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XenTools On Ubuntu 10.04

This document provides steps to install Ubuntu 10.04 using paravirtualization on a Citrix XenServer. It involves first installing Ubuntu in HVM mode, configuring the console, modifying boot options, converting to PV mode, and installing XenServer tools.

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regabri
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17 views

XenTools On Ubuntu 10.04

This document provides steps to install Ubuntu 10.04 using paravirtualization on a Citrix XenServer. It involves first installing Ubuntu in HVM mode, configuring the console, modifying boot options, converting to PV mode, and installing XenServer tools.

Uploaded by

regabri
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ubuntu 10.

04 LTS paravirtualised on
Citrix XenServer
How to get Ubuntu 10.04 installed on Citrix XenServer 5.5 Update 2, using PV instead
of HVM.

Due to Grub2 and ext4, Xen can't boot Ubuntu using PV.

Some places say to modify pygrub and GrubConf.py via patches; but from experience
this has resulted in failure on our XS setup. This means each VM must be told what to
boot via parameters set via the xe command-line tool.

Pre-requisites
 XenServer 5.5 with console/SSH access
 Ubuntu 10.04 ISO (this contains the “minimal virtual machine”, previously
JeOS)
 Put the makepv.sh script (below) into /root/ on the XS host and make it
executable (chmod +x ~/.makepv.sh)

Procedure outline
 Install minimal virtual machine onto Xen (HVM mode)
 Add a Xen TTY
 Make note of kernel boot options & parameters
 Run script to set various VM options
 Install XenServer Tools ISO

What to do
Create & Install
 Create VM with desired options
 Attach Ubuntu ISO
 At Ubuntu boot prompt: choose language, press F4, choose install minimal
virtual machine
 Follow on-screen instructions until disk partitioning stage
 If using something other than ext3, you need to create a small (100M) ext3
partition for /boot
 Make sure you choose the OpenSSH server package at the Software selection
screen so you can connect via PuTTY to copy-and-paste kernel boot options
later
 Finish install, boot into VM

Configure console, read boot settings


 Connect to the VM via SSH
 Duplicate /etc/init/tty1.conf to create a new console for Xen. If Nano is not
installed, install it now via sudo apt-get install nano.

sudo cp /etc/init/tty1.conf /etc/init/hvc0.conf


sudo nano /etc/init/hvc0.conf
 Change tty1 to hvc0
 Save & exit (Ctrl + O, Enter, Ctrl + X)

 Read /boot/grub/grub.cfg and look for menuentry near the bottom.

linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-server root=UUID=c49dc1b4-3f20-409e-


a757-2158bc52ff4b ro quiet
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-server
 Copy that to a temporary text document for pasting later
 The bits you need to look out for are:

o Kernel path: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-21-server

o Ramdisk path: /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-21-server

o Kernel arguments: root=UUID=c49dc1b4-3f20-409e-a757-


2158bc52ff4b ro quiet
 Shutdown the VM

Convert the machine to PV mode


 Connect to the Xen host via SSH as root
 Run ~/makepv.sh my-vm-name to modify the VM settings (replace my-vm-
name with the name of the VM you created before)

XenServer Tools installation


 In XenCenter, mount xs-tools.iso on the VM
 Boot VM and log in (either on the console or via SSH)
 Replace dash shell with bash needed for installation, run this command. When
asked to install dash as /bin/sh, choose No.

sudo apt-get -y install bash && sudo dpkg-reconfigure dash


 Mount the tools disc and install:

sudo mount /dev/cdrom1 /mnt/


sudo dpkg -i /mnt/Linux/xe-guest-utilities_5.5.0-466_amd64.deb
 Reboot VM & log in again
 Fix the service so it runs at boot:

sudo update-rc.d -f xe-linux-distribution remove


sudo update-rc.d xe-linux-distribution defaults

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