Virtualization
In this section, we cover discussion on the @et-mgmnt-tools-list, @fedora-xen-list, and @libvirt-list of Fedora virtualization technologies.
Contributing Writer: Dale Bewley
Enterprise Management Tools List
This section contains the discussion happening on the et-mgmt-tools list
Fedora Virtualization List
This section contains the discussion happening on the fedora-virt list.
Guest Configuration with augeas and libguestfs
After blogging[1] just last week that "Nothing much is coded at the moment", the prolific Richard Jones
announced[2]
he has added support to
for his latest project,
augeas
libguestfs
[3]. libguestfs
"lets you examine and modify
virtual machine disk images, so you can perform sysadmin tasks on
virtual machines without needing to bring them up or log into them."
"Augeas is a configuration editing tool. It parses configuration files in their native formats and transforms them into a tree. Configuration changes are made by manipulating this tree and saving it back into native config files."[4]
"libguestfs now supports Augeas, so you can use Augeas to edit configuration files within the virtual machine."
Virtualization Technology Preview Repo
The obvious problem with what we do for libvirt at the moment, is that we are introducing major new features into the stable release stream here. This risks destabalizing the stable Fedora streams, and also compromises our 'Feature' process because stuff we're pushing for Fedora 11 appears in Fedora 9 / 10 before F11 even comes out. I think it would be desirable to get the stable Fedora releases onto a pretty strong bugfix only policy,...
under the umbrella of the Fedora Virtualization SIG. Specifically, to provide a 'virt-preview' YUM repo for the most recent stable stream (ie F10, but not F9).
So in summary - All new upstream releases built in rawhide - New upstream releases also built in stable preview branch if possible - Only bugfixes built in stable updates/updates-testing branch - In exceptional circumstances, rebase for preview branch can be built to updates/updates-testing after alot of positive testing This would - Ensure users of stable Fedora release have high confidence in quality of the updates/updates-testing stream - Allow users to trivially test new upstream rebases while staying on the stable distro stream - Improve testing coverage of major new rawhide features without using the stable release stream users as guinea pigs
Mark McLoughlin thought[2] "this would be hugely useful to people interested in the latest virt bits, but without a testing machine for running rawhide." And even proposed a name for the repo "How about 'virt-hide' ? :)".
When libvirt-0.6.0 hit my laptop through updates-testing and was significantly broken, my reaction was along the lines of "wait, I didn't sign up for this!" - I suspect other people in that situation might disable updates-testing as a result. That damages not only testing of virt packages, but testing of the whole distro. I think it was after that update that I wrote these guidelines<ref>http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/PackageMaintainers/Package_update_guidelines</ref> and had it approved by FESCo.
Fedora Virtualization Status Report
Mark McLoughlin reminds[1] us "It's only a matter of days until the F11 tree freezes and the list of bugs isn't getting any shorter!"
Read on for more coverage of virtualization developments in the past week.
Fedora Xen List
This section contains the discussion happening on the fedora-xen list.
Experimental Dom0 Kernel Update
Michael Young I asked MY where he got his dom0 patches:
The patches were generated using git from the git repository git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jeremy/xen.git combined with a mainline kernel git repository such as git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-2.6-stable.git possibly with a bit of manual merging. So there isn't a single URL. I am not sure which is the best branch of the xen git to use at the moment, because the effort is focused on egtting the patches into the main kernel during the merge window.
If it helps Jeremy commented about the state of the xen repository in this email http://lists.xensource.com/archives/html/xen-devel/2009-04/msg00151.html My most recent kernel was built using the push2/xen/dom0/master branch, though I think I might wait a week or so to see what gets merged before doing another update.
Libvirt List
This section contains the discussion happening on the libvir-list.