Sanjay Arora
2009-Sep-09 17:33 UTC
[Xen-users] Windows XP on XenServer local machine itself
Is it possible to run a virtual winXP machine on a xenserver and access that machine through the local keyboard, mouse & graphics card, instead of accessing it remotely using rdp or ics? Also, someone on another list suggested that if I am thinking of running windows as a guest, I should think of using vmware or virtualbox. Does xen have any handicap/problem running xp compared to these systems? Sanjay. _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
Rob MacGregor
2009-Sep-09 17:50 UTC
Re: [Xen-users] Windows XP on XenServer local machine itself
On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 18:33, Sanjay Arora<sanjay.k.arora@gmail.com> wrote:> Is it possible to run a virtual winXP machine on a xenserver and > access that machine through the local keyboard, mouse & graphics card, > instead of accessing it remotely using rdp or ics?AFAIK no.> Also, someone on another list suggested that if I am thinking of > running windows as a guest, I should think of using vmware or > virtualbox. Does xen have any handicap/problem running xp compared to > these systems?It''s different - VMWare and VirtualBox are designed to allow you local interactive access, like you describe above, but require that your host has a GUI installed. XEN does not require that you have a GUI on the host. -- Please keep list traffic on the list. Rob MacGregor Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he doesn''t become a monster. Friedrich Nietzsche _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
Admittedly, I''m scoping out xen to see what it does and what I''d need to run it. I''ve played around a little bit with the live cd, that''s it. So I want to make sure that I''m not confused before I get going. I very much do want to be able to run Windows and Linux and Solaris on the same laptop all at the same time. Xen can do this, right? On 09/09/2009 01:50 PM Rob MacGregor wrote:> On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 18:33, Sanjay Arora<sanjay.k.arora@gmail.com> wrote: >> Is it possible to run a virtual winXP machine on a xenserver and >> access that machine through the local keyboard, mouse & graphics card, >> instead of accessing it remotely using rdp or ics? > > AFAIK no. > >> Also, someone on another list suggested that if I am thinking of >> running windows as a guest, I should think of using vmware or >> virtualbox. Does xen have any handicap/problem running xp compared to >> these systems? > > It''s different - VMWare and VirtualBox are designed to allow you local > interactive access, like you describe above, but require that your > host has a GUI installed. XEN does not require that you have a GUI on > the host. >_______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
Fajar A. Nugraha
2009-Sep-18 00:56 UTC
Re: [Xen-users] Windows XP on XenServer local machine itself
On Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 4:48 AM, ken <gebser@mousecar.com> wrote:> So I want to make sure that I''m not confused before I get going. I very > much do want to be able to run Windows and Linux and Solaris on the same > laptop all at the same time. Xen can do this, right?Yes, but it might not be the way you want it to. With Xen, the "main" OS (dom0) is a Xen-aware OS. This can be Linux, Opensolaris, or others (like *BSD), but NOT Windows. DomU can be (almost) any OS (if your hardware supports intel VT/AMD-V). This is different from vmware/virtualbox where the main OS can be Windows. Why does it matter? Because only controlling domain can have full direct access to hardware. There''s pci passthru for domU, but AFAIK it''s not perfect yet (as in people that reported it to work says it requires specific hardware and version of Xen) for some devices (like graphic cards). So in short, Xen allows you to run all three OS you mentioned an the same time, but in common setup Windows will not have DirectX or sound. -- Fajar _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users
On 09/17/2009 08:56 PM Fajar A. Nugraha wrote:> On Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 4:48 AM, ken <gebser@mousecar.com> wrote: >> So I want to make sure that I''m not confused before I get going. I very >> much do want to be able to run Windows and Linux and Solaris on the same >> laptop all at the same time. Xen can do this, right? > > Yes, but it might not be the way you want it to. > With Xen, the "main" OS (dom0) is a Xen-aware OS. This can be Linux, > Opensolaris, or others (like *BSD), but NOT Windows.That''s fine. My dom0 would be Linux. I''ve heard good things about CentOS, I''m most familiar with RPM package management, and manage RHEL systems at work (where I''d probably like them to adopt Xen in future).> DomU can be > (almost) any OS (if your hardware supports intel VT/AMD-V).This is where I find a lot of ambiguity. I''ve been wanting to buy a new laptop to run a CentOS/Xen dom0 with Solaris, Linux, and Windows domUs, but haven''t found clear and informative specifications on what hardware works and what doesn''t. On this note, Open Solaris has cool (free) CD: you boot it and it runs a test on the machine. The test determines if that machine''s hardware is compatible. Further, this compatibility test is automatically uploaded to a Sun machine on the net and goes into a database which others can then search on the web. Such a system for Xen would provide the most exhaustive and definitive resource for people wanting to purchase systems and at the same time would encourage hardware manufacturers to support Xen (lest be left out of consideration by consumers).> > This is different from vmware/virtualbox where the main OS can be > Windows. Why does it matter? Because only controlling domain can have > full direct access to hardware. There''s pci passthru for domU, but > AFAIK it''s not perfect yet (as in people that reported it to work says > it requires specific hardware and version of Xen) for some devices > (like graphic cards).Yes, that''s one of my major concerns at the moment. I want to buy a notebook to run Xen on... and knowledgeably avoid non-supported hardware. Any (authoritative) resources I could look at?> > So in short, Xen allows you to run all three OS you mentioned an the > same time, but in common setup Windows will not have DirectX or sound. >Hmmm. That would be a problem, as I need to tune into videocasts which are Windows-specific (and one reason I''m still hanging on to Windows at all). Fajar, thanks much for the clarifications. You''ve helped me maintain hope that I won''t have to go to virtualbox. Best to all, ken _______________________________________________ Xen-users mailing list Xen-users@lists.xensource.com http://lists.xensource.com/xen-users