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Offline rowdy

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XenServer tips and tricks
« on: Fri, 25 September 2015, 05:54:02 »
At work we've recently started migrating our VMs and as many as we can physical servers into VMs running under XenServer 6.5.  I say "we", but it's mostly me doing it.

http://xenserver.org/

So far so good - everything seems to be running well, and generally faster on the new setup than the rather old physical servers we were using.

I'm even considering setting up something similar at home, on my new HP MicroServer with 8GB RAM - that should be sufficient for me to create one general purpose server VM and one or two other small miscellaneous VMs.

Does anyone else use XenServer?  Got any tips or tricks you'd like to share?

The first thing I'm planning is installation on software RAID 1.  This is not natively supported by XenServer (the open source version), but there are quite a few guides around, and as long as I am careful installing XenServer patches it should keep running.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline azhdar

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 25 September 2015, 07:05:37 »
I'm not working on it at all, but I know we have one at work which contains our mail server and few other stuff like replication. And the person who worked it was very pleased with it.
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Offline Lurch

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 25 September 2015, 07:56:03 »
I started a P2V project earlier this year but it was put on hold due to several other "emergency" projects. I started to use XenServer as well; the licensing for VMWare is out of budget. Our goal is to P2V several NT4 servers so we can finally retire these old noisy boxes. I was able to convert one NT4 machine using the native XenServer P2V utility, but I was having a difficult time configuring the network on the VM, fairly certain due to working with NT4...

Unfortunately I do not have any tips/tricks to share, but if I come across any once I get back into the project, I'll be sure to post them here.

Shot in the dark, would any of the servers you are working on happen to be NT4? ^-^
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Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 27 September 2015, 01:56:57 »
No, our last NT4 server was retired at least a decade ago.

At work I'd be P2V two Windows 2003R2 servers.  And reinstalling from scratch with a newer OS one Linux server.  And deprecating one Linux file server by transferring all the files onto the new NAS (the NAS is also host to the XenServer storage repository for VM disk images).

I do not have the luxury of a NAS at home for storage too, but the server does have room for 4 internal SATA drives, and this particular server has a 4 bay 2.5" HDD caddy too, although I'll probably replace that with an optical drive for reasons.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 27 September 2015, 02:56:22 »
XenServer installed, it's so weird watching what looks like enterprise grade stuff boot on my little home server.

And a clean last is always nice, but doesn't last long :))

[root@oxygen ~]# last
root     pts/1        192.168.2.6      Sun Sep 27 17:50   still logged in
reboot   system boot  3.10.0+2         Mon Sep 28 03:46          (-9:-54)

wtmp begins Mon Sep 28 03:46:45 2015
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 27 September 2015, 06:10:42 »
XenServer installed, software RAID 1 conversion a little shakily completed.

FWIW I followed these instructions (slightly modified from the original).

Note that although the instructions say to not create an SR before converting to RAID, you should create an SR during the installation process on the remaining space on the primary HDD, unless you are planning on having an external SR on, say, a NAS.  Otherwise the instructions are incomplete - they do not cover creating a RAID SR on the remaining disk space on the primary HDDs.

Code: [Select]
Install XenServer, do not create SRs.

sgdisk --zap-all /dev/sdb
sgdisk --mbrtogpt --clear /dev/sdb
sgdisk -R/dev/sdb /dev/sda #
sgdisk --typecode=1:fd00 /dev/sdb
sgdisk --typecode=2:fd00 /dev/sdb
sgdisk --typecode=3:fd00 /dev/sdb
modprobe md_mod
mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sdb1 missing
mdadm --create /dev/md1 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sdb2 missing
mdadm --create /dev/md2 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 --metadata=0.90 /dev/sdb3 missing
mkfs.ext3 /dev/md0
mount /dev/md0 /mnt
cp -xR -preserve=all / /mnt
mdadm --detail --scan > /mnt/etc/mdadm.conf
sed -i 's/LABEL=[a-zA-Z\-]*/\/dev\/md0/' /mnt/etc/fstab
mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
mount -t sysfs none /mnt/sys
mount -t proc none /mnt/proc
chroot /mnt /sbin/extlinux --install /boot
dd if=/mnt/usr/share/syslinux/gptmbr.bin of=/dev/sdb
chroot /mnt
# not here mdadm --detail --scan > /mnt/etc/mdadm.conf
mkinitrd -v -f --theme=/usr/share/splash --without-multipath /boot/initrd-`uname -r`.img `uname -r`
exit
sed -i 's/LABEL=[a-zA-Z\-]*/\/dev\/md0/' /mnt/boot/extlinux.conf
cd /mnt && extlinux --raid -i boot/
sgdisk /dev/sdb --attributes=1:set:2
cd && umount /dev/md0
sync
reboot

Make sure to boot from sdb now!

sgdisk -R/dev/sda /dev/sdb
sgdisk /dev/sda --attributes=1:set:2
mdadm -a /dev/md0 /dev/sda1
mdadm -a /dev/md1 /dev/sda2
mdadm -a /dev/md2 /dev/sda3

You can watch the build process with the following command: watch "mdadm --detail /dev/md* | grep rebuild"

The parts about /dev/sd3, /dev/sdb3 and /dev/md3 only seem to be relevant if you created an SR already, but all the notes say to do this before you create an SR.

Also my server is still as booted from /dev/sdb - I should probably change it back to /dev/sda just so I don't get an unpleasant surprise if I decide to move disks around.

Edit: Added a comment about creating SR during installation.
« Last Edit: Sun, 27 September 2015, 17:25:56 by rowdy »
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 27 September 2015, 06:27:19 »
Damnit!

Everything I've found assumes that a local SR was created during installation, despite the fact that the RAID conversion pages all say do NOT create an SR before you convert to RAID.

Now I don't know how to create a new SR-friendly partition across the two drives.

Looks like I'll be starting again, and actually creating the SR during initial installation.

At least I've worked out where I went wrong (or rather where the instructions were inaccurate) and the second time around should be smoother.

Looks like a job for next weekend, unfortunately.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 28 September 2015, 06:10:35 »
Second time around went somewhat better.

Except when you create the SR during installation it is in use when you try to rebuild the array initially, so it needs to be unplugged.

[root@oxygen ~]# mdadm -a /dev/md2 /dev/sda3
mdadm: Cannot open /dev/sda3: Device or resource busy

Need to do this to get a list of SRs:

# xe sr-list

Find the one that says "Local storage" and note its UUID.

Then do this to list, er, something else:

# xe pbd-list sr-uuid=<UUID of the SR>

That should show more stats about the SR, including the UUID of the PBD.

Unplug it:

# xe pbd-unplug uuid=<UUID of the PBD>

Then you can start the RAID rebuild:

# mdadm -a /dev/md2 /dev/sda3

When it finishes (or maybe before), you can plug the PBT (SR) back in:

# xe pbd-ulug uuid=<UUID of the PBD>

Mine is still rebuilding the RAID, hopefully it finishes soon so I can complete the process tonight rather than leaving it hanging.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline swill

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 28 September 2015, 07:29:46 »
We use xenserver in our public cloud and we install it a lot on premise for our customers as part of our enterprise cloud building.

I don't really have any tricks off hand, but I will try to keep an eye on this thread to offer any support I can.
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Offline swill

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 28 September 2015, 07:33:59 »
Quote from: Lurch on Fri, 25 September 2015, 07:56:03
I started a P2V project earlier this year but it was put on hold due to several other "emergency" projects. I started to use XenServer as well; the licensing for VMWare is out of budget. Our goal is to P2V several NT4 servers so we can finally retire these old noisy boxes. I was able to convert one NT4 machine using the native XenServer P2V utility, but I was having a difficult time configuring the network on the VM, fairly certain due to working with NT4...

Unfortunately I do not have any tips/tricks to share, but if I come across any once I get back into the project, I'll be sure to post them here.

Shot in the dark, would any of the servers you are working on happen to be NT4? ^-^
I will check when I get to the office if I have any advice on this. Off the top of my head, I know that HVM has to be enabled in order for windows to work on xenserver.  If that's not the problem then I would have to dig more.
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Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 28 September 2015, 15:09:51 »
Well that didn't go as well as planned.

The RAID rebuild went well, but trying to replug the SR didn't work:

[root@oxygen ~]# xe pbd-plug uuid=79de4f73-d993-3d70-90f3-77e7b91c305c
Error code: SR_BACKEND_FAILURE_47
Error parameters: , The SR is not available [opterr=no such volume group: VG_XenStorage-2b3366f2-ceba-b617-2f04-555917617a17],

Looking at it a bit closer, the pbt-list does say:

device-config (MRO): device: /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_Maxtor_6L160M0_L30HYCXH_L30HYCXH-part3

and I guess that the scsi-SATA_Maxtor disk is no longer available, seeing as how it is now part of an array.

I'm starting to have second thoughts about this for a home setup.  One thing I do is alternate between two USB hard drives for network backup storage.  Simple under bare Linux - sync, umount, unplug, plug other drive in, update fstab, mount.  Under XenServer I'd have to do that, plus register and connect, or disconnect, the USB device each time I wanted to swap them over.  Basically each week.

Then there's the files.  This server is also my file server, so I'd have to have another pair of drives in RAID 1 as file storage, but they would also have to be configured as an SR and have virtual disks created on them, rather than just using the raw space.

Plus the potential hassles of software RAID not being supported in XenServer, so a future patch might disable it.  Or I could leave the server unpatched (it is fully patched 6.5 SP1 plus the three or four updates since then).

I'm short on spare time at home as it is, and the extra overhead of maintaining XenServer on top of CentOS for a small home server and file store is becoming less and less appealing.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 06:12:28 »
I think I've pretty much convinced myself to just install CentOS natively on the server and not worry about XenServer.

Because:
  • overhead to install and maintain it on (unsupported) software RAID
  • the risk that installing an update or changing some configuration might suddenly blow the software RAID away
  • overhead in registering and attaching USB devices so a VM can access them (sometimes on a daily basis)
  • don't really have that many VMs to run, and most are already running nicely under VirtualBox
  • XenCenter only runs under Windows, so I need to maintain a Windows VM on my workstation anyway
  • when used as a file server, the overhead of having virtual disks in a storage repository for large amounts of data, compared to natively accessing the HDDs directly

The point was that my new home server, physical or virtual, was going to run CentOS.  When support for 7 expires, I was going to create a new VM, install 8 or whatever the latest version is at the time (circa 2024), and migrate services across, all without needing another physical server.

But in 7 years time the servers I have are likely to be extremely outdated, and I'd probably end up getting a newer physical server then anyway.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline osi

  • Posts: 964
Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #12 on: Thu, 01 October 2015, 10:50:06 »
Were you mounting the raid on boot? Maybe xen could not gain full control afterwards.

Why not ESXi ??
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Offline swill

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #13 on: Thu, 01 October 2015, 17:26:30 »
Quote from: osi on Thu, 01 October 2015, 10:50:06
Why not ESXi ??

Cost?  ESXi is not cheap...
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Offline rowdy

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Re: XenServer tips and tricks
« Reply #14 on: Fri, 02 October 2015, 03:06:45 »
Quote from: osi on Thu, 01 October 2015, 10:50:06
Were you mounting the raid on boot? Maybe xen could not gain full control afterwards.

Why not ESXi ??

It was (supposed to be).

We are using XenServer at work, so I am learning about it there, and was going to use that knowledge, and expand on it, at home too, but I feel that the overheads of running it on one server to maintain effectively one VM is unnecessary.
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"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ
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