Virtualization

Foreword

This page was used to discuss virtualization options at UDS Boston (Hardy).

For documentation on how to use Ubuntu as a virtualization host or guest, please see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Virtualisation.

Discussion

The state and future of Ubuntu JeOS. - "Ubuntu JeOS Edition has been tuned to take advantage of key performance technologies of the latest visualization products from VMware."

This Virtualization page will also go over information for Xen.

  • Integrating Ubuntu Server JeOS Edition into the normal Ubuntu build process.

    Discuss JeOS support for XEN, Parallels, OpenVZ, Linux-Vservers, KVM, QEMU, VirtualBox, Virtuozzo, VirtualIron others Discuss opensource virtualization technologies. What should Ubuntu support?

Use Cases

  • What does JeOS offer over a standard Ubuntu install. ??
  • How will ubuntu JeOS tools integrate with Xen?
  • Is JeOS mature enough to be supported by official ubuntu setup tools, or is it just going to be part of universe for now?
  • Server consolidation
    • reproducability for support, testing, documentation, included nested vms, cow files etc
  • Server segregation
  • disaster recovery - migration of vms
  • rapid deployment
  • desktop uses, e.g. running multiple OS on the desktop

Ubuntu 8.04

  • Pre-installed server/appliance VM will be built as part of standard Ubuntu build process (along with server ISOs)
  • JeOS should be one of the tasks from the standard server installation
  • JeOS will also be provided as pre-built VM for selected technologies

User Space tools

  • What tools are needed to be setup in a quick and automagic manner?

Xen

  • Xen should be very stable on Ubuntu 8.04. It has been tested with many existing ubuntu releases. In most cases, apt-get install ubuntu-xen-server, will get a machine all ready to go. The community has built lots of information for guidance on this process, https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Xen . xen-tools makes setting up new guests quite easy. Xen requires no changes to the ubuntu install process, and can simply convert a new ubuntu server install into a ubuntu xen server.

Management Utilities

http://code.google.com/p/ganeti/ http://virt-manager.et.redhat.com/screenshots.html

Technology comparison

qemu + kqemu

kvm

xen

QEMU

KVM

XEN

requires hw support

no

yes

yes

embedded vm

yes

yes

yes

snapshots

yesfor all except disk requires lvm etc

multiple snapshots

live migrations

no

yes

yes

supportability

3rd p 2.6.20 huge patch

security

++

++

copy on write

yes

yes

yes

paravirtualization guest

no

yes

yes

guest side tools

no

no

yes

pae support ?

yes

YES

yes

Host solution

For Hardy 8.04: not container.

Next Steps

  • Finalize requirements
  • Post on ubuntu-devel asking for usecases

Virtualization (last edited 2008-08-06 16:22:05 by localhost)