A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been working on is available for download here: http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz This CD is only just at the point of being minimally usable. It''s had very little testing outside of qemu, and doesn''t include much beyond 2 auto-started ttylinux instances (for which the network doesn''t seem to work). Projects like this thrive on feedback, though, so I''m offering what I have. Please feel free to provide nit-picking or grandiose feedback of any kind, here or in private email. 368Mb minimum RAM on the host machine is required. (In particular, I could use help understanding the ttylinux networking problem I''m currently seeing.) The README: -- begin -- XenCD 1.0pre01 README See the COPYRIGHT file for details of permissions granted for use. -------- OVERVIEW -------- XenCD is a bootable "live" CD running a combination of Xen and various Linux distributions. After booting into the XenCD environment, the user is able to switch between the main control domain and multiple, distinct "virtual machines" running a different operating systems. ----- USAGE ----- Obtain a copy of the ISO file (see the "RESOURCES" section). Burn that ISO file as a complete CD image, using a program like cdrecord or Nero. Place the CD into an i386 PC and reboot, making the PC boot off the CD. The CD will boot into a GRUB menu, default to the XenCD demo option, boot Xen, and then come up into a live Debian Linux environment running from RAM. This environment is Xen''s "dom0", the virtual machine which has real access to the hardware, network, and xen control services. Alternately, since the XenCD runtime is implemented as a single initrd, one can reuse the various pieces of the CD with any Linux boot technology, such as PXE booting, USB drives, etc. Once you are at a command prompt, the most common operations would be: - Log in as the root user. There is no password on the root account. - Switch to a new virtual terminal via Alt-F2 and Alt-F3. - Switch to a Xen VM console via something like "xm console 1". - Install new software using something like a "apt-get update && apt-get install PACKAGE" command line. - Use any other helpful xm commands such as "xm create", "xm destroy", etc. - Review the files on the CD-ROM mounted at "/media/cdrom" in dom0. ------- CAVEATS ------- - EARLY, BUGGY RELEASE: This is a very early implementation with very little testing in very few environments. Additionally, this software is at the bare minimum needed to claim a functional Xen demo. - KNOW XEN ALREADY: You should be familiar with Xen usage and administration to understand what''s feasible and interesting to try using the tools provided. - HAVE LOTS OF RAM: This version of XenCD will just barely run on a 368Mb machine. 512Mb is recommended to be able to create additional VMs. - DHCP ONLY: dom0 will try to acquire its networking info via dhcp. Static networking support is planned but not yet available. - UDEV: dom0 runs udevd, not devfsd. - RAM-ONLY RUNTIME: Since the dom0 environment runs entirely within RAM, the software provided is limited. If you run out of memory, you run out of disk and vice versa. Memory issues are more of an issue here than in conventional live CDs (Knoppix, etc.) - TEXT-ONLY: This is a text-oriented demo. A graphical demo environment would be an excellent thing for the community. But a graphical environment may be better implemented as a separate or subproject. It should be noted the primary developer of XenCD has a bias towards and an interest in server-oriented Xen environments. - NO RUNTIME DOCS: dom0 has been stripped of most all its documentation. Man pages will not work. - ENGLISH ONLY: No thought or attention has been spent on internationalization and localization issues. In some cases, internationalization files are intentionally removed to reduce the runtime image. - UPDATE APT BEFORE USE: Run a ''apt-get update'' before any ''apt-get install'' commands. - NAME CHANGE LIKELY: The name "XenCD" is probably unauthorized use of the Xen trademark. This project is likely to be renamed. --------- RESOURCES --------- Official XenCD homepage - http://software.wordzoo.com/xencd Official XenCD downloadable URL for "current release": - http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz Public subversion repository of XenCD software: - svn://software.wordzoo.com/xencd/trunk Mailing list: - xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net All discussion, questions, problems, concerns, accolades, etc should be directed to the xen-devel mailing list. Xen homepage: - http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/Research/SRG/netos/xen/ ttylinux homepage: - http://www.minimalinux.org/ttylinux/ tomsrtbt homepage: - http://www.toms.net/rb/ memtest86 homepage: - http://www.memtest86.com/ -------------- IMPLEMENTATION -------------- Media - 50 Mb ISO (CD-ROM image) - ISO9660 (level 2 + extensions) format - GRUB boot (2.88 El Torito image) - Components on CD (kernel, initrd, etc) should be suitable for netbooting, USB drives, etc Boot menu - GRUB-based menu, text-only - These options available: - XenCD standard demo (default option) - XenCD testing (verbose logging) - ttylinux - ttylinux using xenU kernel - tomsrtbt - memtest86 Xen - Built from xeno-unstable.bk - As of the date in the BUILT_* file - Compiled with GCC 3.3.5 (and rest of toolchain from Debian sarge) Initrd - Runs as xen''s dom0 - Read-write ramdisk - Creates tmpfs 8Mb less than physical memory and copies all of initrd into that tmpfs dom0 - Runs entirely from RAM, media-agnostic - Implemented as a large (70 Mb pre-compression) initrd - custom /linuxrc+rcS, autostart xend, xensv - debian dom0 is straight debootstrap sarge, with various bits rm -rf''ed, plus xen-required packages (python-twisted, etc). - pure text-mode apps installed. can apt-get other packages into the ramdisk as needed. - Built from straight Debian unstable bootstrap with modifications: - Replace exim4 with esmtp - Replace syslogd+klogd with metalog - Add Xen dependencies: - bridge-utils - iproute - python - python-twisted - libcurl3 - Add some XenCD requirements: - udev - runit - Add some system "almost-essentials": - less - lsof - pciutils - Add ssh - Add chrony (for ntpd) - Use debfoster at "required" level to manage package dependencies - No suggested or recommended dependencies included - Shrink runtime - Remove "extra" documentation: - /usr/share/doc except copyright - /usr/share/info - /usr/share/man - /usr/lib/python2.3 prune: - Remove all *.pyo and *.pyc files from - Remove Twisted testing code - Prune dpkg/apt status files - Usage - root password is blank by default - Use nano or vi for editor - See /var/log/everything/current for syslog - devices managed by udev, most everything that physically exists should have a /dev device node ----------------------- ISO filesystem structure ------------------------ /BUILT_2005-01-26T07-45-32 /README /COPYRIGHT /boot/grub/menu.lst /boot/grub/stage2_eltorito /boot/isolinux/memdisk /boot/xen /boot/xen0-initrd /boot/xen0-kernel /boot/xenU-kernel /boot/memtest.img /boot/tomsrtbt.img /boot/ttylinux.img /ttylinux/USER-GUIDE /ttylinux/rootfs.gz /ttylinux/xen-rootfs ---- TODO ---- For release candidate - Make ttylinux VMs network properly - Testing on Dell 1650 + 440 BX Next release - Copy local version of linux-pristine above xen build directory so build doesn''t download every time - Create an auto-build infrastructure wrapped around build-xencd - Pull some configuration of the build-xencd script into command-line switches - xen-stable/xen-testing builds - Nightly builds - Auto-update of download area with nightly builds - Improve robustness of boot-time scripts: - Use "yes/no" for all values - Write a function to use for flow-control and conditionals instead of repeating error-detection logic everywhere - More bootprompt configuration of dom0 - doaptupdate: run apt-get update on boot - staticnet: static networking setup (just dhcpc on dom0 now) - timezone=XXX: support setting of timezone on the boot line - "Fat" build with a few dozen more essential admin tools thrown in - usbutils sysfsutils scsitools gpart parted grub hdparm evms-curses reiserfsprogs strace sysstat hexcurse iptables tethereal dhcp rsync netcat curl host dnsutils ipsc - Replace xend_config script with bash/python version (perl currently) - Determine if color or non-color boot will be the default - Move configuration variables to a configuration file - Proofread documentation - Incorporate first round of community feedback Server wishlist - Autostart of xen domain configurations found in storage - Autoconfiguration of a reasonable dom0 network (bridge+route) - Per virtual-host network configuration (private bridge, separate iptables rules, packet accounting) - Media discovery of local storage (hd*/sd*/usb/lvm) - Lockdown security appropriately: - Setting of a root password (crypted entry on GRUB prompt?) - Allow skip of ssh startup via boot parameter - xensv - Media discovery of network storage (nfs, iscsi) - Use runit for auto-restarting and logging daemons: - xend, xensv - openssh - Use of debian packages for install of xen into dom0 (uses cp -a now) - Netboot support Demo wishlist - Support extended vga modes in dom0 (currently non-operational, xen-devel thread died twice) - Address community desires for graphical demo - Support discovery and automounting of USB drives - Support for 256Mb host machines, if at all possible - Build the ttylinux rootfs at runtime, via modifications to a pristine ttylinux 4.4 tree - Additional rootfs examples: - Debian unstable debootstrap - Fedora - Debian stable debootstrap - Freebsd stable - Plan 9 - many other possibilities - Additional GRUB menu entries: - Debian installer - FreeDOS - ReactOS - DVD version with multiple full-featured environments available -- end -- ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
On Wednesday 26 January 2005 12:31 pm, Jared Rhine wrote:> A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been working > on is available for download here: > > http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gzThis looks to me like a very useful tool. I run OpenBSD as my production system, but this live cdrom will give me a way to experiment with Xen. Dave Feustel ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 09:31:08 -0800 Jared Rhine <jared@wordzoo.com> wrote:> A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been working > on is available for download here: > > http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz > > This CD is only just at the point of being minimally usable. It''s had > very little testing outside of qemu, and doesn''t include much beyond 2 > auto-started ttylinux instances (for which the network doesn''t seem to > work). Projects like this thrive on feedback, though, so I''m offering > what I have. Please feel free to provide nit-picking or grandiose > feedback of any kind, here or in private email.Awesome! I just tried it out. Tim ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
> A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been working > on is available for download here: > > http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gzThe link seems to be broken. I tried downloading the image but it said "no such file". Cheers Gregor ------ Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur --- Anon ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
Hi Jared, Thanks for the iso (I got 0.9)... Tried to get the 1.0 iso off of your site, however I get 404 for the xencd.iso.gz download link on the page... I''m uploadng the older 0.9pre01 from Jan 25th to http://www.northern.ca/projects/xencd/ now (hopefully my internet will stay up to get all 32MB uploaded)... Also wonder what changes occured between the two builds? -G -- Northern.CA ===-- http://www.northern.ca/ Canada''s Search Engine> > Message: 10 > Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2005 09:31:08 -0800 > From: Jared Rhine <jared@wordzoo.com > > To: xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > Subject: [Xen-devel] XenCD prerelease available > > A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been working > on is available for download here: > > http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz > > This CD is only just at the point of being minimally usable. It''s had > very little testing outside of qemu, and doesn''t include much beyond 2 > auto-started ttylinux instances (for which the network doesn''t seem to > work). Projects like this thrive on feedback, though, so I''m offering > what I have. Please feel free to provide nit-picking or grandiose > feedback of any kind, here or in private email. > > 368Mb minimum RAM on the host machine is required. > > (In particular, I could use help understanding the ttylinux networking > problem I''m currently seeing.)------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
[Gregor == gm281@hermes.cam.ac.uk on Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:32:10 +0000] >> A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been >> working on is available for download here: >> >> http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz Gregor> The link seems to be broken. I tried downloading the image Gregor> but it said "no such file". Unfortunately, your DNS server cache is broken as I''m pretty sure you''re not getting the correct IP address (66.180.237.13) for this host (files.wordzoo.com). (Try ''nslookup files.wordzoo.com'' to confirm; the mapping was changed a while back but I''ve bumped the version number again to helpful help through I''ve seen DNS caches stay out of date for months in some broken implementations). Other have successfully downloaded the file. As a workaround for anyone having this problem, you can do this: wget --header ''Host: files.wordzoo.com'' http://66.180.237.13/xencd/xencd.iso.gz The use of a separate download server is because files.wordzoo.com is a throttling server (thttpd) so I can safely publish URLs of ISOs without having my bandwidth hammered. -- jared@wordzoo.com "A black hole is where God is dividing by zero." -- attributed to Roger Smith ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
it works for me. Moshe On Jan 27, 2005, at 2:32 AM, Grzegorz Milos wrote:> >> A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been working >> on is available for download here: >> >> http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz > > The link seems to be broken. I tried downloading the image but it said > "no > such file". > > Cheers > Gregor > > > ------ > Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur --- Anon > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting > Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time > by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. > Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl > _______________________________________________ > Xen-devel mailing list > Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel >------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
It seems to work now, I''ve managed to download the file successfully. Thanks Gregor> [Gregor == gm281@hermes.cam.ac.uk on Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:32:10 +0000] > > >> A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been > >> working on is available for download here: > >> > >> http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz > > Gregor> The link seems to be broken. I tried downloading the image > Gregor> but it said "no such file". > > Unfortunately, your DNS server cache is broken as I''m pretty sure > you''re not getting the correct IP address (66.180.237.13) for this > host (files.wordzoo.com). (Try ''nslookup files.wordzoo.com'' to > confirm; the mapping was changed a while back but I''ve bumped the > version number again to helpful help through I''ve seen DNS caches stay > out of date for months in some broken implementations). Other have > successfully downloaded the file. > > As a workaround for anyone having this problem, you can do this: > > wget --header ''Host: files.wordzoo.com'' > http://66.180.237.13/xencd/xencd.iso.gz > > The use of a separate download server is because files.wordzoo.com is > a throttling server (thttpd) so I can safely publish URLs of ISOs > without having my bandwidth hammered. > > -- jared@wordzoo.com > > "A black hole is where God is dividing by zero." > -- attributed to Roger Smith > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting > Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time > by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. > Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl > _______________________________________________ > Xen-devel mailing list > Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel-- Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur --- Anon ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
[Garth == ironstorm@gmail.com on Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:36:10 -0500] Garth> Hi Jared, Thanks for the iso (I got 0.9)... You must have snagged it in the very short time it was live. Garth> Tried to get the 1.0 iso off of your site, however I get 404 Garth> for the xencd.iso.gz download link on the page... Please see my recent email to this list on this topic, it''s a DNS problem, and the URL does indeed work assuming your DNS query returns 66.180.237.13 for files.wordzoo.com (ie, nslookup files.wordzoo.com). A workaround is available in that email if you can''t fix your DNS server. Garth> Also wonder what changes occured between the two builds? If I wanted you to know, I''d announce it ;) [1] In general, you can expect me to be explicit about changes in released versions. Though there will also be nightly snapshots available soon. [1] There was only a typo or two difference between 0.9 and 1.0pre01, one of which was the version number itself. -- jared@wordzoo.com "Tiger gotta hunt. Bird gotta fly. Man gotta sit and wonder why, why, why. Tiger gotta sleep. Bird gotta land. Man gotta tell himself he understand." -- Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
You could try coralizing [1] the link. The iso should only then be fetched once from wordzoo.com, and will then be cached on PlanetLab [2]. http://files.wordzoo.com.nyud.net:8090/xencd/xencd.iso.gz Regards Paul Brett Intel Corporation Email: paul.brett@intel.com Tel No: +1 503 712 4520 [1] http://www.scs.cs.nyu.edu/coral/ [2] http://www.planet-lab.org/ | -----Original Message----- | From: xen-devel-admin@lists.sourceforge.net | [mailto:xen-devel-admin@lists.sourceforge.net] On Behalf Of | Jared Rhine | Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2005 9:53 AM | To: xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net; Ricardo Staudt | Subject: [Xen-devel] XenCD prerelease available | | [Gregor == gm281@hermes.cam.ac.uk on Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:32:10 +0000] | | >> A prerelease version of a Xen-integrated bootable CD I''ve been | >> working on is available for download here: | >> | >> http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz | | Gregor> The link seems to be broken. I tried downloading the image | Gregor> but it said "no such file". | | Unfortunately, your DNS server cache is broken as I''m pretty sure | you''re not getting the correct IP address (66.180.237.13) for this | host (files.wordzoo.com). (Try ''nslookup files.wordzoo.com'' to | confirm; the mapping was changed a while back but I''ve bumped the | version number again to helpful help through I''ve seen DNS caches stay | out of date for months in some broken implementations). Other have | successfully downloaded the file. | | As a workaround for anyone having this problem, you can do this: | | wget --header ''Host: files.wordzoo.com'' | http://66.180.237.13/xencd/xencd.iso.gz | | The use of a separate download server is because files.wordzoo.com is | a throttling server (thttpd) so I can safely publish URLs of ISOs | without having my bandwidth hammered. | | -- jared@wordzoo.com | | "A black hole is where God is dividing by zero." | -- attributed to Roger Smith | | | ------------------------------------------------------- | This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive | Reporting | Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time | by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. | Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl | _______________________________________________ | Xen-devel mailing list | Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net | https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel | ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel
On Fri, 2005-01-28 at 10:53 -0800, BRETT, PAUL wrote:> You could try coralizing [1] the link. The iso should only then be > fetched once from wordzoo.com, and will then be cached on PlanetLab [2].Thanks for yours and others suggestions. I believe everyone who had DNS lookup errors has been able to retrieve the package since. I would like to continue with the URLs I have published as the canonical sites. Too many projects shuffle URLs frequently, and I believe the consistency of: http://files.wordzoo.com/xencd/xencd.iso.gz http://software.wordzoo.com/xencd svn://software.wordzoo.com/xencd/trunk is beneficial to the overall project. If necessary, I''ll implement mirrors but I expect the above to be stable, maintained, and perfectly suitable indefinitely. -- Jared Rhine <jared@wordzoo.com> ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by: IntelliVIEW -- Interactive Reporting Tool for open source databases. Create drag-&-drop reports. Save time by over 75%! Publish reports on the web. Export to DOC, XLS, RTF, etc. Download a FREE copy at http://www.intelliview.com/go/osdn_nl _______________________________________________ Xen-devel mailing list Xen-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/xen-devel