into DriverDomains 412

    Firewall and Network Monitors 413

        Running a Firewall with iptables 413

        Snort 419

        Obtaining Snort 419

        Snort and Network Intrusion Detection Mode 420

    Mandatory Access Control with sHype and Xen Security Modules 422

        sHype 423

        Xen Security Modules (XSM) 432

    DomU Security 433

        Running VMs Only When Needed 434

        Backing Up Virtual Machine Images 434

    Summary 435

    References and Further Reading 436

Chapter 12: Managing Guest Resources 437

    Accessing Information about Guests and the Hypervisor 438

        xm info 438

        xm dmesg 443

        xm log 444

        xm top 446

        xm uptime 449

    Allocating Guest Memory 449

        Shadow Page Tables 451

        Balloon Driver 451

        Improving Stability with Swap Space 454

        Managing the Allocation of Guest Memory 454

    Managing Guest Virtual CPUs 458

        Comparing Virtual, Logical, and Physical Processors 458

        HVM VCPU Management 459

        VCPU Subcommands 460

        When to Manually Administer VCPUs 462

    Tuning the Hypervisor Scheduler 463

        Weight and Cap 463

        Protection from Misbehaving Guests 464

        Using the Credit Scheduler Command 465

    Choosing a Guest IO Scheduler 466

        Noop Scheduler 466

        Deadline Scheduler 466

        Anticipatory Scheduler (as) 467

        Complete Fair Queuing Scheduler (cfq) 467

        Using IO Schedulers 467

    Summary 469

    References and Further Reading 469

Chapter 13: Guest Save, Restore, and Live Migration 471

    Representing the State of a Virtual Machine 472

    Basic Guest Domain Save and Restore 473

        xm save 474

        xm restore 476

        Possible Save and Restore Errors 478

    Types of Guest Relocation 479

        Cold Static Relocation 480

        Warm Static (Regular) Migration 481

        Live Migration 482

    Preparing for xm migrate 484

        Configuring xend 485

        Proximity of Sources and Destinations on the Network 488

        Network-Accessible Storage 489

        Guest Domain Configuration 489

        Version and Physical Resource Requirements 491

    Experience with xm migrate 491

        xm migrate 491

        Using xm migrate for Warm Static Migration 492

        Using xm migrate for Live Migration 494

        Possible Migration Errors 497

    Summary 498

    References and Further Reading 498

Chapter 14: An Overview of Xen Enterprise Management Tools 499

    Programmatic Interfaces to the Xen Hypervisor 500

        Libvirt 500

        Xen–CIM 501

        Xen API 501

        Legacy Interfaces to Xend 502

    Citrix XenServer Enterprise, Standard and XenExpress Editions 502

    Virtual Iron 504

    IBM Virtualization Manager 506

    Enomalism 507

    virt-manager 509

    XenMan  513

    Managing Multiple Systems 518

    Summary 518

    References and Further Reading 519

Appendix A: Resources 521

    Xen Community 522

    XenWiki 523

    Xen Mailing Lists and Bug Reporting 524

    Xen Summits 525

    Xen Source Code 526

    Academic Papers and Conferences 528

    Distribution-Specific Resources 530

Appendix B: The xm Command  531

Appendix C: Xend Configuration Parameter  537

Appendix D: Guest Configuration Parameter 541

Appendix E: Xen Performance Evaluation 545

    Xen Performance Measurements 546

        Repeatability of the Xen Team’s Results 546

        Xen and Virtual Web Hosting 548

        Comparing XenoLinux to Native Linux on Older PC Hardware 550

        Xen on x86 Versus IBM zServer 551

    Performance Isolation in Xen 553

    Performance of Xen Virtual Network and Real Network 556

    Summary 558

Index 559

Updates

Submit Errata

More Information

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020