xen discuss - Jun 2008 - Unnamed error while trying to create a VM

Hi,

I''ve a b81 server running for a while. I''ve done all sorts of
Python related stuff on it (nothing amazing, mostly compiled python2.5 and
iPython in /usr/local), and now am trying to use it with xVM to install Windows
on a virtual machine in it.

I''m having trouble creating the new machine, and I get a blank error
response like so when I try to do it:
donny:/folgers/vm/xVM/windows-xp# xm create windows-xp.conf 
Using config file "./windows-xp.conf".
Error: 
donny:/folgers/vm/xVM/windows-xp# cat windows-xp.conf
disk = [ ''file:/folgers/vm/xVM/windows-xp/boot.raw,hdc,w'',
    ''file:/folgers/vm/install/windows-xp-sp2.iso,hda:cdrom,r''
]
memory = 256
name = "winxp"
kernel = "/usr/lib/xen/boot/hvmloader"
builder=''hvm''
vif = [ ''type=ioemu'' ]
on_poweroff = ''destroy''
on_reboot   = ''restart''
on_crash    = ''preserve''
boot=''d''
vnc=1
vnclisten="0.0.0.0"
vncpasswd=''''
serial=''null''
apic=0 
usb=1
usbdevice="tablet"
device_model = ''/usr/lib/xen/bin/qemu-dm'' 
donny:/folgers/vm/xVM/windows-xp# 

I''ve tried unsetting my PYTHONPATH with the /usr/local changes, setting
my PATH thus that /usr/bin/python (2.4) will be used instead of mine and even
tracing Python''s execution with this dtrace script:
#!/usr/sbin/dtrace -ZCs
#pragma D option quiet
python588:::function-entry,python588:::function-return
{
        printf("%s %s (%s:%d)\n", probename ==
"function-entry" ? "->" : "<-",
            copyinstr(arg1), copyinstr(arg0), arg2);
}

I had a hard time understanding what I was seeing because it seems
''xm'' asks some services from an HTTP based RPC server, and I
was unable to understand where exactly in the server''s flow was I
failing.

Any ideas on how to even approach this?

Thanks!
 - Y.
 
 
This message posted from opensolaris.org

On Fri, Jun 06, 2008 at 12:57:28PM -0700, Yaniv Aknin wrote:
> I''ve a b81 server running for a while. I''ve done all
sorts of Python
> related stuff on it (nothing amazing, mostly compiled python2.5 and
> iPython in /usr/local), and now am trying to use it with xVM to
> install Windows on a virtual machine in it.
It does sound like you''ve modified the default Python installation
somehow, and this has broken things.

BTW, for this sort of experimentation, I strongly recommend using a
zone, or even a domU, so any changes you make can''t possibly affect the
rest of the machine.

xend itself runs using Python, if you check /var/log/xen/ you might see
something. You''ll have to investigate this by hand.

regards
john